An Admission: I Cried at Leave It To Beaver

Oh, what a sad story to tell. At least I am coming clean (that's a hint to you, Tiger Woods).
I am almost through with the first season of Leave It To Beaver. I have long thought that the sitcoms of the 1950's have thoroughly maligned over the past forty years so I decided to give them a try. I began with the granddaddy of all family situation comedies - Beaver. There are two things I have learned about this series (at least in its first year).
1) There is genuine affection between the actors on the series. I am always suprised by the constant attention and affection between Ward and June. I don't remember this from hardly any other series of the 1950's or 1960's. They seem to be a married couple who are still deeply in love and generally attracted to each other. The connection between Barbara Billingsley and Hugh Beaumont seems read. You would think that these two were having a real-life affair with the way that they were always hanging on each other. Again, maybe this is unique to the first season of the show. It is also true in the relationship between Beaver and Wally, and frankly between Beaver and his parents. It is none of the hokiness of a Full House - these seem like real breathing characters who love each other.

2) The series does not rest on cheap sentimentality. Sure, Beaver is filled with many touching moments. But some of them are so genuine that they do bring a tear to the eye. In an episode I watched yesterday, Beaver tries to keep up with Wally in school so that his father will be proud of him. Ward is congratulatory toward Wally because of his baseball prowess and frequenly goes to watch his games. Beaver never even makes the team because of his lack of skill so his takes up the clarinet in the school band. Due to his lack of talent, he is also kicked off the band. Too embarrassed to tell his parents and fearful that his father will be ashamed of him, Beaver gets ready to go to a band concert that he will have no part of, with his parents, rather than admit his failure. It is only Wally's intervention that leads to Beaver not making a fool out of himself. The final scene, in which Beaver thanks his father for not embarrassing him is what did it to me. Jerry Mathers grabs Hugh Beaumont by the neck and kisses him, thanking him. You can see genuine emotion in the actor's eyes, he is truly moved by this young boy. Seeing a father and son hug and kiss each other, in this period of rugged masculinity in which men were not to show emotion, completely contradicts popular notions of manhood. This is what did it to me.

Antigone

I am a product of the educational experiments of the late 1960's and early 1970's - which meant that I was assigned none of the classics growing up. Greek and Roman literature - forget about it. We read Vonnegut rather than Shakespeare in high school. I have often felt cheated in my education because of it. I am as big of a liberal as they come but I do believe that all students need a background in the literary canon (so there, I said it) which makes me sound like Bloom.

So, embarrasingly, this was my introduction to Antigone. It was an all-Greek production with Irene Papas playing the title character. Yorgos Javalles does a fine job using the natural scenery and ruins (but not then) of ancient Greece to give the film real character and remove it from any form of staginess. While I was impressed with Papas it was the tyrannical King Creon that moved me the most. Some of the commentary on his ruling style (at least in the first half of the film) reminded me of a certain G W but unfortunately he didn't have a downfall. I strongly recommend this film; I find it highly accessible and could be put to great use in the classroom.