Gaffes

[vardathemessage]

The school boys say

"I want to be a Tailor, I want to be a Farmer. I want to be a Barrister. I want to be a Truck Driver"

(Although why children going to an upper class school like Oscar would aspire to be farmers and truck drivers...)

In England he would declare he wanted to be a lorry driver.

Then again, in 1862, automobiles hadn't been invented yet...

Comments

Truck drivers and barristers....

[tura.livejournal.com]

I agree that it is anachronistic, however I also think it is meant to be anachronistic rather than being a gaffe. I'm not saying that there aren't errors in the film, I'm just not entirely certain that this is one of them.)

By combining elements of Wilde's era with modern elements...and by having young Oscar quoting young David Jones (later to become David Bowie, or course) Todd is giving the audience a sort of knowing wink. To me that scene sets the stage for the dreamy mythopoetical juxtapositions that make Velvet Goldmine what it is.

I love this journal by the way! Thank you for doing it.

Re: Truck drivers and barristers....

[vardathemessage.livejournal.com]

Oh I agree that that scene is a completely artificial mix of fact and fiction but I was wondering why it was barristers and truck drivers and not lawyers and lorry drivers. ;-) I've only recently noticed that the wall behind Oscar is covered in an almost Pop Art size alphabet too. And as you say it 'sets the stage' since Oscar is even then giving a performance. "dreamy mythopoetical juxtapositions" Lovely that is!

Thanks for the good word, I'm delighted that you've joined in!

Re: Truck drivers and barristers....

[q-spade.livejournal.com]

Although why children going to an upper class school like Oscar would aspire to be farmers and truck drivers...

Perhaps the Pop Art alphabet gives us a clue: the Sixties - the period just before VG's timeframe – was a time where England's class structure took a serious beating, and music was one of the greatest levelers in this regard. Working class musicians became millionaires and boys from rich families slummed it in Tangiers. Marianne Faithfull was promoted as "The Baroness' Daughter" while her boyfriend Mick Jagger – along with the rest of the Rolling Stones – were giving the Establishment a heavy case of the jitters. Part of the Beatles' A Day in the Life was written about Tara Guinness, an aristocrat friend who died in a car accident.

Before the Sixties it was unthinkable for the classes to mingle so openly; afterwards it became commonplace (if more muted in certain circles).

It's often said that Glam was a literate and intellectual phenomenon. Without the breaking of boundaries between social classes that came before - and the mutual sharing of information, inspiration and communication that came along with that – Glam would probably never have happened.

I had to laugh, I saw the photograph

[vardathemessage.livejournal.com]

Wow, fabulous points!
It does seem that anyone reading about the Beatles or the Stones at the time came across names like Orsmby-Gore and Armstrong-Jones as part of their circle. And it was the aristos who wanted to hang with the cool rockers, not the other way around. Supposedly even Princess Margaret had a crush on Mick Jagger - who can blame her. I agree that rock and roll was possibly the greatest leveler ever. I think John Lennon's "the people in the cheap seats clap your hands, and the rest of you just rattle your jewelry," set the tone for the generation who wasn't intimidated or impressed with 'their betters'. And the drug aspect of it - going to Tangier to buy heroin and smoke kif, was what led them all to meet people like Burroughs and Brion Gysin.

It's often said that Glam was a literate and intellectual phenomenon. Without the breaking of boundaries between social classes that came before - and the mutual sharing of information, inspiration and communication that came along with that – Glam would probably never have happened.

Yes, I agree. Glam is a reaction to the era right before, not just in being the antidote to the hippies but in being the phenomenon that declared you could reinvent yourself - after all, if the class barriers had fallen what was to stop you?

[sor-bet.livejournal.com]

Okay, I have solved this mystery! I don't know what's in the script, and the captions probably said "truck", but if you look closely at the little boy who is speaking, you can see that he says "trap driver", not "truck driver". I *thought* a trap was a kind of horse-drawn carriage, and the dictionary confirms: "a light two-wheeled carriage with springs" (The American Heritage Dictionary, Second College Edition). And that makes sense for 1854. Yay, I finally got one!

That's fabulous research there!

[vardathemessage.livejournal.com]

The script does say 'truck' but perhaps that correction was made on the set. There was a discussion about whether or not the length of the boys hair was correct right before shooting, according to Christine V, so that might have sparked further debates on inaccuracies. Good work!