Reading Blood Meridian | Dr. Dan O'Hara | And So The Judge Returns Workshop

[@clumsydad7158]

Wonderful points of analysis and thought... Blood Meridian is a true treasure that has only just begun to be excavated. Peace

[@charlespeterson3798]

Peace? You are clumsy. As for the Prof, passing for a prol, Dolly to cattle barons in two paragraphs. To the mythology of violence and the loner. I have metaphors in my throat, like a very large chicken bone. This is not a well structured argument.

[@katjalaug984]

@@charlespeterson3798 you are welcome to make a better structured argument? Alternatively, you'd be welcome to pick O'Hara's argument apart with a counter-argument?

[@dantepilgrim]

I just read Blood Meridian after loving McCarthy's The Road, and this is a brilliant talk!! Thanks for sharing

[@mandrakebunny7393]

never understood the imagery of the coin. absolutely amazing.

[@argondrolf785]

It seems to me that there is some confusion over what the cowboy initially represented. I think the original appeal was that he represented the promise of the American individualism. Europe was still embroiled in its class system where if you were born a serf you would die a serf. If you traveled to America you'd still probably work as a farmer, but there was nothing stopping even the most simple minded person from choosing to hop on a horse and drive cattle out west and seek other opportunities. I feel that "fear of the mob" stems less from communism and more from caste/ class systems.

[@Uchoobdood]

Beautifully done Argon! I absolutely agree

[@castelodeossos3947]

Yes, I did find 'fear of the mob' out of sync with the rest of the analysis. The desire to be outside society is not necessarily because of fear. It may just as well be because one does not share the values of the mob, and for that reason goes elsewhere, like the path less travelled by.

[@BillyMcBride]

Cormac McCarthy has an aggressive novel there. That Blood Meridian, it is explosive, but it is also healthy to read as long as the violence in it does not make its way into any nation. Thank you for uploading Dr. O’Hara’s workshop talk. He is bright.

[@TheDarkchum1]

The violence within this book is already within this nation. That’s why the book exists.

[@castelodeossos3947]

@@TheDarkchum1 Precisely. That's the whole point of the novel. It's no fantasy but rooted in vast research about the founding of God's Own Country, Land of the Free, Home of the Brave, the Shining City on a Hill.

[@morganspencer-churchill2136]

Dr. O'Hara sounds very like Jonny Ive

[@TheBruceKeller]

Thank you British Jim Norton!

[@deadlegs187]

Maybe he should clean up the blood or supin

[@MrTantamount]

This lecturer could pass for Judge Holden if he was 7 foot 2 and 340 lb. . Like if you took more pigment out of his skin and if he had W.W.E. legend & W.W.E. official Kane's massive , hairless body .

[@katjalaug4606]

Could you clarify how this is relevant or productive?

[@superintelligentapefromthe121]

@@katjalaug4606 he's just having fun. Welcome to the internet.

[@ktmtxt]

@@katjalaug4606 it is not, regarding the understanding of the book. But it doesn't have to be also 😂

[@taskforceandy2830]

@@katjalaug4606 what a boring response

[@chickencharlie1992]

You make a humdinger of a brain thought

[@mikef2813]

Check out Harold Bloom’s writing on Blood Meridian.

[@CamMci]

What was the logic in mentioning Hephaestus? It seemed like making a reference for the sake of making a reference. Hephaestus was a god that forged the weapons of other gods. This passage talks about a lowly cold forger pressing out coins in the shadow of the Judge, like some slave. It seems in no way related to Hephaestus.

[@RoboBoddicker]

Er, Hephaestus was a lowly forger. At least as far as the other gods were concerned.

[@jacobbrant1881]

This guy o'hara has no idea what he's talking about. It's like he wrote this lecture on the train down.

[@castelodeossos3947]

Often academics will point out a corollary that is nothing else, has no meaning. Had a professor initially ruin 'Moby Dick' for me because all he did was reel off references, without discussing whether knowing them made any difference to one's understanding of the novel.

[@ruveng.9058]

@@jacobbrant1881 What he is saying is not necessarily false but very superficial. There are much better breakdowns of Blood Meridian here on KZbin.

[@nonfilteredgaming9045]

I love this post a lot thanks for sharing, really moving finish from McCarthy

[@katjalaug4606]

Thanks, I'm glad you enjoy our work.

[@comanchedase]

moving? absolutely disturbing!

[@katjalaug1111]

@@comanchedase Disturbing AND a 'waste of time' with 'little to nothing new'?

[@jonobrow]

A very interesting if slightly all over the place and less-than-the-sum-of-its-parts talk. Not sure what the audience made of it turning into a book reading for the last 10 minutes but I guess it's only a workshop...

[@peterphillips4340]

I randomly read these Bible passages in Corinthians and thought perhaps it explains part of what the Judge is in Blood Meridian, or what McCarthy envisioned him to be. "1 Corinthians 2:15: He that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man, for who hath known the mind of the lord that he may instruct him?" The Judge is an extremely twisted representation of spiritual enlightenment, if the truth was that all in the Universe is violence and chaos. He tells the gang "God is War" which I think is quite the literally the idea with no mystery behind it. The Judge is not war itself, as he himself says that war was always here before mankind, but he is a kind of human spirit that represents our part in it. He can't be judged because he is so attuned to what the universe is. He has transcended by being utterly evil implying that this is the nature of reality or the mind of God. If we look at Blood Meridian as a twisted Biblical style parable this makes sense.

[@rorymayberry711]

he fucks up the pace of the last passage at the end, it needs to be fast, man, fast!

[@castelodeossos3947]

And I would always ask a student read whatever I wanted read aloud. Found it works more effectively.

[@tarico4436]

Number one issue: do NOT read Harold Bloom's preface. Bloom tries to spoil this work of art in the worst way possible, and he did hurt "Blood Meridian" for me. Such a great book, though, that Bloom did not kill it.

[@TheToeOfEarl]

was it because he mentioned the ending of the book and what the judge does to the kid?

[@TheToeOfEarl]

was it because he mentioned the ending of the book and what the judge does to the kid?

[@tarico4436]

TheToeOfEarl Yes.

[@Earbly]

You'd think someone who does such an incredible amount of reading, and whose livelihood depends on novels and stories etc... would know better than to spoil the ending to ostensibly stick his opinion in there

[@AnandVenigalla]

Drew in my humble opinion I don't think it's inherently wrong to reveal spoilers. I honestly think that Bloom's intro really shows his deep passion for this bloody post-Homeric masterpiece.

[@Ftanftangfnarrr]

Those boots 😂😂😂

[@smalltown4855]

did Kenneth Williams use a bowler hat to hide his bonbons in during the great pistachio wars of the Iron Age?

[@JamesWilliams-dz5tn]

I love the american gothic genre. But I have to say, ai could barely get through Hawthorns elaborate prose of every single detail ( that did nothing except add pages to the story) He had to describe everything with at least 300 words and it was really annoying to me because ai would get list in these extremely long winded descriptions

[@Ozgipsy]

This was not bad. The English have a few sneers and blinds pots with Americans.

[@thomas-ud1fs]

Has mccarthy been banned yet

[@katjalaug984]

Banned by who and what for?

[@TeaAndBunsMC]

nope

[@estebanb7166]

His persistent use of racial slurs. I'm an admirer of his work, but the present culture has taken all, for lesser transgressions. I am not offended by anything he has written, but Child of God alone could get him cancelled, in the eyes of some fretful types.

[@skeletonshorror5184]

If so it’s time to for war. 💀🔥

[@Starman256]

@@estebanb7166 thats a ridiculous notion although child of god was banned in some high school after a parent complained

[@SACosby-lp5td]

And black. Cowboys were also black

[@castelodeossos3947]

Since the gentleman's obviously done his homework, it's perhaps possible that black cowboys were such a tiny minority, it would be inappropriate to mention them as if they were commonplace. There were, no doubt also the odd Chinese cowboy, woman cowboy, etc., but so few as to make it indefensible to mention them.

[@patrickrailroad]

Agree Cormac McCarthy is An extraordinary gifted writer but O’Hare has imputed into Blood Meridian O’Hare’s flowery language and his entire educational background in literature, philosophy, economics and sociology. His review of the novel speaks of O’Hare’s ideology and political orientation not McCarthys. Alsoi nteresting when one wears a hoodie and leather jacket in a lecture.

[@katjalaug4606]

Thanks, Patrick. Could you clarify what McCarthy's ideology and political orientation is? As far as I am aware, McCarthy is notoriously absent from the discussions surrounding his own work and has given all of four interviews during a career that spans several decades. I would also be interested how the speakers attire is in any way relevant to your comment, I'm afraid that's a bit unclear from your comment.

[@patrickrailroad]

Oh yes , I forgot to O'Hare's biker leather jacket, the worn torn jeans, airborne jump boots, Indian icon- a must for lectures or our Ivey League professors.. and you are correct, Cormac is rather shy and somewhat taken by critics interpretation of his books… But Im not talking about Cormac. Young O’Hare’s endless vociferous, and amusing interpretation: the iconography, American values, sociological, one drive vs cattle farming, comic book formula, violent intervention, biblical retribution related to religion rapture and paradox with Mafia, industrial capitalism, moral dualism, economics, euphoric communism vs capitalism, cowboy a guardian of America's manifest destiny…..thats in his first ten minutes. p l e a s e - cant go on withO’Hare’s billowing BS. You can visit Cormac at his book store. He is not so vociferous.

[@katjalaug4606]

I see. You take issue with O'Hara's elitism when he speaks, in his professional capacity, about a novel that you happen to have a different opinion on, but then his clothing is not elitist enough. I'm not sure which institution you are affiliated with, but as far as I know there is no policing of clothing or official dress code. Instead, there seems to be more of an emphasis on the quality of the work and originality of thought. Also, you did talk about Cormac. Interestingly, you claimed to have direct insight into Cormac's perspective on his work, specifically Blood Meridian. Something that no critic, not even those personally acquainted with the man, has ever been able to establish. Not to mention that Cormac's reading of his work is one of many possible interpretations, rather than the authoritative perspective on the text. I'd like to visit Cormac's alleged book store. Where is it and what is it called?

[@thekid40]

Katja Laug u miss have the patience of a saint and display a restraint and eloquence in the face of such an obvious axe to grind most could only dream of. lol. Well done!

[@castelodeossos3947]

Not so sure the man's attire is that interesting. It's a not uncommon pose, a statement, like probably many of the sloppily dressed students listening to him. Has never interested me, for all I care about in academics is what comes out of their mouths, unless it's some woman thrusting physical voluptuousness into my face. Had a professor who put on a suit/tie upon giving a lecture on TSEliot, in honour of his subject, although no green paste.

[@RaHeadD10]

Wow what a load of left wing tripe. I could deconstruct this absolute nonsense. The American agrarian tradition comes from the archaic Greek tradition. It’s not merely christian or conservative but Homeric. The idea of the individual, the warrior, the man of action is not merely American but Western. He doesn’t go back far enough. Heraclitus is as much as a influence on this as Homer or Milton. The idea that the cowboy is some left wing or communistic agent is absolute ridiculous. If anything McCarthy explores many right wing ideas in his novels that he most likely privately agreed with. He’s reactionary in man you levels.

[@Noxshus]

I appreciate the background, but it did little to shade in my understanding of the judge, especially in the light of the passage(s) read. I feel the easiest comparison to the judge isn't Milton's Satan or even any such archetype, but The Joker, from Batman. His abilities make his vices irrelevant, and his pleasures exist at a mental height that make them more or less impossible to void. If the Kid had blown the judge's brains out in one of his many opportunities, no one would have been happier than the judge. I think this connects to why Tobin was so unsettled by him - you can't threaten such a man. Psychotic? Possibly. Immortal demon? No, not at all. In fact I find the judge gratuitous, and as such, kind of uninteresting. He's a sort of evil Mary Sue. Tobin, Glanton, and even the Kid, poor traumatized mess that he is, are far more compelling. On the whole, the passive voice in the face of tremendous violence tells the American story, not the story itself. The Kid's encounter with the buffalo hunter summarizes the great privilege and institutionalized prejudice of Glanton's entire enterprise, the darker side of the coin of American history. I still enjoyed Blood, will definitely read again, but I didn't think it was the instant classic I was told about.

[@katjalaug4606]

Interesting perspective. It's clear from the archives that McCarthy has read Milton, but, as far as I know, there is no reference to Batman. However, I see the connection you're making. O'Hara has been my mentor for many years, so I may be biased in agreeing with him that there is a correlation with Melville's The Confidence Man. James Christie, if you look at the workshop and roundtable videos, makes a similar claim about the judge. He sees the judge as an imposter - you may connect with that perspective. To me, Holden has forerunners, the unholy trinity in Outer Dark, and gets an update in No Country for Old Men's Anton Chigurh - they are, to me, avatars of American space coupled with the dominant white philosophy of their time, i.e. Enlightenment and Holden (see also Vereen Bell and Nicholas Monk), and postmodernism and Chigurh. As for your not being immediately taken with the text, I empathise with that. McCarthy, for me, is very much an acquired taste and it took me years and reading several of his novels to be persuaded differently. Thinking back, it was probably Child of God that changed my perspective on him.

[@adrianvalenzuela6139]

The Judge might be based on the whale (Moby Dick).

[@lewiskane2873]

I feel like the kid could never have shot the judge, as the judge can't be killed. He personifies a level of evil that means in the narrative he can't be killed. He he's a plot armour because he represents evil itself, the kid wouldn't have tried to kill him because you can't kill evil, just as everyone claims to have seen the judge prior to joining the scalpers (the kid is no exception) as everyone of them knows evil. The judge says he could never die because he's the personification of evil and humanity cannot exist without it.

[@ghoulish6125]

@@lewiskane2873 Yeah, I think him being called a "Mary Sue" isn't very fair to his character at all since he's hardly representing something human here. No one could have shot the judge, he is beyond death, it literally states so at the end of the book. He has near inhuman capacities when it comes to knowledge, foresight of destination and his importance in that location and I choose to personally believe that his coin trick around the campfire was him showing off just once, his otherworldly control over this plane of existence on earth that no mortal could ever possess, further adding to his inhumanity. Its really hard to call a metaphor a "Mary Sue" when this book is just compounded into so many layers, meta or no, and even further so when we try to look at the Judge as something other than human, whether that be a manifestation of war, the devil or even a djinn that has scoured the earth for hundreds of years (a lot of which, aid with why he doesn't seem to age and knows way more than anyone man does). I do love The kid, Glanton and Holden equally in this story though, beyond a treat whenever they're on the page and McCarthy's prose was illustrious.

[@alphonseelric5722]

Joker's darker interpretation started with The killing Joke which was published 3 years after this book.

[@comanchedase]

that was a waste of my time, he brought little to nothing new

[@katjalaug1111]

I appreciate your taking the extra time, after voluntarily 'wasting' time on this free content, to leave a comment that is so very helpful.

[@ktmtxt]

You're pathetic and irrelevant. You can do better with your free will and time in hands. Get a life loser 😂

[@danasheys9300]

When a so called educator "counsels " his audience not to watch this movie seems very uneducational. Why not watch it and use you'r own brain to make a judgment on its content

[@margaretbartley7569]

Lissun Gene Simmons. Is the judge.