#mark burns

[saywhat-politics]

[365filmsbyauroranocte]

Death in Venice (Luchino Visconti, 1971)

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Trump Is Not the Golden Calf. He’s King Nebuchadnezzar.

Trump’s Golden 'Don Colossus' is a yet another warning sign of America's imperial decline.

Karen Attiah at The Golden Hour (05.15.2026):

It’s 8:16 pm ET. Welcome to the evening sunset edition of The Golden Hour. Today, as I watch the light of day literally run out, today’s Golden Hour essay is about golden statues. And how they can be the symbolic bearers of bad news about the light going out in dying empires. [...] I have been following the news reports about Trump’s colossal gold statue, aka " Don Colossus,” which was unveiled last week at Trump National Doral Miami resort in Florida. It is 22 feet tall, and reportedly cost about $450,000 to erect. The statue was paid for by the $Patriot memecoin crypto investors. The statue has drawn immediate backlash, with critics likening it to idol worship. And, plenty in the news media and on social media say that this is like the story of the golden calf in the Bible. The scrutiny got so bad that they trotted out a Black Republican pastor, Mark Burns, to defend the statue and say it’s not idol worship. Yes, everyone is making the Golden Calf references. It’s perhaps one of the more recognizable stories and symbols even with non-Christians, so I understand why. For the uninitiated, the "golden calf’ story refers to when Moses took a little too long to return from Mount Sinai while he was receiving the Ten Commandments. In his absence, the Israelites who were waiting for him grew impatient, melted their gold jewelry, and formed a golden calf to worship instead of God. Of course, God— and Moses, got pissed. Moses burned the calf, mixed the gold powder with water, and forced the Israelites to drink it. God handled the Israelites the Old Testament way— he sent a plague upon them. Pastor Burns is right, to an extent; my colleagues in the media are getting it wrong.

Trump’s statue is not a ‘golden calf’. The golden calf story is the wrong narrative frame. There’s more in the well of Biblical symbols we can draw from to understand ‘Don Colossus’— and the trajectory of the American empire. Trump is more of a King Nebuchadnezzar figure than he is a golden calf. Which means that America is Babylon. And in both Biblical and historical terms, the Babylonian Empire came to a sad end. So, the ‘Don Colossus’ statue is a golden warning of America’s fall.

Great column from Karen Attiah on Donald Trump and the blasphemous “Don Colossus” statue.

[clinging-to-decency]

[cinemaquiles]

A versão da BBC de Drácula lançada em 1977: "Count Dracula"

[luanna801]

Jack Seward Portrayals, Rated According to Strong Jaw and Good Forehead

Aka, a post that exists because I think it’s hilarious that the only physical description we get of Jack is “the lunatic-asylum man, with the strong jaw and the good forehead”, and, as Lucy has decreed that these are the only characteristics of his that matter, I will be rating his portrayals accordingly.

Please note that I have seen some of these adaptations and not others, and I definitely have Opinions about which I prefer, but that is not what this post is about! How much I like the adaptation overall, or even its portrayal of Jack Seward in terms of writing or acting, is not what we’re talking about here. These ratings will be SOLELY on the basis of Strong Jaw and Good Forehead, and as such I will be expecting to see full DCAU Superman jaw action, and... uhhhh...

... Look, I’ll be honest, I have no dang idea what a ““good forehead”” is supposed to look like. Or at least, I didn’t when I started writing this post. This was a journey, friends, and I hope you’ll join me on it.

1) Gustav Botz in Nosferatu (1922)

This is Off-Brand Discount Dracula because F.W. Murnau didn’t legally get the rights to the book, so Dr. Seward is called Professor Sievers here, but he’s still recognizably the same character and gets a couple of his iconic scenes with Renfield. What he does not get, sadly, is his strong jaw and good forehead. I think the scruffy hairstyle and beard aren’t helping, but this actor isn’t really bringing the jaw-and-forehead action regardless.

1/10, a very disappointing start to the list.

2) Herbert Bunston in Dracula (1931)

In this version, Seward is Mina’s dad (???) and thus considerably older than his book counterpart, but this doesn’t automatically disqualify him! Older gentlemen can have strong jaws and good foreheads, too! And honestly, I don’t think we’re doing too badly here. His forehead is certainly high, which... I guess is good? And his jaw is definitely decent. I can kind of imagine this being not too far from what book!Jack Seward would look like a few decades down the line.

6/10

3) Charles Lloyd-Pack in Horror of Dracula (1958)

This man has the furthest thing from a strong jaw I’ve ever seen, and he has Donald Trump’s hairstyle. ABSOLUTELY no to all of it.

0/10

4) James Maxwell in Dracula (1968)

James Maxwell!! I loved you as Henry VII in Shadow of the Tower!! I honestly think he’s a great casting choice, but that will NOT be biasing my rating here. And unfortunately, the feathered 70s bangs are keeping me from accurately assessing whether he has a Good Forehead(TM), and after careful consideration, I’ve decided that he leans more toward “pointy-chinned” than “strong-jawed”.

5/10

5) Mark Burns in Count Dracula (1977)

Okay! Now we’re getting closer! Decent jaw, good cheekbones (not technically part of what we’re rating, but feels relevant) and he has a nice square forehead. A good effort overall!

6/10

6) Donald Pleasence in Dracula (1979)

... Aaand, here we go again. You guys. You guys literally could not have gotten this more wrong if you tried, could you.

1/10

7) Richard E. Grant in Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)

Okay, I have to admit, this guy has a GREAT forehead. Like, I literally couldn’t have told you what a “good forehead” is until I saw him, but now I understand everything. I get why Lucy would have felt the need to comment on it! Look at it! It’s IMMACULATE. If Francis Ford Coppola got nothing else right, we have to give him this.

His jawline is also fine, maybe a bit more oval-faced than what I’d typically think of as “strong jaw”, but I have to rate this one high purely for the forehead excellence.

9/10

8) Tom Burke in Dracula (2006)

I actually think he comes the closest to having a Strong Jaw of any of the actors we’ve looked at so far. His forehead, on the other hand, is kind of a milquetoast effort. In fairness, it’s all going to be downhill there after Richard E. Grant. If we could somehow combine them, would we have the perfect physical embodiment of Jack Seward?

(... That sounds like the kind of Mad Scientist-Curious question Jack Seward would ask himself and make readers raise their eyebrows for the next several centuries, honestly.)

7/10

9) Matthew Beard in Dracula (2020)

Okay, I have never seen this adaptation and never plan to, but purely in terms of looks? Dang. I’m impressed. This guy has a GREAT look for Jack Seward. Nice forehead, nice jaw, but I’m going to briefly break my own rule and note that I really like his look as a whole. The hair is great, the intense broody emo boy vibes, the sense that he might just be very sad or might be about to snap entirely at any moment? Chef’s kiss.

... Knowing what I do about this adaptation, there’s a decent chance I’d hate the actual writing if I ever saw it, but that just makes it good that I haven’t!

9/10

[kwebtv]

Count Dracula - BBC - December 22, 1977

Horror / Drama

Running Time: 155 minutes

Stars:

Louis Jourdan as Count Dracula

Frank Finlay as Professor Van Helsing

Susan Penhaligon as Lucy Westenra

Judi Bowker as Mina Westenra

Jack Shepherd as Renfield

Mark Burns as Dr. John Seward

Bosco Hogan as Jonathan Harker

Richard Barnes as Quincey P. Holmwood

Ann Queensberry as Mrs Westenra

Sue Vanner, Susie Hickford and Belinda Meuldijk as Dracula's Brides

[letterboxd-loggd]

The Maids (1975) Christopher Miles

July 16th 2023