Page 16
D ecem ber 18, 2013
Courageous Discourse
c o n t i n u e d f r o m page 9
cooperating with the Nazis. She was attacked
for being arrogant and heartless, for forsak
ing her own identity and people. She was
excoriated in the press, was threatened with
the loss of her academic post, and even lost
friends as a result of her work.
The film mines this episode for what it has
to teach about Arendt's character. We see
her life in New York with her philosopher
husband, her peer in intellect and friendship;
it is a rare pleasure to see such enduring
connectedness depicted on screen. We see
the quality of her other friendships, which
endured across time and continents, often
characterized by intense disagreements but
also deep affection. Indeed, Arendt displays
a fierce clarity of thought balanced by a rare
ability to disagree without disconnecting.
Her friends were not always able to recipro
cate, to her sorrow and surprise.
Perhaps those same qualities contributed
to her surprise at the intensity of the public
reaction against her work. Although Arendt
was often accused of arrogance, that de
scription does not seem fair in this depiction.
The film makes a compelling case that what
others saw as arrogance was really strong-
minded self-assurance, but not self-impor
tance. When her husband and friends worry
about the stir her work is creating, she at first
dismisses their concern with her own as
sessment that the tempest will quickly blow
over. Watching her struggle to understand
and, ultimately, to respond to her critics
(many of whom had not bothered to read her
work and badly mischaracterized it) is where
the film most rivets and inspires. One rarely
sees such courageous independence, par
ticularly from a mature person who stands
to lose her prominence and reputation. The
contrast with Eichmann is striking.
Von Trotta has succeeded in the difficult
task of depicting thinking as action. Arendt,
brilliantly captured by actress and frequent
Von Trotta collaborator Barbara Sukowa, is
often shown reclining and smoking, a testa
ment (excepting the smoking) to the power
of contemplation. B ut it is a film, after all, so
Von Trotta also makes wise use of flash
backs to Arendt's pivotal relationship with
philosopher Martin Heidegger and of scenes
of her lecturing riveted German students
and of boisterous conversations with
friends. Sukowa, assisted by a uniformly
excellent cast, conveys the sense of a life of
intention and a mind constantly in deliber
ate motion.
Arendt's opinions remain controversial,
but they permanently altered public dis
course on totalitarianism and the problem of
evil. Whatever you conclude about her
opinions, this fascinating film, now avail
able on DVD, presents her as a shining
example of heroic commitment to the search
for truth and commitment to the work of
understanding. It is one of the best films I
saw in 2013.
D arken Ortega is a judge on the Oregon
Court of Appeals and the first woman of
color to serve in that capacity. Her movie
review column Opinionated Judge appears
regularly in The Portland Observer. You can
fin d
her
m ovie
b lo g
at
opinionatedjudge.blogspot.com.
Slow Cooker Holiday Ham
Original recipe makes 24 servings.
Ingredients:
• 2 cups packed brown sugar
• 1 (8 pound) cured, bone-in picnic ham
Directions:
1. Spread about 1 1/2 cups of brown sugar
on the bottom of the slow cooker crock. Place
the ham flat side down into the slow cooker
- you might have to trim it a little to make it fit.
2. Use your hands to rub the remaining
brown sugar onto the ham. Cover, and cook
on Low for 8 hours.
Holiday
Wreaths
With this recipe, you can make wreaths
using cornflakes. They're fun to make
and eat. Get the kids involved and
make an afternoon o f it! Makes 16
wreaths.
Ingredients:
•
•
•
•
•
1/3 cup butter
1 (10.5 ounce) package large marshmallows
6 cups cornflakes cereal
1 teaspoon green food coloring
1/4 cup cinnamon red hot candies
Directions:
1. Melt margarine in a large pan over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir constantly until
marshmallows melt and mixture is syrupy. Remove from heat. Stir in food coloring. Add com
flakes and stir until well coated.
2. Drop mixture, by 1/4 cupful, onto cookie sheet. Using buttered fingers, quickly shape into
individual wreaths. Dot with cinnamon candies
Holiday Peppermint Bark
Makes 1 pound.
Ingredients:
• 1 (12 o u n c e) p ack ag e
NESTLE® TOLL HOUSE® Pre
mier White Morsels
• 24 hard peppermint candies
Directions:
PASTOR
L.L. HOSLEY SR
PASTOR
)RAH KIMBROUGH
1. LINE baking sheet with waxed
paper.
2. MICROWAVE morsels in me
dium, microwave-safe bowl on
MEDIUM-HIGH (70 percent)
power for 1 minute; stir. Micro-
wave at additional 10- to 20-sec-
ond intervals, stirring until
smooth.
3. PLACE peppermint candies
in heavy-duty plastic bag. Crush
candies using rolling pin or other heavy object. While holding strainer over melted morsels,
pour crushed candy into strainer. Shake to release all small candy pieces; reserve larger candy
pieces. Stir morsel-peppermint mixture.
4. SPREAD mixture to desired thickness on prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle with reserved
candy pieces; press in lightly. Let stand for about 1 hour or until firm. Break into pieces. Store
in airtight container at room temperature.