[Ads-l] locomotives as female

[Jonathan Lighter]

Interesting, but I'm not sure that *any* censorious (or non-censorious)
viewer would be likely to "get it," no matter how "impudent" Hitchcock
[sic] thought he was being.

It may not have been a phallic symbol to anyone else until the master told
them what to think about it. (Cf. my old, frequently cited pal Humpty
Dumpty.)

Evidently the answer is a variant of Number 3, though few were expected to
get the point [sic].

JL

On Sat, Apr 25, 2015 at 10:17 AM, Christopher Philippo <toff at mac.com> wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Christopher Philippo <toff at MAC.COM>
> Subject:      Re: locomotives as female
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> On Apr 25, 2015, at 9:17 AM, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM> =
> wrote:
> > I wonder now what it actually means to say that the tunnel moment in =
> question, the final moment of the film, is a "phallic symbol."
>
>
> Hitchcock: the final shot, immediately following that scene in the =
> sleeping-car, is probably one of the most impudent shots I ever made.
> Truffaut: When the train goes into the tunnel?
> Hitchcock: Yes.  The phallic symbol.
>
> I would guess it was mainly impudent with respect to American film =
> censors who indeed might be so dense as not to get a fairly obvious =
> throwaway gag; censors are strange critters.  I would not give it too =
> much thought - dating back to his silent film days Hitchcock employed =
> numerous slight visual jokes, puns or symbols, some obvious, some less =
> so.  Enjoyment of the film does not depend on them all being perceived, =
> or on them all being clever.=
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>



-- 
"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org