Michael Garcia Mujica
"Currer Bell is neither man nor woman, but an abstract thing, an artist." • Michael Garcia Mujica, Lead Educator in Arts and Film History. Echoing the sentiment about Charlotte Brontë's pseudonymous voice, Michael lends his expertise not only as a writer and visual artist but also as a Lead Educator in arts and film history. Based in Coral Gables, Florida, he is the principal of Vintage Brooks, Inc., where he passionately revitalizes the legacy of silent film star Louise Brooks. His acclaimed blog, Naked on My Goat, serves as a living tribute to Brooks's enduring influence in film, her profound writing, and her broad appreciation for the arts. Just as Brontë made an indelible mark in literature despite the societal constraints of her time, Michael accentuates Brooks's trailblazing spirit within the film industry. In his role, he ensures that Brooks's iconic voice continues to resonate within the cultural lexicon of the 21st century, celebrating the intricate victories of women in the arts, both past and present. Explore more about the abstract persona of Charlotte Brontë in Michael's piece, "The Abstract Persona: Understanding Charlotte Brontë's Pseudonymous Journey as Currer Bell." “I am satisfied that if a book is a good one, it is so whatever the sex of the author may be. All novels are or should be written for both men and women to read, and I am at a loss to conceive how a man should permit himself to write anything that would be really disgraceful to a woman, or why a woman should be censured for writing anything that would be proper and becoming for a man.” • Anne Brontë, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
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Louise Brooks vs. the World: No Coward Soul is Mine
As she wandered through the whimsical vistas of life, Louise Brooks, a woman of ethereal beauty and grace, found herself enmeshed in a realm of shifting illusions and uncanny simulacra. She encountered a world where the hue of the skies changed from violet to a bluish tinge and the winds sang a melancholic dirge, a world where reality was a fluid and ever-changing tapestry of perplexing mysteries and eerie enigmas. One night, as she lay in bed, her thoughts awhirl with the strange and unsettling events of the day, Louise reached for the book by her bedside. It was a volume of poetry, a collection of the works of Emily…
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Lulu and Schopenhauer: Charting the Infinite Realms of the Unseen Mind
In the winding, white-wintered warrens of her psyche, Lulu locked eyes with a known visage, as gray as a granite gale. It was Arthur Schopenhauer, the sage, his silhouette shadowed in sapphire shades, who greeted her with a glint of golden familiarity. ‘Lulu, luminous like a lemon-lit lantern,’ he intoned, ‘destiny dances us together once more, like a daisy in the dawn’s dew.’ With a dramatic drape of his dark-denim cloak and a genteel gesture, Schopenhauer signaled for Lulu to shadow him through the surreal, silver-streaked scenery of her subconscious. Navigating the navy-nighted nooks of Lulu’s dreamscape, Schopenhauer shared sagas of art’s amber allure and the perilous pull of life’s…
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Lulu and Schopenhauer: A Journey Through the Multiverse of Books
Before the Tale Unfurls: Amid the sienna-soaked shelves of her father’s vast vault of volumes, Louise Brooks, a maiden with mocha-misted eyes, unearthed an enigmatic tome. Within its azure-archived pages, she encountered an entity as enigmatic as the evening’s navy nebulae – a capricious creature named Schopenhauer, garbed in granite-gray. Together, they embarked on an expedition through the emerald expanse of literature, traversing tales from The Divine Comedy to Alice in Wonderland. Yet, as they delved deeper into these gilded galleries of grandeur, they began to brood over the boundaries of their own being. As the Narrative’s Navy Nights Unfold: Louise Brooks, bathed in a blue-hued wonder, often lost herself…
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Navigating the Fool’s Game: How to Spot and Outsmart Online Bullies, Grifters, Pseudo-Intellectuals, and Charlatans
“Never argue with a fool; onlookers may not be able to tell the difference.” This quote, attributed to Mark Twain, highlights the importance of being able to spot a fool and navigate their antics. In today’s digital age, it can be challenging to differentiate between a fool and a wise person, especially when it comes to online interactions. From online bullies to grifters, pseudo-intellectuals, and charlatans, many individuals may appear to be foolish or uninformed at first glance but are quite savvy in their actions. This article aims to provide insight into spotting and outsmarting these individuals. The Art of Spotting a Fool “He may look like an idiot and…
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Discovering the anti-heroines (Femme Fatales) Dolores Haze, Lola Montes, and Louise Brooks
Please be advised that the following article contains major spoilers for the films Lolita (1997), Exotica (1994), and The Lover (1992). If you haven’t yet watched these movies and wish to avoid spoilers, you may want to return to this piece after viewing. The narrative trajectory of the anti-heroine, emerging from a whirlpool of chaos as our quintessential femme fatale, features prominently as a recurring motif woven intricately into the larger fabric of literature and cinema. Her presence murmurs tantalizing enigmas, as riveting as a sonnet’s closing couplet, extending both the steadfastness of a reliable companion and the intrigue of an as-yet-undeciphered riddle. Her nature, both magnetic and elusive, fuels…
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Eyes Wide Shut, an Allegory of Alice’s Dreams
Eyes Wide Shut: The Dream Story of Alice The film’s leitmotif is domesticity, sexual disturbance, and dreams, all conveyed in an enigmatic manner. Eyes Wide Shut (1999) is Stanley Kubrick‘s final film, the director’s final outing before his death at the end of the 20th Century. The picture begins with the distinctive surroundings and vividness of a dream. In the film, Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman play Bill and Alice Harford, a couple who have been married for nine years. Their seven-year-old daughter Helena (Madison Eginton) is left with a babysitter while they attend a holiday dinner hosted by wealthy attorney Victor Ziegler (Sydney Pollack) and his wife Illona (Leslie…
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On the Rumored Relationship Between Louise Brooks and Kenneth Tynan
Kenneth Tynan was born in 1927 and became a prominent theater critic in the 20th century. The 1920s were the peak of Louise Brooks‘ career as a silent film actress. It was in the late 1970s, while doing research for his essay The Girl in the Black Helmet, that he first saw Brooks, initiating a series of encounters that would have a profound impact on his life. Although Tynan and Brooks were separated by twenty years of age, they managed to become friends and remain so until Tynan’s untimely death in 1980. They corresponded frequently, discussing books, art, and each other’s works that they both admired. A letter from Tynan…
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Charlotte Brontë and Louise Brooks, Connections and the Art of Writing
For film lovers, the name Louise Brooks commands a position of high esteem. The silent film actress was a breathtakingly talented woman who achieved impressive acclaim in dance and literature. Charlotte Brontë, a towering literary figure, created nothing less than art when she introduced Jane Eyre to the world. Here, we examine what these two highly revered figures share in common. Louise Brooks, Timeless Ghost of the Silver Screen Most will know Louise Brooks for her unforgettable performances in silent film, especially from the works of Austrian director and cinematic artist extraordinaire, G.W. Pabst. She captivated audiences in films like Diary of a Lost Girl, and Pandora’s Box. There were…
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Legends of Dance, Ruth St. Denis, Martha Graham, Isadora Duncan, and Denishawn
When talking about the world’s greatest dancers, the names of Ruth St. Denis, Martha Graham, and Isadora Duncan come to mind. These women took the dance floor by storm and in the halls of memory, have performed some of the most exquisite dances the world has ever seen. Here’s what dance enthusiasts should know about these extraordinary dancers, and how these souls influenced dance. We will also touch on the Denishawn school of dance and the impact it made. What Is Denishawn? Denishawn School of Dancing and Related Arts was an advanced and respected dance school that was founded by legendary dancer Ruth St. Denis. The name is a derivation…
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The Relation of “Lulu in Hollywood” to “Alice in Wonderland”
Anyone looking to delve into the thoughts of the legendary actress Louise Brooks can find some delightful insights into the similarities between Lulu in Hollywood, Alice in Wonderland, and Through the Looking Glass. The big connection between the two is that Lulu’s Hollywood is a version of Alice’s Wonderland, seeing that all of the good people are sucked in under the power of producers. Comparing Lulu and Alice Perhaps one of the most direct most palpable connections between Lulu in Hollywood, Alice in Wonderland, and Through the Looking Glass is the portrayal of Hollywood as a realistic sort of Wonderland. Anyone who has ventured to the streets of Hollywood can…
