Masculin Féminin Ménage À Trois

By: Saint Twenty
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Spoiler Alert

However I actually want you to watch after reading this to see if I’m bugging out, because no one seems to be mentioning the things I’m searching for. A cinema nerd, an art fanatic in general, I often research articles after finishing a book, or film. I spent the better part of an hour doing the same for Jean-Luc Godard’s masterpiece Masculin Féminin, brilliant, fortifying my belief that French New Wave is the best.
The premise of the movie being Paul, the protagonist, is about to turn 21. After serving time in the army he’s trying to figure out what he wants to do with the rest of his life. He meets Madeline, a budding chantress, falls in love, moves in with her, Elisabeth, and Catherine-Isabelle, colocs. Now while the latter is secretly in love with him, the former seems to be having an affair with Madeline. Therein lies the confusion for Madeline from what I saw. Except no one even references it. Am I nuts?

Elisabeth and Madeline’s romance is alluded to multiple times, explaining her hostility towards Paul and possessiveness of Madeline:
-When they are waiting on Madeline for lunch, Paul informs Elisabeth that the aforementioned party is pregnant. Elisabeth gets angry, telling Paul he doesn’t know Madeline like she does, that she’s lying to him. The viewer is left dubious, as Madeline starts the film admitting she lies to him. Paul gets angry and asks her, “What’s it to you?,” several times while banging on the table. Probably the only time you see him vexed. Elisabeth doesn’t answer.
In the same scene when Madeline does arrive, she empties the rest of the wine into Paul’s glass, but pours half of Elisabeth’s cup into her own to share. Intimate. Then when Paul is lost in his whistling of Bach, eyes closed, immersed in sonic memories, Elisabeth strokes Madeline sexually. After getting angry with Paul for touching Madeline’s chest to feel her heartbeat. Madeline herself telling her not to get jealous, he has a right.
Tracing her face with her finger tips twice, they stop when Paul opens his eyes. Dramatic irony. The viewer knows something a character doesn’t. Shakespeare’s forte.
– When they go to an erotic movie, Elisabeth makes sure to sit next to Madeline, who leaves a space for Paul on the other side. Seeing this Paul sits next to Catherine-Isabelle instead. Madeline makes Catherine-Isabelle switch with her, upsetting Elisabeth who was practically necking her before Madeline confesses her love for Paul, to Paul.
-Finally, in the last scene the audience finds out Paul dies, mysteriously falling from his new apartment window. Elisabeth and Madeline went to see it, because no one believed him. When Madeline wanted to move Elisabeth in with them he objected, then met his end.
The police question Madeline and Catherine-Isabelle, was it suicide, an accident, or murder? I figured Elisabeth was missing from the interrogation as she was a suspect, since they got into an argument about her moving in. Also she told Madeline to abort the child with a coat hanger. Yet still, absolutely no one mentions this relationship regarding the movie. Which is crazy. Leaving me to wonder why? It’s essential to plot, yet everyone talks about Catherine-Isabelle’s unrequited love for Paul. Did the allusions go over everyone’s head? Am I making it up, or am I just super nerdy and observant (I was a film minor, a focal point of my relationship with Serge Becker, read: Who Is Serge Becker? )?

You watch and tell me. I’ll probably write more on this film, it’s so damn good. There’s so much to discuss. Godard also wrote the amazing script. Urgh, a fucking legend. Three panoramic shots left me breathless (pun intended). I ceased to breathe, memorized, replaying them over and over again. Can you guess which three? Are you going to watch? Did you see what I saw too? Via: Serendipity.TD

Meeting Tremaine Emory

By: Saint Twenty
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Serge Becker introduced me to a lot of people personally, including the iconic Maripol (read: Serving Looks, Serving Maripol) and Supreme’s creative director Tremaine Emory (then they’d sit in my section for me to serve them). Tremaine, Serge, and someone I can’t remember, came for dinner. When Serge introduced him I had NO idea who he was, or what he did. Tremaine was polite, jovial and instantly took a liking to me, complimenting my look. Perceptual, it was my style and swagger that made him guess I’m a native New Yorker.
“You from here aren’t you?”
“Yeah, how did you know?”
“I could just tell. I’m a native too.”
“Ahhh that’s rare nowadays,” I replied.
“Yeah it is. Where’d you grow up?”
“The Upper East Side.”
“Oh wow. I’m from Jamaica Queens. You’ve been there before?”
“Yeah, to go to the airport.”
“Never to hang out?,” he asked.
“No, I mean…what would I really be doing over there, if I’m not going to the airport? It’s mad far and there’s not much to do…” I trailed off. Looking back I see why Serge wore a nervous expression, I kind of dissed where Tremaine came from. However my tone and candor sent Tremaine roaring with laughter.
“You right,” he said genuinely doubled over, laughing from his gut. Taking his cue the rest of them followed suit, myself included. Real talk there’s nothing going on in Jamaica Queens, for me to travel hours to hang out in a known ghetto. Like what…

Throughout the night he carried on conversation. He spoke to me as if I known him. I think he, like Serge, was happy that the greatness of New York’s old school, art, socialite, rock n’ roll, hip hop, cool kids, didn’t go extinct due to gentrification. The luminaries, the visionaries, that make this place great, are still being churned out, passing on the culture.
I found out Tremaine is major af during the pandemic, upon seeing him appear in photos with all these people. He left a great tip (unlike some), and I’m honored to have met him. Thank you for calling Kanye the coon out. He is gone, no longer a black leader, or idol, but a soulless vessel. He sold his to the devil, after joining that racist coven (Kardashian Jenner’s, Kekel Kardashian was real). He’s a completely different person now. May we mourn what was, while I destroy what is. Via: Eyes Mag

RIP Jean-Luc Godard

By: Saint Twenty
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I fell in love with Godards’s work in film class, watching À Bout De Souffle. He was a pioneer of the French New Wave, a genre characterized by hand held cameras, jump cuts, long panoramic shots, on location shoots, close-ups etc… Giving the director more story telling control. As a francophile this is my favorite genre of film. I try to get as much in as possible. I recommend the aforementioned masterpiece and Vivre Sa Vie. Currently finishing Masculin Féminin (let’s see if this ends violently as well), with plans of watching all his work. Rest in peace you fucking icon and complete legend, thanks for the art and revolutionizing cinema. Omg I wish I could speak to Serge Becker about this. Which of his films is your favorite? Via: Film Gear Club

Who Is Serge Becker?

By: Saint Twenty
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Serge Becker is an integral figure in Manhattan nightlife. In the 80’s he started as a DJ with eclectic taste, being involved in both the punk and hip hop scene. Then he became the art director of legendary nightclub AREA, a major celebrity hotspot which filled the void of Studio 54’s closure. It’s just so crazy, growing up I admired AREA for it’s artistry in invitations and themes, so to work for the person behind it was surreal.
Joe’s Pub, La Esquina, The Box, Miss Lily’s, he’s directed videos for Nine Inch Nails and is now the creative director at the Museum Of Sex.
Personally, I think of him as an interactive artist, since I’ve seen the impact his designs at Miss Lily’s has on people; the way it affects their person, awakens, stirs, loosens something within. No one enters those spaces and leaves unchanged. Soho is easily my favorite: the record tables, record covers as wallpaper, smut plastered on the wall behind the service station, the difference between the front and back of the restaurant. This is why I was his favorite, don’t get me wrong he had a few, but I was most like him. That artsy, erudite, socialite, party, old school glamorous, scandalous, rock n’ roll, about the b.s, cool Manhattanite. A reminder to him that the splendor of New York hasn’t utterly vanished.

Serge is the one thing I miss most about Miss Lily’s. He saw me as a person, not a caricature. While he would ignore most people, literally not saying hi, he adored me. We talked about art, drugs, the social scene. One Christmas he literally brought his prime rib down just for me, completely ignoring Simi the bartenders attempts at conversation.
He didn’t assume anything about me, he asked.

On my birthday he sent shots, champagne and dessert to my party of 15. Probably one of my best birthdays yet, everyone had the best time, no one remembers it. All of us felt we were in a fever dream, probably because the bill was $750 and I kid you not, on GOD, there was $100 TOPS, TOPS, spent on food (not including endless free shots). I kept trying to order a meal, it just didn’t happen. My co-workers were stunned by our ability to drink like fish. We were wasted beyond belief. I got a text the next day from some Italian guy I met on the bathroom line, no recollection. He started off with an inside joke too…awkward af, I didn’t know what he was talking about.
Serge made sure to send me a list of his favorite movies on my birthday, since I was a film minor at one point and we loved movies. We loved art in general, but film was our thing.

Anna Wintour on the other hand abhors him. She’s the reason Miss Lily’s Soho doesn’t have a liquor license, selling soju and sake as substitutes. As head of the community board, her objection was due to Serge Becker’s involvement in establishments like The Box.

I opine something went down between Anna & Serge, crossing paths on the 80’s art scene. No one can convince me otherwise. Anna Wintour as an enemy is major though. Again this is where I met Mick Jagger, our regulars were celebrities. This place was the Studio 54 of restaurants. I saw Anna twice outside Lily’s, three times total in my life.

When I exited on terrible terms, my co-workers reported Serge was crestfallen. Thanks to the complicated nature of things I won’t go into, I had to leave him behind. But, I know he’s watching knowing he was right all along, I’m extraordinary. I’ll never forget our David Bowie moment (read Serving Looks,Serving Maripol), they were friends.

I’m fortunate to be woven into the tapestry of people I grew up revering. It was an honor working for Serge, even when he was playing mind games. Even when he was insanely OCD, like the time he came into Graceland complaining everything was a mess before an event. No one agreed.
“What’s this?”
“What?” Melody, another server and I say in unison.
He then proceeds to pull an entire iron out of nowhere, staring at us. It’s my belief that he planted it behind the couch as a test. Serge always knew I was a star, no one knew I’d be an icon though (as in I conned those hoes into incriminating themselves and emptying their pockets). There you have it the Serge Becker I’m constantly talking about. Via: Aleim Magazine & Gawker

What Is An Evil Eye Though?

By: Saint Twenty
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Ight, so evil eyes, this I realize can be confusing to beginners of spiritual practice, because it’s double sided. Someone can put an evil eye on you, which is a hex; the Gypsy psychic Shanna placed a financial one on me. There are different types of evil eyes, like love, family, career, just bad energy directed towards you from someone who wants to fuck up your shit. Haters. This is why you need an evil eye, to protect you from evil eyes. See where the confusion comes in?

Evil eye jewelry is worn to ward off negativity, same with trinkets placed in the home. I got my first evil eye in the form of a bracelet from my friend Joyce. After disclosing what the Gypsy did to me, she gave me her own, ceremoniously removing it from her wrist and clasping it around mine.
“Which one is your dominant hand?…Okay this is going to protect you, when it breaks that means it stopped something from attacking you, it absorbed the bad energy.”
It broke on New Years Eve at Miss Lily’s, the one where I blacked out with no recollection of how I got home. Yet still made it to my brunch shift in time. I woke up with it gone, whatever came for me failed.

The second evil eye I got was a gold necklace, also broke at Miss Lily’s when I was around the director of operations Christian, but was still fixable. It broke forever interacting with this girl Cookie, who went from Serge Becker’s assistant to bartender. She was the most annoying parasite, just a vacuous loser who openly practiced the craft and kept trying to get pieces of writing from me. Urgh. She was two-faced and helped spy me.

Later on, I found out once an evil eye breaks you aren’t suppose to fix it. It’s done it’s job. Throw it out and get a new one. That doesn’t mean you have to spend your life in evil eyes, although it wouldn’t hurt, just when you find the vibe isn’t right. If someone or someplace, is giving you the creeps don’t hesitate to rock em. The fourth time an evil eye broke for me was last week. I’ll save that story. Anyways, I almost left out, you can’t accept evil eye from just anyone, like I did Joyce. People can use it against you; it has to be from someone you trust, as should any magical item, especially crystals. Do you own an evil eye? How did yours break? Do you need one now? Via: Eclectic Charge