The Patriot: Mel Gibson

[vintage68]

I was watching The Patriot again recently, and I was curious what the purpose of the straps were that Mel Gibson's character wore above his boots just above his knee?

Anyone know?

 

[Chasseur]

They are garters to hold up one's wool stockings/socks. Its actually odd to see them over the pants and over the knees like that. Normally people wear them under the knee and somewhat covered by the cuffs of the knee breeches.

But well, its hollywood. In a bad adaptation of Moll Flanders they had Morgan Freemen in strange knee breeches that dangled down to mid-calf...

 

[Big_e]

Well, in the movie, Mel was a man of significance. Maybe he wore them above the boot when he worked/ rode his horse through the brambles and when he went to the courthouse in town he lowered them to hold his fancy stockings up. Like us nowadays switching to nice dress shoes to work at the office and walking shoes/ cycling shoes to commute home and to work?[huh]
Ernest

 

[johnnyelvis]

I'm sure it has something to do with racism if Mel Gibson is involved:eusa_clap

 

[shortbow]

Or misogyny.

The man is an utter boor, and I am now incapable of watching any of his movies lest I fall ill. Too bad, because he's done some nice work, and I did particularly enjoy that film.

Boycott of one at this point.

 

[Unca Dusty]

May Not Need To

Or misogyny.

The man is an utter boor, and I am now incapable of watching any of his movies lest I fall ill. Too bad, because he's done some nice work, and I did particularly enjoy that film.

Boycott of one at this point.

Just read an interesting commentary that pointed out that Mel isn't so well known among the under 30 age group. It concluded that his career was kind of already over before the world found out what a jackass he is.

 

[Viola]

Well I'm under 30 and it was really sad to me. I still have a tiny softspot for Lethal Weapon and Payback and Braveheart. Never liked Patriot anyway and will never pay to see his work again but Gibson was great. Once. Too bad he's a terrible person.

 

[dhermann1]

Yeah, I was a big fan, too. Until.
I think his old man is pretty certifiably nuts. The apple didn't fall far from the tree.

 

[Dinerman]

Let's all try to keep on topic.

 

[Viola]

Topic - my brother is not a huge vintage buff but whenever he finds the Patriot on cable he watches just to laugh at the hair and slo-mo tomahawk fighting revolutionizing modern warfare.

 

[Atinkerer]

I, for one, always thought of Mel Gibson as a lucky jackass. As I watched him grow in the movie business I thought of him as a talented lucky jackass.

The fact that he went off once when he was drunk and spewed venom against the Jewish people that he says dominate the movie business is an incident that surely discredits the man. But it discredits him only in that he, Mel Gibson, was publicly drunk. It does not discredit him because of what he did or said while he was drunk.

It's just as though he had crashed his car into a tree while he was blind drunk. In that case, you wouldn't say that Mel Gibson is a terrible driver, would you? You'd say that Mel Gibson shouldn't be driving when he's blind drunk, right? Maybe you'd say that the drunken Mel Gibson is a terrible driver, but a sober Mel Gibson probably drives ok.

So, given that, I'd say that a drunken Mel Gibson shouldn't vent his frustrations regarding the movie industry in public (not while he's still blind drunk, anyway).

Now, the latest thing I heard is that, during a private phone call, he used a racial slur while he was angry. So what?

What if the conversation had been something like this: "If you keep eating so much pasta at those restaurants in Little Italy, those guineas are going to have to roll you out the door!" That seems to me a fine turn of phrase.

Tony

 

[Dinerman]

That's enough.