Infinite Books

Someone once said that an experience we take from watching a stage play is always more profound than watching a movie. Many years ago, I watched a performance of David Mamet’s play “Glengarry Glen Ross,” which made an impression more potent than any of David Mamet’s movies. To this day, I consider his command of the English language and writing style superior.

“Everywhere an Oink Oink” is a mixture of a memoir and essay collection. The author has a vast knowledge of movies and talks a lot about Hollywood, which is, for the lack of a better phrase, the “old Hollywood,” with big stars and big names. These were the times when the goal was to please the audience, the majority, while now, according to Mamet, the intention is not to offend the minorities. It’s a complex issue, not a fading trend. The picture of our world on a big screen (or a much smaller tablet) is changing to reflect how our streets and communities are changing. We don’t live in the world of white men and their power anymore. The movie scriptwriters and producers know it.

My feelings after reading this book are mixed. It’s worth reading for encyclopedic knowledge and the style, which reminded me of a conversation that can often be rushed and chaotic. I liked some of Mamet’s humorous snippets, such as giving his current favorite line from a forties noir: “I knew your parents before they died.” Other times, the jokes he quoted were a bit raunchy for me.

As a director working on a movie set, Mamet is calm and collected according to his words and enjoys the camaraderie. He listens to the actors’ remarks but also to the movie team members, who sometimes have the best ideas when faced with a technical issue. I loved his analysis of how a film’s method differs from a stage. The film, for Mamet, works as a series of juxtaposed images that convert the plot and feelings; the dialog is secondary.

“Everywhere an Oink Oink” are the engaging musings of one of our writing giants whose convictions might be controversial, as they are for me, but who still has much to say. And he is certainly not shy about doing so.

EVERYWHERE AN OINK OINK by David Mamet, Simon & Schuster, 2023