Episode five of the second season of Feud, Capote vs. The Swans, is getting it’s own short blog because . . . James Baldwin!
Following the printing of the article that released the first chapters of Answered Prayers and the start of Truman’s falling out with the Swans, fellow author James Baldwin (played by Chris Chalk who does a pretty good version of Baldwin’s voice) comes to talk to him. Did these two men hang out following Truman’s depression over what he had done? No. Baldwin was living in France by then. But I still like the depiction of Baldwin so I’m going to write about it, damn it!
When Truman asks why “Jimmy” has come to his rescue, Baldwin says, “I have noticed that most minorities, Blacks, thank God, Asians, women, Jewish folk, they all have a community to turn to in their time of need. The homo, not so much. Not yet. You, me, Gore, Tenn, we are the only Gay American Men of Letters pretty much. I'm not counting Frank O'Hara and Ginsburg because they are just poets.” Ha! Take that Alan Ginsburg! By the way, I copied and pasted that speech from IMDB.com because it was taking me too long to type out using the subtitles on my TV.
This is the first episode where we see the Swans with a little less indiscretion, explained through many metaphors by two award winning authors. Truman tells Jimmy about affairs the women had, ways they tortured their husbands, and, racism/classism they all try to hide. In return, Jimmy points out how aggressive swans in reality are and tells him to eff them. They discuss how the women’s love of the arts are superficial. That they are horrible mothers who do not understand children as human beings. How they were cruel to Ann Woodward, adding to the poor woman’s social pariah status. What drives them is vanity and small thinking. Baldwin tries to make Capote look at his actions from the artistic point of view and remember that the “worse has already happened”. The pair discuss their lives as writers and criticism, how they can bring each other down in order to educate and make each other better.
The episode concludes with Baldwin scolding Truman. He berates him for wasting himself after “In Cold Blood” and that he needs to continue using his life to be creative. James declares, “Goddamn it, Mr. Capote! Your work isn’t even half done. You have miles to go.” He encourages Truman to finish his book about the Swans since they have already given him up. James Baldwin is telling Truman Capote that losing the women as his friends is blessing in disguise. It’s a great speech about exposing the 1% as only writers like them can. The fictional vignette ends with Capote eating a swan without alcohol. No alcohol until he finishes the book.
