lthasablog

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The Pop Culture Essence of 2019 -- Part I: Movies

The mere existence of the year 2019 is a mystery to me. One need not do more than glance at Twitter, or just have a conversation with a friend, to notice that this year was unique in its ability to torture anyone who had the nerve to exist.  Perhaps it was the horrors of the Trump presidency or the snuffing out of black lives like so many candles in the wind.  Maybe it was the government-sanctioned camps cruelly detaining the most vulnerable or the existential threat of climate change bearing down on us all with intense inevitability.  No matter the reason, I think we can all agree that 2019 has been the absolute worst and can die in a fire. 

Now, It is no surprise that the artists who supply our pop culture took full advantage of the one thing 2019 supplied in spades: chaos.  It has been one hell of a year and, most often, I chose to handle my feelings by escaping into movies, television, music and podcasts. To prove to myself that I didn’t waste an entire year of my life, I thought I would take this opportunity to distill the essence of 2019 into a list of the pop culture moments that most personify what 2019 meant to me.  If you’re reading this, I hope that you learn a little something about me and how I see the world.  And maybe, just maybe, you’ll have a little fun.  After all, the real joys of 2019 are the distractions we found along the way.

Before we begin, a small preface — I really enjoy writing but I have never thought that I might have an audience for my work until just now.  I’ve seen some of my peers publish their work online to great readership and personal success.  I’m looking at you, Lincoln.  Don’t worry, I’m not even going to attempt to write down my thoughts about debate, so your domain is safe.  That said, if you all like this, then I’ll post more.  If not, I will probably post more anyway.

Oh and also, I will only be writing about things I have seen and/or heard for myself.  While I steep myself in all things pop culture like it’s my job, I do not feel it intellectually honest to analyze or critique a work with which I have no personal experience.  Also, 2019 is, sadly, not over yet.  There are many things that would likely be on this list that I just have not had the opportunity to see yet!  Queen and Slim, Little Women, Cats (because, like, why and how?), Just Mercy, The Farewell, Uncut Gems and so many others come to mind.  So if I leave out some of your favorites, or you just flat out disagree with what I have written here, great!  I welcome the opportunity to discover new things and to have an open, civil discourse on mainstream culture.

Part I:  The Movies That Defined 2019

Let’s begin with movies.  As for every part of this essay, this list in no particular order.  So, here are the movies I think most reflect the ouvre of 2019.  Oh, and there are some mild spoilers ahead for many items in pop culture, so continue at your own risk.

Hustlers

Immediately after leaving the movie theater, I began telling everyone who would listen, and some who really did not want to, that we were now living in a post-Hustlers world.  Perhaps it was the soundtrack.  I mean, it is just full of songs which effortlessly evoke the energy of a post-2007/2008 financial crisis New York which reverberated throughout the rest of America in myriad ways.  Casting Jennifer Lopez as a dancer in a popular New York strip club, and making her a supporting character in your movie is a major flex. Introducing Lopez’s character, Ramona, by showing her bring down the house to Fiona Apple’s iconic 1996 song, “Criminal” is a stroke of movie-making genius unparalleled by any I have seen in recent memory.  Once you get over the majesty of that scene, Hustlers takes the viewer on a thrill ride that can only truly be understood by those who have spent their lives being underestimated by society and yearning to steal back just a fraction of what they are rightly owed.  Watch out for your wallets in 2020; we’re living in a post-Hustlers world.  Oh also, this movie could NEVER have worked if it were directed by a man.  Hollywood, take note.

Us

Jordan Peele’s follow-up to his brilliant debut film Get Out is a weird, winding and wonderful story from beginning to end.  While the movie may not have fully fleshed out its mythology as did its predecessor, Get Out, I definitely left the theater with more questions than when I entered.  One may find it impossible not to get lost in the metatext of Peele’s take on class divides in the United States and the nation’s many broken promises to black America.  Also, Lupita Nyong’o’s dual performances as Adelaide and Red are worth the price of admission!  She is truly one of the best actresses of our generation and you know that we are truly living in a bleak timeline when an Academy Award winning performer of her caliber can still be considered underrated by the media meritocracy.

Avengers: Endgame

And now for something completely different…Okay yeah, I know, it’s a comic book movie.  However, I will not apologize for the fact that Avengers: Endgame was, by far, the best movie-going experience I had all year.  The movie is a marvel, no pun intended, in storytelling, quality of performances and the never ending capitalist machine that is the Marvel and Disney partnership.  When you think about it, it is truly awe-inspiring that the folks at Marvel sketched out a decade-long plan that actually worked.  Endgame delivered near non-stop thrills and emotion, save perhaps the scene between Black Widow and Hawkeye on Vormir.  I don’t think I need to say too much more about this one, especially given that the people have spoken with their dollars, as the movie has set a box office record, with grossed $2.797 billion worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo.  Also, isn’t it just beautiful when a plan comes together?  Honorable mention goes to Captain Marvel, Marvel’s first lady-led feature.  I do hope that the promise of Endgame’s seeming pivot to passing the torch to black, women and queer characters actually bears some fruit.  A changing of the guard is definitely in order and I am eagerly awaiting Marvel’s next phase.

Midsommar

Warning:  Do not break up with Ari Aster.  If you do, he might write a film wherein the avatar for his ex will face some nightmarish comeuppance.  All kidding aside, Midsommar is definitely not for everyone.  The film is a portrait of grief, mental illness and isolation, all set against an idyllic Sweedish backdrop.  It is a horror film, but it almost defies genre.  While most horror films deal in hiding the monsters in dark corners and opt for jump scares, Astor chooses instead to bathe all of the wretchedness of his characters in sunlight, and many monsters lurk in plain sight.  In Midsommar, you can see everything with a cold clarity, and that alone is disorienting.  The most terrifying part of Midsommar is that you will walk away questioning the motives and sincerity of every person in your life, while also reevaluating your previous notions of community and what it means to be a part of something larger than yourself.  If that is not the perfect allegory for 2019, I don’t know what is.

High Flying Bird

Tarell Alvin McCraney’s screenplay for High Flying Bird is deep, funny and thought-provoking.  That said, it was greatly elevated by performances from the tragically underappreciated André Holland, and rising star Zazie Beetz.  Set during an NBA lockout, Holland’s sports agent, Ray Burke, begins the film by discovering that all of his company credit cards have been frozen, and that his job hangs perilously in the balance due to a situation over which he seemingly has no control.  Watching Holland navigate the NBA brass, his player clients and the media with a demure and suaveness typically only reserved for the DiCaprios or Pitts of the world is not only refreshing, but necessary.  Beetz lends heart and charasma to the film, playing Burke’s assistant, Sam.  Beetz’s character motivations are clear yet ever-evolving.  She gets to be complex, smart and just cool.  It is also really interesting to see a movie lend voice to the idea that if professional athletes ever just decided to unite and refuse to play by the rules of the NBA or the NFL, those in power who profit from their labor would become nearly powerless.  It’s a pretty cool premise and frankly, you love to see it.

Parasite

I only recently saw Parasite, but I now understand what all the hype is about.  It is difficult to know for sure what director Bong Joon-ho, and his writing partner Han Jin-won who helped Bong pen the screenplay, meant for the audience to take away from this film.  Now, I do not want to spoil it for those who may not have seen it.  In many ways, Parasite is the long lost sibling of Us.  Both movies are tales of the upstairs/downstairs nature of class division.  While Peele examines America, Bong gives American audiences a glimpse into the haves and have-nots of a Korean city, and its literal highs and lows.  While the Parks are an affluent family who live in their own city which is at the top of an actual hill, the poverty-stricken Kims, meanwhile, live in a literal subterranean basement.  This makes the Kims’ quest to improve their lot in life a true social climb.  Also present in Parasite is the inescapable reality of climate change, along with the stark contrast on how its effects on the rich are inherently disparate to those on the poor.

Now for the movie grab bag…

These are films that I think capture something of the spirit of 2019, but in a manner explicable in a few sentences or less.  They are:

-Glass:  So much promise…so little pay off.  I mean, apparently one of the heroes’ kryptonite is puddles…

-Ready or Not:  Who among us would not hunt down wealthy, would-be murders in a wedding gown that is sleek, yet allows for a shocking amount of mobility?  

-Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood and The Irishmen:  I was surprised by how “whelmed” I was by these films.  Perhaps they warrant a rewatch, because I truly love Tarantino’s work and I grew up idolizing Scorsese.  To me, these are quintessential dad films.  That’s not a knock on dads or dad films, it’s just not where I am right now…

-Marriage Story:  Loved it.  I’ll simply say this – For your consideration:  Adam Driver and Laura Dern.

-Joker:  This movie was a pastiche of 70s and 80s era Scorsese films, which took itself far too seriously for me to give it any serious consideration.  Was this movie unflinchingly a product of 2019?  Yes.  It thrived on the buzz, provided by the dual weapons of entertainment writers and social media.  The whole origin story of a white terrorist thing was cute.  Was Joaquin Phoenix’s performance good?  Sure, it really was.  However, I liked the character better when he played it in The Master, or Her…I think you get what I’m going for here.

Next up, television!  I think this might be my favorite category.  Be on the lookout for part two.  Check out LT Has a Blog.  Yeah, I know, but I wanted the name to be a statement of fact.  ‘Til next time!

LT

[lthasablog]

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