#these men in a musical about gross american history have no right to kill it this hard

[snixx]

nothing gives me, an aroace lesbian extremely confident that i am NOT attracted to men, more sexuality crises and borderline bi panic than the original broadway cast of hamilton

[soundsof71]

So, considering you are a passionate fan of music released in 1971, I feel justifiably obligated to ask you what you think of Buffy Sainte-Marie's 'She Used to Wanna Be a Ballerina' album. 😂 (Also, it would make me beyond happy if you could post more about Buffy, my friend! Thank you! ❣)

Buffy Sainte-Marie + Crazy Horse - what’s not to love? LOL I confess that it was the Crazy Horse connection that caught my attention first. I had a general idea who Buffy was, had seen her on TV a few times, but I was a big Crazy Horse fan. News that they were her backing band for this album was easily enough for me to scoop it up.

They weren’t doing anything much with Neil Young in 1971 (other than this album, on which Neil also appeared!), but they had released a tasty solo album in February 71, produced by Jack Nitzsche (who also produced this, and would later marry Buffy), and featuring Ry Cooder (also featured here, although did not marry Buffy). 

(btw, the first place that Buffy, Ry, and Jack worked together was on the Nic Roeg film Performance, starring Mick Jagger. People obviously remember Mick in that, but musically, Buffy was the best part!) 

She Used To Wanna... also features Jesse Ed Davis, a Native American guitarist and singer who was a frequent “usual suspect” at these sort of “sure, invite everyone!” jam albums of the era, and played a prominent role at 1971′s biggest concert (at least in the US), The Concert for Bangladesh on August 1.

(I know you know  RUMBLE: The Indians Who Rocked The World, the documentary about indigenous music’s influence on rock and roll, which has chapters on both Buffy and Jesse Ed. I just watched it again recently, and love it! A reminder of Buffy’s pivotal role in classic rock history. Not mentioned in the film: she relentlessly championed the work of her fellow Canadians Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen, helping them get their first record deals.)

I haven’t listened to She Used To Wanna Be A Ballerina for a while, so I definitely need to do that, along with posting more pictures of Buffy.  (I can’t believe I’ve only posted two!) 

But I’ll tell you what still stands out to me about that record years later. “Smack Water Jack” is an underrated track from Carole King’s Tapestry that got a ton of airplay at the time. Quincy Jones did an instrumental cover as the title track for his terrific 1971 album, too, but it has somehow faded to obscurity since then. Buffy takes a playful trifle, and turns it into a powerful fable of men of color who explode into violence in response to the violence visited upon them, and self-satisfaction of whites in authority who answer their demands for better living conditions by killing them on the spot. 

No need for a trial when you can murder them in the streets, right? “You can't talk to a man when he don't wanna understand / And he don't wanna understand” hits different when Buffy sings it, and in 2020 for that matter. 

It’s also just a terrific performance whose combination of soul and rock and roll and driving piano in a sort of Old West-sounding context would have made this sound right at home on a record like Elton John’s Tumbleweed Connection  or something by The Band. I’m limited to five video embeds per post so I can’t embed it here, so I'm linking instead: anyone who hasn’t heard this definitely needs to.

Her cover of Neil’s CSNY track “Helpless” has things I like even better than Neil’s original, including Merry Clayton standing in for CSN. Buffy’s version is more muscular (thanks again to Crazy Horse), and taps even more deeply into the isolation of the song that the star power of CSNY somewhat obscured. 

Buffy’s version also made a brief but memorable appearance in the 2018 film Hotel Artemis, starring Jodie Foster. A weird little movie that I loved maybe more than it deserved LOL but I recommend nonetheless:

I know that this album gets attention because of the unusual number of covers, including one by Leonard Cohen, and a cover of a cover that Leonard had made famous on top of that, called "Song of the French Partisan” (hers is the far superior version imo, a song of French resistance to Nazi occupation from the perspective of a woman hiding a resister), but there are a couple of standout originals too. 

I love the title of this record, and the title track is a delightful little stomper that playfully cautions against equating the intentions of grown women with the childhood fantasies they’ve grown out of. More Merry Clayton goodness here on backing vocals too. 

“Soldier Blue” is a powerful song first written for the 1970 film of the same name, billed at the time as “The most savage film in history” -- and maybe it was. It used the 1864 Sand Creek Massacre as a metaphor for Vietnam, and it's still shockingly brutal. It was the third-highest grossing movie in the UK in 1971, though, and the single became a top-10 hit for Buffy there. 

It didn’t do as well here, either the song or the movie. Perhaps not shockingly in retrospect, Soldier Blue was pulled from American theaters after a few days, the Vietnam metaphor not at all lost on the Nixon administration. 

As horrifying as it was, this is about when I was reading Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee (first published in 1970), and Soldier Blue resonated with me in a whole lot of ways. Here’s the song in the opening credits of the movie.

I was also really struck by “Moratorium”, which is the story of “Universal Soldier” (from her 1963 debut, but a bigger hit for Donovan in 1965), coming from the opposite direction. In the earlier song, she blamed war on the soldiers who think that fighting is honorable, but here, she has empathizes with the young men, boys really in many cases, who’ve been lied to by their countries, their parents, and even their friends. They’re not vainglorious. They’ve been duped by people they trusted. 

(I don't think she takes enough into account how many men sign up to fight because they want to embrace and celebrate their worst, most violent impulses, which was of course an undercurrent of “Universal Soldier”, but I appreciate her empathy here. More than one thing is true at a time.)

Buffy goes even farther, though, calling on soldiers to support and validate demands for peace as explicitly supporting them, summed up in the unforgettable cry, "Fuck the war and bring our brothers home!" 

1971 was the peak of antiwar demonstrations in the US, with the biggest crowds ever seen in this country until the 2017 Women’s March. The May 1971 demonstrations pretty much shut down Washington, culminating with Vietnam Veterans Against The War throwing back their medals on the steps of the US Capitol, incredibly powerful stuff to see on TV in my formative years, and Buffy was right there in it. Anti-war songs were a cottage industry for sure, but nobody was writing with the nuance and empathy that Buffy was.

Here’s a 1972 performance of “Moratorium”, Buffy and a piano, and more emotionally bare than that:

There’s obviously lots more to say about Buffy, far outside the realm of protest music that was actually just a small part of her musical palette -- her pioneering experiments with electronic music, her educational philanthropy starting in her 20s, Sesame Street, you name it. Her commercial peak was still in front of her, and while I can’t say that this is my favorite of her records, it does have some of my favorite songs of hers, and 1971 and She Used to Wanna Be A Ballerina is definitely where I went from knowing who Buffy Sainte-Marie was to being a fan. 

I'll also note as I do now and again that while this blog started as an offshoot of a book on 1971 that I’d started but abandoned, I mostly listen to music released now. That’s always been my policy, including in 1971. When 1972 rolled up, I was mostly listening to music from 1972, music from ‘80 in ‘80, ‘91 in ‘91, 2018 in 2018, etc., to name just a few other favorites. (Plus The Beatles, okay? LOL I still listen to The Beatles every day. No apologies.) Honestly? It took me until 2011, in my fifties, when a whole bunch of 40th anniversary editions of 1971 albums got released all at once that made me think, “Wait a minute, this was maybe THE pivotal year in classic rock history!” 

So yeah, the historian in me dug into 1971, but even though I happened to be alive and enthralled by music in that year, what I’m doing here has nothing to do with nostalgia, or any idea that that was the *best* year in music, even if for the narrow slice of music that is classic rock, yeah, it absolutely is. For soul/R&B too, and for the explosion of women artists outside the even narrower confines of pop as well. This is not subject to debate. No year like it, before or since. It's just that classic rock is a such a narrow slice, and I like my slices wide. LOL Which is also why my blog has less and less 1971 content as I go along. 

While my general policy is that my favorite year for music is THIS year, this particular year hasn’t left me as much energy as usual for listening to music. Some of it is These Trying Times™, some of it is my bipolarity and schizophrenia getting the better of me in waves, as is the way with these, uhm, things. (Keep taking those meds, kids!) I listen to music and post about the people making it as a creative act, not a passive or reflexive one, and I just haven’t felt as creative as usual.

(This is also has everything to do with why so many Asks have been piling up unanswered. I apologize if you’re one of the many kind and indulgent souls who’s gotten in touch, but I swear I’m gonna get to ‘em all!)

To get an idea of what I’m ACTUALLY passionate about right now, my “to be edited later” running list of 2020 favorites randomly added to a playlist as I encounter them, to be properly curated later, is at Spotify, cleverly entitled “2020″ -- 94% women, which is about right. LOL 

But since I do in fact listen to old stuff (by which I mean 2019 LOL), I made a list of mostly 2020 bangers from women rockers with some tasty treats from 2019 that I haven’t been able to let go of just yet, inspired by a post I saw at tumblr saying that punk music by women is just plain better (also beyond debate), called “Women Bangers: A Tumblr New Classics Jam”. I’ll be posting an essay with a YouTube playlist soon, because god forbid that I only talk briefly about anything LOL and most of these women need to be heard AND seen.

Like Buffy Sainte-Marie, whom you'll both see and hear more often on my blog soon. Thanks for the reminder! Always a pleasure to hear from you and be challenged by you. :-)

Peace, Tim 

[introvertguide]

The Best Years for American Cinema

One of the great arguments that comes up for cinephiles is what was the best year for movies. It doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with awards since some of the best movies were not recognized at the time, but looking at the Academy Awards helps as a start. As far as American movies go, looking at the two AFI lists, the original and the updated, can also help. Looking at rating systems like Metacritic and IMDB are also a factor. One of the hardest things is staying objective, because picking the year when your favorite movie came out is pretty easy to do. Her is a list of years when an extraordinary amount of great movies came out and attempting to judge the best film for that year was simply an embarrassment of riches. I am going to stick to a list of years for American films since considering the world of film would make any year possibly the best year.

1939

This is generally considered by film historians as the best year for American movies. It exemplified the height of creativity amongst film studios to circumvent the Hays Code while also integrating the relatively new color and dialogue aspects of film. Transforming books into visual media was all the rage and writers were scouring books to find the next great adaptation. There were a myriad of self imposed decency rules and so many directors wanted to push boundaries...and what resulted was amazing. It was nearing the end of the Great Depression and nearing the entry of the U.S. into WW2, so a lot of people were looking for cheap ways of escape. Nothing was quite as wonderful as going to the movies for American audiences and the population flocked to see visualizations of their favorite novels.

-Gone with the Wind; AFI #6, 8 Oscars

-Goodbye, Mr. Chips

-Mr. Smith Goes to Washington; AFI #26

-The Wizard of Oz; AFI #10

-Wuthering Heights

-Of Mice and Men

-Stagecoach; AFI #63 original list, John Wayne’s breakthrough role

-The Hound of the Baskervilles

-The Man in the Iron Mask

1951

After the end of WW2, a lot of countries had begun rebuilding and American had the opportunity to travel. Many returned from the horrors of war, but America did not have to deal with fighting on the continental home land. What seemed to be the greatest perceived threat was the infiltration and spread of communism. The biggest movies were anti-Communism, pro-Christian, and pro-American in nature. In fact, Death of a Salesman did very poorly when first released since it depicted an All-American in a wonderful profession being a total failure. However, it seems like creativity seems to thrive most when those in power attempt to oppress it. 

-A Streetcar Named Desire; AFI #47

-The African Queen; AFI #65

-An American in Paris; AFI #68 on original list

-A Place in the Sun; AFI #92 on original list

-Death of a Salesman

-Quo Vadis

1962

Over a decade since the end of WW2 and the Cold War had turned in a competition for patriotism. A race to be the best pushed invention forward and individuals overcoming overwhelming odds was popular. America worried about spies after severing ties with Cuba in 1961, and a very young President Kennedy delivered the first State of the Union urging the country to stand together. The Civil Rights Movement forces the United States to look inward and examine old ideals that might make the country weak. It was a year of innovation, invention, and introspection, all of which are represented in the wide variety of films produced that year.

-Lawrence of Arabia; AFI #7, 7 Academy Awards

-To Kill a Mockingbird; AFI #25

-The Miracle Worker

-Dr. No; First James Bond movie

-Mutiny on the Bounty

-The Manchurian Candidate; AFI #67 original list

-The Longest Day

1969

The Motion Picture Association created the rating system currently in use that informs the audience about content instead of banning films that did not maintain a certain moral standard. It was the summer of love and the height of freedom movement, so all boundaries were tested and broken. Attacking the American architype was very popular so many of the biggest films had something to do with cowboys. Cowboy pimps in New York, murderous cowboy groups, and cowboy outlaws ruled the movie screens. Testing the boundaries of the MPAA delivered some interesting results: 2 of the top grossing films that year were rated X and that included the film that won the Oscar for Best Picture, Midnight Cowboy, for the one and only time in the history of the award. 

-Midnight Cowboy; AFI #43, only X-rated film to win Best Picture

-The Wild Bunch; AFI #79, X-rated with over 100 on screen deaths

-Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid; AFI #73

-Easy Rider; AFI #84

-Whatever Happened to Baby Jane

-Birdman of Alcatraz

-Hello, Dolly!

-True Grit, John Wayne’s only Oscar win for Best Actor

1976

The Watergate scandal rocked the political climate causing an outcry for the oppressed to take their shot since those in power might not have the people’s best interest in mind. Individual’s taking the fight into their own hands and overcoming adversity for good (Rocky and All the President’s Men) or for bad (Taxi Driver) become the heroes of film in 1976. A new innovation was the blockbuster following the release of Jaws the previous summer, allowing producers to get big names in movies in exchange for a percentage of the profits. Movies become a gamble for many actors and directors, much epitomized since Star Wars began filming with George Lucas refusing his director payment in exchange for all rights to future sequels and merchandising, a gamble that netted him $4 billion in the long run. 

-Rocky; AFI #57

-All the President’s Men; AFI #77

-Network; AFI #64

-Taxi Driver; AFI #52

-King Kong

-A Star is Born

1982

The 80s were all about making money in the United States, and, with the sudden growth of computer technology, this was reflected on the big screen with some of the highest production value special effects movies of all time. The THX sound system is created so the immersive experience of the theatre is at an all time high. At the same time, President Reagan was trying to break up the communist threat and popularized those people who had suffered through war and oppression. Many critics at the time stopped worshipping at the church of the Academy Awards because Ghandi beat out E.T. the Extra Terrestrial as Ghandi was an epic historical drama and E.T. was a family film. Blend in Sophie’s Choice, one of the most memorable yet horribly depressing movies of all time, into the competition and you see that the Academy favors a certain type of movie (long dramas based on history or novels) and it becomes apparent that it isn’t the end all for judging the quality of a film.

-Ghandi; 4 Oscars  

-E.T the Extra Terrestrial; AFI #24

-Poltergeist

-Tootsie; AFI #69

-An Officer and a Gentleman

-Victor Victoria

-Sophie’s Choice; AFI #91

-Blade Runner; ; AFI #97

-Tron

-The Thing

1994

I am not certain exactly what triggered the sudden burst of creativity that came out this particular, but it was a watershed moment for animation musicals, independent films, glorified violence, and adapting books that depict intense suffering and redemption. More than anything, I find that when I list off movies from this year, there is a lot of surprise about how many great movies came out at the same time. I also have a little bit of personal bias for this year because it was the first time I saw all the Oscar nominees and cheered for my favorites during the awards. 

-Forrest Gump; AFI #76

-Pulp Fiction; AFI #94

-The Lion King

-Quiz Show

-The Shawshank Redemption; AFI #72

-Four Weddings and a Funeral

-True Lies

-Interview with the Vampire

-Natural Born Killers

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This is simply a list of good year for movies, but it is fun to disagree about the best. If I missed any great years, feel free to comment. What is the best year for American film, or film in general, in your opinion?

[weekendwarriorblog]

The Weekend Warrior 5/7/21: WRATH OF MAN, HERE TODAY, THE UNTHINKABLE, MONSTER, THE WATER MAN and More

It’s a new month, and I guess going by previous years pre-COVID, this weekend would normally be the start of summer. This year, we’re instead getting a summer with a lot of movies that would normally be dumped into April or February or some other uneventful month. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t or won’t be any good movies, but really, there’s nothing that feels like a summer movie until A Quiet Place Part II and Disney’s Cruella open on Memorial Day weekend.

There’s been lots of great developments, though, including the Alamo Drafthouse in Brooklyn reopening this Friday and then in a few short weeks, theaters may be allowed to be open with no capacity rules although social distancing and masks will probably still be in place. Believe me, it’s been a confusing week as the city that got used to being on the backburner when it comes to reopenings, especially with movie theaters, is now dealing with arguing politicians competing to see who could throw open the then most doors fastest. It’s actually pretty embarrassing.

That aside, this week’s The Weekend Warrior column is brought to you by the new album “Coral Island” from Liverpool band The Coral, which I’ve decided to listen to on loop until I finish this column, because it’s taking me so long to get through it. (Eventually, I switched to Teenage Fanclub’s “Endless Arcade,” since I hadn’t had a chance to listen to it yet…. And to an old standby, Royal Blood, with their own excellent new album, “Typhoons.” At least the record business seems to know it’s the summer!)

Before we get to this week’s new movies, a couple tidbits. First of all, I’m thrilled that my friends Larissa Lam and Baldwin Chiu’s documentary FAR EAST DEEP SOUTH can finally be seen by the entire world, or at least the United States. It debuted on PBS World Channel on Tuesday night as part of the “America ReFramed” series, but for the entire month of May until June 3, you can watch it On Demand HERE, and that is huge! (There will be other ways to see it that you can read about here.)

This is an amazing MUST-SEE doc that looks into the little-known Chinese communities that took root in Mississippi in the early 20th Century and how they became such a huge part of that area with their markets, also bonding with the African-American communities that were similarly dealing with racism from the typically white post-Civil War South. It’s not just a history lesson, and it’s an incredibly moving story about a family trying to find its roots in the most unexpected places. There was a good reason why the couple’s short “Finding Cleveland” won the Oxford Film Festival while I was on the jury that year, and Far East Deep South similarly won an award there last year after its World Premiere at Cinequest was almost scuppered by COVID. It’s amazing how much more relevant and important this film has become since I first saw it last year, since both Asians and African-Americans are dealing with serious racial issues, and this movie shows that more than anything, they should be working to boost each other rather than fighting. Do check it out On Demand this month if you get a chance!

Another musician making movies is Mr. Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters. I mentioned his documentary WHAT DRIVES US last week, but I actually only got to watch it on Thursday, and like his previous film Studio City and HBO mini-series, Sonic Highways, it’s a fantastic look at the music biz, this time through a variety of artists who began their careers by piling into vans and driving around the country. That is, except Lars Ulrich from Metallica, who mentions that the band was never so small or indie that they didn’t have a bus. But Grohl has used his vast connections to bring in a lot of great musicians including The Edge from U2, Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and more, making this a very entertaining movie both for fans of the various bands but also live music fans in general. I gotta admit that as much as I loved What Drives Us, it did bring me down a bit since it’s been almost 14 months since I’ve seen any live music, and I really miss it. This is now streaming on The Coda Collection, which you can subscribe to through Amazon Prime Video.

Guy Ritchie is back with his latest movie, WRATH OF MAN (Miramax/MGM), which reunites him with Jason Statham for the first time since 2007’s Revolver, I believe. Statham plays the enigmatic Paul “H” Hill who works at cash truck company Fortico, responsible for moving hundreds of million dollars around Los Angeles each week. Fortico has recently been hit by a lethal robbery, and H’s team soon learn that there’s a lot more to their new coworker, who happens to be looking for revenge against the man who murdered his son.

(Unfortunately, reviews for the movie are embargoed until Thursday at 6pm, so I can’t tell you whether it’s any good or not. Until Thursday night. Sorry!)

But I will talk about the movie’s box office prospects, because why not? Ritchie’s last movie, The Gentlemen, opened in January 2020, during the “before times,” with $10.6 million, but that was more of a classic Ritchie ensemble crime-comedy. Wrath of Man is more of the type of movie Statham has been making over the past few years, a cross between a revenge thriller and a heist flick. In fact, Statham has done a pretty good job creating his own brand through a variety of action-thrillers as well as a number of franchises including “The Transporter” movies, “The Expendables,” and eventually joining the “Fast and the Furious” franchise as Deckard Shaw with Furious 7 in 2017. Statham then went off to make Hobbs and Shaw with Dwayne Johnson, which didn’t do bad with $174 million. Before that, Statham starred in The Meg, a summer shark attack movie that grossed $145 million. Statham going back to help his old mate i.e. the director that gave Statham his start is pretty huge.

But as I said earlier, those were all in the “before times” and with the box office the way it is, it’s hard to imagine that the exciting reunion of Statham and Ritchie can open with more than $10 million but maybe closer to $8 million, because MGM/UA just doesn’t have the marketing clout of a Warner Bros. or Universal. Even so, that should be enough to be #1 this weekend as both Mortal Kombat and Demon Slayer continue to fall away. Unfortunately, if the movie *is* any good -- and I can’t tell you one way or another -- then by the time reviews hit, people will already have other plans for the weekend than to go see the movie. So yeah, that’s pretty dumb on the part of MGM, huh?

UPDATE: MGM is putting the movie into 2,876 theaters and maybe I'm being overly optimistic, because, as you'll read below, the movie IS pretty good and reviews have remained positive with the American reviews rolling in last night, still at 70% Fresh at this writing. Maybe that'll help the movie do a little better, maybe as much as $9 million, although I'll probably owe MGM an apology if it cracks $10 million, and I don't think it will.

Mini-Review: If you’ve seen the trailer for Wrath of Man, you might go into Guy Ritchie’s latest thinking you know what to expect, because it’s sure being sold as another typical Jason Statham revenge thriller. Don’t be fooled by the marketing, the movie really is Ritchie’s chance to make his own version of Heat, an L.A. heist movie that owes as much to Rashomon as another movie being released this week.

Wrath of Man begins with the heist of an armored truck that turns deadly with the wanton murder of a couple guards. From there, you might think we know where things are going when Statham’s “H” company whose truck was hit, and on his first day, he stops a similar heist by killing the truck’s attackers. H is immediately the hero of the company, although he still has quite a few suspicious coworkers and the feeling is quite mutual. Ritchie’s film then slips into the second episodic chapter which goes back five months to that initial heist where we learn that Statham’s son was killed by being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

I don’t want to go too much deeper into how the movie and story play out, because like The Gentlemen and some of Ritchie’s more intricate films, there’s a lot that purposefully isn’t made very apparent at the beginning. To many, this movie will be seen as even more macho than most of Ritchie's films, to the point where even the only woman guard, Dana, being just as macho as the men. As the movie begins, there’s a lot of joke-cracking and crotch-grabbing, all while Statham’s character silently observes and only acts when necessary.

The film’s shift to more of a classic Ritchie ensemble does slowly take place, but by the third chapter, it shifts to the group perpetrating the cash truck heists with an “inside person,” taking the movie to yet another place that makes it more obvious that this is Ritchie’s attempt at delving into the L.A. heist genre that other filmmakers have done so well.

Oddly, Statham doesn’t have too many lines, acting almost like a Terminator in his determination to right wrongs, but as always, Ritchie puts together a fantastic ensemble cast including a number of great American character actors who we rarely get to see in such great roles. I was particularly impressed with Jeffrey Donovan, who has appeared in a number of otherwise forgettable crime films this past year. The same can be said for Holt McCallany as H’s truck driver “Bullet,” but Ritchie also cast the likes of Josh Hartnett and Scott Eastwood in smaller yet still significant supporting roles, all of whom become more interesting as you start figuring out who all the players are.

Like I said, the movie is fairly macho and the few women play very small roles, but it’s how things are set-up in the first few acts to then change course and build to an absolutely amazing third act that will undoubtedly bear comparisons to Heat. And yet Wrath of Man (which is actually based on a little-seen French crime-thriller) does branch away from some of Ritchie’s standards, first of all by being far darker and even more violent with any of the wisecracking humor that pervades a lot of Ritchie’s work to counterbalance such violence disappearing once the flashbacks begin. It’s all punctuated by a fantastically tense score by Christopher Benstead, which seems a bit much at first but eventually settles into the perfect pace and tone for the action.

Despite disappearing for a good chunk of the movie, Statham is still great, basically killing everyone as his characters are wont to do, but watching how all of the different ideas come together leads to such a satisfying conclusion that one hopes those who might be put off, thinking they know where it's going due to the somewhat pathetic and obvious marketing will give it a chance to see how Ritchie has changed gears as effortlessly as he did with Aladdin a few years back.

Rating: 7.5/10

After even a longer time since he directed a movie, Billy Crystal once again takes the helm for HERE TODAY (Sony/Stage6), a movie in which he plays comedy writer Charlie Burns, whose chance encounter with Tiffany Haddish’s lounge singer, Emma Payge, leads to an unlikely friendship, as he struggles with early stage dementia.

I’ve known about this movie for over a year now, and I was pretty excited to finally get to see it, since I was such a fan of the other movies Crystal has directed, 1992’s Mr. Saturday Night and 1995’s Forget Paris, and it’s just amazing to me that he hasn’t directed a movie since.

At first, it seems like it’s the type of meet-cute we’ve seen so much in Crystal’s past filmography, but his pairing with Haddish isn’t something that might work on paper, but in fact, their comic styles mesh so perfectly together that it’s amazing that no one thought of putting them together before.

Crystal wrote the film with comic Alan Zweibel, who adapted it from his own short story “The Prize,” which refers to Haddish’s character winning Charlie in an auction for a lunch. Actually, her ex won the lunch, and she decided to use it because… free lunch! It’s a pretty simple set-up but one that allows the filmmakers to explore some of the odder things that happen in life.

Much of the movie’s humor plays upon the differences between the two characters, and how unexpected their friendship is. I can totally relate, because I have a lot of good long-time friends who most people might never expect us to be friends, but Crystal, Zweibel and Haddish pick up on that and create a movie that’s very funny but has enough other characters around the duo toa allow their characters to show how they’re just really nice people. We see that with how Charlie takes a young writer at his late night show under his wing or how Emma livens up the bat mitzvah of Charlie’s granddaughter. Oh yeah, and Haddish sings. She actually has a number of great performances in the movie, and seriously, anyone who watches this movie is gonna wanna see a smart filmmaker put Haddish in a musical immediately.

The film also acts as a truly touching tribute to Crystal’s friend, the late Robin WIlliams, who was diagnosed with the exact same type of dementia after his suicide death, and knowing that fact, makes the film even more poignant. More importantly, it doesn’t use Charlie’s condition for laughs, and for that alone, I feel like this is ten times better than that overrated Oscar winner The Father.

Here Today’s biggest problems come in the third act when it feels like the movie is starting to over-extend its welcome, even going into somewhat expected places, but it recovers from that rough third act to land a really nice ending. Crystal has always proven himself to be a really strong mainstream filmmaker (ala Rob Reiner and others) who makes crowd-pleasing movies, and it’s so nice seeing him going behind the camera for a movie that’s obviously very personal but also highly relatable.

As far as box office, I certainly have high hopes that Crystal still has an older audience of fans who might want to see him on the big screen again. I’m just not sure if this will be in more than 1,000 theaters, and though I’ve seen quite a bit of marketing, I just haven’t seen Crystal or Haddish do nearly as much in terms of getting out there that would be necessary to reach an audience that might want to venture out into movie theaters to see the movie vs. waiting until it’s on cable/streaming. There’s also Tiffany Haddish’ fanbase, and there could be some benefit for the movie coming out the same week as her new CBS show “Kids Say the Darndest Things.”

I’d love to be optimistic with this making $4 to 5 million but it’s probably more likely to be closer to $3 million especially with capacity limits still in place for most theaters and the audience generally being older.

UPDATE: Maybe I was a little too optimistic, because I enjoyed the movie so much and it will probably be closer to $1 or 1.5 million since other reviews aren't as great.

Next, we have two movies finally being released many years after their festival premieres…

The Swedish apocalyptic thriller THE UNTHINKABLE (Magnet), directed by Victor Danell, is finally being released after playing genre fests in 2018 and 2019. It stars Christoffer Nordenrot as Alex, a young piano virtuoso who ran away from home due to his abusive father Bjorn (Jesper Barkselius). Years later, he returns home for his mother’s funeral after she’s killed in a terrorist attack on Sweden. At the same, there’s a virus that’s erasing people’s memories, but Alex is still in love with Anna (Lisa Henni), the girl he had a crush on when he left, and the three of them will have to help each other face all the horrible things hitting their home at the same time.

As I was watching this movie, a lot of it felt eerily familiar to me, but I couldn’t figure out why. The more I watched it, the more I realized that I actually HAD seen the movie before. Sure enough, I saw this movie over two years ago at the “What the Fest?!” in New York two years ago, and I honestly don’t remember loving it. Still, I decided to give it a fresh look, hoping to get more out of it on second viewing.

Some of the same things bothered me on this second viewing, because it’s really hard to figure out exactly what is going on and whether the horrific events are natural, man-made or a combination of both. For some time, we get so mired into Alex’s lame relationship with Anna, and when he returns home, his conspiracy theory-driven father is busy protecting a bunker that’s being invaded by foreign military troops he thinks are Russians. We cut between these two disparate scenarios while sometimes returning to the capital of Sweden and throwing in a few big set pieces. It’s so disjointed that you feel like you’re watching a lot of random unrelated events, maybe a bit like last week’s About Endlessness -- maybe it’s a Swedish thing?

There are aspects of The Unthinkable that are quite commendable, particularly those action moments and how the mystery about what is happening develops as the film goes along. Eventually, the film does find a more consistent pace, and things start becoming a little clearer, which makes the final act better than much of what we’ve watched earlier. Even so, it’s still quite annoying how long it takes to figure out what’s going on, even on a second viewing, and for most people, that may already be far too frustrating to get through it.

Hitting Netflix on Friday over THREE years after it premiered at Sundance is music video director Anthony Mandler’s directorial debut, MONSTER (Netflix), based on the novel by Walter Dean Myers. It stars Kelvin Harrison Jr. (Waves) as Steve Harmon, a 17-year-old film student put in jail, accused of murder in a bodega robbery. His defense lawyer (Jennifer Ehle) is trying to help him be released, but he’s fighting against the odds of a judicial system that sees him as a “monster” because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

I have to be honest that I did go to see this at Sundance the week it premiered, and for whatever reason, I just wasn’t feeling it, so I only really caught about twenty minutes of it. Watching it now with more time and a little less weary than I usually am towards the end of Sundance, I was able to appreciate Monster more for what it is. On the surface, it’s just about Steve’s case and how what really happened unfolds before our eyes and we learn more about those around Steve and how their influence may have pulled a smart and studious young man into the criminal world that now has him in prison with much more violent life-long criminals.

We already knew that Harrison was a great actor, but Monster shows us that he was already on his way to greatness with this movie that for whatever reason got buried even as it dealt with issues that have been in the headlines almost every day since this debuted.

Mandler takes an interesting approach, both non-linear and also with blatant nods to Kurosawa’s Rashomon, which is even cited by Steve’s teacher, played by Tim Blake Nelson. Jeffrey Wright and Jennifer Hudson are decent as Steve’s parents, but they’re generally smaller and non-showy roles compared to the moments between Harrison and Ehle. Much of the film takes place in the courtroom with flashbacks showing what happened through the viewpoint of whomever is on the stand, which eventually includes Steve himself.

The way Mandler handles the material may lean more on the artiness rather than something more mainstream -- Michael B. Jordan’s Just Mercy comes to mind -- but it’s just as powerful in showing how someone like Steve can be othered by society into being a criminal. Sure, there have been other handlings of this sort of material that I thought were better films, but if you know anyone who has ever had dealings with the “justice” system and know how unfair and horrible it can be even to the innocent, then Monster will certainly strike a chord.

Also hitting Netflix this week is the new series based on Mark Millar and Frank Quitely‘s comic books, JUPITER’S LEGACY (Netflix), another kind of twist on the superhero genre ala Amazon Prime Video’s series based on Warren Ellis and Darick Robertson’s The Boys. I love the comics, and I can’t wait to finally get around to seeing Netflix’s first adaptation of a Millarworld property.

David Oyelowo makes his directorial debut with THE WATER MAN (RLJEfilms), a movie about a young boy named Gunner Boon (Lonnie Chavis), whose mother (Rosario Dawson) is battling leukemia. In an effort to cure her, Guner goes off on a journey along with a teenage girl named Jo (Amiah Miller) to find the mythical Water Man, who can provide them with a magic token that might save Gunner’s mother’s life.

I’ve interviewed Oyelowo a few times before, and I really like him a lot, so I had really high hopes for him as a director since I feel he’s just a terrific actor. Unfortunately, the material here is just not strong enough that I think even a far more experienced filmmaker could make something out of it.

Set in PIne Hills, we meet Gunner, a bright kid who loves drawing comic books, but he has trouble connecting with his father (Oyelowo), so when he has an idea that might help his sick mother, he goes off with a head-strong teen named Jo, in search of the Water Man, a summertime adventure permeated by a lot of very bad low-budget visual effects.

Honestly, I’m not even sure where to begin with where The Water Man falters, because Oyelowo has such a great cast, including Alfred Molina and Maria Bello in tiny parts. The story is a problem, as is the writing, which is just so bland and dull, that there’s really nothing in Oyelowo’s direction or any of the performances that really can salvage it. Neither of the child actors have much charisma or personality, and even Dawson’s performance, which would normally be a showstopper is repeatedly lessened by the constant cutting back to the kids. (And as someone who beat leukemia myself, I’m never a fan when cancer is depicted in movies as a death sentence rather than just another hurdle in life that needs to be overcome.)

Oyelowo himself may be one of his generation’s best actors, but he brings so little to the role of Gunner’s father, maybe to not take away from his younger star, but it hurts that he doesn’t do more to create a stronger conflict by making the character more horrible to drive Gunner away. The actual Water Man doesn’t improve things when he finally shows up, essentially talking like a pirate but not even remotely paying off.

Honestly, The Water Man seems like such a misguided venture -- Exec. Produced by Oprah, no less -- and it might have been totally forgettable if the characters didn’t keep saying the title of the movie every five minutes.

Hitting theaters Friday after a festival run is Tran Quoc Bao’s action-comedy THE PAPER TIGERS (WELL GO USA), starring ALain Uy, Ron Yuan and Mikel Shannon Jenkins as martial artists once known as “the three tigers but now middle-aged men must set aside old grudges and dad duties to avenge the murder of their teacher. I’ve had a screener of this since last summer when it played at Fantasia Festival in Montreal, and I just never got around to watching it, but if I’m able to squeeze it in before the weekend, check back here for my review.

Streaming on Shudder this Friday is Ryan Kruger's South African comedy-thriller FRIED BARRY (Shudder), starring Gary Green as Barry, a violent street junkie who is abducted by aliens who take over his body in order to… well, actually… they do a lot of drugs, have a lot of sex and other craziness. It’s a pretty strange and bizarre movie that reminds me a little of movies like a lower-fi Under the Skin or Beyond the Black Rainbow, and much of it is driven by the insane and unique performance by Green and the odd characters he encounters that I think will find its fans for sure, but it will definitely be for a very select audience of genre festival fans, as this is by no means a mainstream genre film.

Speaking of which, another movie out this week which I wasn’t allowed to see in advance is Gia Coppola’s MAINSTREAM (IFC Films), starring Maya Hawke as a young woman seeking internet stardom by making YouTube videos with a charismatic stranger, played by Andrew Garfield, until “the dark side of viral celebrity threatens to ruin them both.” Yup, it’s one of THOSE movies. It also stars Nat Wolff, Jason Schwartzman and Johnny Knoxville, but I haven’t heard anything good about it, and I’m not sure my curiosity is piqued enough to spend any of my own personal money to check it out.

Hitting Amazon on Friday is the doc THE BOY FROM MEDELLIN (Amazon) from Matthew Heineman (City of Ghosts, Cartel Land), a portrait of musical superstar J. Balvin, as he prepares for a massive sold-out stadium show in his hometown of Medellin, Colombia, which is hindered by the growing civil unrest in the area.

Lots of other movies this week, but a few that i just wasn’t able to get to this week, including:

ABOVE SUSPICION (Lionsgate) INITIATION (Saban Films) ENFANT TERRIBLE (Dark Star Pictures) QUEEN MARIE (Samuel Goldwyn Films) SILO (Oscilloscope) CITIZEN PENN (Discovery+)

That’s it for this week. Next week, Chris Rock and Samuel L. Jackson star in SPIRAL: FROM THE BOOK OF SAW (Lionsgate) and Angelina Jolie returns for the thriller THOSE WHO WISH ME DEAD (New Line) and Timur Bekmambetov’s thriller, PROFILE (Focus Features). That’s right. This will be the first weekend in over a year where we’ll have three or maybe even four new wide releases.

[dragonnan]

This is faaaar from a complete list and will be spotty at best but I’ve been pondering MCU characters a lot as I’ve been getting slowly back to work on my mega-fic.  I LOVE minor head canons.  Simple stuff like favorite foods or what music they listen to or were they ever a smoker or whatever whatever.  So I’m gonna give myself the challenge of crafting some head canon and anyone else is very welcome to dive in! (some things are already established via canon)

~ Ethnicity ~ Faith ~ Smoker ~ Alcohol ~ Favorite food ~ Favorite cookie ~ Favorite animal(s) ~ Favorite music ~

Tony Stark:  Ethnicity: Mixed European-American-Jewish (he refers to himself as a “mutt”) Faith: “No thanks” being the initial answer but if he feels like opening up he’ll admit to believing there’s likely “something” out there but at the same time figures that “something” stopped caring about humanity a long long time ago.  Smoker?  Never liked cigarettes but smoked a few cigars when he was younger due to Obie’s influence.  He never was a big fan but wanted to fit in with his mentor.  Alcohol: Influenced both by his father and Obie, Tony started drinking hard liquor semi-regularly as young as 14 (his Dad let him try his first sip at the age of 6).  He pretty much sticks with Scotch or Bourbon but is not opposed to cheap beer at a ball game.  In fact the cheaper the better - a requirement for any self-respecting American.  Favorite food: hot dogs.  Neither one of his parents cooked.  Breakfast and lunch were whatever whenever for all three of them but dinner? You better be sure you were at that table before the plates were set down or you could go without (and Tony got a slap from his father when he’d observed that rule only seemed to apply to him).  But on the nights he was sent to his room, Jarvis would slip upstairs, later, with a sandwich or, on really rough nights, a couple of hotdogs.  Favorite cookie: Those Christmas wreath ones made with cereal and marshmallow with the cinnamon candies.  Favorite animal(s): he likes all animals but if he had to pick one for a pet he’d get an iguana.  Favorite music: well duh lolol.   

Stephen Strange: Ethnicity: Mixed European-American (borrowed from Benedict Cumberbatch’s ethnicity and adding the American) Faith: Originally atheist but now closer to Buddhist.  Smoker:  Never.  Even prior to becoming a sorcerer he has always been conscious of what he takes into his body; especially given the history of cancer on his mother’s side of the family.  Alcohol:  Wine, occasionally, though he isn’t really a social drinker per-say.  Favorite food:  The spicy shrimp and pork dumplings from a Thai place in Midtown.  Favorite cookie: Hmmm.... not a big sweets guy but he won’t turn away a few ginger-pecan cookies with coffee.  Favorite animal(s): dogs - unequivocally.  He had a border collie growing up on his family farm in Nebraska.  Favorite music: please don’t make this poor man actually have to choose.  

Steve Rogers: Ethnicity: Irish (as per comics) Faith? Irish-Catholic (as per the comics).  Smoker? Prior to the serum there was no way he could safely do so with his health issues.  After he started traveling with the performers all of the girls in the group smoked and he tried it out a few times but never developed a taste for it.  Alcohol: he drank A LOT - easy enough to do as it never had any real effect on him.  He enjoys scotch and bourbon (a taste he picked up from hanging around Howard Stark).  Steve seems to low-key always have the munchies (like most enhanced) and once Tony picked up on that there are always a variety of snacks scattered here and there throughout the compound (also of benefit for Bruce, Peter, Thor, and, later, Bucky).  Steve’s favorite foods typically remind him of his mother’s cooking.  While they’d never had much (especially after his father died) his mom could do a lot with limited supplies.  She used to make a fantastic meat pie with ground beef or tongue.  He hates SPAM.  They ate it in the Army, constantly, and just the smell will occasionally send him back to those days and not in a good way.  Favorite cookie?  Oreos.  He can clean up a family sized pack in like 10 minutes.  Steve loves animals but is especially fond of horses and dogs.  There was a dog in his unit in WW2 and Steve, like most of the other men, would share bites of his rations with it.  Steve is nostalgic about music from the 40s but finds that 70s rock really resonates with him.      

Bucky Barnes: Ethnicity: Romanian-American (borrowing a little from Sebastian Stan’s ethnicity) Faith? Possibly agnostic.  Smoker? Heck yes - both cigarettes and cigars.  Like Steve, the serum he received (via Hydra’s experimentation) means he gets to dodge the detrimental side effects of smoking.  Alcohol: He likes to drink but is almost exclusively a beer drinker.  He has a big appetite but refuses to eat around others if he can at all help it.  His favorite food is corned beef with cabbage.  Steve’s grandmother was an Irish immigrant and would make it every Sunday before the war impacted rations.  Since both Bucky’s parents were dead he’d often have dinner with his best friend.  Also, unlike Steve, he actually likes SPAM.  But then, arguably, he isn’t terribly picky about food in general.  Favorite cookie: molasses.  Favorite animal(s): birds - eagles in particular - though he doesn’t look too deeply at the psychology of their ability to just fly away.  Needless to say a crafty observer might spot a former Winter Soldier tossing seeds towards the pigeons.  Favorite music: He’s pretty eclectic though he shies away from anything too loud like death metal.  He finds classical very soothing.       

Peter Parker: Ethnicity: Mixed American-Scandinavian-German-ish Faith: Protestant upbringing but unsure where he currently stands. If pressed he’d say he’s “leaving his options open” Smoker?  “Oh gross!” Alcohol: “Um, too young to drink, thanks! But if I WERE to... you know, try it just to taste it there was this mudslide at one of Flash’s parties that was super good...” Favorite food: spaghetti and meatballs.  Lots of meatballs.  Favorite cookie: chocolate chocolate chip with chunks.  Favorite animal(s): NOT spiders.  And NOT birds given how many rooftops he’s traversed layered in pigeon ick.  He’d probably say cats.  Favorite music: The B side of techno rock - especially Depeche Mode.

Peter Quill: Ethnicity:  Half mixed American and half celestial.  Faith: His Dad was a god and he killed him so he figures he probably isn’t on the best terms with the Big G God should He... or She... or Them... be out there.  Look he just wants to do his thing and cause a little trouble without mixing it up with any other celestial types but if they DO wanna throw down he’d like to point out that he’s 1 for 1 and willing to rumble.  Smoker: He would not say no to a really good cigar and may have possibly lifted a case from Yondu’s stash when he struck out on his own.  Alcohol:  Anywhere any time and in large quantities.  Favorite food:  A thick steakhouse bacon burger with potato chips right on the patty.  Extra cheese please!  Favorite cookie: He’s a simple guy with simple tastes.  classic chocolate chip no frills no fuss and fresh from the oven.  Favorite animal(s):  He likes dogs - who doesn’t like dogs?  But he really likes cows.  Just maybe don’t mention the burger thing.  Favorite music:    

Thor: He’s a Norse god of legend so I figure we can forego the ethnicity/faith questions lol.  Smoker: He has never understood this human custom nor has he felt any inclination to try it himself  Alcohol: Beer, mead, and anything capable of knocking him on his ass.  Favorite food:  chili with ghost peppers.  Though nowhere near as hot as the fire chilies of Muspelheim (which would be instantly fatal for humans so its just as well).  Favorite cookie: strawberry cheesecake with macadamia nuts.  Favorite animal(s):  It’s a tossup between bilgesnipe and whales.  Favorite music:  The mighty horns of battle!  He also enjoys old school country, much to Tony’s disgust.  The story aspect of that music is what appeals to him.

Bruce Banner: Ethnicity: Italian-American  Faith: Catholic in his childhood; currently Atheist or maybe agnostic.  Smoker: He tends to avoid any substances for, you know, obvious reasons.  Alcohol: See previous.  Favorite food:  Waffles with sliced mango.  Favorite cookie: Oatmeal.  Favorite animal(s):  Mantis shrimp - “did you know they can generate so much power in their attacks that they can briefly super-heat the water up to 7,700 °C??”  Favorite music:  Indian- especially Krishna Bhajan.    

Clint Barton: Ethnicity:  Mixed European-American and Panamanian.  Faith:  His parents were both Protestant but he’s never latched on to any specific faith and hasn’t really devoted a lot of thought on the matter.  He has a sorta loose idea of “maybe something out there” but that’s all the further he’s gotten on the subject.  What he tells anyone who asks it’s that his religion is coffee.  Smoker: Briefly when he was a teen.  Alcohol:  Beer - he’s a fan of dark lager.  Favorite food:  Coney Island dogs, Pizza, and pickle flavored potato chips.  Favorite cookie:   Monster cookies with the mini M&Ms.  Favorite animal(s): Dogs  Favorite music:  80s rock and some country.

Natasha Romanoff: Ethnicity:  Russian.  Faith:  She was not given much choice when younger and was raised as “state atheist” (per comics).  In the years since escaping that life, however, she has tried to discover more about herself.  Her parents were both Russian Jewish and there has been a pull to discover more about that faith - especially since meeting Wanda - who is Jewish.  Smoker:  No.  Alcohol: Some vodka - that’s a given.  But she actually prefers wine; and honestly her favorites are wine spritzers.  Favorite food:   Favorite cookie: Krumkake filled with creme and berries.  Favorite animal(s): Favorite music:  Overall she listens to a pile of little-known bands and whomever is playing at whatever bar in whatever city she happens to be in.  She also is a huge fan of old school Spice Girls.

[mrsrcbinscn]

Franny Robinson HC Infodump #4: Country and Bluegrass Music

hi, I’ll finally do a writeup on her work in jazz next but I’m in a country mood and was INSPIRED so oops country first

Word count: 2486

Dara & Danny

  In 1991, Daniel Maitland (fc: Martin Sensmeier), an Indigenous Alaskan kid, moved from Alaska to Payne Lake, Georgia, with his parents and older and younger sisters after his father got a job opportunity in Atlanta, a reasonable commute away. Daniel spent two years being musical rivals with Franny Framagucci before he proposed they just combine their talents and perform together at talent shows and the county fair. The two were inseparable, musically, until Franny went to college at NYU and Daniel went to East Tennessee State.

  They remained friends throughout college and reunited during winter and summer breaks to play together locally. Daniel was in Franny’s wedding party. He’s Wilbur’s godfather and is ‘Uncle Dan’, they’ve always remained close. They would write songs together usually through an internet connection except for when they could travel to write in person.

  In 2009, Daniel once again was the one who suggested they officially collaborate. That’s when the bluegrass-country-traditional southern/Appalachian folk duo was born. They have released 9 albums together since they started releasing music under Dara & Danny.

  One album, titled Molly’s Church, is almost entirely songs from the hymnal of the Church of the Nazarene in their hometown in Georgia, which was the church their friend Molly attended before her death. It was a “fuck you” response to them having received backlash from certain gatekeepers for a video of them singing Hank Williams’ I Saw The Light going viral. They were pissed two non-Christians were getting praise for performing the song. (Franny is a Buddhist and Daniel is an Indigenous Alaskan with traditional spiritual beliefs).

  To the backlash, Franny said, and announced the dropping of this album on an Instagram Live Q & A, “It’s funny. Like. Christmas is such a part of mainstream American culture. I celebrate Christmas, my non-religious Maori husband celebrates Christmas, are y’all mad about that too? Christianity is so deeply woven into American culture and the history of American music, like I just -- its wild y’all are so mad. And because I like to poke an angry bear, our new album, Molly’s Church [...] and what really gets me is like - just because I ain’t Christian, don’t mean I’m ignorant about it either. I’m from the Bible Belt, y’all. I did go to church with my little friends some Sunday mornin’s as a child if I had a sleepover at their house. [...] One of my best friends, the lovely, talented, beautiful, late Molly Vaughn, who we named the album after, was a devout Christian. When I would cry, she’d always sing It Is Well With My Soul to me and play with my hair. You can’t tell me that because I’m not a Christian, that song ain’t special to me. I think of that song whenever I’m going through a hard time and my heart is at peace because at its core it's a song about looking at your situation and making peace with it, and finding the strength to move on to hopefully better days. At her husband’s request, I sang Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing at her funeral, okay? Like- [pause for annoyed exhaling] to suggest we have nothing but respect for these beautiful hymns is insulting. [...] Insulting not just to us, but to the hymns. They’re so beautiful that they have made an emotional impact on two non-Christian musicians. I think that’s wonderful and speaks to how lucky we are to live in a time where all sorts of sorts are able to learn from and share with each other. But that’s just us, I guess.

  Every song on Molly’s Church has a special memory attached to it for either myself or Daniel, or in the case of Be Thou My Vision, it was Molly’s favorite hymn ever. We couldn’t name an album of hymns after her and not put that on it.”

  The track list is as follows: [Spotify playlist]

  I couldn’t find a folksy or bluegrassy version of Be Thou My Vision, which. I’m ANGRY about. Because when I was a practicing Nazarene Christian it was my favorite hymn, and I still find it beautiful but.

  Come Thou Fount Of Every Blessing

How Great Thou Art

Dwelling In Beulah Land

Be Thou My Vision

It Is Well With My Soul

I Saw The Light

Victory In Jesus

Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel 

Mine Eyes Have Seen The Glory

Holy, Holy, Holy

  Another album, titled Something’s Rotten in The Sticks is purposely very dark. It’s largely covers of murder ballads and sad traditional folk songs from the American South and Appalachian Mountains, featuring original songs and covers of songs that explore the darker sides of more modern rural life like the opioid crisis, unemployment, poor education, poverty with no social safety nets, and more. 

  Franny openly admits that she wrote the original songs from a place of immense privilege. In an Instagram Live Q&A about the album she said, “These aren’t my exact lived experiences. But I feel like I have some right to talk about these stories because these are the things happening to my people, the good people of the town that took my mother in when she was a twenty-something year old refugee, and then helped raise me. I buried my first friend thanks to the Sacklers (the family whose pharma company produces oxycontin, who purposely spread misinformation about how its a safe drug and who pret-ty much engineered the opioid epidemic) in 1998. I just last month buried one of my best friends since elementary school after three narcan shots couldn’t save them. 

  Rural Southern folks and the problems they face are dear to my heart. [...] I know how lucky I am to have grown up in the rural south and ended up where I am today, in the privileged position I am in. [...] And I see the way people in the cities talk to and about these people and it’s fucking gross. You know nothing about these people and what their lives are like, and what they care about and worry about. I have always been proud to be Southern, just as I’m proud to be Cambodian. [...] Rural poor folks are the kindest, most loving, most resilient people, and I am not ashamed that I came from that. 

  This album… so our last album, Prodigal Children of Clayton County, Georgia, was a love letter to and about our hometown and the people of the rural south. This album is more of a ‘we see you.’ And it's also, I hope, an accessible way to start explaining the problems our people face to city elites that look down their noses at them. Like, I hope people can say in response to “I just don’t understand these people”, “hey, go listen to I Grabbed A Banjo (And You, The Pills), then talk to me.”

  Daniel said in that same Q & A, “I was born in Alaska, I met Franny when I moved to her hometown in Georgia, in middle school, and we began playing music together in high school. I live in the Appalachian Mountains now, I studied Bluegrass and Old Time music at East Tennessee State University, in Johnson City. Now, I’m -- I’ve been lucky enough to make a living out of the music I love, but you know- like I said. I live in the Appalachian mountains, in Kentucky, in a rural area. I never left the rural south, since I came here, this has been my home. We’re privileged now, but had a few stars aligned differently, our high school friends’ lives would have been ours. We love the people of this region. Like Franny said, we both have two groups of people we are passionate about amplifying and equipped to amplify. Mine are our struggling rural folks, and Indigenous voices, and Franny don’t ever shut up about Cambodian or the rural south.”

  “I really fucking don’t.” Franny quipped.

The track list is as follows: [Spotify link, the first 8 tracks are the songs they covered on the album and the rest are songs that fit the vibe of the original songs to give y’all a picture]

  Knoxville Girl

I Grabbed A Banjo (And You, The Pills), an original song about the opioid epidemic that’s killed many of Franny and Daniel’s high school friends 

Troubles, traditional folk song as popularized by Kilby Snow and Anna & Elizabeth

Red Dirt Girl (Emmylou Harris cover)

But I Ain't A Milton Boy/Girl , an original song about how in Milton (a bougie rich people part of Georgia) kids go to college and become doctors and lawyers while people from the song narrators’ town don’t bother learning to solve for X because all that waits for them is army recruiters, the power company, or the unemployment line [the male narrator, Daniel], and the female narrator [Franny] sings about how she was a smart girl who held her first baby when she was a baby herself, married two bad men she thought were good, and now she sells her ADHD pills to college kids to buy groceries, and how their high school aspirations crumbled easily, and the chorus is literally just narrators fantasizing about a decent standard of living and having decent opportunities and then going, “But I ain’t a Milton boy/girl, and that’s why I’m cryin’ today”

Deportee (Woody Guthrie song as covered by Dolly Parton)

Savannah, a song Franny wrote about the time her brother drove her down to Savannah when she got pregnant in high school so she could have an abortion three hours from home, where nobody local to them would be out front shouting at people needing abortions

Poor Folks Town (Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton cover, instrumentation is modified to be a little melancholy to fit the rest of the album, but it is still a markedly happier song than the rest of the album except for Rich Kid Clothes)

Don’t Put Whiskey In My Water, an original song about a man nine years sober almost falling off the wagon when he’s laid off ahead of his teenage daughter’s high school graduation, including the line ‘don’t worry about Ole Miss, we’ll figure it out, somehow we always do, smart little girl like you can’t die in this town’

Don’t Take Your Guns To Town (Johnny Cash cover)

Pretty Polly

Down In The Willow Garden

Rich Kid Clothes, original song about a brother and sister super jazzed about their “new” clothes, hand-me-downs from the rich kids of the house their mama cleans, happiest song on the album

Health Insurance, an original song from the perspective of three different people, on in each verse, either dying or seriously suffering from solvable medical issues but because healthcare in America is trash they either can’t get help, or are going bankrupt trying to, that’s incredibly sarcastic including lyrics like ‘and I know I deserve to die for not having had a rich great-grandaddy, and who wants to see their daughter graduate college anyway’ , one of those sad songs with joyful instrumentation

  Another album! Is titled The Rise And Fall of Jenny and Jamie, and is a concept album meant to be listened from start to finish that tells the story of a couple that falls in love, gets married, has a very dysfunctional marriage, and ultimately divorces. Think the energy of Alpha Desperation March by The Mountain Goats, and the entire Tallahasee album but especially No Children. The Dara & Danny album is a little less dark because the last few songs, about divorce, are like...happy. 

  Daniel, who had been divorced twice by the time they wrote the songs for that album, said “There is nothing sad about ending a marriage you’re miserable in or don’t want anymore. The two songs about the divorce, they’re happy because our characters are happy to be done with each other. It isn’t Tammy Wynette spelling D-I-V-O-R-C-E and lamenting the end of her marriage, instead, Jenny and Jamie realize their marriage is toxic not just for the other person, but for themself, and they’re relieved to not be married anymore.

  Notable Dara & Danny performances and accomplishments:

They cover Whiskey Lullaby at many shows they do. A video from a 2016 show went semi-viral, and fans of the duo will show it as an example of “Peak Dara & Danny”

Nominated for the 2019 Grammy Award for Best American Roots Song, as the duo Dara & Danny, but ultimately Brandi Carlile won for ‘The Joke’

Franny was absolutely thrilled for her. She STANS Brandi Carlile and has written songs with her before. 

In the post-Grammys interview, the interview asked Franny if she was disappointed and she was like “I would pay Brandi Carlile to punch me in the face, so no.”

The clip of Franny saying that went viral and embarrassed poor Wilbur

“To be honest, when I saw The Joke was nominated, I didn’t even bother writing a speech. Daniel and I were both just thrilled to be considered to be like, at her level.”

Nominated for the 2019 Grammy Award for Best American Roots Performance, as Dara & Danny, and again lost to “The Joke”, but again, did not care at all

Won the 2019 Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album as Dara & Danny, their fifth nomination in the category and second win

Nominated as Dara & Danny in the category Vocal Duo of The Year at the 2019 CMA awards.

Nominated for IBMA Album of the Year in 2014, 2015, 2017, and 2018

Won the 2019 IBMA for Album of the Year 

Won the 2019 IBMA for Song of the Year 

Franny is the first person of Cambodian descent to win a Grammy, an ASCAP award, an IBMA, or be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame

Daniel is the first Alaskan Native to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame

Solo work

  Franny’s used bluegrass-folk style music to write songs about the experiences of her mother and other relatives under the Khmer Rouge and in the civil conflict that preceded it. It leans a little away from #pure bluegrass but it includes mandolin, banjo, and even some traditional Cambodian instruments. It’s this blend of bluegrass instrumentation and traditional Cambodian instruments that on paper sounds like “Franny you’re crazy” but in practice its fuckin’ lit, y’all.

  It’s as genius as The Hu, that Mongolian band that was like “what is we play metal music with guitars and a drum set and TRADITIONAL MONGOLIAN INSTRUMENTS?” Lit.

  She did an entire album, Franny Sor Robinson Covers Kitty Wells [playlist] and that album gained Franny a ton of street cred in the country/bluegrass industry. She got a lot of respect for her Kitty Wells covers.

  She’s released three solo albums of folksy-bluegrass-country style music that is original music she wrote the lyrics and music for.

  Three solo albums, the Kitty Wells cover album, and nine Dara & Danny albums makes twelve country-bluegrass albums total Franny’s released, not counting featured artist appearances on other albums.

  Notable Franny Sor Robinson awards, performances, and accomplishments in the country music sphere:

  Franny sang ‘Born To Fly’ with Sara Evans once

Franny loves that song, it came out in 2000, when she was in college at NYU, and it was a staple song of hers to perform at any gigs she did in college

The day the United States legalized same-sex marriage, Franny was a supporting solo act for a friend of hers and she was like “I don’t know a better way to celebrate than by taking one of my favorite country love songs and making it better. And by that I mean gay.” By this point she’d been out as bisexual for years. So she sang Brad Paisley’s She’s Everything 

Franny’s always kept the pronouns the same in songs she covers, so if it was a man’s song about a woman she’s always kept it about a “she.” Her cover of She Thinks I Still Care by George Jones was an instant hit when it was released on one of her solo albums

At an event honoring Randy Travis, Franny performed his hit Deeper Than The Holler for him

She also got to sing I Told You So with him once at another occasion and she damn near died

At the final show of George Strait’s final tour, Franny sang Carried Away with him and almost cried he is one of her!!! Idols!!! and during his encore, she joined him and all of the other special guests of the final concert to sing All My Exes Live In Texas

She’s been awarded and recognized by various organizations for the furthering of Asian-Americans in the arts in general, in music, and empowerment for both her work in jazz and country umbrella music

She’s performed at and been nominated for CMA awrds, ACM awards, and Americana Music Honors & Awards

She’s won Americana Music Awards

When challenged to prove she could yodel she fuckin got right up and sang Hank Williams’ Long Gone Lonesome Blues and nailed all the very technical yodeling, and its a thing she’s like, Known for doing, so she will perform it live pretty often

[girlbookwrm]

It’s here! At last!  THE MIGHTY PRE ENDGAME REWATCH CONTINUES, WITH:

AKA IS IT MY BIRTHDAY? YES. YES IT IS.

(or it was at any rate, it took me Some Time to get this all typed up because holy fuck it’s long. looks like i’ve got Some Feelings about The Winter Soldier. WHO KNEW)

ANYWAY, if you’re wondering what the hell this is all about i’ve been rewatching all the marvel movies (and commentating on them) in preparation for Avengers: Endgame and NOW IT IS TIME FOR MY FAVORITE ONE

I got @goteamwin​ and @pegasuschick​ here IT’S A PARTY! WE GOT COOL RANCH DORITOS AND BRAINWASHED SUPERSOLDIERS LET’S DO THIS.

Day 912: i still miss the old marvel logo

LISTEN THIS IS THE BEST OPENING SCENE IN MARVEL HISTORY FIGHT ME.

“~on your left ;)~” honestly? iconic.

God Bless Steven Grant Rogers and his Smedium Shirts.

Steve, known bisexual disaster, is hitting on Sam here. this isn’t even in question, right? Sam’s quip about “making me look good to the girl at the front desk” was a soft rejection and Steve takes it like a champ.

Important to note: the black widow uses emojis in her text messages. 

Also important to note: Sam Wilson hits on the Black Widow because he flies into combat at 100 miles per hour wearing a tee-shirt and dad jeans he fears nothing not even death itself

also also important to note that The Roommate went to see this movie by herself, low key cosplaying as Fem!Cap. she did this in part because I had gone to see it first (i was in the UK at the time, and it came out over there before it came out in the US. ~IRONY~) and as soon as I got back from seeing it (i had low-key cosplayed as fem!Hawkeye. it’s a long story) I emailed her and was like O HAI U SEEN DIS? U WILL LIKE IT. ~and she dii-iiiiiid.~

every time i see this scene now, i hear that bit from the gag real.

cevans: Kill the engines. wait for instructions. *whining and stamping his foot* cuz i’m in chaaaaaaaarge.

Being asked about your dating life and then immediately jumping out of an airplane is a Big Mood

I would like us all to appreciate that steve put a nice matte stealth finish on his patriotic dinner plate, special for this mission. 

Also, we’re all agreed that Steve kills at pool, yeah? Give me Steve being a pool shark at the local watering hole plz n thank.

Steve: *punches a guy through the shield*

The Roommate: but why does he punch that guy through the shield?

Me, having a Terrible Thought: Maybe one time he accidentally punched through a guy’s face and ever since then he uses the shield as, like, a buffer when he wants to take people alive.

The Gal Pal: WOW. YOU WENT THERE.

parkour!

~Hey Sailor ;)~

that one guy working for Batroc really needs to lay off the steroids, or whatever is giving him this Unnecessary Rage. You know the guy I mean.

love how batroc is jchilling and then WHAM! IT IS I! AMERICA!

ON! VA! VOIR!

did he learn this from Dernier? he learned this from Dernier.

The Gal Pal: that is a ridiculously huge flash drive

Me, Just Now: overcompensate much?

Nat’s little eyeroll after Steve says “you’re damn right”

The Roommate: Nat is So Tired of Steve’s Drama™. And now she’s going to have to deal with his cold shoulder the whole flight back, and she’s going to have no one to talk to but Rumlow and uggghhhhhh

Steve comes into Fury's office and Damn. Dat Ass.

The Roommate: They know what they're doing here.

eyyyyyy tony’s in this movie (kinda)

I love that Steve just like, drives around with the shield on his back. 

Enter The Smithsonian.

The Roommate: I! LOVE! THIS! SO! MUUUUUUCH!!!

Me: Gee sure would be nice to be able to go to a smithsonian right now.

*american sobbing intensifies*

The Roommate: what is the timeline here? does he come straight back from the mission into yelling at fury? and then straight here?? Is Steve just like “oop time to go look at my old stuff and Emote”? Is this his routine??

buckyyyyyyyyyyy

listen yall know the extent of my BuckRogers feels but every time they pull out that compass i develop a terrible case of The Steggies.

“It’s just not the same” ha ha kill me.

~So Dramatic ;)~

“Steve?” HA HA HA KILL ME

Fury’s Computer:

At This Juncture The Commentators Would Like It Noted That It Has Been 23 Solid Minutes of Stuff We 1000% L O V E and everyone’s favorite brainwashee has not even appeared yet.

but he’s coming

s o o n

Also, we all hate Alexander Pierce but he is a great villain and also Robert Redford might be an older fella but he can definitely still get it heyooo

Steve is so awkward here. But like, imagine him actually going to one of these VA things, like everyone’s all “ied this, helicopter that” and steve’s just like “so one time in ‘44 i punched my way into a panzer”

The Roommate, Who Is Sometimes More Evil Than Me: ~NOW IS AN EXCELLENT TIME TO REMEMBER THAT RILEY WASN’T IN A PLAAAAAANE~

at this moment, the DC driving types lost their goddamn minds.

“WHAT IS THIS? WHERE IS THIS SUPPOSED TO BE? WHERE, IN WASHINGTION, THE DISTRICT OF GODDAMN COLUMBIA, IS THERE THIS LITTLE TRAFFIC, HUH??”

“You wanna see my lease?” i c o n i c. 

Did you know that SLJ was an actual Black Panther? I did not know this, but as soon as the Gal Pal told me, i was like “oh yeah that checks out.”

meanwhile, the couch based road rage continued all around me.

“This part of DC ~DOES NOT EXIIIIIIIIIIIIST~”

“Traffic alert? on the Roosevelt Bridge? Yeah in other news WATER IS WET.”

“wait is he getting on 66? ARE YOU GETTING ON 66?? WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU???”

“Have you ever even been on 495?????”

HE’S HERE!!!

just like, damn gurl, u make that highway ur catwalk. 

Me: What the hell kind of laser pointer do you have there, Nick?

The Gal Pal & The Roommate: It’s A Lightsaber.

The Roommate: So is this just like? An Average Day In The Life Of Captain Rogers? Get up, go for a run, annoy a veteran, fly to the other side of the world, kick ass, fly home, talk back to a superior officer, drop my priceless shield off at home, go emote at a smithsonian exhibit, have my heart ripped out by my nonagenarian ex, go flirt with annoy a veteran (part two, now with added Feelings™) go home, get rejected by my neighbor, CHASE A FUGITIVE.

JUST ANOTHER DAY! IN THE LIFE OF STEVEN GRANT ROGERS!!

honestly his neighbors must hate him

that’s why Sharon’s his neighbor, everyone else LEFT.

The Biggest Flash Drive

Let’s Not Forget, that because she is undercover as a nurse, Sharon probably just kicked that door down with crocs.

YOU’RE WELCOME

let’s appreciate that the Soldier’s theme music is just SCREAMING and also you should know that every time it comes on, the Gal Pal and I start SCREAMING. not, like, in an “oh we’re excited” way, just, like, the way you sing along to the theme song of your favorite TV show, you know?

PARKOUR!

The Roommate: good job with your eyeliner there, buddy. You Did Your Best.

The Gal Pal: That Is Dupont Circle and Steve is Extremely Gay. 

(yes, we know he’s bi.)

Natasha really should know better than to believe that Nick is dead.

THAT IS THE WORST PLACE TO HIDE THE FLASH DRIVE

The Gal Pal: genuinely, it’s such a bad hiding place it stresses me out.

The Roommate: Yeah, what was he thinking? I mean, was his logic just that no one likes that gross bubblegum?

Me: UM WHAT?

The Gal Pal: EXCUSE YOU THAT IS BUBBLE YUM.

The Roommate: ... yeah but it’s the gross bubblegum flavor?

At this point we lost a few minutes to divide into Pro and Anti Bubblegum Camps and then had to run the movie back because we missed:

~Neighbor ;)~

i c o n i c

The Roommate: Sir. Stop Having That Face. That is Illegal.

(she is having A Difficulty. The Difficulty is cevans’ jawline)

But seriously: What actually happens in this scene? We are all Steve and we all want to punch our way out of this confusing conversation.

God that face/those tits/that ass tho

Young Man. You Stop That.

THE ELEVATOR SCENE. I mean how many movies can say that some of their best scenes happen in an elevator? That alone is a real accomplishment.

They’re all ~soooo casual~ and then there’s rollins, who isn’t even trying. “records.” These WWE wrestlers are not going to records, come on.

at this point we stopped commentating except in inarticulate whoops of delight and shrieks of glee. except for one brief aside

Me: This scene is so sexy, but like, not in a sexy way? Like, the fighting style isn’t that “oooo I’m fighting in a sexy way” it’s just, it’s so...!

The Roommate: Primal?

and I regret to inform you all that yes, she is 100% Correct, it is indeed sexy in a primal way.

“whoa big guy”

i just.

that’s all i got on that

tiny turtle of freedom

we had the subtitles on, and it just says “woman screams” Screams in what? JOY? 

It’s raining men! Hallelujah!

“Stand down, Captain Rogers! Stand! Down!

Captain Rogers: *accelerates*

They’re being made to watch social media so what I want to know is which poor SHIELD guy got stuck monitoring tumblr?

“oh we’re getting all kinds of hits but uhhhhhhhhh they’re not......... pertinent..............”

why doesn’t The Biggest Flash Drive have a cap? it is now full of crumbs. it’s full of crumbs, guys. if it’s going to be that big it should at least be one of those cool slider ones.

“Are you calling for my resignation? do you know who i am? Bitch I Am Robert Redford.”

Apple Store Aaron. “hey guys why’s your flash drive so big??”

“yeeeah. we’re getting married.”

Honeymoon destinations -- where are you going?

Steve: (without thinking, reads the first thing he sees) New Jersey

Steve: *dies a little inside*

Steve: *forgive me bucky for i have sinned*

I love that they’re coming out and Steve is 100% tactical brain and then Nat’s just like “put your arm around me and laugh” and when it works Steve just looks back over his shoulder like:

oh my god it worked???

sPyING is WitCHCraFT?????

“was that your first kiss since 1945?”

“That was not my first kiss since 1945,” said Steven Grant Rogers, Who Is Definitely Lying, and Furthermore, Is Fooling Exactly No One.

Sidenote: Ship and let ship, obviously and always, but I love Steve and Nat as BROS too much to ever see them romantically, The Bromance Is Strong With Them.

it’s been said before, but it’s worth saying again

Steve: kind of hard to find someone with shared life experience.

Bucky, ten minutes later, wearing bondage gear: HELLO IT IS I

SKINNY STEVE!

of course he memorized the army regulations.

Listen. The cell phone trick Bugs Me™ and the only thing that lets me get through it is the idea that they cleverly cut around natasha standing there for 40 minutes trying out every possible permutation of those numbers, with possible duplications.

I like the idea that Computer!Zola has been building this little fanvideo since the mid-seventies and he’s just! so excited! to show it to someone!

Steve punching the screen is another Big Mood.

“even captain america and the black widow can’t survive a missile Directly To The Face” BITCH U THOUGHT

it’s nice that they give bucko a kirk light here

~u want some milk? ;)~

honestly, what the fuck even is that line.

they made Robert Redford say that line.

what does it mean

YOUNG MAN! THAT IS! ILLEGAL!

altho tbh i want a slightly grubby Steve in a tank top to give me a pep talk, like, every day. that would be fine.

The Gal Pal, A Curly Haired Individual: hhhhhhhow did Natasha straighten her hair. This makes me So Angry.

Me: I mean, I like to imagine her with Sam’s Iron and ironing board, just like *mimes frantically ironing hair with a Very Soviet Expression*

Fort Meade is the best scene that isn’t in the movie.

Aw Gary Shandling’s here. Awwwww Gary Shandling...

Sam, are you intimidating this guy or flirting with him?

To Those who remember the Potato/Gremlin Scale, I propose a third option, a kind of venn diagram situation going on, where the third option is Fey Creature. Sam is neither Potato nor gremlin, but he might be a Fey Creature.

God I love this scene.

LOOK AT SAM HERE: No armor, no flightsuit, no fucking knee pads no goddamn helmet just Casual Dad Falcon, Suns Out Guns Out.

Steve: What the fuck’s an SAT.

he’s coming.

*SCREAMING*

he’s here.

is it murder or is he modeling?? “you got this Soldier, make ‘em wait for it... Boom.”

this is the greatest fight scene of all time, honestly. This and then the fight scene in the first RDJ holmes movie are the Only fight scenes i can even remotely stand to watch. Except maybe some of the bending battles in ATLA. but this scene. this is top of the list. it’s just. *kissy chef fingers*

Soldier strolling along not firing his weapon because he has no shot and he is a Child of the Depression who don’t waste no bullets.

only loses his cool when Widow Breaks his stuff.

Sam Wilson: Brings a pocket knife to an automatic rifle fight and wins.

“go, I got this!”

aw yeah you do

THAT STRUT™

Soldier strolling along the street. so bored. could be home watching project runway.

That thing Soldier does with the arm Does Things to me for reasons that I choose not to examine too closely

ANYWAY WE DON’T HAVE TIME TO UNPACK ALL OF THAT.

“who the hell is bucky” wow there Soldier you went from Full Russian to American Accented English awfully quick I Wonder Why

Soldier’s reaction to confusion is to Immediately Shoot and honestly that’s a Big Mood.

We are all agreed that the only reason SHIELD succeeds in taking Steve in is because

look at that face

steve’s not here right now, please leave a message.

More DC Area Rage: “WHERE IS THIS DAM? WHERE??”

natasha y r u surprised that Fury is alive?

oh noooooooooooo it’s time for this scene

OHHHHH NOOOOOOOOOOO

Robert Redford to James Buchanan Barnes: You are a literal treasure.

OH NO OH NO OH NO

The Roommate: yeahhhhh this was maybe an. inappropriate scene for me to have to see in a theater. alone.

I love that while they’re making this ridiculous plan (yeah it’s ridiculous, i don’t care) Fury has to check in with Sam (WHO HE HAS LITERALLY NEVER MET BEFORE) presumably to just touch base and be like “Is this White Nonsense™?”

spoiler alert it is not White Nonsense™, but it definitely is Extra™

DAT JAWLINE THO. of course he’s giving the orders, LOOK AT THAT JAWLINE

LIL STEEB!

I’m with you to the end of the line.

what kind of marriage vow nonsense is that

jesus.

anyway, Sam comes in like: IT IS I! YOUR BEST FRIEND! YOUR BEST FRIEND IS ME NOW!

poooterrrr!!

This is the second secure government facility that they have broken into. Possibly the third, depending whether you count the bunker.

Dem Asses. Seriously. Everyone in this shot has an enviable ass. *distinguished golf clapping* bravo

“~Excuse us~” i c o n i c

God, Steve gives this speech and then we get sam’s reaction and you can physically see him having a sexual identity crisis and honestly BIG MOOD THERE, SAM

I have questions about the effect of this on the potomac river which has already had a hard enough time and does not deserve this Supervillain Nonsense.

you are ON FOOT steven. it is a FLYING AIRCRAFT CARRIER and you are ON! FOOT!

i’m so mad that it works too

mad, but like, also turned on. duh.

what’s cap’s true superpower? DRAMA

The saddest thing in this movie is that Jenny Agutter is Scarlet Johansson

don’t get me wrong, i like scarjo but this movie would’ve been even better if it wasn’t the black widow and was just a badass old british lady.

The Roommate: Sam’s superpower is that he’s the sane one.

Me: He flies into combat at 100 miles per hour with a jet pack and a tee shirt he is not the sane one.

The Roommate: Sam’s superpower is that he’s the emotionally balanced one?

Me: given the aforementioned armorless airborne combat situation that is highly fucking debatable my dude.

*SCREAMING*

HE’S HERE

let’s appreciate that Bucky is definitely flying this quinjet with a dead guy that he just murdered as his copilot.

i don’t know why that is so badass to me but it is

again, we don’t have time to unpack all of that, moving on.

Nick Fury: BITCH YOU THOUGHT

sidenote: i’m gonna really enjoy coming back to this movie after Captain Marvel. I can just feel it.

Maria is so casual about this. And that is an extremely sexy thing. I’m not sorry.

“Hey Sam, I’m gonna need a ride.”

Sam is still learning Rogersese and does not know that this means “I ALREADY DID THE STUPID THING PLEASE COME GET ME.”

Bucky ripping the wings off a beautiful butterfly

because Sam IS a beautiful butterfly.

except now his knees and legs and ankles are all broken because That’s How Bones Work.

he’s here

lol of course he’s got a knife.

I just love the sounds the arm makes.

butwedon’thavetimetounpackallofthat

the slide Bucky does here, this isn’t combat this is voguing.

Steve fights like the world is his barroom, bucky fights like the world is his catwalk.

“DON’T YOU TALK TO MY DAUGHTER LIKE THAT,” Nicholas J Fury

what’s the found family version of a BroTP? I have that for Dad!Nick and Adopted!Soviet!Assassin!Daughter!Natasha.

found familotp? FFOTP? no, that sounds like some kind of tactical asset. “LAUNCH THE FFOTP”

anyway, get on this tumblr, i want at least 10 options on my desk by monday.

This Extra. He could honestly make a living playing Confederates and Klansmen, you know which extra I mean.

“wHere ahre the tahrgets?”

the targets... is we.

A DC Local Aside: Everyone on 495 is So Tired of this nonsense. I sincerely hope they all remembered to pee before they left work. I hope they have snacks and water in their cars. because they now live on 495.

this shitshow is gonna fuck up our already extremely fucked up traffic patterns for yeeeeaaaaarrrrrssssss

Sam’s a born quipper, so i really like it when he sees the helicarrier coming down and just fucking bolts. NO TIME FOR SASS WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE

“Got a location on Rogers?”

Don’t know where he is, but he’s doing something stupid, i Guarantee It.

“you know me.”

“nNOo I dOn’T!”

Oh Steve. You put that shield down So Often. And you keep having to fucking pick it up a-fucking-gain.

And This Was The Moment When We All Realized That We Were In Trouble.

Big Mood, Bucky. Big Mood.

Sam wasn’t on the approved visitor’s list or anything, he just winked at one (1) nurse and they let him in.

i know just what to say it’ll annoy him so fucking much. “on your left.”

“Why haven’t we heard from Captain Rogers?”

Because he is taking a damn nap.

no but seriously, because if we put him in front of a camera right now, you will get the Talking To of the Century.

*eight hours later, congress is crying, hydra has surrendered, fox news is shutting down, steve rogers is still going strong* “AND DON’T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON STUDENT DEBT!”

~cool guys don’t look at congressional meltdowns. They drop the mic and they walk away~

IT WAS CLEVELAND, IN CASE YOU WERE WONDERING.

THEY FILMED IN CLEVELAND.

(they did film some in DC, obviously, but also cleveland.

*emoting at exhibits intensifies*

*SCREAMING INTENSIFIES*

in sum i have been typing for Too Long and I’m going to hit post so i can Go To Bed but there may need to be Corrections in the morning who tf knows

[thecatsaesthetics]

I know Taylor Swift lied about Kanye, but at the same time, he did make a nude wax model of her and use it in a music video. Which is so disgusting and misogynistic. So I do kinda take her side. I'd rather have a liar than someone who is gross sexually

Listen I never said Kanye West was perfect, I have huge issues with the sexism and the entire Kardashian family, to be honest. And the fact that he “endorsed” Trump, although he did check into a mental health clinic a few days after that so who the hell knows if that behavior wasn’t influenced by his mental illness. That being said Taylor Swift didn’t just lie. Putting it down to Taylor lying is a huge understatement of what she did.

Let’s look at what Taylor did, shall we? 

So Kanye West writes a song in which he mentions Taylor and making her famous. Now what does Kanye West do, he calls Taylor up told her about this song, she told him he was cool with it and at an award show, she would surprise everyone by saying she was in on it. Instead what she did was paint Kanye as this crazy, obsessed, evil black man. She denied ever getting a phone call from him. 

After Taylor got exposed by Kim Kardashian for being a lying snake, does Taylor apologize? Does she ever act regretful? No, what she does is release a bullshit statement about not wanting to be  “a part of this narrative” and how she didn’t know about the bitch part which makes her entire actions towards him okay. 

Now if Taylor didn’t know about the bitch line and was upset about that, fine she could have been, however, that’s not what Taylor went after Kanye West for. She painted the entire narrative as her being just attacked out of the blue by him. Not knowing at all anything that was going on. 

Fast forward to now, she has now had a song, all about Kanye entitled “Look what you made me do” a line many have pointed out is a word abuser’s use at their victims. The entire song gaslights Kanye West and again makes it appear as though she was his victim. Instead of owning up to her shit she is trying to yet again paint Kanye West as the evil black man coming after her. 

She is not only copying Kanye’s merchandise from his Life of Pablo album, but she also is copying Beyonce’s Lemonade, particular from the song Formation, which is a song about a black woman’s struggle in America. On top of that, she is releasing her album on the day Kanye West’s mother died. And I call bullshit that she didn’t know. If anyone follows any of this shit closely you know that Kanye’s mother’s death deeply impacted him, it’s speculated that it was part of the reason his mental illness was triggered. Taylor Swift knows this as it was talked about during the VMAs stuff, and she is obsessed with “getting” Kanye West back for interrupting her VMA’s speech, which yes was stupid of him, but Kanye had a point when he did that. Kanye was attempting to stand up for black women when he did that, he did it in an incredibly stupid way but his heart was in the right place. Taylor has never got over that moment and has set out to make Kanye West forever look like the black man who is bullying her. 

So no Taylor isn’t better than Kanye, Kanye may not be the best person on the planet, but you don’t need to be perfect in order to be a victim. And that’s what Kanye is right now, he is a victim of a white woman attempting to paint herself as this innocent, while he is an evil black man attacking her. 

Now let’s get into some history here which is deeply upset and most white people, especially white women, want to ignore. Historically white women have lied repeatedly about black men attacking them, usually sexually, and this has led to the violent, brutal, deaths of hundreds of black men. One of the most famous cases was of Emmett Till, who in the 1950s (a time period that people are still alive from) was lynched by a group of angry white men after a white woman lied (she’s admitted it now) about him whistling at her. 

These are the facts of this country, white women repeatedly lying about black men leading to them being murdered. So no Taylor Swift isn’t just lying about some random music bullshit, she is lying in a racially charged way. She is using systematic racism and white supremacy ideas to help her win this battle against Kanye. 

And as I’ve stated many times that yes Kanye has his issues, but Kanye can still be affected by racism, the same way Taylor can be subjected to sexism. Those two things shouldn’t be conflated. Two wrongs don’t ever make a right, Taylor coming for Kanye in a racially charged way shouldn’t sit well with anyone. Especially in our current political climate where we have the KKK/Neo-Nazis marching through the streets, killing people, where we have black men and women being killed disproportionately by police officers, for usually non-violent crimes. 

Taylor has a lot to answer for race-wise, her best friend is engaged to Jared Kushner’s brother. Breitbart News, home of the Alt Right Neo Nazi movement is praising her new song and using her lyrics over Pro-Nazi articles. She will not denounce Donald Trump, neither before or after the election. Isn’t it funny that “Feminist” Taylor Swift won’t denounce our “Grab them by the Pussy” President? Taylor uses feminism when it pleases her agenda but won’t stand for it when it would affect her fan base and ticket sales. 

And I call bullshit on anyone saying she doesn’t have to state political opinions. We don’t live in that world, anyone. That’s over. We are living in an era where our own President won’t condemn Neo Nazis after they murdered someone in the streets. We are in a critical and crucial time in American history, anyone who doesn’t see that is fooling themselves. If you’re a big name celebrity like Taylor, who has been political in the past, and your staying silent, that’s all we need to hear. Taylor’s silence on these matters speaks for her.

Taylor shouldn’t be given a free pass by anyone for using systematic racism, just because the man she’s using against isn’t perfect himself. That isn’t how victimhood works. We are under this false notion that in order to be a victim you have to be perfect. The same way Taylor Swift was a victim of sexual assault when a man groped her, Kanye West is a victim of racism by Taylor Swift. Her attempt to rewrite the narrative to make herself seem like a victim isn’t okay at all. Nobody should be supporting her in this at all. She is in the wrong here. 

[anythingstephenking]

Time Traveling Swing Dancers/Teachers/Assassins

Welp, I did it y’all. I made it full circle to the book that started it all, 11/22/63. I read this brick of a book back in 2016, which lead me to The Stand, which led me to a journey towards 73 novels. Bless your heart, 11/22/63.

I just love this book. My first read through back in the day took me only a couple days; my second trip back in time took me almost a week, still a feat for the 800+ pages of book. Let’s go.

Another tale, like Under The Dome, that ruminated in King’s mind since the 70’s but came to fruition in the 21st century. Although the idea kicked around in King’s head for decades, he was daunted by the research that would be required to tell the story properly, so I think he waited until he was swimming in that sweet sweet money to hire a research team. Per usual, I am speculating.

But King did have a research assistant on this book, that much is true. He also consulted with the likes of Doris Kearns Goodwin, a treasure of American history, who gave King some real fun ideas about what might have happened if JFK had lived. The research was obviously thorough, and like it or not, you sure learn a lot about real-life Lee Harvey Oswald in this work of fiction. You’ll also squiggle in your seat through reminders of racism and hate that lived out loud in the 60s, different but also the same as we see today. History doesn’t change everything.

King has said that the extensive research and reading he did to prepare to write this story confirmed in his mind that Oswald acted alone. While it’s fun to imagine conspiracy theories of magic bullets and a second shooter, if King believes, I’m inclined to believe. If QAnon has taught us anything, it’s that Americans love a conspiracy theory. If Jack Ruby hadn’t shot Oswald in that parking garage, we may have learned what actually happened on November 22, 1963. If Oswald had gone to trial and had been placed under oath. If his last words weren’t about how he was a patsy. If, if if. Maybe Jake should have stopped worrying about stopping Oswald and stopped Ruby instead.

So, yeah, Jake Epping. Our hero of this tale. He’s a writer that teaches and lives in Maine. I mean, if I had a dollar for every time I started a book summary with that sentence, I’d have like $10 bucks and I probably go buy myself a fancy coffee of something.

Jake’s a teacher and loves hamburgers! Who doesn’t. He get’s them cheap at his favorite diner, from the proprietor named Al Templeton, who harbors a pretty rad secret that he’s gunna toss onto Jake. Now, why Jake? I mean, I don’t really know. Al doesn’t have any family and Jake is young and unattached? I suppose at the end of the day it doesn’t really matter, because Jake, like Frodo Baggins before him, is off on an adventure.

Because Al’s diner is actually a portal back in time. We all suspend some disbelief - it’s some version of a thinny (maybe?) that plops you from present day back to 1958. The rules are this: however long you spend in the past, you can return to the future just 2 minutes after you left. Al says there’s no impact on quick trips - Al’s been going back and forth for years buy ground beef for his cheap burgers - but when you do something that might change the future, the past will push back. We learn that Al is very, very wrong, but more on that later.

Al’s set out to save John Fitzgerald Kennedy from his head exploding, but the past gave him lung cancer and he didn’t make it to ’63. He’s back in the present and ready to tag Jake into the ring to get back to the fight for him. Jake hesitates but not NEARLY enough. Seriously, if some stranger told you had to go back in time, follow around a total assmunch for 5 years and live WITHOUT CELL PHONES OR NETFLIX?? I don’t care how delicious the root beer in 1958 is. Fuck that.

Jake goes. A couple times actually. He’s first interested in saving Harry, the high school janitor’s family from being murdered, which is a real noble cause. The past gives him diarrhea, and he wears a diaper to take out the bad man. He fails the first time (diarrhea), heads back home to “reset”, and back to 1958, succeeding the second time around. Sayonara douche.

We cross paths with Beverly and Beep Beep Ritchie in Derry, where Jake spends a fair amount of time in 1960. The town is dark, creepy and troubled, and Jake hates being there. Little interconnected web of the King-o-Verse is always there, and I love every second of it. 

Jake heads to Dallas to wait on Oswald, realizes he hates it (lol, fuck Dallas-Fort Worth), and moves out to the country instead. He gets a nice little job and meets a librarian, and our heroine, Sadie. Sadie’s got some real baggage in the form of a psychotic ex-husband (men are mostly the worst in this book) but her and Jakie fall in love anyways. She’s a well written, strong female lead and I haven’t loved a female King character this much since Lisey.

General consensus is that the mid-section of this book is that it drags a little bit, but I couldn’t disagree more. Sure, does Jake putting on a big theater production have literally anything to do with Lee Harvey Oswald? Nope. But I loved all Jake’s time in Jodie, Texas. He falls in love with Sadie, they are lovely and happy, and albeit doomed because of time travel, it’s a wonderful distraction from all the heaviness.

That said, PLEASE Stephen King, DON’T WRITE SEX SCENES LIKE THIS. ::Monkey with hands over eyes emoji:: The sex stuff is awful. There’s a lot of broad references to Jake and Sadie’s love life, like “She looked. Then she touched.” Gross.

Exhibit B:

She said, "Don't make me wait, I've had enough of that," and so I kissed the sweaty hollow of her temple and moved my hips forward ... She gasped, retreated a little, then raised her hips to meet me. "Sadie? All right?"

"Ohmygodyes," she said and I laughed. She opened her eyes and looked up at me with curiosity and hopefulness. "Is it over, or is there more?"

"A little more," I said. "I don't know how much. I haven't been with a woman in a long time."

It turned out there was quite a bit more … At the end she began to gasp. "Oh dear, oh my dear, oh my dear dear God, oh sugar!"

Guys, this passage was from Sadie’s FIRST TIME. She comes? And Jake notices there is blood on the sheets afterwards. But she orgasmed. Yeah ok, sure.

Other than poorly written Harlequin romance passages, the rest of the story clips along with lots of fun (and not so fun) bits, leading the the culmination of Jake (spoilers) killing Oswald. Sadie dies in the process and it is heart wrenching. But at least the world got saved?

WRONG. Another gripe is this; Jake goes back to 2007 and it’s a fucking post apocalyptic wasteland. Nuclear war has ruined the globe - Jake somehow crosses paths with Harry the janitor, who gives him a 5 minute synopsis of how everything went to hell. It is TOO SHORT. Why do we spend so little time here? I want more dystopian future.

We also get a brief bit about how each trip back isn’t a real “reset” - each one triggers a new “string” or parallel universe. Al’s diner isn’t the only passage, and anyone that has read the Dark Tower books gets it. Al was dumb and Jake was dumb, and at the end of the day Jake resets the past and saves this new string from nuclear fallout but you know those poor souls that were on that timeline are still fucked?

Anywho, the end is lovely and King changed what he originally planned (which was lame) at his son’s suggestion. Good job Joe Hill. Maybe I’ll read some of his books someday.

So that’s 11/22/63. This is the latest in King’s bibliography that I have already read, so I’m headed into the last 20 or so novels without any spoilers at all. I still haven’t even let myself watch The Outsider on HBO yet.

Speaking of adaptations, Lisey’s Story on Apple+ starts airing on Friday. Will be watching and hope that it is better than The Stand.

9/10

First Line: I had never been what you would call a crying man.

Last Line: Then the music takes us, the music rolls away the years, and we dance.

Adaptations:

A Hulu miniseries! They did 2 seasons of Castle Rock, so they’re a-ok in my book. Anything not produced by ABC is a-ok with me. I watched it when it aired and it was pretty decent IIRC. I’ve started rewatching, but only made it through the first episode so far. It’s a hard rewatch knowing what a creep James Franco is. And his fake goatee in the first 30 minutes is the actual worst.

The show takes its own liberties with the plot which is fine; Jake gets a partner in crime named Bill; without Bill we’d have a lot of internal Franco monologue I’d guess. The show is well cast and well acted, and has an 8.2 on IMDB, so it’s doing a lot better than most King projects.

James Franco channeling his inner Annie Wilkes.

[roidespd-blog]

Chapter Twenty-Two : LA CAGE AUX FOLLES DOGMA

Dogma : the official system of principles or doctrines of a religion or the positions of a philosopher or philosophical school.

In 1973 at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal, took place the first official performance of La Cage Aux Folles written by Jean Poiret, a vaudeville centering on confusion that ensues when the son of a night club owner and his main star (also a man) brings his female fiancée’s ultraconservative parents for dinner. An incredible success on stage, it went on the run for close to 2,000 performances. Five years later, La Cage Aux Folles was adapted into a movie directed by Edouard Molinaro. You want to talk about phenomenon ? It became the second-highest grossing movie in France that year, with 5,406,614 admissions and is till the 10th highest grossing french movie in the U.S. It was later adapted into a Broadway musical in 1983 with Harvey Fierstein at the helm (see article from June 2nd), and a remake was shot in 1996 directed by the great late Mike Nichols called The Birdcage.

I have to tell you that right now, I hate La Cage Aux Folles. It has little to no qualities in terms of production value and cinematic interest and most of all, it’s probably one of the most offensive movies in the History of cinema for LGBTQ+ people. But it was also a product of its time, enslaved by moral codes and infused by a lack of comprehension that is ours today. That’s what I want to talk about here. Representation. It ain’t pretty. Like Michel-Serrault-in-drag-not pretty.

HISTORICALLY VILE

The first representation of homosexuality in cinema was in 1895’s short silent film The Gay Brothers. We can’t really know for sure because 1. homosexuality was not common knowledge back then 2. Gay didn’t mean Fag in the late 19th century 3. two men dance together while a third plays the fiddle. Conclude for yourself. Anyway, the movie intends to be comical and makes a lot of jokes at the expense of its protagonists. Trend-starter, that one. As movie making was booming, increase awareness and presence of Queer people appeared in that media. Unfortunately, the rise of the Production Code (created in 1922) brought a lot of censorship to the community in its possibility of portrayal. Homosexuality was never explicitly mentioned and only in two ways : as a comical device or a villainous character who’s sickness, perversion and crimes are obvious to the audience. When it came to homosexuals, worldwide viewers had three options to explore : laughter, pity or fear. Early on, the girlish traits of the gay character and the stupidity of its desires were put front and center, whether in westerns (The Soilers) or in Charlie Chaplin movies (Behind the Screen). In historical movie term, the character would be referenced as the SISSY. Answering to the same principles as the whore, the dad or the saint figures, the SISSY had for purpose to give more masculine value to the hero (and to the viewer). But as the butt of the joke and in the constraints of the Production Code, he didn’t have a proper sexuality to act. An innocent childish fool. This convention continued with the talkies in the 20s and 30s as a subject that was partially shown but never discussed.

The few non-judgmental attempts at depicting Queerness were met with furious reactions and indescribable indignation from religious audiences, like when Marlene Dietrich kissed a woman on the lips in Morocco (1930), causing reinforcement of the Code.

For over two decades, scripts would pass through intense censorship and oppression, erasing homosexual overtones in novel adaptions or changing too direct gay references and replacing them with anti-semantic plot lines, more line with the time.

To override the code, directors had to be extremely smart. Alfred Hitchcock, a master of all movie crafts, was the best at this game. In 1948’s Rope, two roommates kill another man to finally know what it feels like, then host a dinner party in their apartment while the body is still there. The movie is fascinating in its “one-shot” concept and the script never mentions the possibility of a sexual relationship between the two but if attentive, you realize that they live in a one-bedroom apartment. Since you’ve spent the entirety of the movie in the living room, you know no one sleeps here. So. They gay. They’re also despicable murderers. Yep. FEAR factor.

I have so many more examples of this but let’s fast forward to the late 50s and the end of the Production Code’s dominance on Hollywood. 1959’s Some Like it Hot depicts two male protagonists pretending to be women who join a musical touring band. Straight people dressed in woman’s clothes. Come on, moviegoers, time to LAUGH. That movie gets a pass because Billy Wilder is a genius.

Then you have Spartacus (1960) and that homo-erotic relationship between the protagonist and its servant. Still underlined as hell but still. Then not much else. Until…

WE GOT FUCKED (AND NOT IN A GOOD WAY)

In the States, The Boys in the Band (1970) shook things for good (and, in a lesser way, The Producers, 1968). A year after the Stonewall Riots, while homosexuality was still considered a mental illness, This play adaptation’s portraying of nine homosexuals (eight, if you’re really delusional) was revolutionary. But some of their characterizations (I’m looking at you, Emory) and the way they tear each other apart as sure-to-be closeted monsters are quite hard to watch. In a way, they are still crazy sissies. Audience, PITY those homosexual fools.

And then, La Cage aux Folles. Although France made some attempts at talking about homosexuality without obeying to the social et moral duties of the era with La Nouvelle Vague (Amitiés Particulières, 1964), it was Molinaro’s popular success that sealed audiences’ views on gay people in this brand new era.

By depicting Zaza (Michel Serrault) in such a flamboyant way, combining homosexuality, drag queens, transvestites and transgender people into one, this movie, with its truly international success, wrote unintentionally a new rulebook about what a homosexual is deemed acceptable on screen. Such rule would be followed for decades to come. Do you now understand the dogma definition at the beginning of the article? I’m a smart cookie, you know.

LA CAGE AUX FOLLES DOGMA

For a gay character to be portrayed in a major motion picture and thus be accepted by audiences, he has to : 1. Be recognizable from the straight characters, as not to confuse the audience. 2. Be funny and over the top, so that the audience don’t take offense to its immorality. 3. Reassure male audiences on their true masculinity with ridiculous ways to act, walk, talk and live. 4. If your movie embraces the gay character’s view at some point, be sure to let him make all the compromises in the world so that the audience knows that HE knows that what he is doing is ‘peculiar’ and ‘wrong’ 5. Make fun OF him as much as possible. And pretend you’re having fun WITH him. PS. Don’t forget, glitter and fun mockery.

Zaza screams his lungs out for nothing and everything. Sorry, “her” lungs out, since SHE only uses the female pronoun to talk about HERself. She performs in a gay cabaret, is clearly depicted as the female counterpart of the relationship (because you need to apply binary concepts no matter what), decides to dress as a woman to meet the conservative in-laws for the first time. Zaza is the new post-gay liberation movement acceptable SISSY. Zaza is also a plague for the movement.

Michel Serrault, as talented of an actor as he was, doomed us for years to come by transposing a fantastic stage character into a movie ready to be assimilated by millions. Media is power. If they say something has to be this or that, the audience will follow, especially in a time when gay people weren’t equals in rights or ready to mingle with the general population. Critics embraced it. It was nominated for three Oscars. Serrault won Best Actor at the Césars. The Golden Globes deemed it the Best Foreign Film of that year. Talk about Media approval. We were fucked.

THE MINORITY AFTERTHOUGHT

The greatest decade in cinema (in my opinion) saw the portrayal of a couple of… interesting gay characters. The Last Picture Show (1971), Cabaret (1972) and its flamboyant Maître des Lieux. Dog Day Afternoon (1975) shocked audiences with a protagonist in a relationship with another man. Unfortunately, that other man is a SISSY who wants to have Reassignment Surgery in no way portrayed in a positive light. The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) gave a shitload of screen time to Queer characters, but (SPOILER ALERT) he is an alien from another planet, a freak and the movie became a cult classic with time, it was not a studio film. In television, gay people are nowhere to be found. Homosexuality is barely getting talked about in the news. The Mary Tyler Moore Show has Mary go on a date with a man who turns out to be gay. It’s funny. So wacky. Not much else. I found a couple of shows from the 80s with LGBT plot lines .(Thirtysomething! Thirtysomething!) but the article was already way too long. Make your own damn research !

NOT THAT KIND OF SISSY

To my recollection, the first time a homosexual person was portrayed in a truly positive light was in Jonathan Demme’s Philadelphia. The struggle of a HIV-positive man seeking justice after he was fired. Tom Hanks won his first Oscar. Bruce Springsteen also won for his incredible song “Streets of Philadelphia”. I mean, it was still about pity lots of ways but the humanity in which the character is shown is outstanding. As Hanks puts it “Love is spelled with the same four letters”.

The 90s saw a biggest variety of Queer characters portrayed in american cinema. The Crying Game. Philadelphia. Jeffrey. Showgirls. My Best Friend’s Wedding. To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar. Most of them offensive in terms of clichés (because… written by cis straight folks ? YEP). but a welcome demonstration of our colors.

Australian classic The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994) stays a example on how to do proper representation without removing the potential ridiculousness of Queer existence.

At the dawn of the new millennium, independent cinema offered us Boys Don’t Cry (1999), the true story of Brandon Teena, a trans man who tried to live his authentic life and got killed for it. More than putting Hilary Swank on the map (and an Oscar is her hands), it was unique in the sense that the queer protagonist wasn’t a joke, wasn’t scary and did not inspire pity. He was a strong man, a tuff spirit and a model for trans generations to follow.

UNAPOLOGETICALLY QUEER

Boys Don’t Cry was followed by a series of incredible movies and characters not afraid to be as Queer, as proud and as strong as Brandon Teena. Before Night Falls (2000), Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001), The Hours(2002), Mysterious Skin (2004), Breakfast on Pluto (2005), Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005), Transamerica (2005), Brokeback Mountain (2005), Kaboom(2010), Blue is the Warmest Color (2013), Dallas Buyers Club (2013), Pride (2014), The Imitation Game (2014), The Way He Looks (2014), Carol (2014), Tangerine (2015), Moonlight (2016), Call Me By Your Name(2017), A Fantastic Woman (2017), Disobedience (2017), Battle of the Sexes (2017), The Miseducation of Cameron Post (2018), Love, Simon(2018), Rocketman (2019). Even when the gay character is used as a tool for jokes, modern cinema proved that it can be done without making fun of the gay life style, as in Scott Pilgrim vs The World (2010).

They are still mistakes along the way. Bohemian Rhapsody. Oh fucking Bohemian Rhapsody. That movie is an abomination. First (and most importantly here), its depiction of Mercury’s sexuality is of poor-taste, even less when it comes to talk about his HIV/AIDS diagnosis. Then, it was directed by a serial rapist. Finally, it’s just a awful movie which uses nostalgia as a way to convince you that you are watching something great. And IT WON 4 ACADEMY AWARDS ! FUCK. MY. LIFE.

(To all my homies who know me, off course I was going to talk about Bohemian Rhapsody at some point. I’ll take that motherfucking cinematic slap in the face to the grave).

DAWN OF A NEW GAY ?

The question is simple : has visual media abandoned the dogma of La Cage Aux Folles ? Harder answer. Yes and No.

NO, because if movies like Isn’t It Romantic (2019) in which a gay character is (even purposely) can be the protagonist’s cliché best friend still exist, it means that movies are still no over that phase of its education. Also, if someone you barely know still ask you basic offensive questions about your sexuality, it means that we’re definitely still basically fucked. Remember, media is power.

And YES, in a way, this abominable dogma is long gone thanks to TV. I know, right ? Cinema’s little bastard brother which didn’t want to talk about homosexuality in the 70s AND 80s ? One of the first shows to depict homosexuality on a regular basis was HBO’s Oz. Thank you, cable. In between stabbings, sex violence and vicious murders, there was a serious exploration of the male sexuality. Then came the 1998–1999 broadcast television season and its one-two punch. It followed Ellen’s Puppy episode (which we covered in the June 8th article).

On September 21st, 1998, Will & Grace premiered its first episode. And yes, today, we view it as a very narrow view on homosexuality. But think about it in the context of 1998. It’s a show with two of its leads unapologetically openly gay males (and a ageless woman ready to go either way). Each episode of the show was about homosexuality, and some jewish themes thanks to Grace, television’s number one fag hag. And shit, this show was funny until season 6. Like, real funny. Even the lost-in-time reboot has some redeeming qualities. Finally, on February 17, 1999, the character of Jack introduced at the beginning of the second season of Dawson’s Creek, came out as gay. Don’t underestimate the power of teens. If they’re in on it, we all are. They were woke before “woke” was a thing.

That was just the beginning.

Queer as Folk (UK and US) and The L Word became pioneers of the LGBT TV revolution.

The Office’s Oscar Martinez came out in the season three premiere (2006), to limited clichés on its part. Ugly Betty (2006–2010) was the gayest show of the 2010s. By 2009, Glee ignored the window other shows created and busted the door wild open with at least 8 regular Queer characters. That same year, Modern Family introduced us to a very stable gay couple. 2011 saw the rise and consecration (in my mind) of Max Blum on Happy Endings, the ultimate cliché-avoider of the Queer community — so not a cliché that I identify more with his flaws as a man than as a gay man. 2012’s The New Normal failed at gaining the attention it deserved. Partners (2012) failed as well, but it kind of deserved it. Brooklyn Nine Nine did something no one else did before : talk about bisexuality without making a big deal about it. Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Once and Again, Six Feet Under, The Wire, Angels in America, Desperate Housewives, Battlestar Galactica, Grey’s Anatomy, Brothers & Sisters, Skins, Greek, True Blood, The Good Wife, United States of Tara, Shameless, American Horror Story, Please Like Me, Game of Thrones, Girls, Smash, Broad City, Orange is the New Black, Grace and Frankie, The Fosters, Superstore, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Orphan Black, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Transparent, Looking, The Real O’Neals, Friends From College, Sense8, One Day at a Time, This is Us, The OA, Champions, Dear White People, The Handmaid’s Tale, Pose, The Good Fight, Killing Eve, American Crime Story, The Haunting of Hill House, Now Apocalypse, Gentleman Jack, Years and Years.

They all, in small or big ways, contributed to what the situation is today. Something closer to reality, debunked of clichés. It’s a golden age to be Queer on TV.

I’ll say it a third and final time. MEDIA IS POWER. A couple of years ago, I screened my end-of-study movie called Faggot (and Other Semantics) to my schoolmates and a few faculty members. The movie was about a gay dude trying to figure out who he was as a gay man (not a coming out but a coming in story) — it was very well received. At the end of the day, the tech guy who put the movie on signaled me to come and see him. I did. He shook my hand and said ‘I didn’t know I could identify with a gay man but I did”. We’re talking about a straight single kinda annoying thirty year-old man. I wanted to slap him in the face. I kept thinking about what he told me thought. I get it now. A window opened (even for a second) in his mind because a piece of Art took the time to represent someone “different” while using universal tropes. And without making fun of the situation. It was an unwanted validation that I now fully accept. That’s why La Cage Aux Folles is wrong and its dogma can fuck off. Queer people have a voice now in the industry and are able to represent.

Queer people, REPRESENT.

[manaboutworldmag]

Gay Manchester, a booming gay capital of Europe, has an amazing Pride!

When it stops being a wig and starts being a triumph of architecture

It’s the gayest city in the United Kingdom, and it is not London. Gather round, dear readers, and find out how an itty-bitty backwater named Manchester became one of the outright gay capitals of Europe.

Gay Manchester: story and photos by travel writer David Perry.

Most histories will give the quick version of Manchester’s rise; that it was born out of the Industrial Revolution. Not true; the city traces its lineage back to the Romans, circa 79 AD, when it was known as Mancunium, a name that lives on in “Mancunian,” what people from Manchester call themselves. But it is also true that during Roman rule and for centuries after, it remained a pastoral, rather backwoodsy community living in the particularly long shadow of nearby Liverpool. Nevertheless, by 1520, Manchester earned a rep for its weavers, and that is key.

Manchester Town Hall welcomes the world

Because by 1600, Manchester’s looms were throwing sparks thanks to cotton from the New World. Canals were dug. Warehouses, mills, and factories thrown up. A commodities exchange established. By the Victorian Era, it was “Liverpool where?” But something else was happening, something that blue-blooded London or stodgy Oxford could not have predicted: Manchester, having been built by common men (nicknamed “worker bees,”) became an incandescent hotbed of common-men ideas. Abolitionism, free trade, Marxism, women’s rights, workers’ rights, immigration, child labor, republicanism, parliamentary reform, and yes, discussions on the inherent rights and liberties for “Urianians” and “homogenic love” — early terms for gay men and same-sex affection — found fertile soil, often for the first time, in Manchester’s unions and trade halls.

Nice cock in the Northern Quarter

Skip to 2018, and very gay Manchester still has a decidedly anti-snooty vibe, bees are the ubiquitous city emblem, and the gay life is off the charts. Manchester Pride (August 24 – 28) is one of the oldest of its kind in the UK, and one of the biggest events on the city’s calendar. This is the city that inspired “Queer as Folk,” after all. Mancunians particularly embrace the LGBTQ heritage; you may see a few rainbow flags flying year-round in the form of small mosaics in sidewalks and facades. These are stations along the famous Manchester LGBT Heritage Trail, a historic stroll through the seminal events and places that made gay rights a “thing.” Advertisers, from mega-companies like Thomas Cook Airlines to modest self-storage warehouses, fall over themselves getting a float in the Pride Parade. It’s all very chummy. And gives “God Save the Queen” a whole new dimension.

It is also homo-concentrate! (KEEP READING…

Pride, Manchester-style

The irony to gay travel in Europe is that several cities, while gay-friendly, do not have gay sections — London included. Not so Manchester; the Gay Village runs two blocks along Canal Street (whose signs inevitably are missing the “C”) from Charlton Street to the A34. In reality, it is much larger, extending to Major St. to Whitworth and crammed end to end with gay establishments of every description. But visiting Americans should keep in mind for all the rainbows and drag queens, this is still Britain; trying to find a gay bar in Manchester, or just about anywhere in the UK, is none too easy since gay pubs rule the roost here…and yes, there is a difference. On Bar, New York New York, Via — these homey homo-nexuses are brightly lit, rarely deafening, almost like a living room, and the drinking is adults-only. Perhaps because Manchester Pride is so big, organizers manage the crowd with ticketed events; just getting into the Gay Village during Pride requires an official wristband and single or four-day passes.

Another cultural curveball is the very much alive club culture. Nothing will make a gay Gen Xer feel ancient as trying to explain to a Millennial what the gay clubs of the 90s was like. Grindr may have killed many a dance hall in the USA, but the beat goes on in Britain (and Europe as a whole) without a break. In Manchester, pride of place goes to Gaydio, a cavernous space that seemingly warped out of a Club Kid wet dream and pulls in the best trance and techno DJs the world over. The dancing goes till dawn, and it is not unusual for people to go in, come out for a late dinner, and then go back in again.

The four days of drinking, dragging, dancing, and doing the nasty culminate in a candlelight vigil in the Sackville Gardens, a small park near Canal Street and site of a memorial to Alan Turing. Played memorably by Benedict Cumberbatch in The Initiation Game, he was the Mancunian cryptanalyst broke Nazi encryption codes and helped the Allies win World War II but nevertheless convicted and jailed of “gross indecency,” that is, being gay, and later chemically castrated before his suicide. As much a remembrance of Turing and other martyred LGBTQs, it is a reminder that such oppression is still very much alive.

But it also marks just how far we’ve come.

Manchester: What to Know

The downside: you cannot just show up. Manchester Pride is so big, organizers manage the crowd by ticketed events; just getting into the Gay Village during Pride requires an official wristband and single or four-day passes, to say nothing of the concerts et al. On the other hand, you need not pay through the nose to fly into London and then train it to Manchester; the city has its own international airport.

Manchester: Where We Stay

The Radisson Blu Edwardian Being on Peter St. puts the hotel grand entrance, and its bar, directly on the route of the Pride Parade (and makes it one of the better vantage points). Almost dead-center of town, the Edwardian is instantly recognizable by the grand arches fronting its Peter St. side, and is a smart choice for gay visitors by being within walking distance of the Gay Village and also some of the best not-necessarily-gay sights in town, including the John Rylands Library, Manchester Town Hall and Manchester Central Library (a trio of architectural gems) and the Manchester Art Gallery. Even better, expect the hotel to fly the rainbow flag during Pride; the Edwardian is a proud ally.

The Midland Can’t miss it; its brick-red Edwardian Baroque facade is one of the most ornate in Manchester, as is the display of rainbow flags and unicorns festooning the entrance during Pride Week. Also on the Pride Parade route, the historic Midland (so named having been built by the Midland Railway back in 1903) has some interesting trivia, being the place where Charles Rolls meet Henry Royce met and drove off into history, and for refusing The Beatles entry on the grounds they were “inappropriately dressed.” Raow!

Jurys Inn Contemporary and boutique-y, the sleek Jurys is just off the Pride Parade route, but right next to Bridgewater Hall (for music) and Manchester235 (for gambling and entertainment). We all have our vices.

Pony up for a pint at The Refuge

Manchester: Where We Eat

Albert’s Schloss This German-styled beer hall-cum-cook haus is the finest of its kind in Manchester and very possibly the busiest. Just down the street from the Radisson Edwardian Blu and Midland, it’s a great watering hole provided you can get a seat. Heavily on the Teutonic (an irony, considering the Germans bombed Manchester flat in World War II), you can catch some awesome old-school cabaret along with the suds.

Albert Square Chop House Built in 1866 as a warehouse and right across from the Neo-Gothic Manchester Town Hall, this mega-British eatery is, while casual and relaxed, is where you go to impress. Celebrated for its menu, also on Albert’s guests’ radar should be the bar with its extensive list of local, oh-so Mancunian ales.

Evelyn’s Located in the counter-culture haven of Manchester’s Northern Quarter, Evelyn’s proves America’s dim view of English cuisine is woefully obsolete. Cozy and unpretentious in setup, guests have a particularly global menu, spanning tofu to buttermilk chicken.

The Refuge Housed in the atmospheric and fabulously ornate Principal Assurance Building (transmogrified into an atmospheric and fabulously ornate hotel), the Refuge covers several bases at once: prestige address, beer hall, and world-cuisine mecca. Korean chicken, Gloucester pork belly, and lamb shawarma seamlessly blend on the menu, to say north of the vast array of options available at the bar.

Old Wellington Inn This half-timbered and quintessentially English pub, built in 1552, is also one of Manchester’s oldest surviving buildings. Famous throughout the UK for its ales, the Wellington has seen some of the seminal moments of Manchester’s history, serving as HQ for its nascent commercial moguls in 1600s. Most visitors, though, skip the history and go straight for the ales. Can’t blame ‘em, those ales rock.

The Whitworth Art Gallery It may sound odd to go to a world-class modern art museum for the food, but chef Peter Booth crafted a menu as artistic as the installations. Locally and ethically sourced, the menu includes an afternoon tea that is so popular one must book a seat in advance. The art, by the way, is swell, too.

Mr. Thomas Chop House Blending Victorian industrial muscularity with Art Nouveau chic, this eatery every year plasters a big ol’ Pride Flag in its window to loudly proclaim who’s side its own. Very British, the menu takes traditional fare like salmon and ham and morphs it into some of the most stylish culinary experiences in Manchester.Please share

The post Gay Manchester, a booming gay capital of Europe, has an amazing Pride! appeared first on ManAboutWorld.com.

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[khelinski]

The Mouse and the Fox

It had been rumored for a while now.  DISNEY BUYS FOX.   Nothing is quite official yet (even as I am writing this).  You go on any website, Facebook post, or movie forum…there is a debate about the significance of such a HUGE EVENT (and this is HUGE for Disney - bigger than Pixar, Marvel, or Lucasfilm rolled into one).  On the surface - this is great for an assortment of reasons.  But digging deeper into the actual thought - DISNEY BUYS FOX - it’s not so great for a lot more reasons that makes movie buffs such as myself, a little nervous.   I guess that applies to all of life - with each pro, there is a con.  With each con, there is a pro.  The current Star Wars films are a case-and-point of that very essence…

…PRO, we get new Star Wars films(!)…

…CON, but Disney will milk the shit out of it until there is nothing left(!)…

…PRO, but, again, we get new Star Wars films(!)…

…CON, but, again, all Disney has been doing is making fan-service and nostalgia-based film within the confines of what the general audience knows instead of taking risks and going further into the galaxy far, far, away (that’s just based on the two Disney’s Star Wars films - no, haven’t seen ‘The Last Jedi’ yet!)…

…PRO, but, again, we get new Star Wars films(!)…!

 THE GOOD.

The obvious mindset that all movie nerds, comic book nerds, and any avid Marvel fan-boy will automatically say without hesitation - 'OH MY GOD, X-MEN AND THE FANTASTIC FOUR WILL FINALLY BE INSERTED INTO THE MARVEL 'VERSE!’   Though I have my doubts it will be the current or past X-Men actors/actresses (for continuity purposes).    That in itself has its own set of pros and cons.  Yes, after PHASE 3 is over - I expect a LOT of mixing and matching of Marvel related films.  By then, Disney might try to completely yank Sony into their pocket so they can get their hands on Spiderman (for good).   Then again - would Disney/Marvel had made such great films like 'X-Men 2’ (which is still better than ANY of the MCU films), 'Days of Future Past,’ 'Deadpool,’ or 'Logan.’)   Let’s be honest, though - while Fox had been hit or miss with the X-Men films, they truly missed the mark for 'Fantastic Four,’ three times in a row.  I have mixed feelings for the X-Men series being reintroduced into the Disney/Marvel fold - but I am all for the Four!   I could also see a crossover with the Fantastic Four and the Incredibles!  

Another good aspect here is Disney will FINALLY get their hands on the original Star Wars trilogy.   “But, they bought Lucasfilm, right?”  True - but they can’t distribute/release any Star Wars films prior to 'The Force Awakens.’   I believe Fox still owns the rights to the original trilogy.  If Disney could get their hands on it, it will be interesting to see IF they release the original, de-George Lucas-ized trilogy.

There are also other encouraging points to note - James Cameron’s 'Avatar’ films are under the Fox banner.  That would help build-up the Avatar sections at Disney parks more with the multiple sequels coming out, someday.  

With Disney launching their own streaming service soon-ish, having all of Fox’s catalogue of films would benefit Disney (though, would they object to films like 'Fight Club,’ Die Hard,’ 'The Simpson’s Movie.’)   And that also raises a question about the Fox Network.  Fox News and Fox Sports is off-limits.  Does that include the Fox Network, known for ‘The Simpson's’ and ‘The X-Files’?  Not going to lie - would love to see a Mickey/Minnie Fox Mulder and Dana Scully plush dolls!   Then again, would that also include FX?  Would we see a tamer version of 'American Horror Story?’  

CURIOUSER AND CURIOUSER.

'Alien,’ 'Planet of the Apes,’ 'Die Hard’ - oh my!   Aside from the X-Men series, all three are HUGE historical franchises for 20th Century Fox.

'Planet of the Apes’ alone has had a very successful critically and box office success with their current prequel series.  I don’t really love the classic films of the Ape movies (sorry mom!)  And we won’t discuss that shitty Tim Burton remake!   But 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes’ is a good, solid film.  'Dawn of the Planet of the Apes’ is a better film. And 'War for the Planet of the Apes’ is even better yet, with a satisfying ending that could be considered the conclusion of a GREAT trilogy.  I am very happy it was made BEFORE this possible merge of film studios, as I don’t think Disney would have made 'War’ the same way it was made.    But will we see more Apes movies?

Ironically  - Disney made two Narnia films, which weren’t that great.  Fox bought the rights to do a third film which also wasn’t that great.  

More questions arise, though.  Will Disney be okay with a hard-R ‘Alien’ film?   Yes, they have unleashed mature material under the Touchstone banner - and they were also attached to Miramax for little over a decade.  They also are open to the adult-oriented Marvel shows on Netflix.  But none of these they really shelled out a lot of money for.  ‘Alien’ would require a big budget, and the okay to scare/gross out the masses!  That leads into another question – Ridley Scott wants to do more ‘Alien’ films, ahem, without Aliens in these ‘Alien’ films. Will he get his wish granted?  

What about ‘Die Hard’?  That series itself is hit or miss - but there was a sixth film that was in development for a few years now.  Will that be nixed?  

And finally - will Anastasia be considered a Disney princess now, since a majority of the masses always confused the film to Disney, when it was ALWAYS under the Fox banner?

THE BAD.

I was all for Disney buying Pixar.  Makes perfect sense.  Marvel, okay.  Lucasfilm? Sure!  But Fox?!?  

Fox is known for being one of the big six movie studios.  It’s not the oldest movie studio, but has a long, great history.  Admit it - when you think of a Fox film - the Fox marching anthem comes to mind.  When I think of 20th Century Fox, I think of such well-known and beloved films like 'Big,’ ’The Sound of Music,’ ‘Independence Day,’ ‘Mrs. Doubtfire,’ ’'Miracle on 34th Street,’ 'Minority Report,’ ‘Lifeboat,’ 'Home Alone,’ ‘The Snake Pit,’ ‘The Day the Earth Stood Still,’ ‘The Omen,’ 'Donnie Darko,’ ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show,’ ‘The Grapes of Wrath,’ ‘Speed,’ ‘Young Frankenstein,’ ‘Project X,’ ‘Say Anything… ,’ ‘Max Dugan Returns ,’ ‘The Diary of Anne Frank ,’ ‘The Fly,’ ‘Edward Scissorhands,’ …and the list goes on.  

Point is - the company has a rich history with so many great, versatile, memorable films.  As much as I love Disney, I really don’t think they would release half of the films Fox had been known for, including the films under the Fox Searchlight banner.  And that raises even more questions for the future of these types of films - as well as the future for film in general.   With less competing studios out there making films, there are fewer films out there in the market.  Sure, oh my gosh, Wolverine and Hulk will finally beat each other up on screen together - but we actually lose ground to potential films.  

Maybe that’s a good thing, though.  Perhaps those films that would’ve gone to Fox - will be going to Netflix.  And they have been killing it with quality original content.

THE UGLY.

Mickey Mouse can be a bully.  They are bullying movie theaters, bullying news reporters. The more studios/companies they buy, the bigger they will push their weight around.  That’s mostly what I am concerned about.  As much as I love the company, I can’t deny/ignore the fact that Mickey can be a bully on the playground.  

The movie theater bullying does hit a nerve myself, having worked at my share of movie theaters over the years.   While Disney is revered by most and the masses - theater management do have a love/hate toward Disney because with how much Disney owns the market now (after the Fox purchase, what then?!?), it gives less versatile films/stories to showcase in theaters.  And with a theater in a small town - what is that theater supposed to do, screen 5 sets of Disney films in a 5-plex theater?

OH WELL!

I digress - everything is speculation.   Nothing is official yet.   Who knows what the future will bring?  And the bright side of things - should be interesting to see what may or may not happen.  I am giddy for the future of Marvel (and waiting to see more movie studios fail at the Cinematic Universe attempts!)  I am curious to see how Disney would approach an ‘Alien’ film (can’t be any worse than AVP!)

One thing is for sure - this is HUGE, and a win for Disney.  I am torn between the movie buff in me, and being someone that does have love for Disney.

***

“Around here, however, we don’t look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things, because we’re curious… and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.” - Walt Disney

Update: It is official now. Doesn't change my initial thoughts above.

[afishwithfeathers]

Good Times and Noodle Salad

This is not a comedy piece.  This is a paper I wrote while I was at USC film school.  The assignment was to compare and contrast a film with another work of art that was not a film.  I chose to write about "As Good As It Gets" and the stage musical "Avenue Q."  Enjoy.  And thanks for reading.  

 “What if this is as good as it gets?”  - Melvin Udall (Jack Nicholson) in “As Good As It Gets.” “Everyone’s a little bit unsatisfied… Everyone goes ‘round a little, empty inside.”  - Cast of “Avenue Q” from the song “For Now.” BACKGROUND. “As Good As It Gets,” a feature film, opened in theatres on Christmas Day, 1997. It was written by Mark Andrus and James L. Brooks, and directed by Mr. Brooks. It stars Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt and Greg Kinnear. The film was the third highest grossing film of all films released in 1997. It currently has a score of 85% favorable on the Rotten Tomatoes website. Mr. Nicholson and Ms. Hunt won Academy Awards for their work. The film was also nominated for Best Picture, Director, Supporting Actor and Screenplay. “Avenue Q,” a stage musical, opened off-Broadway at the Vineyard Theatre on March 20, 2003, where it ran for seven weeks. The songs were written by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, and the book was written by Jeff Whitty. The show then transferred to the Golden Theatre on Broadway. It won the Tony for Best Musical, beating out the popular favorite “Wicked.” After a highly successful six year run on Broadway, the show returned to off-Broadway, to the New World Stages theatre, where it performs to this day. THERE IS LIFE OUTSIDE YOUR APARTMENT. At first glance, “As Good As It Gets” and “Avenue Q” may not seem like obvious companion pieces. The first is an A-list film comedy made by multiple Oscar winners. The second is a stage musical featuring puppets in a twisted parody of “Sesame Street.” Yet both deal with the struggles New Yorkers face every day. These include loneliness, crime, economic uncertainty, dissatisfying jobs and the distinct sense of alienation that comes from living in a large city. Neither story shies away from showing the dark side of city life. And yet, both stories remain, each in its way, optimistic about the future and open to the possibility of finding joy in everyday existence.

SUCKS TO BE ME. In the opening number of “Avenue Q,” Princeton, a recent college graduate laments his lack of job prospects in the song “What Do You Do With a B.A. in English?” (Princeton’s specific college major is never stated, but since later in the show he demonstrates a desire to write a stage show, one can safely conclude he was a creative writing or playwriting major.) The character of Simon, a painter featured in “As Good As It Gets” could be a spiritual cousin to Princeton. They are both sensitive and creative but unsuccessful young men living alone in New York. They are fairly normal guys surrounded by far more colorful neighbors. They’re both emotionally overwhelmed by their inabilities to pay their bills. And both are characterized by a profound longing for greater meaning in their lives. As the opening scene in “Avenue Q” continues, more characters appear, joining in the conversation. They argue (in song) as a group over whose life “sucks more.” They all plead (effective) cases that their lives are full of disappointments, unmet needs and overwhelming problems. In a similar scene late in “As Good As It Gets,” the characters discuss their backgrounds and how past disappointments helped to shape their worldviews. Simon talks about how his father rejected him as a teenager, because of his homosexuality. His new friend Carol responds, and Carol’s would-be boyfriend Melvin weighs in as well. CAROL You’ve got to get past it all when it comes to your parents. We all have these horror stories to get over- MELVIN That’s not true. Some of us have great stories, pretty stories that take place at lakes with boats and friends and noodle salad. Just not anybody in this car. But lots of people, that’s their story. Good times. Noodle salad. And that’s what makes it hard. Not that you had it bad but being pissed that so many had it good. THE MORE YOU LOVE SOMEONE THE MORE YOU WANT TO KILL THEM “As Good As It Gets” is primarily the story of Melvin Udall, an obsessive-compulsive writer who lives alone and cares nothing for the problems of other people. He eats his lunch alone every day at the same neighborhood restaurant, waited on by Carol Connelly, the only waitress who can tolerate him. When Carol quits her job to be closer to her ill son, Melvin decides to pay for the boy’s medical expenses. This will allow Carol to continue to be his waitress. Melvin’s act of kindness leads to others, and in time he becomes a more caring person. A sort of connection is formed between Melvin and Carol, gradually evolving into a kind of romance, albeit one where Carol’s patience is continually tested by Melvin’s emotional problems and limitations. At one low point late in the film, Carol finds herself voicing her own frustration to Melvin, when her mother Beverly suddenly appears, joining in the conversation. CAROL Why can’t I have a normal boyfriend? Why?... Just a regular boyfriend who doesn’t go nuts on me. BEVERLY (suddenly appearing) Everybody wants that, dear. It doesn’t exist.

Carol’s dissatisfaction with her love life is similar to the dissatisfaction felt by Kate Monster in “Avenue Q.” Both are attractive, pleasant young women, hopeful that they will find love and impatient with male selfishness. Kate enters into a relationship with Princeton. After an awkward first date and a passionate night of sex, Princeton withdraws, afraid of committing himself. Like Carol, Kate Monster opens up about her love life to an older, presumably wiser woman, in this case, would-be therapist Christmas Eve. (Please note that English is not Asian-American Christmas Eve’s first language.) KATE MONSTER Why can't people get along and love each other, Christmas Eve? CHRISTMAS EVE You think getting along same as loving? Sometimes love right where you hating most, Kate Monster. The two sing a duet. CHRISTMAS EVE The more you love someone the more he make you crazy. The more you love someone the more you wishing him dead! Sometime you look at him and only see fat and lazy. And wanting baseball bat for hitting him on his head! Love... KATE MONSTER Love... CHRISTMAS EVE And hate... KATE MONSTER And hate... CHRISTMAS EVE They like two brothers... KATE MONSTER Brothers... CHRISTMAS EVE Who go on a date. KATE MONSTER Who... what?! CHRISTMAS EVE Where one of them goes, other one follows. You inviting love he also bringing sorrows. As the song continues, Christmas Eve explains how she finds a balance between her love and her frustration. As quoted above, when Christmas Eve looks at her unemployed and overweight husband Brian, she sometimes “only see fat and lazy.” But by the end of the song, she sides with love, which, for her, is the more dominant emotion. CHRISTMAS EVE So if there someone you are wanting so to kill 'em, you go and find him, and you get him, and you NO kill him, cause chances good... CHRISTMAS EVE AND KATE He is your love. In this respect, Christmas Eve is like Simon in “As Good As It Gets.” Early in the film, Simon explains his approach to creating art to his new model. “If you look at someone long enough, you discover their humanity.” It might be said that this is the experience the audience is intended to have while watching the film and getting to know Melvin. (This comment, made early in the film serves as a perhaps too neat summing up of the film as a whole.)

PURPOSE. IT’S THAT LITTLE FLAME THAT LIGHTS A FIRE UNDER YOUR ASS Both stories feature creative young men suffering from emotional paralysis. Simon has lost the will to paint (and live) after a mugging leaves his physically and emotionally damaged. Princeton struggles to find his “purpose” in life. He refuses to allow his existence to be defined by boring office jobs and dissatisfying relationships. Both of these artistic men eventually find transcendence and salvation through their creative work. In “Avenue Q,” at the beginning of act two, the characters try to cheer Princeton up by taking him out of his apartment and going on a fun trip around the city. Similarly, in “As Good As It Gets,” Carol and Melvin take the depressed Simon on a road trip to Baltimore. While staying at the hotel, Simon accidentally observes Carol’s naked body, and bewitched by her beauty, he begins to draw again. The experience invigorates him, and he finds himself able to face the future with newfound optimism. (In the film, Simon’s creative and emotional breakthrough is symbolized, perhaps too blatantly, by having him happily break off his arm cast so that he can draw more effectively.) Like Simon, Princeton in “Avenue Q” also finds his creativity sparked by a random encounter with another person. Meeting someone who reminds him of himself at an earlier stage in his life, Princeton finally finds his purpose. He will write a show about his experiences living on Avenue Q. In both instances, creating art becomes, for these men, an empowering, transcendent experience which helps them break free of their emotional paralysis. WHEN YOU HELP OTHERS, YOU CAN’T HELP HELPING YOURSELF Princeton gives some money to a homeless man, and in so doing, discovers the joy of helping others. He sets out to raise the necessary funds for Kate Monster to achieve her dream of running a school for monsters. (The bulk of the funds come from Trekkie Monster, the character from “Avenue Q” who most resembles Melvin Udall in terms of personality. Like Melvin, Trekkie lives alone, dislikes most people and has a history of childhood trauma and therapy. Both characters are well off financially, and eventually use their wealth to assist young women in need.) Melvin, as has been mentioned earlier, also comes to learn about the inner satisfaction one can experience when helping others in need. Nevertheless, both Melvin and Princeton harbor hopes that their kind acts might facilitate romance with the women they are helping. Kate Monster and Carol Connelly are understandably grateful for the kindness and wary of what happens next. At the end of the play, Kate Monster is reluctant to give her heart fully to Princeton, recognizing, as she does, his commitment issues. Still, his act of generosity has moved her deeply, and she’s willing to meet him half way, and see where the relationship may go. Carol Connelly ends the film in a similar emotional place. Having witnessed Melvin’s generosity, to both her and Simon, she finds herself open to the possibility of a relationship with Melvin.

(It’s also possible that both women are tired of the dating scene. They may have reached the point where they are willing to let go of their idealized expectations and embrace the companionship these flawed but well intentioned men have to offer.) EXCEPT FOR DEATH AND PAYING TAXES EVERYTHING IN LIFE IS ONLY FOR NOW Yes, life in the big city can be cold and alienating, and these stories make no attempt to pretend the dark side of city life doesn’t exist. Yet both stories, in the end, lean ever so cautiously towards optimism. Even in the seemingly heartless world of New York City, there are comforts and pleasures to be found: Friendship. The families we create for ourselves. The satisfaction that comes from helping others. The empowering experience of creating art. The sublime surprise of learning that people aren’t always as bad as we thought. The joy that comes with forgiving the flawed people we love. Perhaps the most important comfort is the enduring hope that life will be better in the future. This life may be as good as it gets, but the problems we face are only for now. 

[hollywoodjuliorivas]

Advertisement Opinion | OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR The South Doesn’t Own Slavery By TIYA MILESSEPT. 11, 2017 Continue reading the main storyShare This Page Share Tweet Email More Save 477 Photo Credit Laura McDermott for The New York Times The violent furor that erupted this summer over the removal of Confederate monuments in several cities was a stark reminder that Americans remain trapped in the residue of slavery and racial violence. In confronting this difficult truth, our attention is naturally drawn to the South. And rightfully so: The South was the hotbed of race-based labor and sexual exploitation before and after the Civil War, and the caldron of a white supremacist ideology that sought to draw an inviolable line between whiteness and blackness, purity and contagion, precious lives and throwaway lives. As the author of three histories on slavery and race in the South, I agree that removing Confederate iconography from cities like New Orleans, Baltimore and Charlottesville, Va., is necessary and urgent. However, in our national discourse on slavery’s legacy and racism’s persistent grip, we have overlooked a crucial fact: Our history of human bondage and white supremacy is not restricted to the South. By turning the South into an island of historical injustice separate from the rest of the United States, we misunderstand the longstanding nationwide collusion that has produced white supremacist organizers in Fargo, N.D., and a president from New York City who thinks further research is needed to determine the aims of the Ku Klux Klan. Historians of the United States are continually unearthing an ugly truth: American slavery had no bounds. It penetrated every corner of this country, materially, economically and ideologically, and the unjust campaign to preserve it is embedded in our built environments, North and South, East and West. Detroit is a surprising case in point. Detroit’s legacy is one of a “free” city, a final stop on the Underground Railroad before Canada, known by the code word “Midnight.” Yet its early history is mired in a slave past. Near the start of the Revolutionary War, William and Alexander Macomb, Scots-Irish traders from New York, illegally purchased Grosse Isle from the Potawatomi people. William Macomb was the largest slaveholder in Detroit in the late 1700s. He owned at least 26 black men, women and children. He kept slaves on his Detroit River islands, which included Belle Isle (the current city park) and Grosse Isle, and right in the heart of the city, not far from where the International Underground Railroad Memorial now rises above the river view. When Macomb died, his wife, Sarah, and their sons inherited the family fortune, later becoming — along with other Detroit slaveholding families — among the first trustees of the University of Michigan. Newsletter Sign UpContinue reading the main story Sign Up for the Opinion Today Newsletter Every weekday, get thought-provoking commentary from Op-Ed columnists, the Times editorial board and contributing writers from around the world. Sign Up You agree to receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. SEE SAMPLE MANAGE EMAIL PREFERENCES PRIVACY POLICY OPT OUT OR CONTACT US ANYTIME The Macomb surname and those of numerous Detroit slave sellers, slaveholders and indigenous-land thieves cover the region’s map. Men who committed crimes against humanity in their fur trade shops and private homes, on their farms, islands and Great Lakes trading vessels, are memorialized throughout the metropolis, on street signs, school buildings, town halls and county seats. The Detroit journalist Bill McGraw began a catalog of these names in his 2012 article “Slavery Is Detroit’s Big, Bad Secret” — Macomb, Campau, Beaubien, McDougall, Abbott, Brush, Cass, Hamtramck, Gouin, Meldrum, Dequindre, Beaufait, Groesbeck, Livernois, Rivard. And that’s just a start. Belle Isle, for instance, was named for Isabelle Cass, a daughter of Lewis Cass, a Detroit politician and governor of Michigan in the early 1800s. Lewis Cass, a supporter of slavery, negotiated the sale of a woman he had enslaved named Sally to a member of the Macomb family in 1818, according to his biographer, Willard Carl Klunder. The Cass family name is attached to a county in Michigan as well as one of Detroit’s best public schools, Cass Tech. Detroiters and visitors alike speak and elevate the names of these slaveholders whenever they trace their fingers across a map or walk the streets in search of the nearest Starbucks. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT Continue reading the main story Detroit is just one example of the hidden historical maps that silently shape our sense of place and community. Place names, submerged below our immediate awareness, may make us feel that slavery and racial oppression have faded into the backdrops of cities, and our history. Yet they do their cultural and political work. 477 COMMENTS The embedded racism of our streetscapes and landscapes is made perhaps more dangerous because we cannot see it upon a first glance. In Detroit and across the country, slaveholder names plastered about commemorate a social order in which elite white people exerted inexorable power over black and indigenous bodies and lives. Places named after slaveholders who sold people, raped people, chained people, beat people and orchestrated sexual pairings to further their financial ends slip off our tongues without pause or forethought. Yet these memory maps make up what the University of Michigan historian Matthew Countryman has called “moral maps” of the places that we inhabit together. It is our duty to confront our ugly history in whole cloth. Confederate monuments in the South, in all of their artistic barbarity and weighty symbolism, are but one kind of commemoration of slavery and white power among many that shape our everyday environments, influence our collective identities and silently signal what our national culture validates. While the past does not change, our interpretations of it as we gain new evidence and insight can and should. Collectively determining what we valorize in the public square is the responsibility of the people who live in these stained places now. We can and must recover them. Tiya Miles is a professor of American culture and history at the University of Michigan and the author of the forthcoming book “The Dawn of Detroit: A Chronicle of Slavery and Freedom in the City of the Straits.” Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook and Twitter (@NYTopinion), and sign up for the Opinion Today newsletter. A version of this op-ed appears in print on September 11, 2017, on Page A21 of the New York edition with the headline: The South Doesn’t Own Slavery. Today's Paper|Subscribe Continue reading the main story TRENDING Irma Live Updates: Storm Pushes North, but Millions Are Without Power in Florida Isolated Amazon Tribe Members Are Reported Killed in Brazil After U.S. Compromise, Security Council Strengthens North Korea Sanctions 4 Things You Should Do About the Equifax Hack Hank Williams Jr. Is Coming Back to ‘Monday Night Football’ Maps: Tracking Hurricane Irma’s Path Over Florida Your Money: Equifax’s Instructions Are Confusing. Here’s What to Do Now. 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[consciousowl]

Would You Die For Me?

I’m not your lover

I’m not your friend

I am something that you’ll never comprehend

No need to worry

No need to cry

I’m your messiah and you’re the reason why

‘Cause you, I would die for you, yea

Darling if you want me to

Prince, “I Would Die 4 U”

Have you ever fallen so totally in love with someone that to be without her is death, and to be with her life eternal? You cherish the ground she walks upon. Night and day, you think only of her. You would do anything for her… you would even die for her!

This is what every woman wants to hear from her man, like Juliet for her Romeo. Yes, you would truly die for her, but what about the world?​

How Prince Electrified the World

In 1984, Prince Roger Nelson stunned America as he introduced a breathtaking new form of fusion. The son of two jazz musicians out of Minneapolis, Prince captured our imagination with his movie and soundtrack, “Purple Rain.” It broke all records, selling 13 million albums, with the film grossing $68 million. At one time, Prince had America’s No. 1 single, No. 1 album and No. 1 film.

Prince was already a master musician, playing dozens of instruments. His passion outshone both Michael Jackson and Madonna, his principal rivals. He threatened to relegate them to the sidelines. Prince radiated intense sex appeal and an indefinable spirituality at one and the same time. He introduced the Gospel in an idiom to which people of any persuasion could profoundly resonate.​

While Prince initially flaunted his sexuality, he spoke at a much deeper, archetypal level. The year 1984 was the height of the Cold War, and it didn’t look like we would make it. Even the very year “1984” was ominous, as the title of George Orwell’s dystopian novel. Prince chanted “1999,” affirming he would celebrate in the face of devastation and ruin. He pointed to a self-sacrificing love. He would, like the Messiah, “Die for you.”

How could I possibly die for someone else? Prince forced us to ask that question.​

The Lifeboat Exercise

You may remember back in school taking a humanities class dealing with values clarification. If so, you very likely got to play the most intriguing forced-choice quiz you are ever likely to encounter. Let’s say you have just bailed out from the Titanic, and there are 11 people in your boat, with only room for 10. Which one shall the group throw overboard to sink into the oceanic abyss?

This exercise can inspire the most vigorous discussions, especially when it dawns upon the participants that they have no choice. One of them has to go.

Should we save a Nobel Prize recipient and humanitarian, like Muhammad Yunus? A gorgeous, accomplished starlet, like Jennifer Lawrence? A young and promising world leader, such as France’s President Emmanuel Macron? Or a freaky but brilliant Terrence McKenna?

With any hope, the lifeboat game forces you to the realization that every human life is precious, if not sacred.

What Would Make You Actually Die for Someone Else?

Many people feel that they have only one life, and that they should give it all they’ve got. Why throw it away for anyone else, husband, wife, lover, mother or father? Just think of Uncle Sam in stripes pointing, “I want you!” In the Vietnam era, the preferred response was, “Hell no! We won’t go!”

However, there may be at least one person, and possibly more than one, who, were they gone, you would feel life wasn’t worth living. Perhaps you are supremely grateful to him or her, mother or father. Perhaps your man is the only person in the world who truly understands you. Perhaps your woman is the only person who could possibly make you happy.​

Mothers and fathers would feel this way toward a son or daughter who loves them, depends upon them and has a full life ahead. You can already see it: he has built into him everything you dreamed for yourself. You’ve lived a full life up to this point, “Sure, I’ll give my life for my kids.”

Are You Ready to Meet Your Maker?

The great 20th Century evangelist, Billy Graham, used to ask his audiences before the alter call, “Are you ready to meet God?” Billy started out with fire and brimstone, but in his later years chose to emphasize an eternity without Christ, the very man who died for them. Dozens of people with tears in their eyes would make their way to the center of the stadium.

Billy had a point. Most of us in America feel that there is something after this life, whether in a vague spirit world, a glorious eternity in heaven (which has been suggested by such skeptics-turned-believers as Dr. Eben Alexander), or, God forbid, endless suffering for making other lives miserable.

It is interesting to observe people, either during the holiday season, or after a major disaster, such as an 8.6 earthquake. People are much nicer, more human and compassionate than you ever imagined. You might say that they are on their best behavior for Christmas. I choose to believe that they are in touch with what truly matters, and their have-it-together attitude is just a facade.​

A Salute to the Men and Women in Uniform

Think of the millions of men and women around the globe under every possible flag, serving in the armed forces, as well as in the police or fire departments. These people routinely place themselves in the line of fire. No matter what your political convictions, or your sentiments about wars and military actions that are so often unwarranted and even pointless; we must deeply admire their courage.

These people are willing to die, not only for their loved ones, but also for a much larger sphere of concern. They are willing to risk their lives to protect you. Should they die in the process, as did many of the firemen in the Twin Towers, their widows and children might be left to fend for themselves, on the edge of poverty.​

Many of these men and women, beyond the elusive glory of patriotism, find a profound sense of fulfillment in serving their country, protecting what they believe in and giving back all that has been given to them. As Jesus Christ put it, “He that seeks to save his life shall lose it, and he that loses his life for My sake shall save it.” We can’t be fulfilled on the highest level until we live for something much greater than ourselves.

Die for You? YES. Kill for You? NO.

Since the 2000’s, Americans have been acutely aware of the Islamic doctrine of “Jihad,” which actually means struggle, not murder. Mohammad counseled the early Muslims that the “Greater Jihad” is an internal battle with one’s own darker impulses. War and violence, for Mohammad, were the “Lesser Jihad.” Nothing to brag about. However, a few Islamic countries, have recently appropriated Jihad to justify all kinds of questionable, and downward dastardly acts.

When I was in high school, I had a brilliant Jewish-Christian history teacher who kept asking his students, “Is violence ever justified?” That was in an era when America was fighting a futile war that lost the confidence of its youth. I have given much thought to this. If one were to take the teachings of the Sermon on the Mount to heart, we never have a license to kill. After seeing Richard Attenborough’s Gandhi, I actually saw how we need not resort to violence.

We are now at a turning point where can choose NOT to kill, no matter what societal influences are brought to bear. True, you could face punishment for not bearing arms. It is also true that if whole groups of people, such as the nation of Costa Rico, which has no standing army, renounce standard notions of defense, the price might be great. They will certainly have it no easier than did Gandhi, and perhaps much harder.​

Would You Die for Even Your Enemy?

Supreme love is to, not only forgive your enemies and refuse to defend yourself against them, but to actually die for them, to wake them up, if you will. This was, of course, perfectly illustrated by Jesus of Nazareth on the cross when the Pharisees mocked him, and Christ prayed, “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

Some time ago, on the island of Hawaii, a despairing teenager went up to its highest peak, and was about to jump beyond the guardrail. A couple of cops following him, slammed on the brakes. One of them ran from the car and grabbed the boy’s legs as he took the plunge. His partner grabbed him, as the cop himself was clearly about to go with the boy off the cliff. This created quite a sensation and was written up in the local papers. The cop was interviewed as to why he held on to the boy, when he was about to lose everything. He said, “If I had let go of that boy, I couldn’t have lived with myself another day.”

The great mythologist, Joseph Campbell, who recounted this story, related the insight of the philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer. When we give our lives for someone else, maybe someone we don’t even know, we do so because we realize in a metaphysical burst of insight that we and that other person are ONE.​

I Would LIVE for You!

Today, most of us are not called to DIE for someone else. However, we are most definitely called to LIVE for other people, to be the light of the world, to reduce their suffering and give them joy. In an ironic sort of way, it easier to die for your wife and children than to live for them. One glorious act of selflessness and you are done. To live for your family and friends requires moment-by-moment giving.

While Prince died alone in an elevator in Paisley Park, he left behind millions whose lives he touched. Right to the end, he pushed himself with a broken hip taking constant medication. Prince entertained people while being sober himself. He kept living in the moment, opening up the envelope in musical and artistic innovation. As an ultracool Jehovah’s Witness, Prince had total confidence he would be well-taken-care-of at the other end.

We can choose to live, not only for those closest to us, but also for our Mother, Planet Earth. We can choose to look into the eyes of everyone we meet and see a uniquely precious soul. Living this way is as great as dying that way. If we love enough people with that kind of love, we may succeed in saving this Planet, as well ourselves.​

Would You Die For Me? appeared first on http://consciousowl.com.

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#OscarsSoWhite creator on what’s next

(CNN)April Reign is not just advocating for black Hollywood.

The creator of #OscarsSoWhite is encouraged by the diversity of this awards season, with films like “Hidden Figures,” “Fences” and “Moonlight” being recognized.

But Reign wants the entertainment industry to expand representation beyond just African Americans.

“What I’ve been seeing, unfortunately, in the media quite a bit, is because we’ve had recognition of black artists and film makers this year, that #OscarsSoWhite is somehow over,” she told CNN. “There’s been a dearth of nominations and support of people from other traditionally under-represented communities.”

Oscars get it mostly right with diverse lineup of nominees

Reign, managing editor for Broadway Black, developed the hashtag in January 2015, after being frustrated by the lack of diversity among the year’s Oscar nominees.

#OscarsSoWhite became shorthand for the lack of opportunities and recognition for people of color in Hollywood.

“#OscarsSoWhite is about all races and genders and sexual orientations,” Reign said. “In 2017, why haven’t we had an LGBT rom-com? We have the phenomenal Sir Patrick Stewart playing a disabled superhero in ‘X Men,’ but why haven’t we had a disabled actor or actress playing a superhero?”

“With respect to cultural appropriation, I think the Asian American and Pacific Islander community has taken a step back in 2016,” Reign added. “We see ‘Ghost In The Shell’ with Scarlett Johansson, and ‘The Great Wall’ with Matt Damon, [Johannson was cast in a role of an Asian character and Damon’s film has been criticized for the ‘white savior’ trope in a film about China’s Great Wall] where there is no respect for the culture and genre there.”

Reign said she’s not looking for quotas — just “opportunities for people from marginalized communities.”

Recalcitrant studio heads still foster the belief that films with people of color can be fiscally risky, Reign said.

She points to the recent success of “Hidden Figures,” which stars three African American women, as proof those studio heads are wrong.

Made for a relatively small budget of $25 million, the film about the little known black female mathematicians and engineers at NASA in the 1960s, has grossed more than $144 million.

The film held the top spot at the box office for two consecutive weeks and scored Oscar nominations for Octavia Spencer for best supporting actress, best adapted screenplay and best picture.

Reign argues that good storytelling — with good writing and acting — will win out in Hollywood, no matter the color.

She said she sees encouragement in what’s happening on the small screen.

Television shows like “Atlanta,” “Insecure” and “Black-ish” are winning both critical acclaim and strong fan bases.

These and other projects add up to “an influx of entertainment that reflects the black experience,” Reign said.

“I use that phrase very intentionally, as opposed to saying ‘black film’ or ‘black TV show,’ because we have a juggernaut like ‘Empire’ that is killing the ratings every week and it’s not just black people who are watching that show, obviously,” she said. “What does a ‘black TV show’ mean?’ ‘Empire’ is about a dysfunctional family in the music industry that just happens to be black.”

The golden age of black television

A recent Nielsen study found that “several programs with a predominantly black cast or a main storyline focusing on a black character are drawing substantial non-black viewership.”

“While this isn’t the first time in history that a TV program with a black lead has drawn non-black audiences — think of “The Jeffersons,” “Sanford and Son” and “The Cosby Show” — what’s unusual now is the sheer number of such programs that are carrying cross-cultural appeal,” the study said.

“Storylines with a strong black character or identity are crossing cultural boundaries to grab diverse audiences and start conversations,” said Andrew McCaskill, senior vice president, Communications and Multicultural Marketing, at Nielsen. “That insight is important for culture and content creators.”

As for the future of #OscarsSoWhite, Reign believes there is still work to be done.

“#OscarsSoWhite will continue to be relevant until all people, regardless of who you are or where you’re from, can go into a movie theater — not just right before the deadline for awards season — and see themselves represented on the screen,” she said.

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from #OscarsSoWhite creator on what’s next