Weekend Reads: The Vast of Night, Summer Blockbusters, Cards Against Humanity, Facebook
Recommended weekend reading material for July 4, 2020.
Every week, I compile a list of interesting, thought-provoking, and enjoyable articles, blog posts, and reviews. I hope they provide you with some good weekend reading material.
Jeffrey Overstreet reviews one of my favorite movies of 2020, The Vast of Night.
As with last-year’s biggest sci-fi surprise, Zeek Earl and Chris Caldwell’s Prospect, The Vast of Night is a reminder that less is more, most of the time, and while cinema can dazzle us with special effects wizardry, it does us far more good when it calls upon that priceless capacity within its audience: their own imaginations.
From my own review of The Vast of Night: “[it’s] an understated genre movie that takes a familiar storyline and presents it in a way that feels fresh and unique.”
It looks like it’ll be awhile before we’re comfortable sitting in movie theaters again, so let’s take a few moments to remember and mourn the great summer blockbusters of yore, like Mission: Impossible.
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to reboot a dated franchise with modern genre conventions and one of the biggest stars in the world. Needless to say, it worked, and Tom Cruise’s Mission: Impossible franchise is still as popular today as it was when the first movie was released.
I recently watched Mission: Impossible with my kids. Parts of it were pretty dated (check out that Apple PowerBook 5300c) but it was still really enjoyable, and obviously a sign of things to come for the movie franchise.
Beloved actor and comedian Carl Reiner died earlier this week at the age of 98.
Born in the Bronx, Reiner came to prominence in the 1950s as a performer and writer on Caesar’s legendary live variety programs Your Show of Shows and Caesar’s Hour, the wacky live primetime variety shows that also served as career springboards for Brooks, Woody Allen, Larry Gelbart, Neil Simon, Howard Morris, Imogene Coca and others.
Alan Alda, Mel Brooks, Jamie Lee Curtis, Steve Martin, Bette Midler, and more have paid tribute to Reiner. One of my favorite Reiner tributes was this delightful Twitter thread.
Here’s an unexpected side effect of the pandemic: Sony is planning to produce animated features geared towards adults.
“I don’t think you’re going to see more family animated movies because that’s very saturated,” she said. “There will be more R-rated animated movies.” While Sony hasn’t yet made one, she added, “There are a couple we’re working on and we’re really excited about releasing our first one. I think you’re going to see PG-13 animated movies, which is something you haven’t seen before. Harder action-adventure sort of stuff.”
As a longtime anime fan, I’m surprised it took this long for Hollywood studios to realize that animation doesn’t have to be restricted to “family friendly” fare. (Of course, there have been many Western animation titles that are not for kids, like some of the DC animated movies and the recent Mortal Kombat movie. But those were direct-to-video releases, not theatrical releases.)
Cards Against Humanity’s brand has always been about edgy satire that pushes the limits of good taste. But some claim that the game’s off-color humor was a cover for bigotry and a toxic work culture.
[I]n the wake of the many allegations of workplace abuse, racism, and sexual harassment made by former staff members, along with the rape allegation against Temkin, former fans and supporters are questioning whether the company that spent years putting “jokes” about such issues onto the shelves of urbane, white, middle-class households across America was actually ever in on its own joke.
In response to the situation, Cards Against Humanity’s staff has decided to unionize.
Want to buy some good comics and support some good causes? Check out this Image Comics bundle. Pay $18 or more and get a bunch of acclaimed comic titles, including Invincible, Plutona, Oblivion Song, and Black Science. I’m a big fan of Black Science in particular; it’s a truly ambitious — and very trippy — sci-fi epic (read my review).
More and more people and organizations are adopting a “zero tolerance” approach to racism. Unfortunately, this zeal for justice has led to some innocent people getting targeted and punished.
Cafferty was punished for an offense he insists he did not commit. Shor was punished for doing something that most wouldn’t even consider objectionable. Wadi was punished for the sins of his daughter. What all of these rather different cases have in common is that none of the people who were deprived of a livelihood in the name of fighting racism appear to have been guilty of actually perpetuating racism.
Via NextDraft.
Although Facebook has been trying to prevent the spread of pandemic misinformation, the social media giant still approves ads filled with falsehoods.
Some of the ads were subtle: One claimed that people under 30 are “safe” and should go to school, work, or parties, but didn’t refer to the coronavirus by name. Others were more blatant. “Coronavirus is a HOAX,” blared one example, while another message encouraged people to ignore social distancing recommendations because they don’t make “any difference AT ALL.” One of the most egregious advertisements told people to “stay healthy with SMALL daily doses” of bleach.
Numerous advertisers (e.g., Ben & Jerry's, Coca-Cola, Eddie Bauer, Honda) are boycotting Facebook to protest the social media giant’s handling of conspiracy theories, hate speech, and misinformation. Via 1440.
Abigail Murrish reviews D. L. Mayfield’s The Myth of the American Dream.
Mayfield’s doubts about the American Dream are not, first and foremost, a function of her political beliefs. They arise, instead, from thoughtful observation of the lives of her neighbors. Much of her adult life has been spent working with and living alongside refugee groups, often in the capacity of teaching English classes. Seeing the struggles those refugees endure while trying to gain an economic and cultural foothold in the United States has moved her to fresh consideration of why the American Dream seems so cruelly unattainable to those on the lower rungs of society.
In Opus-related news, the latest subscriber playlist and playlist breakdown podcast were sent out to paying subscribers earlier this week. This month’s playlist focuses on a group of musicians that I call “nostalgists.” Consisting of bands like July Skies and epic45, these “nostalgists” create dreamy, softly melancholy music that — as the label suggests — is permeated with a sense of nostalgia and wistfulness.
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