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A flimsy surrogate; and yet…

faith and the Census

and yet When the singer/songwriter/actress Sara Bareilles was on some morning show recently, she was asked how she was faring in the era of COVID-19. She noted that while she was staying connected via ZOOM, et al., it wasn’t at all the same thing. Each substitute was a “flimsy surrogate” for the real thing.

This resonated with me greatly. I’ve discovered that there are actually MORE chances for hearing music, seeing productions, and interacting with performers. It’s actually a bit overwhelming, truth to tell. Broadway World alone has tons of video opportunities, more than I can avail myself of. Search YouTube for COVID music or coronavirus music and you’ll find a wealth of clever items. The OUTKAST parody Hey-Ya “Ro-Na is a current favorite.

But I miss hugging. I am told that I’m a very good hugger. How one measures that, I have no idea.

I miss going to the movies. Will there be movie theaters next year? Yeah, there are lots of films available on my TV, computer, and even phone. Nah, I’m NOT watching a movie on my phone.

Not the Lone Ranger

The problem with masks is that people don’t recognize me. I was at a Farmers Market and I said hello to one of my state legislators. They said, “Hello to you, whoever you are.” If I wanted to begin my life of crime, maybe now would be a good time.

And I don’t recognize others. At the one Black Lives Matter events my daughter allowed me to attend with her – it WAS Juneteenth – some nice young man brought us water. It wasn’t until he pulled down his mask that I recognized him as the son of great friends of mine; I’ve known him his whole life.

Ordering food is an adventure. Which one of the seven online websites should I order from? GrubHub or EatStreet or AllMenus or MealO or something else? There are places, fine sit-down restaurants where I’ve eaten, whose menus just don’t translate well to take-out. And yet: the sushi place I ordered from for my wife’s birthday was quite fine.

Having nothing to do with WGBH in Boston

The problem of ZOOM meetings there seems to be so many of them. And yet: the Olin family reunion – my mother-in-law’s people – wouldn’t have met at all without it. And they’ve gathered for over three-quarters of a century. While some of the regulars didn’t make it, others who had moved away were able to “attend.”

My choir meets every two or three weeks. On the one hand, we miss the singing. Getting details about the music we’re not performing is sad. And yet: one of the choir members suggested we share our joys and concerns. That’s something we’d do at the end of every rehearsal. The addition was profoundly meaningful.

I’ve had the chance to go to the Adult Education class, which I could rarely attend in the past because it conflicted with the choir. I’ve even gotten to facilitate it once, about my Martin Luther King references on the blog. And I’m doing another one on July 26 at 8:45 a.m. EDT about faith and the Census. (If you’re that much of a Census junkie, I’ll email/IM you the ZOOM link.)

My Tuesday morning Bible study group stopped meeting for the summer. And yet: the Thursday morning group, which I began attending, continues on. I’ve even led the discussion once and I’ll do it again next month.

The church service is actually on Facebook. We do communion with, as instructed, with whatever is available. That might mean Wheat Thins and shot glasses of Blueberry Peach Cobbler from our local cidery.

Advances in technology

The opportunity to go into my bank has been diminished. And yet: the ATM at my bank, which had dispensed only twenty-dollar bills since forever is now allowing customers to get tens and fives. So if I need $100, I could get 3 $20s, 2 $10s, and 4 $5s, or whatever combination I want.

I understand my former colleagues are now more productive working from home.

My wife is now enamored with Google Classroom, which she barely used five months ago.

There are some innovations, such as no-touch door openers.

So we continue to adapt.

FTC Disclaimer: I noted links to a couple of products/services positively, but I received no remuneration for doing so.

Best Black Movies of the 21st Century

Existentially true

George_Washington_Film Rotten Tomatoes came up with the 100 Best Black Movies of the 21st Century. They “defined Black films as those that centered on African American stories and African American characters, or – as in the case of Black Panther – were made by Black filmmakers and were embraced by African American audiences.” I could have split the list in half, but there are more films I saw in the upper half (23) than the lower half (7). So here’s #100-#31 today, and the Top 30 another time.

#100 – #96 Saw none of these. I wanted to see Drumline but didn’t. Ghost Dog seemed too dark. Yes, I know 2000 is the 20th century; it’s not my list.
#95 Dreamgirls (2006). I enjoyed chunks of it, but not throughout.
#94 GET ON UP (2014) – a biopic starring Chadwick Boseman as singer James Brown I had intended to see.

#93 George Washington (2000) – I went to see it based on Roger Ebert’s glowing review, and it did not disappoint. Yes, as another critic pointed out, it was “visual poetry.
#92 MARSHALL (2017) a biopic starring Chadwick Boseman as Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall I had intended to see.
#91 RAY (2004) a biopic starring Jamie Foxx as singer Ray Charles I had intended to see. I saw bits and pieces on TV.

Jackie Robinson

#90 Love and Basketball (2000) – I recall enjoying the story of a young “couple navigates the tricky paths of romance and athletics.” Also, in retrospect, it reminds me of my niece Rebecca and her husband Rico.
#89 Barbershop (2002) – I saw this on commercial TV. Existentially true.
#88 – #86 – saw none of these. I only know of Hustle and Flow because of the music.
#85 42 (2013). A biopic starring Chadwick Boseman as baseball player Jackie Robinson I DID see.

#84 – #81 – saw none, though I thought to see Chi-Raq for Spike Lee’s direction, and American Gangster for Denzel.
#80 Monster’s Ball (2002) – I remember thinking it was very good, especially Halle Berry’s performance, but depressing.
#79 MIDDLE OF NOWHERE (2012) #78 BAD BOYS FOR LIFE (2020) – the premise of some movies just don’t interest me; Bad Boys is one.
#77 Akeelah and the Bee. It’s very sweet. BTW, while I was a good speller, I would be terrible at spelling bees.

#76 – #73 – I’m quite fond of Nina Simone’s music (#75 WHAT HAPPENED, MISS SIMONE? (2015). The trailer to #74 Queen and Slim (2019) was intriguing but maybe too real.
#72 The Princess and the Frog (2009) – this may have been the first movie I took my daughter to in a theater. Unfortunately, she was five, and afraid of certain elements. She’s seen it since and she’s fine. I liked it more than I thought I would.

#71 PRESENTING PRINCESS SHAW (2016) through #47 DAVE CHAPPELLE’S BLOCK PARTY (2006) – I saw NONE of these, save for #60 STANDING IN THE SHADOWS OF MOTOWN (2002). The other ones about music – #68 MISS SHARON JONES! (2016); and #52 MILES DAVIS: BIRTH OF THE COOL (2019) were of interest, and I almost went to see #54 WHITNEY (2018). I REALLY wish I had seen #48 DEAR WHITE PEOPLE (2014). But I steered clear of #51 DETROIT (2017), which seemed far too real, just from the trailer.

Bryan Stevenson

#46 Just Mercy (2020). On those lists of black films that white people should see, this film often shows up. Yet some list-makers dismiss it because it took place in the past and in the South, as though it somehow doesn’t count. I’m mystified by that.
#45 CREED II (2018) #44 GOOD HAIR (2009) – I REALLY wanted to see Good Hair, because the issue of black females’ hair has been an issue much of my life.

#43 STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON (2015) – I really had intended to see this when it was in theaters, but it didn’t happen.
#42 SUPPORT THE GIRLS (2018) #41 IT COMES AT NIGHT (2017) #40 LUCE (2019) – Luce was intriguing, but it didn’t stay long enough in theaters.
#39 DJANGO UNCHAINED (2012) – I made the deliberate decision not to see this Tarantino film, which I discussed here.
#38-#33 I never got around to see Precious.

#32 Step (2017) – I did see this, maybe on TV. Inspiring.
#31 13TH (2016). In the summer of 2019, my daughter compelled me to watch 13th. She’d already watched it a half dozen times at that point, and more subsequently. It is one of those films on most everyone’s lists of black films to see. I’ve recommended it myself.

GWTW, Song of the South, and race

the highest-grossing movie ever

Song of the South.Aunt Tempy — Hattie McDaniel as Aunt Tempy

When Gone With the Wind was temporarily shelved by HBO Max before returning with an intro by a black scholar, I knew I had to make a confession. I have actually never seen the movie. Ever.

Oh, I tried a couple times. After all, adjusting for inflation, the 1939 film is the highest-grossing movie ever. Its appearance on commercial television, in two parts in 1976, were both in the Top 10 of the highest-rated broadcasts of all-time.

But nope. It was frankly boring to me. I just didn’t give a damn about watching it.

The GWTW news reminded some of us about the indignities faced by Hattie McDaniel. She played “Mammy” in the movie, for which she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Know that she became the FIRST African American to win an Oscar. “She and her escort were required to sit at a segregated table for two… The discrimination continued after the award ceremony as well as her white costars went to a ‘no-blacks’ club, where McDaniel was denied entry.”

She was philosophical about her movie roles. “Why should I complain about making $700 a week playing a maid? If I didn’t, I’d be making $7 a week being one.”

Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah

Now, this very year, I DID finally see Hattie McDaniel in the movie Song of the South (1946), in which she played Aunt Tempy. “The kindhearted storyteller Uncle Remus tells [children] stories about trickster Br’er Rabbit, who outwits Br’er Fox and slow-witted Br’er Bear.”

Its controversial history is well known. Walter Francis White, the Executive Secretary, said in 1946 that the organization “recognizes in Song of the South remarkable artistic merit in the music and in the combination of living actors and the cartoon technique. It regrets, however, that in an effort neither to offend audiences in the north or south, the production helps to perpetuate a dangerously glorified picture of slavery. Making use of the beautiful Uncle Remus folklore, Song of the South, unfortunately, gives the impression of an idyllic master-slave relationship which is a distortion of the facts.”

A couple of clarifications. I never got the sense that the story took place during slavery, but rather during Reconstruction. Yes, Uncle Remus does the Magic Negro thing near the end, but it was the times. And the film itself was well done, as the NAACP chief noted, with the usual solid Disney animation and fine acting by James Baskett.

While the narrative of the Uncle Remus stories in cartoon form made me uncomfortable, I’ve seen so much worse. The Abraham scene in Holiday Inn (1942), which I wrote about seven years ago. Alas, the link no longer works. But A.O. Scott in his 2008 Critics’ Picks for the New York Times, provides a snippet.

Here’s something awful: Judy Garland in blackface in Everybody Sing (1938). Chuck Miller notes Warner Bros. cartoons that should stay out of circulation.

In that context, I didn’t find Song of the South nearly as offensive as I had built it up in my mind. Judge for yourself.

Finally, on my DVD: Coco (2017)

Best Animated Feature Film

Coco Not that long after it came out on DVD, I received Coco (2017) for Christmas or my birthday, since I never had a chance to see it at the cinema. Surely, we could get ONE of the three DVD players in our house to operate, couldn’t we? Well, no, not for about two years.

Finally, a friend of my daughter’s figured how to get me to work, just in time for the pandemic. I now have dozens of DVDs to watch. But I’ve found time to watch only the one, so far.

That choice was most worthwhile. Despite his family’s baffling generations-old ban on music, Miguel (voice of newcomer Anthony Gonzalez) dreams of becoming a famous musician. He wanted to be like his hero, Ernesto de la Cruz (Benjamin Bratt).

Through a narrative that makes sense to the story, Miguel finds himself in the stunning and colorful Land of the Dead. Along the way, he meets a trickster named Hector (Gael García Bernal). Together, they unravel the complex story behind Miguel’s family history.

Pixar

This Pixar product, like most, is a reflection of quality filmmaking. The animation is extraordinary, with its dazzling colors. It is also a story with a lot of heart and passion which has been praised for its respect for Mexican culture.

The screenplay by Adrian Molina and Matthew Aldrich is based on an original idea by director Lee Unkrich. It is an excellent redemption tale. The voice actors are wonderful, including Ana Ofelia Murguía as Mamá Socorro “Coco” Rivera, Miguel’s great-grandmother.

No wonder Coco won Best Animated Film at the Oscars, Golden Globes, BAFTA, and from several other entities. It won the Oscar for Best Song, Remember Me, written by the prolific songwriting team of Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez. Composer Michael Giacchino, who had worked on prior Pixar animated features, composed the fine score.

Review: Tombstone Rashomon

faux-documentary

Frank_Ike_02 - TOMBSTONE RASHOMON I got this email earlier in April: “TriCoast would like to offer Ramblin’ with Roger a review of the western mockumentary, ‘Tombstone Rashomon’, directed by Alex Cox (Repo Man, Sid & Nancy).” I said yes. I waited a week, then wrote to the other rep in the email, who apologized and gave me the access key.

By then, I was busy. Still, I promised to review it, so I watched it yesterday. First off, inherently I love Rashomon constructs, based on the classic 1951 film. We do so often have eyewitness accounts that vary wildly in detail.

Surprise! The film actually shows up on the IMDB, with a release date of 2017. Alex Cox had started this project on the crowdfunding website Indiegogo.

From one review: “The opening text of Tombstone Rashomon tells the audience about a time-traveling camera crew who went back in time and accidentally got to Tombstone the day after the notorious gunfight,” i.e. October 28, 1881. We’re left with supposed eyewitness accounts. “This firmly tells the audience that… there’s going to be a little fun had with the story…”

No in-world consistency

Another reviewer admitted, “It might not make sense, but it might also be the best thing I’ve ever seen in any movie ever. I just don’t know.”

For instance, the “Hungarian born Mary Katherine Horony-Cummings, here simply known as Kate (Christine Doidge) assign the incorrect gender pronouns to the men she talks about.” This is apparently accurate, but it’s either funny or tiresome, or, for me, a bit of both.

More on target was the bit when the off-screen narrator asks Wyatt Earp to “Hold the book to your breast for a longer moment.” Later, Doc Halliday’s tale is interrupted in a manner consistent with what we historically know about the man.

Here are the two Rotten Tomatoes reviews. I agree with both of them.

“As a link to Rashomon, it doesn’t work because there have been so many mockumentaries throughout cinema that it feels like the attempt to link the two is yet another attempt to suggest the filmmakers are cleverer than they really are.”

“That’s the beauty of Tombstone Rashomon: despite having almost no budget, no stars, and no in-world consistency, it’s aggressively not content to fit into any one descriptor. It’s a faux-documentary-western-science-fiction-time-travel-homage.”

For those of you, like me, who isn’t greatly fond of bloodshed, for all the gunplay, it’s quite tame in this department.

“TriCoast Entertainment will release ‘Tombstone Rashomon’ onto DVD in store and online April 21st (Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy, Target, Deep Discount DVD, DVD Planet, CC Video and more). Pre-order on Amazon.”
Wyatt_08 - TOMBSTONE RASHOMON