APOCALYPSE? HOW?

 

A nice picture of humanity

In the annals of bad years this has been right up there, I’m sure many of us have had bad years for personal reasons; death, break ups, mental health crisis, tragedies and so forth, but 2020 has been a shit show for the globe, an apocalypse, now.

But how did we get here, and how do we change things?

Maybe eating Bats, Pangolins and such like, kept and sold in horrific conditions wasn’t a good idea. Anyone with a moral compass, sense of compassion or basic common sense could see that this was a ticking time bomb. How a nation treats animals its citizens and the planet is an issue of culture and responsibility and in this regard the country where Wuhan, the birthplace of the globe spanning virus is located, needs to look at it’s part in this world event.

Now before anyone starts throwing around phrases like “its not China’s fault” I am not saying blame lays at the door of the Chinese people, I’m saying that a nation emboldened by the fact that they supply the world with cheaply made products has a government that appears to not really give too much of a damn about a number of things.

The West, needing to consume products at an ever-increasing rate, turns a blind eye to human rights and other matters that should cause concern. Yes every nation (pretty much) has its issues of personal interest and the way in which the virus has been dealt with in some countries emphasises this, but the reality is that if lessons aren’t learned from the Wuhan Wet Market catastrophe we face a repetition. 

Aside from the terrible number of deaths, economic disasters and mental health issues across the globe the knock on effect of the Covid-19 pandemic is and will be far reaching. 

Things will never be the same. 

We have seen the best of us and a worst of us. We have seen kindness, self-sacrifice, love, triumph over adversity and a togetherness rarely seen, but we have also seen selfish panic buying, disregard for mask wearing and social distancing alongside an alarming ignorance of the basics of epidemic control.

Our government have shown an incompetence that is in sharp contrasts to the amazing competence of the NHS under such hard conditions; both ends of the spectrum come into focus at these times. 

Is 2020 the year that was waiting in the wings for the planet, a planet full of nations run by governments who put there own interests before their citizens, their wildlife and the very land on which they stand?

Who knows?  But what should be a top priority for governments around the world is looking at how this pandemic can be controlled, minimised and ultimately eradicated and, vitally, how something similar can be prevented from ever happening again. However, self interest may be a barrier that will never be hurdled in achieving this.

A bit of a ramble today dear reader but that reflects my confusion as to the how, what and why of the situation. Roll on 2021. It may only be a symbolic change but let's invest in the idea that the turn of the year makes us all feel that there is a hope on the horizon.

DEPALMA FOR PRESIDENT

 

I love a conspiracy theory me, and one of the enduring ones is that Stanley Kubrick filmed a faked moon landing at the behest of the sitting President. We all know about Leni Riefenstahl and her use of her considerable filmmaking skills to promote Germany's despot in the 30's so  it occurred to me that maybe Trump's presidency is being managed by Brian DePalma. 

"Yes, but what proof do you have for your theory?" I hear you say dear reader, well, what can't speak can't lie, so i give you the following compelling evidence. Behold; 

What more proof do you need? The Master of post Hitchcock suspense has been quietly beavering away behind the scenes for years building up to his greatest triumph. Who needs Carrie, Tony Montana or Al Capone when you've got Donald Trump!

IDIOTIC TIMES

 

The more idiots you have the more chance there is for an idiotic culture, an idiotic mindset and an idiotic leader. 

Case in point Donald Trump; he doesn't even appear to be an idiot savant, just an idiot. The Hollywood community don't like him. The two actors held as, probably, the best living actors have been vocal in their dislike of the man, and Trump's assertion that Streep is an average actor does little to challenge his credentials as an idiot.

The reason I mention the Hollywood Community is that in America they are pretty much the only thing they have that comes close to an elite establishment that people listen to (rightly or wrongly). The irony that Trump, the arch showman, should be vilified by those who perform for a living should not be lost. Perhaps they can see through his man of the people, certain people that is, persona for the bad actor that he is.

When popular culture recognises an idiot for being an idiot you know that there is something wrong. Most creative people in the US don't like him, be that in the arts, music TV or cinema. I cannot recall a. sitting President having shows like The Good Fight, The Comey Rule and The Trump Show actively point out their failings; its pretty much unprecedented (see what I did there?). Most vitriol for Presidents has been presented in dramatic and documentary form after that President has left the White House.

In popular culture terms Trump is an Andy Warhol of a political leader; he seems like a piece of performance art. He is a Mr Magoo of a President, stumbling from one bad situation to the next, he's a less trustworthy Chauncey Gardiner without the charm, a Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Herbert Camacho.

Trump has proved that Pop will, and does eat itself and I can only conclude that Trump got in to power in the first place because he was just the right idiot in the right idiotic place at the right idiotic time

T E N E T I N V E R S I O N T H E R A P Y

                  

A Backlash is a backlash and generally when that involves cinema then the backlash starts before a film is even released. This was the case with Christopher Nolan and Tenet. The blockbuster with brains that was supposed to repopulate cinemas.

"is Nolan all that?', "yeah but Nolan films lack emotion don't they?", "can anyone understand the plot?". These were some common mitigations for the backlashers and the answer to all those questions is an emphatic "don't be ridiculous!"

Tenet is a fantastic movie, its so unabashedly brilliant that any flaws in it can be accepted like a tiny bit of sediment in a delicious pint of ale. Its therapy for those that have missed the big screen experience; its food for the starved.

Tenet is Nolan dialling up many elements to 11. It's touchstones  are Craig era James Bond, Mission Impossible, Heat and even Starship Troopers, but they are assimilated into Nolan's unique world view: one that is obsessed with time and space as his previous work shows. Hitchcock was known for exploring suspense and human nature and he is rightly lauded as being one of the very best film directors. Nolan has shared themes in his work too but let us not forget that his work covers many genres: Action, War,Period, Science Fiction, Superhero, Neo-Noir, Serial Killer and Mind Bending Thriller.

What makes Tenet so good? It's the fact that all the elements work perfectly together, The performances are very good and yes there's lots of exposition but, hey, this isn't a small arthouse movie after all. The Score by Ludwig Goransson is electrifying and adds tension (really high tension at times) and grandeur. Nolan's direction is seamless and the multiple plot twists and exemplary action sequences are extraordinarily well handled.

Where's the heart? the protagonists all have there own issues that they are dealing with and John David Washington is the 'Cary Grant North By NorthWest via Jason Bourne' of the piece. Washington to is both a lead with humanity and a bloody good action hero.Yes I like Tenet and I think Nolan is a very talented young British director. He's yet to make a bad film and Tenet is right up there with his best

Tenet was worth the trip back to the cinema. It was worth the anxiety and trepidation though some may not be ready to return to the Pictures (which is understandable) this is  a film that needs to be seen on the big screen. If there really was inversion  we would all be able to see it at the Cinema in an alternative time line but maybe it will find its biggest audience when its streams. That 52" TV may just be worth investing in after all.

THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT 2020

 

The brisk walk of a clucking junkie

Shouty gesticulation of a woman on hands free

Roads strewn with discarded canisters, from the thrill of nitrous oxide

That's entertainment, that's entertainment

Beggars at traffic lights and sitting on pavements 

Beside the cashpoint and under a bus stop

Two men on a bench sipping K Cider

Low hung trousers, walking like penguins

That's entertainment, that's entertainment

Blaring music; the sound of a wasp's nest, from the cars of low slung cliches

Riding the bus uncaring and mask-less

Immunity with the threat of knife wounds

That's entertainment, that's entertainment

The smell and the sight of a yellow chicken box 

Tossed aside with careless abandon

A sign defaced with a merit-less scrawl 

Another ambulance on a 999 call 

That's entertainment, that's entertainment

Two dealers texting in the midst of a crisis

Two dealers texting with the cynicism of commerce

Trading on misery and an increase in crime

Nobody cares 'cos "it don't affect us"

I said, that's entertainment, that's entertainment

Lies lies lies lies lies lies

Lies lies lies lies lies lies

Lies lies lies lies lies lies

Lies lies lies lies lies lies

Lies lies lies lies lies lies

                                           

                                                 (Washington/Weller)

THE SAINT OF EVERYMAN

A return to the cinema after a four month absence was, to be fair, a strange experience. I always rely on The Everyman Cinema to have lots of space in which to lounge and immerse oneself, and on this occasion that was still the case but it felt strange.There was a tension within the auditorium and a feeling of uncertainty, but a good movie can negate these external factors, so it's a good job I went to see Saint Frances 

Directed by Alex Thompson, written by Kelly O'Sullivan and starring O'Sullivan, this film is a breath of fresh air and is an unfussy tale well told. Now I would be the first to say that films with precocious small children in major roles can be an acquired taste but Ramona Edith Williams (age 5) as the titular Frances is clearly a natural and she manages to balance the brattishness of the character with an insight and innocence  that makes her slowly become more and more likeable. In this respect this is exactly what happens with O'Sullivan's Bridget as she searches for some kind of meaning within her underachieving life she creates a bond with Frances.

The main characters are well defined and  tell of the complexities of relationships, parenthood and guilt but in a non-preachy way.

It's funny, not laugh aloud funny, but finding the humour in tricky situations and the uncertainties of relationship building.

Yes, I soon forgot about the strange circumstances of the viewing as I became absorbed with the story.

Saint Frances is a great example of the relevance of independent cinema, handling big themes with an intimate approach. I await more from Thompson, O'Sullivan and of course Williams.

FINAL GIRLS

The final girl is a tradition seen more and more in horror movies and as the number of horror movies increases (we seem to like them) so do the number of final girls. For those wondering what a final girl is may I refer you to Sally Hardesty (1) Laurie Strode (2)  Ellen Ripley (3) Sarah Connor (4) and Sidney Prescott (5). There were final girls before the Seventies, notably Susy Hendrix (6). 
The final girl is the female last man standing, the one survivor the merciless killer cannot defeat. The fact that this trope is a woman surviving is interesting and two recent examples show the variety of final girls that can be called upon to have the last word in the genre of fear.

Hush and Gerald's Game both feature women in jeopardy both of whom survive using their wits and an inner strength that they didn't know they had: victims one minute warriors the next. 

  

Hush doesn't give us any glimpses into the killers motivation, he is just there killing people and the deaf mute woman is there summoning up courage and ingenuity to thwart him.\In Gerald's Games, as you would expect from a Stephen King adaptation, the horror is multi layered, the predicament extreme. The final girl digs deep (extremely deep to extricate herself and survive.

You could be forgiven for thinking that we have seen every permutation of the final girl but that's not the case, the final girl is the defining character in most horror now. Empathy, maybe that's what it's about, seeing a faceless killer, an unknown monster or a set of peril laden circumstances allows us to invest in the final girls efforts at outlasting their nemesis.
The list of final girls is a long one and they feature in some excellent movies as well as some mundane entries in horror franchises.Two notable final girls are Wendy Torrance (7) and Ellen Ripley both of whom use their maternal instincts to spur them on to survive a relentless enemy

The final girl is here to stay in what is generally considered a male dominated genre, and long may she outlast the others, and you know what? I think we should call them 'Final Women'



(1) The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
(2) Halloween
(3) Alien
(4) The Terminator
(5) Scream
(6)Wait Until Dark
(7) The Shinning

A PINT DOWN THE COVID ARMS

The big news is not that the number of deaths in the UK from Covid have reduced, its not that there is a cure that's been discovered, it's not even that we are in for a heatwave or an economic boom. The big news is that the pubs are open!

Yes that's right, Wetherspoons pubs up and down the country from Dover to Hull have served that first pint of refreshing Carling to Terry off the Estate.

The length and breadth of this Sceptred Isle has seen men in fisherman's waistcoats and glasses on strings round their necks bolt their breakfasts in order to get to the pub 'early doors'

We've seen young men slipping into their pristine Reebok classics and heading to the boozer with no more than a slice of toast clutched in their hand and a sip of milk (just to line the stomach)

But not to worry, for those that have had a lie in, the other pubs have opened their doors to the thirsty populace a couple of hours later.

To make things even better Sky and BT are showing Five Premier League games throughout the day and into the evening; perfect to give those that have conked out at midday after having thoroughly imbibed from 8:04am, a second wind.

What a day this promises to be and don't worry folks, Boris Johnson is sure of one thing: That the British Public will show Common Sense!

Cheers!

Nostalgia ain't what it used to be

I remember a time when people thought kindness was a good thing. A time when people had the headspace to reflect. A time when people cared about those that care for us. A time when people thanked staff at their local supermarket. A time when people realised that they could make do with less. A time when you could go for a walk in a quiet and civil atmosphere. A time when there were positive stories on the news to offset the reality of life during war time. A time when headlines were about a 99 year old man performing an act of great humility. A time when we all clapped and cheered for the NHS. A time when we valued what we didn't have.

Yes, I'm talking about the first half of the lockdown.

Now it seems that anger is back in fashion, anger at the expense of appreciation. Rioting? yes that's back on the agenda. We have that Pre-Covid trend, stabbing, returning. Appreciation of those that help? clearly that's gone out the window as we see tons and tons of litter left for others to clear up from Bournemouth to Anfield. 

Maybe people in general are just horrible. Maybe the early days of lockdown scared people in a way that made them nicer. Maybe the real British public don't care about anything other than themselves and woe betide anyone who tries to stop them gathering illegally, taking drugs, stealing, stabbing, fighting, begging, being anti-social, not giving a shit.

Of course when discussing the lockdown it is vital to remember all those that have passed and the families that they have left behind. This is the true cost, but we had an opportunity to be better as a nation, to be kinder and care more, to actually give a shit

It seems that not only have we lost lives but we've lost the chance of a brave new world.

NEW WORLD ORDER?

A lot going on in the world right now. A lot of thinking. a lot of reflection and a lot of anxiety.

We are beginning to go out into the world, a changed world, a world in which there are new considerations and old issues re-addressed. 

A brave new world or a soon forgotten moment? that's a question that's hard to answer but worth thinking about.

A pandemic has dominated most of the first half of the year and will be sitting at our shoulder for a long time to come. Inequality has been sitting at our collective shoulder for a long long time and is now dominating global thinking.

This blog is about popular culture and these issues have, and will, not only impact global culture on a continuing basis, but will resonate in popular culture. The arts have allowed people to express gratitude to those who have helped us stay healthy and show support for equality.
TV has bought us blow by blow coverage of things and has an opportunity to inform and discus
s things going forward. Cinema; reliant as it is on customers, will have to adapt ,and in regards to the power and influence films can have we may see the continuation of diversity being taken even further.

But what of music? This has for some time been the voice of youth and the way in which messages can be relayed.  Do we have the figures in the industry to produce 'music with a message'? I'm not so sure. But then again I am not a young person.

A global pandemic and a global movement. Two major events at the same time. Something we have never experienced before. I don't think that, until some point in the future when we look back, we can realise the enormity of the times we are living in.

Those on furlough have not been having a holiday; far from it. Furlough has meant less  income, uncertainty, concerns about returning and a disruption to routine along with anxiety about what the future holds. It has also allowed time for reflection and trying to project what the world will look like in practical terms.

With time to think, many will have had time to process the goings on in the USA and the way in which an act of horrific violence has led to a movement. Time to think will have also helped people recognise what needs to change.

As we renter blinking into a different world we all have to adapt and we all have to find ways to embrace the benefits of a more equal society. Going through a pandemic together should have united us but maybe it took the murder of a man to do that.

TO PROTECT AND SERVE?

The Virus continues, Dominic Cummings is still a thing, Social distancing is becoming not so social distancing but events in the USA have taken over everyone's attention.

Those entrusted to serve and protect have murdered yet another citizen; another black citizen. This time, as opposed to multiple other times, without impunity it seems.

The response has been one of protest; the percentage of which has been peaceful. The protest has been huge and the President of the US has responded with talk of military domination, intervention and a Wild West attitude. Police Officers  are assigned to stand guard and intimidate protestors and they are heavily armed doing so.

In the US the constitution is quoted often (especially the 2nd amendment as it pertains to the massive gun industry) and the right to public assembly is there in the first amendment, yet the man at he top of The World's Greatest DemocracyTM is dead set against people having this right. His view seems to be that all protestors are criminals.

Let's make something clear. Looting is not a part of a peaceful protest. Looting is opportunistic behaviour that says something about the looter and their morality.

In a way, it all boils down to rights; human rights. The right to be treated equally, the right to seek justice, the right to leave your home in the morning and not be killed simply because of the colour of your skin, especially by those very institutions that are there to uphold your rights.

Murders, executions and assassinations of people of colour in the US by the police have been going on for ages (literally) and in this time of lockdown where news is dominated by one story the shocking film of the latest murder has struck a chord.

Bottom line is that people want justice and want lessons to be learned. People want the type of discrimination that leads to state approved murder to cease and they are taking to the streets to that end. This issue has united people, this issue has made people have the debate, this issue has prompted thought.

The response of meeting  protests with sanctioned violence is something that US politicians cite as monstrous behaviour in other countries but validate in their own. Then again the US was founded on violence, genocide and slavery so there is previous in this regard. However, the protests are showing that there are many, many, many Americans that abhor the way in which their fellow citizen's are treated and maybe that's why their president can't handle the show of support

Will this issue bring about change? who knows, but one thing that is important to remember about this issue is that the issue is a man's life. A man asphyxiated by a public servant, calmly and systematically in broad daylight and with an audience. 

If the elected leader of the country in which this happened can't understand why this has led people to take to the streets then he's dumber than he looks.

THE RETURN OF WHAT?

So what do we all think about the return of the Premier League and The Arsenal playing a minimum of 11 matches (this includes the FA Cup quarter final) and most other teams playing 9 games? The time frame that I have seen quoted seems a bit ambitious. 

Is this about commerce, sport, uplifting the nation or something else? Is it about the economy?

I’m assuming that this will coincide with pubs reopening and some people getting carried away, after all football on the telly with this schedule is unprecedented:

Games on a Friday will kick off at 8pm.

Saturday matches will start either at 12.30pm, 3pm, 5.30pm and 8pm.

Sunday matches will kick off at either 12pm, 2pm, 4.30pm and 7pm.

Games on a Friday will kick off at 8pm.

Midweek games on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays will kick off at either 6pm or 8pm.

I haven’t even mentioned the European Tournaments and how it would be possible to fulfil those fixtures. 

I also wonder if it will be a success or a reminder of how far football, Pre-Covid, has eaten itself? Avaricious agents, sky high ticket prices, fixtures moved at the whim of broadcasters, the fan being treated as customer: and not a very valued customer at that. The match day experience costing an arm and a leg and the corporate boxes full of bystanders, will this pandemic with it's inevitable self reflection have an impact on all that?

For whoever goes on to win the League & FA Cup will those victories feel tainted to the fans of those clubs or will it be a moment of joy in what has been a pretty joyless year?

I can’t help but think that this commencement of football is all about money. Money for the clubs, the TV companies, the breweries, the advertisers and all the cogs in the football machine

Maybe I’m over thinking it and it’s simply about getting the football back on the box and the pubs back open. After all this would be a great distraction from this government's chicanery! 

Life During War Time

Let's get something straight; this is war, a war against a virus, which means we have been, and are still living in war time. Its life on the home front where wearing pants is no longer a daily necessity, where alarm clocks are semi-retired, where binge watching TV shows is not frowned upon. We have new days within our seven day weeks; Thurnsday, Fraterday and Wunday. After all when the pattern of daily life is disrupted who can tell what day it is?
Measurements of social distancing seem to vary according to the whims of the person in front, or behind you in the M&S queue and we've learned that masks come in all shapes and sizes (along with people's levels of suspicion). We've got to know the guy that stands at the door of our local supermarket, telling us when we can enter, and the quickest way to reach the alcohol aisle with the least amount of touching foreign objects. We've got bored of the Downing Street daily briefings and got used to pouring scorn on excruciating celebrity sing alongs designed to raise our spirits. We've made the Thursday clapping of the NHS part of our schedules and we've all found at least one thing to agree upon: that Captain Tom is an amazing bloke.
Many of us have discovered that Zoom is not just the name of a Seventies rocket shaped ice lolly and that TikTok isn't just the opening line of  Tick Tock You Don't Stop by J Hanna. We've also learned that memories are short. No really, they are. Here's a list of things that I had forgotten about from before the war:
Extinction Rebellion, VAR, Philip Schofield coming out, Meghan, Pizza Express Woking, Harvey Weinstein being banged up, Veganism, Brexit and The new James Bond theme tune.
Apart from rightfully celebrating victory over the Nazis, VE day was seen as a bit of celebration of Covid being sort of conquered-Victory over Epidemic if you will, and with the muddled messages from Boris about staying alert we have seen more people taking to the street.
I get that impatience and boredom play a big part, not to mention income, but I can't help but feel that many people are suffering from Premature Elation.
The all clear sirens haven't been sounded and the armed forces of Covid-19 have not conditionally surrendered. Its not yet peace in our time.
One day we will be together with the hope that here will be no more war, but like the days following WWII we may very well have to live on metaphorical rations for some time to come. Those that fought on the front line will hopefully be remembered in the years to come and be remunerated accordingly. let's hope that Boris and his cohorts remember the few that did so much for the many.

COVID VISITORS

I don't like people, that is to stay I don't like being in crowds of people. The Tube, buses, the High street where I work, Festivals, Night Clubs; well you get the picture.

Am I missing people? no absolutely not and part of me is anxious about returning to the  world of the masses after this is over. 

But I am going to contradict myself here and say "I like people". That is people that I care about. These people bring joy, good humour and love to the party. Seeing them on computer screens, hearing their voices, reading there communications just isn't the same as the real thing

I have met new people  though, Ive had these visitors; there's Tony from After Life, Joe Exotic, Marianne and Connell from Normal People, Paul and Ally from Breeders, Michael Jordan, Dennis Rodman and Scottie Pippen, The Gangs of London, Chris Tarrant via Michael Sheen, the people racing from Mexico City to Ushuaia among others. Quite a long list actually.

When we look back at theses times we may not remember what we did with our time, much less what we watched, but the one show that will probably have the most resonance may very well be After Life. At a time when things have slowed down the pace of this extraordinary TV series fits perfectly. Tony has contact through the computer screen with a life he once had and struggles to see a future. The reflective nature of the story can be digested because we have time to do so. We can empathise with the mundanity, recognise the good that squeezes out of the characters and most importantly feel lifted by the thought that one day we will be able to move on from this.

Yes it has flaws but I can think of very few TV programmes that have fitted in perfectly within the times that they have been released in.

Welcoming these fictional characters into our homes helps. No they are not the real thing, but in lieu of that, they feel like, well, people.

COVID QUARANTINE DECODED

Wakey! Wakey! Rise and shine! Another day dawns, and another, and another...well, you get the picture.

Life during lockdown is life on hold for the most part. Time to catch up on those films and box sets, those books you always meant to read, that film script/novel/play you thought you would never find time to write. Time to learn Cantonese, the Trumpet and how to bake sourdough. Time to work on your core and get all those jobs done around the house. time to see how long your hair can grow, how few showers you can take and how many hours you can go without an alcoholic drink.

And then what?

Just relaxing, taking it easy and enjoying the sun from your garden or balcony somehow has a sense of guilt attached. Not doing your daily exercise and coming out the other end as some sort of  chiseled type that can sport a skin tight shirt, skinny jeans that have had an argument with their ankles and a man bun.

Eating and drinking is not only pleasurable but, let's face it, helps while away the hours. However everyone is worrying about their intake just to add to the more obvious concerns.

When this is all over (and how many times have you heard this phrase?) will we emerge from our cocoons like butterflies or burrowing insects? will we see a kinder society, more considerate and reflective communities? Will we be grateful for the small things? Hard to say. Certainly there will be sub cultures of the Post-COVID to be defined, analysed and categorised:

The CONVIDEOGAMERS- They will emerge blinking into the light, hallucinating hostile AI every time they visit the chicken shop bought on by hours and hours of game play in curtain drawn bedrooms

The COVNIDEGOISTS- Having spent the duration exercising like an American Con in an Alabama prison yard, they will renter society bulging with muscles, 0%fat and massive narcissism 

The CONVESTIGATORS- weeks of investigating and researching will yield countless experts on the global pandemic, Bat DNA, Bermuda Triangle, Uri Geller 5G, Beiderbeck  conspiracy. They will, of course, have ben right all along.

The CONVIDIABETICS - Those with pre Corona diets of appalling grey matter from chicken shops will have gorged on substitute material and family sized bottles of full fat Coke and therefore will wobble back onto the high street at an even slower rate than before

I'm not saying that there will be a ravaged landscape populated by gangs of mutated twerps, but we should prepare ourselves for the worst. The best way to do this, I reckon, is to choose the kindness option. Being considerate and appreciative of what we've been through and those who have put themselves on the line for the greater good has to be the answer. Being the Butterfly and not the exo-skeletoned freak has to be more appealing.

Even a cynic like me can believe in a better post COVID world.