People gather at Holiday gas station where Dolal Idd was shot and killed by Minneapolis Police for a vigil on December 31, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.Stephen Maturen/Getty Images
Police in Minneapolis released body camera footage that appeared to show a 23-year-old man was the first to open fire before he was shot and killed by officers during an attempted traffic stop on Wednesday. It’s difficult to make out the video but the footage from the cameras worn by one of the officers seems to confirm at least part of law enforcement’s version of events. But demonstrators who gathered at a vigil Thursday said it wasn’t as conclusive as officers were claiming and insist there are other things law enforcement could have done rather than open fire.
The video shows an officer stepping out of a squad car and screaming at the man law enforcement was trying to stop. The man then tries to drive away but is blocked by other squad cars. “Hands up! Police! Hands up!” one officer yells. Then there appears to be at least one shot fired from inside the car before officers returned fire. The man seems to have shot through the rolled up window, shattering the glass toward the outside of the car. Officers then fired more than a dozen shots into the car. Authorities confirmed the man killed was Dolal Idd, 23. His family had already released his identity to the media earlier in the day.
Police Chief Medaria Arradondo said the release of the video demonstrated how his department is committed to transparency while the investigation is ongoing. But he also made clear that for now the evidence shows that officers were not the first to open fire. “From my view of the video and the preliminary information that also mentioned that a witness saw the individual fire first at the officers, my officers were reacting to that deadly threat,” Arradondo said. “The investigation will uncover more details, but the question is, ‘Should the officers not react in a deadly force situation and knowing that community members’ lives were at stake as well?’ The officers are trained to protect community members’ lives and their own.”
The death of Idd was the first police killing in Minneapolis since George Floyd in May. Dozens of protesters gathered at the site of the killing Thursday, calling for an investigation and insisting the bodycam footage isn’t as conclusive as authorities are claiming. “It blows my mind that that’s even a question for people to be like well that person shot first or this and this. Don’t we have all these different classes and trainings that the people go to in order to avoid a situation where its escalated to the point where there’s a weapon drawn,” a Minneapolis resident said. Jaylani Hussein, the director of the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said the video was “inconclusive” and there are many ways the officers could have handled the situation without opening fire. “There are so many ways to deal with incidents like this. They have no de-escalation efforts at all,” he said.
from Slate Magazine https://ift.tt/35ihbpd
via IFTTT
Senator David Perdue speaks at a campaign event attended by Ivanka Trump and Senator Kelly Loeffler on December 21, 2020 in Milton, Georgia.Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images
Georgia Sen. David Perdue and his wife have gone into quarantine after they were in close contact with someone who tested positive for the coronavirus. The move comes mere days after the state’s runoff elections Tuesday in which the Republican senator will be facing off against Democrat Jon Ossoff. On that day, Fellow Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler will be facing off against Raphael Warnock and the two races will be key to determining which party controls the Senate.
Perdue was notified Thursday that someone in his campaign tested positive. And while he and his wife tested negative, they went into quarantine as a precaution. “This morning, Senator Perdue was notified that he came into close contact with someone on the campaign who tested positive for COVID-19,” the campaign said in a statement. “Both Senator Perdue and his wife tested negative today, but following his doctor’s recommendations and in accordance with CDC guidelines, they will quarantine. The Senator and his wife have been tested regularly throughout the campaign, and the team will continue to follow CDC guidelines.” It is unclear how long Perdue will continue to be in quarantine and whether he’ll return to the campaign trail before the Tuesday runoff. For now, Perdue is scheduled to appear at a rally with President Donald Trump on Monday.
Perdue had been furiously campaigning across Georgia in an effort to win an advantage in what polls have shown is a tight race. Ossoff, Perdue’s opponent in the election, quickly sent out a statement. “I hope David, Bonnie, the campaign staff and supporters remain healthy and COVID-negative,” Ossoff wrote on Twitter. Perdue sent out a tweet thanking people for their support.
The Georgia Senate races had already been hit by quarantines in an earlier part of the campaign. Last month, Loeffler went into quarantine after she received a positive COVID-19 test followed by one with an inconclusive result.
from Slate Magazine https://ift.tt/2X4Cg1u
via IFTTT
I am the mother of two beautiful little brown girls, ages 2 and 5. Daddy is Black, and I am as white as a mayonnaise sandwich. We started a dialogue about race with my oldest early on and are trying to teach her pride in her heritage and features. On her first day of preschool, she proudly presented me with a coloring page with a little girl with white skin and blond hair. I casually asked why she colored the girl that way, got a nonanswer, and warily chalked it up to coincidence. When I paid a little more attention, I noticed that she would make negative comments about her hair. In some games, she makes her character white with straight blond hair, and she always chooses the white Barbie. She has said she doesn’t like darker skin and that she “just wants to look different sometimes.” I understand wishing you looked a little different, but it set off alarm bells when I heard this. I asked her about it again, and we talked, but now she avoids the issue with me.
I’d been attempting to get my kids better connected with the Black community, hoping that that would help since we live pretty far away from family, but I also feel anxiety over my baby getting comments about being light-skinned. And since COVID struck, our family has been isolated, so I’m stuck without knowing how to move forward. I tell my daughter that she is beautiful and her skin is gorgeous, but I don’t know if it’s getting through. I’ve conferred with my husband, but he seems to think it’s a phase and says not to worry about it too much. I get the feeling this will be an ongoing issue no matter what I do. I don’t know where this is coming from; she’s only 5! I’m concerned about her avoiding this topic with me now and worried that I might’ve scared her off by being proactive. I’m also unsure how much of this is standard “girl stuff” versus the result of internalized messages about race and beauty. She’s also super into princesses, which is not helping either. How can I help my baby girl be confident and feel beautiful in her skin?
—Please Love Yourself
Dear P.L.Y.,
I am glad you wrote this letter; too often, folks take what seems to be the easy way out by looking the other way or hoping that by refusing to “make a big deal” about hair texture and complexion that, somehow, little girls being raised in a caste system will grow up with their self-image intact. You won’t “scare her off” the subject, and you actually should have started this work when your oldest was a bit younger. Luckily, your girls are still very small and very much open to being indoctrinated into the churches of “Black Is Beautiful” and “Black Girls Are Magic.”
You have a difficult task before you, but one that has been successfully completed by scores of interracial families. You and your husband, a white woman and a Black man who chose to have children with a white woman, must convince two Black biracial girls that 1) Black women and girls rock, and 2) Black biracial women and girls are not superior to those with two Black parents, despite the fact that the simple makeup of your family could communicate exactly the opposite message to them. If Black women and girls are so great, why didn’t Dad end up with one? And if we’re Black, but also biracial, doesn’t that make us special somehow? Is it a bad thing that people seem to think that we are?
You two must silence any doubt that these Black girls may have about who they are—as individuals and as part of the global collective of Black women and girls—by making sure that they are able to see themselves, and not just woman and girls who look like you. And you are not the only one with a big part to play here. These girls need to know that their father’s choice of a partner is not a referendum on Black women and girls, but rather, that he found love with someone who happens to be a different race; and because he created Black girls in the process, he has a particular responsibility to ensure they are not inadvertently harmed by his choice. You can’t be the only one talking about how great and beautiful Black women and girls are; they must, must, MUST hear it from him too (and not just about themselves, to be clear. Your daughters must see their father appreciate, honor, and love Black women and girls).
It is critical that your girls are surrounded by affirmative images of Black girls; note, I did not say “girls” or “girls of color.” Black girls specifically, which should include, but most certainly must not be limited to, biracial and/or light-complexioned Black girls; in fact, it is especially important that you describe the varying shades found among of Black women and girls (and Black people as a whole) so that they do not come to think of their own lighter hue as superior in any way, nor grow up to become the sort of lighter-skinned Black people who fail to recognize the privilege conferred by their complexion as a societal failing substantiated by data, and not a figment of darker-hued Black people’s imaginations.
It is the last part that may have influenced your anxiety about Black people—I was a bit unclear, but I think you meant folks in nearby communities?—having some thoughts about how light your kids are. Trust that more often than not, light-complexioned Black people are embraced by other Black folks as one of the family. I’d recommend reading both The Color Complex, which explores how complexion influences the experiences of Black people in the U.S., and Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria, an almost-sacred text on racial identity development in children, to help you make sense of, well, a lot.
You need to be serious about the business of identifying age-appropriate Black content and Black histories for your children for the next 16 years. Your biracial Black girls need to see Black girls and Black women in a positive light more often than not. They need to hear both of their parents say nice things about specific Black women and girls, and Black women and girls as a collective, on a regular basis. They need movies, TV shows, albums, YouTube videos, posters, books (and books, and more books) that feature Black girls and women who are loved and cared for. So much of the content that is created about us is focused on our trauma. Your kids absolutely need to know about Harriet Tubman and Rosa Parks, but they cannot only experience “important Black women” in the context of racial struggle, or A-list celebrities like Beyoncé. It is also important that they see positive images of Black men and boys aside from their father, who cannot bear the load of being the entirety of the Black race for them outside of television.
If the girls love princesses, give them Black princesses! There’s Tiana of The Princess and the Frog, of course, and there’s also this beautiful book Glory: Magical Visions of Black Beauty that turns regular Black kids into royalty, and the Princess Cupcake Jones series. There are a lot of valid concerns about girls and princess imagery, but some of those issues don’t quite measure up when considering that Black girls still need movements to convince people to believe that their lives matter at all. As long as you make sure they know that it isn’t just what they look like on the outside that makes them valuable and that they shouldn’t be waiting to be rescued or married into royalty, they can Black princess it up all day long.
I am not sure the racial makeup of you and your man’s circles beyond the physical community where you currently live, but if there are not actual real-life Black people in them aside from him, you’ve got to course-correct, even if it means making some friends online. You, as a white woman raising Black daughters, need Black female friends. At least one! Someone who can answer what feels like a really “silly” question you may have, someone who knows you as a person and can help you to recognize any blind spots that are to the detriment of your daughters. Do not let your man tell you otherwise! And I am not suggesting that he is uniquely inclined to disparage this advice because he is a Black man; rather, it’s the fact that he has described this as “a phase” that makes it pretty clear that he doesn’t get it. He’s never had to get it, because he’s never been a little Black girl. For little Black girls, color and hair texture are heavy, heavy stuff; it’s heavy material for our boys too, but the load arguably weighs on us more.
You are the first and ostensibly most impactful embodiment of womanhood that your daughter has seen thus far and you are a white woman; when you combine that with the ways even a “diverse” media landscape obsesses over (a few, somewhat narrow types of) white beauty, then it completely stands to reason that a 5-year-old girl would find a particular aesthetic to be aspirational. Mommy is, for many kids, the most beautiful woman in the world, and it is harder for your children to find themselves in your face than it should be because we are socialized to see race first and foremost; furthermore, despite the overindexing of mixed and mixed-looking Black girls in media, they are still far, far outnumbered by white ones, which makes it even harder to find themselves in the place called “pretty.”
Your girls’ hair must be lovingly attended to on a daily basis. Find a stylist, a friend, some YouTube tutorials, do a Skype call with your man’s favorite auntie—whatever it takes! Find the proper products and find flattering, comfortable styles that you can do or maintain. Never, ever let them have the “Ooh, girl, you can tell they mama white and she don’t know what she’s doing” aesthetic: uncombed, unmoisturized, messy hair that looks and feels like someone gave up. If you’ve never heard a biracial Black girl talk about that trauma, you should.
My own Black daughter has not worn clothing that has white faces on it, and in a large army of Black dolls, as diverse in complexion and hair texture as possible, she owns exactly one white Barbie (she came with a Black one we were dying to have). I would recommend taking a similarly fervent approach to your own girls; they don’t need a blond Baby Alive doll to know white girls are adorable, because the media has that covered. They don’t need white fashion dolls to let them know white women are pretty, or can work a number of cool jobs … why, when they can already see that in you and in the white women you know and love?
Show your girls the similarities in your faces, how you have the same left dimple, or the same wide smile. Let them see and celebrate themselves as a beautiful blending of their parents without suggesting that you’ve created some sort of happy medium for humanity that will erase racism by painting the world light brown. Talk about how much you love their curly hair, how you wish your own nose was so cute and round. Point out the beauty in the Black women and girls you see on TV and, when it happens, in real life. And if you feel yourself on the cusp of an “All beauty matters” moment at any point, take a moment and reread this column. This is serious business for your girls, and you know it, so don’t punk out. You can do this, Mom. Your girls deserve this! They will be happier, healthier, and more secure about their place in the world if you give this work the gravity it deserves.
P.S. I said a lot because this is a BIG thing and I feel like there are a number of people reading this who could benefit from some of these thoughts, including Black parents raising Black daughters who simply haven’t considered some of these things. There may be some pushback, but please know that I am speaking in my authoritative capacity as an actual Black woman/former Black girl, and you and I both know I am right. <3
I gave my daughter the name “Lara,” but at the time I didn’t know why I wanted to be unique, so I decided to spell it like “Laura.” I realized how dumb this was too late, and now I want to correct the spelling to “Lara.” My husband says he likes the way it is spelled, that that is the way it is, and I shouldn’t change it. The thing is, it is not like he has an attachment to the name or named her. I was five months’ pregnant when we got together, and she was already named. I feel like I get a higher say even though he is her dad, but he gets rather upset when I tell him it is what I want to do. It’s just dropping a letter, for goodness’ sake, and it would make her life easier!
He is supposed to be adopting her, so I’ve been urging that we change it then. Should I put my foot down, or is my husband right in saying I’m making a big deal out of a letter?
—It’s “Lara,” Not “Laura”
Dear I.L.N.L.,
Your husband is being silly and I am hoping that this isn’t emblematic of how he typically behaves during disagreements. You chose this name prior to him coming into the picture, and you are literally only wishing to change the spelling so that Lara doesn’t have to spend the rest of her life explaining that her name has an extra letter for decoration that also would totally change the pronunciation of said name. Put your foot down and save the debates for issues that require it. You don’t get to pull the “I was here first” card on much of anything else, nor should you want to unless there was ever some doubt about your husband’s parenting capabilities. This is the one time you get to do it, and it makes all the sense in the world. You aren’t changing Lara’s name; you are rectifying a grammatical mistake you made in the past.
• If you missed Thursday’s Care and Feeding column,read it here.
My bright 12-year-old daughter is in seventh grade this year. She has always been a gifted, high-performing student. She is currently taking a math class (Algebra 1) that is one grade level above her own. My ex and I have been supporting her as best we can, and we are immensely proud of her.
After watching her remote classes, however, I have noticed that the teacher moves quite fast. He doesn’t seem to be taking into account the distance-learning element at all. I have asked him if he can go slower or spend more time on more challenging subjects, and he has been helpful. The only problem is that our daughter has already seen the difference between her grades and those of some of the kids in her class (who are a year older and have gotten A’s where she is getting B’s) and it is impacting her confidence. She got an 85 on her final, which is great! But she keeps comparing herself to the older kids. I don’t know what to do. She knows the math and is smart, but she just doesn’t seem to see that. How do I help her regain her confidence after this dumpster fire of a school year?
—Broken Confidence
Dear B.C.,
If you haven’t already, explain to your daughter that this teacher—who very well may be a nice man, a good person, and even a decent educator—may not be doing a great job at explaining things at a pace that is easy to follow from a distance. It also could be the case that this class is not a great fit for her and how she learns best. Unfortunately, this is a dumpster fire of a school year and so she may not be as capable of straight A’s or cruising through all classes with relative ease for that reason. That isn’t her fault and she should be reminded of such. She is to do the best that she can with what she has before her this year, and aspiring to nearly perfect grades is not in the best service of that mission.
Furthermore, school is not a competition and every child should think of themselves as running their own pace, not fighting to outperform their classmates. Unfortunately, the latter is a bit hard to convince them of considering that there are valedictorians, prizes for high marks, and other ways that kids are encouraged to compare and contrast their own academic achievement with that of their peers. Keep reminding her that these kids are older and had an extra year to prepare for this class; that grades are not an accurate measure of how smart, valuable, or capable you are; and while they are important, grades are not the lens through which she should see herself. Continue to engage with the teacher and explore online tutoring options if they are available. Best of luck to you all.
Dear Care and Feeding,
Is it ever all right to become estranged from your family even when they aren’t technically abusive? My twin sister and I have been able to stay away from our parents and brother (an adult who lives with them) for much of this year due to COVID, and we’ve both agreed that it’s been blissful. My sister and I live in the same city and have been in each other’s “bubbles” along with her kids and our respective husbands, and we spent Thanksgiving and Christmas with each other. I couldn’t get over what a peaceful, lovely contrast it was to our holidays visiting our parents. My sister has two young kids, yet her house is so much more peaceful than our parents’ house. Our parents spend literally every meal fighting viciously with one another and trying to make us pick sides. Then when we refuse, they critique both of us for hours and compare us to our brother, who they adore and is the open favorite. Our dad takes pleasure in belittling my husband and treats my sister’s husband as if he doesn’t exist. (We have both stood up for our partners and left events when our parents have overstepped, but they don’t change their behavior long term.) Our brother is mean-spirited and aggressive, much older than us, and we’ve never been close with him.
After some discussion, we’ve realized that we would be perfectly happy never to see these people again. Skype calls have been strained and unpleasant, featuring a lot of guilt-tripping and COVID conspiracy talk from our parents and brother. My husband supports this idea completely, but my sister’s husband has raised concern about how hard it might be on our parents to be cut off from their grandkids. Obviously, that part is a discussion for him and my sister, but his concerns gave me pause. Our parents never hit us and don’t stalk or threaten us in any way. They’re just really unpleasant people who scream at us and each other a lot. Should I make the decision to stay in touch with them in a limited way (if so, any suggestions?) or would it be OK to just block their numbers and have done? They haven’t visited me since I moved three years ago (they expect us to do all the work of maintaining the relationship), so it’s not as if they even know my address.
—Just Horrible People
Dear J.H.P.,
You and your sister are not obligated to continue to have these people in your life. You don’t like them. They don’t treat you well. They don’t do anything to sustain a relationship with you. The only matter that exists between you is blood (which you don’t have to yield to) and history (which does not sound like it has been good). Let go. Blocking may be more aggressive than necessary, but feel free to only engage when you feel like it, and, perhaps, to only speak to them when and if they reach out first. Your BIL is kind to care about how your parents will feel about being estranged from your sister’s kids, and while that is a matter for he and his wife to sort out, it is worth considering and sharing with him that adults who are awful can have a negative influence on children, and that the loss of access to them may be the appropriate consequence for this part of your family tree. You and your sister have each other, you have your husbands, and you have her kids—that’s a minivan’s worth of family right there! You have all that you need. Make your choice going forward with no shame. Wishing you all the best.
—Jamilah
More Advice From Slate
Could you explain the value teachers see in giving kindergartners’ homework? If I don’t make my child do it, will his teacher think I’m a terrible parent?
from Slate Magazine https://ift.tt/3510pdV
via IFTTT
Slate has relationships with various online retailers. If you buy something through our links, Slate may earn an affiliate commission. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change. All prices were up to date at the time of publication.
2021: We thought we’d never get here. It’s hardly an ordinary January; in spite of the promise of brighter days ahead, we’re constantly reminded that things are still a long way from OK. I’ve decided to enter this new year without too many resolutions. Last year’s early quarantine gave me a lot of self-improvement gumption, but I didn’t realize the toll all my general worrying about the pandemic would take on my ability to follow through. Did I use the worldwide pause during lockdown to read all of James Baldwin? Finally dig into Iranian cinema? Bake all the bread for our house? Give up eating bread entirely? Of course not. Still, there is something steadying in committing to a few better habits. So as we embark on this new year, my resolutions are a little more prosaic—classic health goals that, frankly, I think I can achieve, especially with a few little tools to keep me on target.
Eat My Vegetables
In a funny way, pandemic life has helped my family eat more vegetables, largely because I started cooking a lot of dals and vegetable curries, often with the help of British writer Meera Sodha’s first cookbook, Made in India. Her book East, published in the U.S. this year, is so pretty, and explores vegetarian dishes from all over Asia. Her South Indian–style beets in coconut milk and Sichuan-inspired mapo tofu with shiitakes have become staples in my house. Bryant Terry brings music (like, literally, suggested soundtracks), history, and fantastic texture to his vegan recipes. His 2020 book Vegetable Kingdom is going to help my family continue to expand our vegetable palate at our not-yet-vegetarian-but-getting-more-so table.
By Meera Sodha. Flatiron Books.
By Bryant Terry. Ten Speed Press.
To up my vegetable consumption, I also like to try to switch from sandwiches to salads for lunch. The absolute key to more salad-eating is having washed greens readily available. If I wash my greens as soon as they come home from the store, I’m in good shape. To do so, I fill a huge bowl with cold water and swish my lettuce/escarole/arugula/spinach around in it. Then I let it sit for a few minutes while the dirt falls down to the bottom, and lift the greens up out of the water with a spider, a small basket on a handle. (It’s also great for frying, but that’s another story.) To avoid wasting plastic bags to store those clean (and dried) greens, this kind of flat, ventilated storage container is really handy. Line the container with a layer of paper towels to help absorb extra moisture.
Drink Less Booze and More Tea
The world is still a mess, but after the election I finally feel like I don’t need a drink or several at the end of the day, and I’d like to stop altogether this January. Whenever I cut back on drinking, I miss the ritual of an end-of-day cocktail, which is where my friend Julia Bainbridge’s book Good Drinks comes in: She’s assembled recipes from top bartenders around the country for their best boozeless cocktails, each prettier than the next. My favorite is her minimalist spritz made with verjus, the tangy juice of underripe grapes.
By Julia Bainbridge. Ten Speed Press.
When I try to cut back on drinking, I hover over many cups of tea (largely from Portland, Oregon’s T Project, whose Golden Years blend is my all-time favorite). If you get nice tea, don’t try to cram it in a tea ball; either make it in a teapot and strain with a pretty little tea strainer, or use a tea basket like this for a single cup. If you are stepping up your tea drinking, it’s a good idea to have an adjustable teakettle so you can steep your fancy tea at the right temperature—green tea needs a much cooler bath than black teas or herbal tisanes.
Snack More Thoughtfully
My approach to more healthful eating includes replacing mindless afternoon grazing with a premeditated and satisfying snack to tide me over until dinner. A medium-hard cooked egg is often just the right thing. You don’t need a gadget to make them, but a favorite tool of mine—thanks to recommendations from the food stylist on my last book—is a little electric egg cooker that evenly cooks hard, soft, or in-between eggs and looks adorable trying.
Exercise Outdoors More
I started quarantine like a champ, running more than I had in years, hiking regularly, and filling in the gaps with online workouts. But an ill-conceived handstand this summer did a number on my hamstring, which slowed me down. Now, thanks to time (and possibly my commitment to Norwegian hamstring curls), I’m out on the road again. But I need to steel myself for exercising outdoors in the coldest months. When exerting yourself outdoors in the winter—running, walking the dog, Nordic skiing, or even dragging a sled uphill—a regular hat can make you overheat even if the weather is cold enough to freeze ears. A running headband solves the too cold/too hot conundrum. I prefer a stupidly bright color—it’s easier to find in the bottom of a hat basket. I also rely on my belt bag. For years I stuffed my phone in my bra while running, which I’m pretty sure is good for neither my phone nor my chest. A snug, elasticated, light-up belt bag has me ready for a long run or a rave, whichever comes first. Mine is neon orange. Of course, you can get it in black if you want, but good luck keeping track of it. And if your winter is seriously cold, you might want to invest in a dedicated pair of thicker leggings. For years, I’ve turned to Sugoi’s—they’re spendy but so cozy. The fleecy interior keeps muscles warm, and the nice bit of reflection helps with visibility.
Exercise Indoors, Too
Of course, this has been the year of online exercise classes, and again, a couple of little purchases have made a big difference in how motivated I am to keep up the work. I upgraded my minimalist yoga mat to a wider and thicker (10-millimeter!) exercise mat. It is awkward to carry, but I don’t have to tote it to the gym anymore, so why not? It makes a big difference in the comfort of my knees and back, thereby making me much less reluctant to do floor exercises. At the beginning of the pandemic, all the serious weights sold out right away, and all I could get my hands on were tiny 5-pound hot pink kettlebells. You know what? You can do a lot of good exercises with 5 pounds and a handle, and because each one looks like a Barbie evening clutch, they still make me laugh.
Spend More Time on Mobility
I’ve never loved warming up or stretching, but as I contend with minor tweaks and aches around my body, I have come to appreciate how that kind of work can help relieve pain and tension, beating back injuries before they become a real problem. Back pain from makeshift work-from-home desks combined with the additional sitting of this pandemic year has made preventive care even more important. In the before times, I’d use the big blue calf rocker at the gym; now I have my own to stretch my calves. In addition to a basic stretch, I like to stand on it with my heel down and gently kick the other leg at different angles. Foam rollers also do a lot to help ease aches and improve resilience. If you’re getting just one roller—heaven knows they are bulky to store—I think a smooth, long one is the best investment, because you won’t keep slipping off the ends like you do with a shorter roller. It can also stand in for a bench if you want to do flies with your funny little pink kettlebells. If you don’t have the space—or you want a little more focused self-massage, especially on your legs—this little stick can really help relieve sore spots. And because it is always a good idea to be kinder to one’s feet: Rolling them on these not too squishy, not too firm balls will wake them up and lessen tension you didn’t know you had.
Speaking of Feet: Take Mine More Seriously
In the past few years, I have become much more sensitive to strains in my feet, and I’ve also come to appreciate how issues at the ground level can quickly travel up to my hips, back, and even my shoulders. Recently, my podiatrist advised me that with my floppy arches, I should never be barefoot (you know you are getting older when you can use a phrase like “my podiatrist”). I often used to be barefoot around my house, but help has come for my feet in the form of foam “recovery” slides, which give them a snug and bouncy little hug around the arch without making them feel too shod. Plasticky shoes feel best with socks on, and I like to lean into the look with very bright ones (again I turn to the day-glo colors of my 1980s youth).
Find Focus
January resolutions tend to be body-focused, but I think the worst effects of this grim year were mental. Among other things, this year of constant fretting and distraction has done a number on my creativity—and I’d like to claw some back, starting with more regular drawing practice. My favorite live figure model is my greyhound Birdie, whose narrow head, voluptuous nose, and wildly muscled turkey-leg thighs are an everlasting challenge to capture. She is always good for a new pose, and I’ll never get her just right, but I’ll never tire of trying. I’ll draw with anything, from a ballpoint to pencil stubs, but I have always really loved a conté crayon, which has the softness of a pastel or charcoal but a bit less of the wild smudging. Any old paper will do, but it is fun to use some tinted paper with the contés and work with white highlights as well as a dark line.
Drawing isn’t just a way to make something; it’s a means to recalibrate my busy brain and see things with an intensity that’s often frittered away in ordinary life. When I take the time to do it, my mind feels sharpened and prepared. Maybe even sharpened enough to keep making headway in my Library of America James Baldwin, which, though still only partly read, never lets me down.
By James Baldwin. Library of America.
from Slate Magazine https://ift.tt/3n2K9PS
via IFTTT
Dr. Strangelove, Love and Basketball, Julie & Julia, and The Princess Bride are just a few of the great titles coming to streaming this month.Photo illustration by Slate. Photos by Twentieth Century Fox, New Line Productions Inc., and Columbia Pictures.
Every month, tons of new movies and TV shows become available to stream for free for U.S. subscribers to Netflix, HBO Max, Amazon Prime, and Hulu. With so many different streaming services, it can be hard to keep track of them all—especially if you belong to more than one. Below, we present to you the ultimate streaming guide. We’ll let you decide which service has the best new titles. (All titles arrive Jan. 1 unless otherwise specified.)
Netflix
The Magicians.Syfy
Must Watch Bonnie and Clyde (1967) The Departed Goodfellas
Good Watch Catch Me if You Can Cool Hand Luke Eddie Murphy: Raw Enter the Dragon Good Hair Into the Wild Julie & Julia Mud The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! Sherlock Holmes (2009) Superbad What’s Eating Gilbert Grape The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (2011) (Jan. 5) Radium Girls (Jan. 16) Accomplice (Jan. 27)
Binge Watch Last Tango in Halifax Season 4 (Jan. 12) The Magicians Season 5 (Jan. 15)
Family Watch Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs Penguins of Madagascar: The Movie (Jan. 15)
Sign up for the Slate Culture newsletter
The best of movies, TV, books, music, and more, delivered to your inbox three times a week.
Nostalgia Watch Mystic Pizza Hook (Jan. 15)
If You’re Bored 17 Again (2009) 30 Minutes or Less Abby Hatcher Season 1 Blue Streak Can’t Hardly Wait The Creative Brain Gimme Shelter (2013) Gothika The Haunted Hathaways Season 1-2 Sex and the City: The Movie Sex and the City 2 Striptease LA’s Finest Season 1 (Jan. 5) Spring Breakers (Jan. 10) The Intouchables (Jan. 11) An Imperfect Murder (Jan. 13) Henry Danger Seasons 1-3 (Jan. 15) Kuroko’s Basketball Season 1 (Jan. 15) Pinkfong & Baby Shark’s Space Adventure (Jan. 15) A Monster Calls (Jan. 16) Homefront (2013) (Jan. 18) Sightless (Jan. 20) Fatima (2020) (Jan. 31)
Netflix Programming Dream Home Makeover Season 2 Headspace Guide to Meditation The Minimalists: Less Is Now Monarca Season 2 What Happened to Mr. Cha? Asphalt Burning (Børning 3) (Jan. 2) Gabby’s Dollhouse (Jan. 5) History of Swear Words (Jan. 5) ¡Nailed It! México Season 3 (Jan.5) Ratones Paranoicos: The Band That Rocked Argentina (Jan. 6) Surviving Death (Jan. 6) Tony Parker: The Final Shot (Jan. 6) Pieces of a Woman (Jan. 7) Charming (Jan. 8) The Idhun Chronicles: Part 2 (Jan. 8) Inside the World’s Toughest Prisons Season 5 (Jan. 8) Lupin (Jan. 8) Mighty Little Bheem: Kite Festival (Jan. 8) Pretend It’s a City (Jan. 8) Stuck Apart (Azizler) (Jan. 8) CRACK: Cocaine, Corruption & Conspiracy (Jan. 11) Night Stalker: The Hunt for a Serial Killer (Jan. 13) Bling Empire (Jan. 15) Carmen Sandiego Season 4 (Jan. 15) Disenchantment Part 3 (Jan. 15) Double Dad (Pai Em Dobro) (Jan. 15) Outside the Wire (Jan. 15) Hello Ninja Season 4 (Jan. 19) Daughter From Another Mother (Madre solo hay dos) (Jan. 20) Spycraft (Jan. 20) Call My Agent! Season 4 (Jan. 21) Blown Away Season 2 (Jan. 22) Busted! Season 3 (Jan. 22) Fate: The Winx Saga (Jan. 22) Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous Season 2 (Jan. 22) So My Grandma’s a Lesbian! (Salir del ropero) (Jan. 22) The White Tiger (Jan. 22) Love (ft. Marriage and Divorce) (Jan. 23) Go Dog Go (Jan. 26) Penguin Bloom (Jan. 27) Below Zero (Bajocero) (Jan. 29) The Dig (Jan. 29) Finding ‘Ohana (Jan. 29) We Are: The Brooklyn Saints (Jan. 29)
HBO MaxGremlins.Warner Bros.
Must Watch All the President’s Men Dog Day Afternoon Mad Max: Fury Road Mulholland Dr. No Country for Old Men Pulp Fiction Roots (1977) This Is Spinal Tap Reservoir Dogs (Jan. 12) Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (Jan. 16) Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (Jan. 16)
Good Watch 42nd Street (1933) The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman A Better Life Blade The Color Purple The Electric Horseman Escape From New York Happy-Go-Lucky Kong: Skull Island Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior March of the Penguins Margaret (Extended Version) Miss Firecracker Mystic River Ocean’s 8 Ocean’s Eleven (2001) Ocean’s Twelve Ocean’s Thirteen The Producers (1968) Purple Rain A Star Is Born (2018) V for Vendetta You Can Count on Me The King of Staten Island (Jan. 9) Batkid Begins: The Wish Heard Around the World (Jan. 12) Blue Valentine (Jan. 12) The Escape Artist (Jan. 12) Get Carter (Jan. 12) Hecho en Mexico, 2012 (Jan. 12) Jennifer Lopez: Dance Again (Jan. 12) The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (Jan. 12) Lovely & Amazing (Jan. 12) The Man Who Would Be King (Jan. 12) Mud (2013) (Jan. 12) The Night Is Short, Walk On Girl (Jan. 12) Promare (Jan. 12) Ride Your Wave (Jan. 12) Tender Mercies (Jan. 12) The Visitor (Jan. 12) One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Jan. 15)
Problematic Watch Chinatown
Binge Watch Gossip Girl The Jellies Pushing Daisies Snowpiercer Season 1 Warrior Seasons 1 & 2 The Alienist: Angel of Darkness (Jan. 9) Miracle Workers Season 2 (Jan. 10) The Wayans Bros (Jan. 15) The New Adventures of Old Christine (Jan. 22) Everwood (Jan. 19) At Home With Amy Sedaris Season 3 (Jan. 20) C.B. Strike Season 1 (Jan. 20) Person of Interest (Jan. 23) Babylon 5 (Jan. 26)
DC Watch Batman Begins Batman Beyond Batman Beyond: The Return of the Joker Batman: Bad Blood Batman: Death in the Family Batman: Hush Batman: The Animated Series The Dark Knight The Dark Knight Rises Green Lantern Green Lantern: The Animated Series Justice League Dark: Apokolips War Superman: Doomsday Superman: Man of Tomorrow Superman Returns Hellboy: Blood and Iron, 2007 (Jan. 12) Hellboy: Sword of Storms , 2006 (Jan. 12) Hellboy: The Dark Below, 2010 (Jan. 12) Vixen (Jan. 12)
Family Watch Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Codename: Kids Next Door Craig of the Creek Season 2 Ed, Edd n Eddy The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy Happy Feet Mao Mao, Heroes of Pure Heart Ben 10 Season 4A (Jan. 9) Ollie & Moon Seasons 1 & 2 (Jan. 12)
Ghibli Watch Never-Ending Man: Hayao Miyazaki The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness (Jan. 12)
Nostalgia Watch Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back Miracle on 34th Street (1994) The Notebook Pee-wee’s Big Adventure Revenge of the Nerds Swimfan Earth Girls Are Easy (Jan. 12) Meatballs (1979) (Jan. 12) What I Like About You (Jan. 29)
Thirst Watch Magic Mike
Spooky Watch The Conjuring Courage the Cowardly Dog The Exorcist Gremlins Gremlins 2: The New Batch, 1990 Se7en Willard Scream (1996) (Jan. 8) Stephen King’s It (1990) (Jan. 15) Poltergeist (1982) (Jan. 15) The Mummy (Jan. 30) The Mummy Returns (Jan. 30) The Scorpion King (Jan. 30)
If You’re Bored 12 oz. Mouse Seasons 1 & 2 Apple & Onion Season 1B Check It Out! With Steve Brule The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course, 2002 (HBO) Dim Sum Funeral El Amor No Puede Esperar (aka Love Can’t Wait) Flashpoint The General’s Daughter Happily N’Ever After Happily N’Ever After 2: Snow White He Said She Said Heaven Help Us The Infamous Future Little Con Lili Loiter Squad Ma Nitro Circus: The Movie 3D Piter Ready Player One Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise Revenge of the Nerds IV: Nerds in Love Rollerball (2002) Shallow Hal The Three Stooges (2012) TMNT Tom Goes to the Mayor The Trouble With Spies Underclassman Van Wilder: Freshman Year (Extended Version) Walk of Shame Worth Winning The High Note (Jan. 2) Patriot’s Day (Jan. 8) Squish Season 1 (Jan. 8) Against the Wild (Jan. 12) Against the Wild 2 (Jan. 12) Alpha and Omega 5: Family Vacation (Jan. 12) Alpha and Omega 6: Dino Digs (Jan. 12) Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 (Jan. 12) An Elephant’s Journey (Jan. 12) La Mujer de Mi Hermano (Jan. 12) Leapfrog Letter Factory Adventures: Amazing Word Explorers (Jan. 12) Leapfrog Letter Factory Adventures: Counting on Lemonade (Jan. 12) Leapfrog Letter Factory Adventures: The Letter Machine Rescue Team Jan. 12) Leapfrog: Numberland (Jan. 12) Lost and Delirious (Jan. 12) Love and Sex (Jan. 12) The Men Who Stare at Goats (Jan. 12) A Mermaid’s Tale (Jan. 12) Mistress (1992) (Jan. 12) Mother’s Day (Jan. 12) No Eres Tu Soy Yo (Jan. 12) Norm of the North: King Sized Adventure (Jan. 12) Other Parents Seasons 1 & 2 (Jan. 12) Pinocchio (2012) (Jan. 12) Righteous Kill (Jan. 12) Sprung (Jan. 12) The Spy Next Door (Jan. 12) Thanks for Sharing (Jan. 12) Turtle Tale (Jan. 12) Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- Director’s Cut Season 1 (Jan. 15) Si Yo Fuera Rico (Aka If I Were Rich) (Jan. 15) Eve (Jan. 16) Looney Tunes Cartoons Season 1C (Jan. 21) Don’t Let Go (Jan. 23) Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel (Jan. 26) ¡Animo Juventud! (Aka Go Youth!) (Jan. 29) HBO Original Programming Search Party Season 4 Premiere Gomorrah Season 3 Premiere (Jan. 21) Euphoria Special Episode Part 2: F*ck Anyone Who’s Not a Sea Blob Special Episode Premiere (Jan. 24) Premieres The Little Things (Jan. 29) Painting With John Series Premiere (Jan. 22) Axios Season 4 Premiere (Jan. 31) 30 Coins Series Premiere (Jan. 3) Tiger Two-Part Documentary Premiere (Jan. 10) Real Time With Bill Maher Season 19 Premiere (Jan. 15) C.B. Strike: Lethal White Limited Series Premiere (Jan. 20)
Eve’s Bayou.Trimark Pictures
Must Watch Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love The Bomb Escape From Alcatraz Eve’s Bayou Good Watch Bloody Sunday Brothers The Brothers McMullen Cloverfield The Cooler Donnie Brasco Face/Off The Firm In & Out Last of the Mohicans Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World Places in the Heart Pride Salt Soul Food Star Trek Beyond The Town The Truman Show When a Man Loves a Woman Wonder Boys
Binge Watch Dexter Seasons 1–8 Jazz Signed, Sealed, Delivered Simply Ming Season 14 The Universe Season 1 Grantchester Season 5 (Jan. 19) Family Watch Baby Looney Tunes Season 1
Nostalgia Watch Peggy Sue Got Married St. Elmo’s Fire Starman Vampire In Brooklyn
Western Watch The Brass Legend Gun Duel in Durango Gunfight at the O.K. Corral The Quick and the Dead Ride Out for Revenge The Sons of Katie Elder
If You’re Bored 1900 Ancient Civilizations of North America Season 1 Beecham House Season 1 Bringing up Bates Season 1 Broken Arrow (1996) Changing Body Composition through Diet and Exercise Season 1 Chaplin Commandments: Season 1 (Topic) Coneheads Confessions of a Shopaholic The Devil’s Own Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell Girl Most Likely Good Luck Chuck I Survived … Beyond and Back Season 1 The Interview Kiss the Girls The Legend of Bagger Vance Legion Like a Boss The Longest Yard Love the Coopers Major League (2015) A Night at the Roxbury The Peacemaker Premonition Push Regarding Henry Rocco Schiavone: Ice Cold Murders Season 1 Texas Metal Season 1 Tyler Perry’s The Family That Preys Virtuosity Walking Tall War Where Hope Grows Mighty Oak (Jan. 6) The Silencing (Jan. 8) The Rhythm Section (Jan. 11) Tandav Season 1 (Jan. 15) Pandora Season 2 (Jan. 18) Chick Fight (Jan. 29) Mortal (Jan. 29) Amazon Originals Herself (Jan. 8) One Night in Miami (Jan. 15) Flack Season 1 (Jan. 22) Jessy and Nessy (Jan. 22)
Shrek.Dreamworks
Must Watch Boogie Nights Escape From Alcatraz Eve’s Bayou Love and Basketball The Princess Bride Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
Good Watch American Gigolo Blade Runner: The Final Cut Bloody Sunday Breakdown The Brothers McMullen Changing Lanes Cloverfield The Cooler Crazy, Stupid, Love Date Night Dead Poets Society The Dead Zone Donnie Brasco The Duff Face/Off The Firm Hell or High Water In & Out Internal Affairs Last of the Mohicans: Director’s Cut The Longest Yard Major League (1989) More Than a Game Places in the Heart Pride Save Yourselves Salt Starman Star Trek Beyond Star Trek: First Contact The Truman Show Wonder Boys Young Adult
Binge Watch Vanderpump Rules Season 8 (Jan. 7) One-Punch Man Season 2 (Jan. 10) The Haves and Have Nots Season 7B (Jan. 27)
Family Watch Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs Night at the Museum Shrek Puppy Bowl Complete Seasons 14 & 15 (Jan. 20)
Nostalgia Watch Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002) Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997) Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999) Footloose (1984) Hot Shots! Indecent Proposal Look Who’s Talking Lost in Space Walking Tall
Western Watch Gunfight at the O.K. Corral Hondo The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance The Quick and the Dead The Sons of Katie Elder
Spooky Watch Arachnophobia Cujo (1983) Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell Super Dark Times Gretel & Hansel (2020) (Jan. 7) Lights Out (Jan. 11) Alone (2020) (Jan. 14)
If You’re Bored 1900 1900 (Extended Cut) A Night at the Roxbury The Arrival Bad Company Blood Diamond Blow Broken Arrow (1996) Bully Chaplin Coneheads Constantine The Core Dance Flick Dead Presidents Diary of a Wimpy Kid Enemy at the Gates The Foot Fist Way Frozen (2010) The Gift Girl Most Likely Good Luck Chuck The Haunting How Do You Know Kiss the Girls The Ladies Man The Legend of Bagger Vance Like a Boss Look Who’s Talking Now Look Who’s Talking Too The Mexican Mousehunt My Best Friend’s Girl New in Town Paycheck The Peacemaker Poseidon Push Regarding Henry The Relic The Rules of Attraction Selena Soul Plane Species Star Kid Stephen King’s Graveyard Shift The Three Musketeers Vampire in Brooklyn Virtuosity War Where Hope Grows Boruto Season 1 (Jan. 5) Mighty Oak (Jan. 6) A Certain Scientific Railgun Part 2 Season 3 (Jan. 8) Celebs Go Dating Complete Seasons 6–8 (Jan. 8) Tattoo Fixers Extreme UK Complete Seasons 5 & 6 (Jan. 8) The Rhythm Section (Jan. 11) Everyone Is Doing Great: Complete Season 1 (Jan. 13) The Secrets We Keep (2020) (Jan. 14) Is It Wrong to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? Season 3 (Jan. 17) No Escape (Jan. 17) I Don’t Know How She Does It (Jan. 18) 90 Day Fiancé: Self-Quarantined Complete Season 1 (Jan. 20) A Very Brady Renovation Complete Season 1 (Jan. 20) Car Kings Complete Season 1 (Jan. 20) Cutthroat Kitchen Complete Season 14 (Jan. 20) Gold Rush Complete Season 10 (Jan. 20) House Hunters International Complete Season 138 (Jan. 20) House Hunters Complete Season 163 (Jan. 20) Property Brothers: Forever Home Complete Season 1 (Jan. 20) River Monsters Complete Season 9 (Jan. 20) Rob Riggle: Global Investigator Complete Season 1 (Jan. 20) Rock the Block Complete Season 1 (Jan. 20) Save My Skin Complete Season 1 (Jan. 20) Torn from the Headlines: New York Post Reports Complete Season 1 (Jan. 20) Who Killed Jeffrey Epstein? Complete Season 1 (Jan. 20) Worst Bakers in America Complete Season 2 (Jan. 20) Worst Cooks in America Complete Season 17 (Jan. 20) Terra Willy (Jan. 22) Jann Seasons 1 & 2(Jan. 29) Season Premieres The Rookie Season 3 Premiere (Jan. 4) The Bachelor Season 25 Premiere (Jan. 5) The Wall Season 4 Premiere (Jan. 5) Gordon Ramsay’s American Road Trip Series Premiere (Jan. 6) Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist Season 2 Premiere (Jan. 6) Name That Tune Series Premiere (FOX) (Jan. 7) The Chase Series Premiere (Jan. 8) Celebrity Wheel of Fortune Series Premiere (Jan. 8) The Hustler Series Premiere (Jan. 8) Mr. Mayor Series Premiere (Jan. 8) A Little Late with Lilly Singh Season 2 Premiere (Jan. 12) Prodigal Son Season 2 Premiere (Jan. 13) The Resident Season 4 Premiere (Jan. 13) Call Your Mother Series Premiere (Jan. 14) 9-1-1 Season 4 Premiere (Jan. 19) 9-1-1: Lone Star Season 2 Premiere (Jan. 19) Grown-ish Season 3B Premiere (Jan. 22) Mixed-ish Season 2 Premiere (Jan. 27)
Hulu Original Programming Endlings Season 2 (Jan. 15) The Ultimate Playlist of Noise Premiere (Jan. 15) Derek Delgaudio’s In & Of Itself Premiere (Jan. 22) The Sister Season 1 (Jan. 22)
from Slate Magazine https://ift.tt/3o598U3
via IFTTT
Clockwise from top left: Coming 2 America, The French Dispatch, Judas and the Black Messiah, Last Night in Soho, Malcolm & Marie, Candyman.Photo illustration by Slate. Photos by MGM, Focus Features, Warner Bros., Netflix, Searchlight Pictures, and Amazon Studios.
This is the final entry in Slate’s annual Movie Club, in which film critic Dana Stevens emails with fellow critics—this year, Justin Chang, Odie Henderson, and Alison Willmore—about the year in cinema.Read the previous dispatch here.
Future karaoke collaborators,
One of the most pleasant knock-on effects of Movie Club each year is the sense that, as it winds down, I’ve gotten to know a few of my colleagues a little better as critics and as people. Justin, I so appreciate you being honest enough to revisit a long-ago too-hasty review the glibness of which you now regret, and also allowing yourself a moment to praise a movie made by a close friend that was hence off-limits for you to review. Minari made my Top 10 list, and that of dozens of other critics. It’s one of the most impeccably crafted films of the year, pictorially beautiful on top of being smart and funny as hell, and one I’d recommend to viewers of all generations and backgrounds, since it has something to say about being a child, a parent, a grandparent, a spouse, an immigrant, a laborer, a husband, a wife. It’s both a category error and an embarrassment to shunt it into the “foreign language film” slot for Golden Globes consideration; it’s a movie made in America by an American that tells the most American of stories.
Sign up for the Slate Culture newsletter
The best of movies, TV, books, music, and more, delivered to your inbox three times a week.
Minari is the kind of film that, in a normal movie year, might have started off as the buzzed-about Sundance audience darling it was, then vanished into the deafening vortex of Oscar-seeking end-of-year big releases. Instead, because so much of the planned release calendar was put off until 2021, the reverberations of that January lovefest lasted through the movie’s brief, virtual-only release window in early December. It won’t be available via streaming until February, which sounds like a long way off in our current “give me all the content, immediately” era. But that makes it one of many 2021 movies to look forward to, along with such still-unreleased-anywhere titles as Nia DaCosta’s Candyman, Craig Brewer’s Coming 2 America, and Edgar Wright’s Last Night in Soho (starring none other than this year’s chess-playing “it” girl Anya Taylor-Joy). Also currently slated for the first half of next year are the John David Washington/Zendaya romantic drama Malcolm & Marie from Euphoria creator Sam Levinson, Wes Anderson’s journalism-themed ensemble comedy The French Dispatch, and Judas and the Black Messiah, Shaka King’s civil-rights-era biopic starring Daniel Kaluuya as the Black Panther leader Fred Hampton. One of my favorite movies I saw this year, Rose Glass’ stunning body-horror debut Saint Maud, still doesn’t have a release date at all. That’s OK—like all of us with our lives currently in suspension, it should step out in the world only when both it and the world are good and ready.
Speaking of deafening vertices: Odie, I knew you had only one working eye because of all the Columbo jokes you’ve made about it over the years, but it was only through your moving writing on Sound of Metal that I learned you have a hearing impairment too. Riz Ahmed, a British rapper and actor who should have been a household-name movie star at least since 2010’s Four Lions (though I first remember noticing him four years before that, in The Road to Guantanamo), gives one of the performances of the year in Darius Marder’s powerful character study of a drummer and former heroin addict who’s losing his hearing. As Bilge Ebiri at Vulture beautifully put it, the still, watchful Ahmed “seems at times like a silent-movie performer who accidentally landed in the 21st century.” That quality of eloquent silence makes Ahmed the perfect actor for this very difficult part. Difficult, that is, to do as well as he does it—this is no inspirational disability drama but a harsh and sometimes disorienting attempt to represent what the experience of losing a major sense might feel like from the inside.
In my own private Oscars, Ahmed would get at least a nomination for Best Actor, though I would still reserve my top vote for Delroy Lindo in Da 5 Bloods—if he keeps doing work this good, Riz’s time will come. Paul Raci, who plays a recovering alcoholic who becomes the younger man’s mentor, would take the prize for Best Supporting Actor. Best Supporting Actress would go to Amanda Seyfried for Mank, even though I agree that movie was mainly fan fic for classic Hollywood nerds, and Best Actress is still in play. I know she already has one, but I’m tempted to toss another statuette Frances McDormand’s way, if only to hear what acceptance speech she has to top the rousing “inclusion rider” one from her win for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri—a movie that, whatever you thought of it when it came out, we can surely all agree will age less well than Nomadland.
Something about the way we make and watch and buy and sell movies has shifted forgood.
Alison, as we’ve been writing in round-robin form all week, you have been busy behind the scenes settling in with a new puppy, making for a lot of awwwws in the Club email thread and no doubt, for you, a lot of posts churned out on very little sleep over a holiday week. That makes it even more impressive that you felt ambitious enough to take on not just individual movies but the business as a whole at this fast-changing moment in its history. Whether we will all be watching movies together in theaters by this time next year is still unknown, but your last post helped me think through the inescapable feeling that, along with the pandemic but not only because of it, something about the way we make and watch and buy and sell movies has shifted for good. I’m so glad your posts often pulled out to take a global view. Though it was also a thrill when you dollied in on films like the world’s top box-office hit of 2020, a title that had never made it through the walls of my particular media silo. Congratulations on your new live-in Ewok, and may he nap on your lap through the watching of and writing on many good movies in the year to come.
As I wrap up this year’s club, it’s the first day of 2021. 2020, the year that finally made us understand the previously ungraspable concept of infinity, is finally over. And thanks to two of the Slate culture writers who parachuted in to speak their piece between the last two rounds (is it still an “interruption” if it’s welcome?), I have movies to watch on the first two nights of the year. Tonight will be for The Painter and the Thief, which sounds intriguingly bizarre, and which, if Sam hadn’t contributed a post about it, I would have gotten through the whole year never hearing of. He is right that the flattening of an entire industry’s output into a few corporate-branded tubes of Soylent-style content-paste would be a very grim prospect for the future of movie marketing, not to mention movie watching. But we are lucky to have the Movie Club as a place to serve some home-cooked slow food and bring people’s attention to small, offbeat releases like The Painter and the Thief, which otherwise might never cross their algorithms and, therefore, their field of vision.
And tomorrow night, you had best believe I’ll be fixing a shaker of cocktails and settling down to Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga. Karen didn’t even need to get granular on which celebrity belts which power ballad: She had me at “Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams as a couple of Icelandic rubes and would-be Eurovision stars who call themselves ‘Fire Saga.’ ” Well, of course they are! This sounds like a celebration of life, love, and karaoke designed for Ferrell fans who, like me, will never again hear Aerosmith’s “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” without giggling at the memory of his triumphant ice dancing interpretation of that song opposite Jon Heder in Blades of Glory. While “Jaja Ding Dong” is setting up earworm residence in my brain for the year to come, I’ll drink a glass to you all. Thanks for making this year’s club feel like what I think we all need right now: a knock-down, drag-out, not-on-Zoom party.
Love,
Dana
from Slate Magazine https://ift.tt/2WYnwS3
via IFTTT
