It is a testament to your writing that I read anything related to both Tom Cruise *and* Star Wars, but I did, and I laughed at the helmet questions, and then was stunned to silence at the slice of Andor manifesto served up. To Sunday. Cheers.
Thanks, Julie. The manifesto is really something. I think they snuck it in there just because they wanted to say what they said, but I don't mind, if it's that good.
Andor sounds interesting because you said it deals with present day issues like fascism. Never got into Star Wars- I know that’s pretty shocking. But I enjoy anything you write. Now I will listen to your interviews. Thanks as always!
It's like the latest Batman movie, in that it is about humans in human situations. There is no use of The Force. I don't even think it's mentioned at all, which is refreshing.
Saw the first Star Wars flick, but never another of the multiple spin offs. Helen, Julie and many others, will be shocked with the Tom Cruise mention...bloviated fascist reference should bring pause to everyone in America’s present political climate.
Another example of the fascinating findings on your Sunday posts Greg!!
I remember when the “kook” recited his manifesto but reading part of it reveals its quality. I hope you don’t get tired of the praise, but you write so wonderfully, thank you!
Oh, good, I thought I was to be the only one who didn't really dive down into the Star Wars universe! I'm not sure what it was, but it just never connected for me. I was more a "Star Trek" and "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" kind of guy.
But my mind, like a steel trap, knows that's not the point of this wonderful Sunday column. We will not despair at what's happening either here or abroad, and I know I can say that I will continue to resist this bullshit as long as it goes on. THIS is not the way things are supposed to be, and although I'm 65, I know that statement is not coming from a generational place. There are 20-, 30-, 40-, and 50-year-olds who also know that the actual FASCISM we're fighting against in the United States is real. It's not hyperbole, it's actually happening, which is the hardest thing to realize and not think that you're going too far. We're not. It's here and it wants IN. I also know that there will be "one single thing that will break the siege." I don't know what it is right now, but I know it's coming. The pressure of this cannot stand for much longer. I suspect the "one single thing" will be the 2024 election, but maybe that's wishful thinking, but something is coming because it always has.
I think it was during the 2008 Obama campaign when I first heard, "We are the people we've been waiting for." At the time it was pretty rhetoric. Now, it's absolutely true. Joe Biden is one of the best presidents of my lifetime, and yet his reputation is torn down daily by the right-wing and basically ALL of the mainstream media. We have to stop thinking that someone is going to save us. That "someone" has to be US. We are truly on our own, and we're up to the task! Anything else, like President Joe, is some nice icing on the cake, but it's up to us to continue to "Try."
ETA: Oh, and GREAT "#NotTooOld video." Joe should be using it on the campaign! I missed Friday's show because mom was having a procedure to alleviate the pain in her back (she's much better now), and EVERYTHING at a hospital moves at a glacial pace, but I will try to get it in this week. Looks like a good one!
Thanks, Steve. I'm glad your mother is feeling better. At the end of the day, those are the most important things.
We are at an inflection point now, with the global fascism. I hope that, with the violent news from around the world this past week, more people begin to wake up to the threat. It is real and it is not going away, unless we stomp it out.
From what I've been seeing online (which I'm taking off for the rest of the night), the fascists are accusing the left of fully supporting Hamas and blaming Biden for "GIVING" $6 billion to Iran which (of course) funded this Israeli/Hamas war. No facts will get in their way -- even a link from Fox News explaining the $6 billion, correctly, I might add (!), was rejected as a lie. Meanwhile Benjamin Trumpinyahu declares war -- maybe justifiably, maybe not -- and the US is going to be sucked down into this Middle Eastern thing AGAIN. Two states have always been the solution, I would think, but no, back to war.
The struggle for freedom does spring eternal, and righteously because oppression is truly the mask of the tyrant's fear. It often goes unrecognized in our media culture but I must offer you this tidbit: the Jihadis or insurgent al-Qassam fighters, Hezbollah and their ilk love Star Wars, and identify with the Rebels. In their worldview, the US military and IDF are the Empire
That manifesto is brilliant. I am particularly struck by the assertion that “the Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural,” and the explanatory sentence’s immediately following. As usual, Greg, you dazzle me with details that are of interest even though—and because—they are beyond my personal experience. I took my 8-year-old son to the theater to see Star Wars in 1977–which turned out to be important quality time, because I divorced his mother that same year. I didn’t follow Star Wars after that. Life got in the way. But that manifesto, whether or not it was meant to, gives me hope that fascism is inherently fragile and will always eventually fall apart.
Thanks, Earl. Yes, the passage you cite is the key one; I agree. I love "it leaks." I don't know why, but I would never think to phrase it that way. It DOES require effort, and it always collapses under its own weight eventually. Strongmen die. This is the way!
Seeing Star Wars was one of those moments in my young life that brought awe and a realization of all the possibilities that could exist. I had never seen anything like it nor had I imagined anything like it. I felt fully ensconced in the moment. I saw it in the movie theater when it first came out and it blew my mind! It was the foundation of so many things to come. While thinking about this, the music group INXS kept popping into my mind. I tell my kids that I would not be who I am today without INXS. They were so groundbreaking in so many ways that we take for granted today. Their song "Mediate" also blew my mind. Again, I had never seen or heard anything like it, and I dare to say, it laid one of the foundations for Hip-Hop. But it wasn't just listening to "Mediate" that changed me, it was seeing the video they made of the song on MTV. Remember the original version of MTV? They played videos of songs 98% of the time. It gave musicians a different way to express themselves. It gave them a different way to connect with their audience and I thought, and still think, it was brilliant! I know today you can look up the same kind of thing on YouTube and TikTok but it was that seeming randomness of what video would pop up and when. Just like radio.
I love that early MTV. There is an oral history book called I WANT MY MTV, by Rob Tannenbaum, that you must read immediately, if you like early MTV. I cannot recommend it highly enough. I enjoyed it to an almost embarrassing level.
I agree about the wonder of randomness. And how scarcity makes certain songs bigger.
It is a testament to your writing that I read anything related to both Tom Cruise *and* Star Wars, but I did, and I laughed at the helmet questions, and then was stunned to silence at the slice of Andor manifesto served up. To Sunday. Cheers.
Thanks, Julie. The manifesto is really something. I think they snuck it in there just because they wanted to say what they said, but I don't mind, if it's that good.
Same here
Andor sounds interesting because you said it deals with present day issues like fascism. Never got into Star Wars- I know that’s pretty shocking. But I enjoy anything you write. Now I will listen to your interviews. Thanks as always!
Thanks, Helen.
It's like the latest Batman movie, in that it is about humans in human situations. There is no use of The Force. I don't even think it's mentioned at all, which is refreshing.
When it is done right, Science Fiction allows us to explore human behaviour in extraordinary situations, far beyond normal fiction.
Saw the first Star Wars flick, but never another of the multiple spin offs. Helen, Julie and many others, will be shocked with the Tom Cruise mention...bloviated fascist reference should bring pause to everyone in America’s present political climate.
Another example of the fascinating findings on your Sunday posts Greg!!
Had TC been in that Star Wars film way back when, he may never have gone to the Dark Side...
I remember when the “kook” recited his manifesto but reading part of it reveals its quality. I hope you don’t get tired of the praise, but you write so wonderfully, thank you!
Thank you, Carl. It is always appreciated!
Message received. Do not despair.
Thank you.
Exactly.
Oh, good, I thought I was to be the only one who didn't really dive down into the Star Wars universe! I'm not sure what it was, but it just never connected for me. I was more a "Star Trek" and "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" kind of guy.
But my mind, like a steel trap, knows that's not the point of this wonderful Sunday column. We will not despair at what's happening either here or abroad, and I know I can say that I will continue to resist this bullshit as long as it goes on. THIS is not the way things are supposed to be, and although I'm 65, I know that statement is not coming from a generational place. There are 20-, 30-, 40-, and 50-year-olds who also know that the actual FASCISM we're fighting against in the United States is real. It's not hyperbole, it's actually happening, which is the hardest thing to realize and not think that you're going too far. We're not. It's here and it wants IN. I also know that there will be "one single thing that will break the siege." I don't know what it is right now, but I know it's coming. The pressure of this cannot stand for much longer. I suspect the "one single thing" will be the 2024 election, but maybe that's wishful thinking, but something is coming because it always has.
I think it was during the 2008 Obama campaign when I first heard, "We are the people we've been waiting for." At the time it was pretty rhetoric. Now, it's absolutely true. Joe Biden is one of the best presidents of my lifetime, and yet his reputation is torn down daily by the right-wing and basically ALL of the mainstream media. We have to stop thinking that someone is going to save us. That "someone" has to be US. We are truly on our own, and we're up to the task! Anything else, like President Joe, is some nice icing on the cake, but it's up to us to continue to "Try."
ETA: Oh, and GREAT "#NotTooOld video." Joe should be using it on the campaign! I missed Friday's show because mom was having a procedure to alleviate the pain in her back (she's much better now), and EVERYTHING at a hospital moves at a glacial pace, but I will try to get it in this week. Looks like a good one!
Thanks, Steve. I'm glad your mother is feeling better. At the end of the day, those are the most important things.
We are at an inflection point now, with the global fascism. I hope that, with the violent news from around the world this past week, more people begin to wake up to the threat. It is real and it is not going away, unless we stomp it out.
Thanks, Greg!
From what I've been seeing online (which I'm taking off for the rest of the night), the fascists are accusing the left of fully supporting Hamas and blaming Biden for "GIVING" $6 billion to Iran which (of course) funded this Israeli/Hamas war. No facts will get in their way -- even a link from Fox News explaining the $6 billion, correctly, I might add (!), was rejected as a lie. Meanwhile Benjamin Trumpinyahu declares war -- maybe justifiably, maybe not -- and the US is going to be sucked down into this Middle Eastern thing AGAIN. Two states have always been the solution, I would think, but no, back to war.
The struggle for freedom does spring eternal, and righteously because oppression is truly the mask of the tyrant's fear. It often goes unrecognized in our media culture but I must offer you this tidbit: the Jihadis or insurgent al-Qassam fighters, Hezbollah and their ilk love Star Wars, and identify with the Rebels. In their worldview, the US military and IDF are the Empire
Chew on that awhile
The rebels in the SW movies look like they were modeled on that culture, now that you mention it. I was thinking that watching Andor.
Have you seen "The Battle of Algiers?" That's one to watch, if you want to see the sides reversed.
Not seen but I'll look for it
That manifesto is brilliant. I am particularly struck by the assertion that “the Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural,” and the explanatory sentence’s immediately following. As usual, Greg, you dazzle me with details that are of interest even though—and because—they are beyond my personal experience. I took my 8-year-old son to the theater to see Star Wars in 1977–which turned out to be important quality time, because I divorced his mother that same year. I didn’t follow Star Wars after that. Life got in the way. But that manifesto, whether or not it was meant to, gives me hope that fascism is inherently fragile and will always eventually fall apart.
Thanks, Earl. Yes, the passage you cite is the key one; I agree. I love "it leaks." I don't know why, but I would never think to phrase it that way. It DOES require effort, and it always collapses under its own weight eventually. Strongmen die. This is the way!
Seeing Star Wars was one of those moments in my young life that brought awe and a realization of all the possibilities that could exist. I had never seen anything like it nor had I imagined anything like it. I felt fully ensconced in the moment. I saw it in the movie theater when it first came out and it blew my mind! It was the foundation of so many things to come. While thinking about this, the music group INXS kept popping into my mind. I tell my kids that I would not be who I am today without INXS. They were so groundbreaking in so many ways that we take for granted today. Their song "Mediate" also blew my mind. Again, I had never seen or heard anything like it, and I dare to say, it laid one of the foundations for Hip-Hop. But it wasn't just listening to "Mediate" that changed me, it was seeing the video they made of the song on MTV. Remember the original version of MTV? They played videos of songs 98% of the time. It gave musicians a different way to express themselves. It gave them a different way to connect with their audience and I thought, and still think, it was brilliant! I know today you can look up the same kind of thing on YouTube and TikTok but it was that seeming randomness of what video would pop up and when. Just like radio.
I love that early MTV. There is an oral history book called I WANT MY MTV, by Rob Tannenbaum, that you must read immediately, if you like early MTV. I cannot recommend it highly enough. I enjoyed it to an almost embarrassing level.
I agree about the wonder of randomness. And how scarcity makes certain songs bigger.
The book is on my list! Thank you for alerting me to it - I'm excited to read it!
Thank you, Greg
Honestly, Andor is by far the best Star Wars of all, both tv and movies. I did like Rogue One as well.
Joseph Campbell would be proud.