T-M-I from T-I-M

The Adele Effect: A shocking connective Karaoke experience

The Adele Effect:

I went to a Karaoke party recently in my neighborhood. My 'hood is filled with young professionals who like to party.

As such, the bar (which is awesome called Silver Clouds in SF) was jam packed with mostly young men and women.

The women were pretty partiers mostly.

The dudes....they were often big, in shape dudes' dudes. Probably work out, play sports, etc.

Often that night they were seen chest bumping each other, a group of them were taking turns punching a hanging speed bag to see who could score the most and yelping their barbaric yelp.

The songs being chosen were mostly the kind of stuff you'd expect at a Karaoke club.

However, at one point a woman got on stage and had chosen "Someone Like You" by Adele.

I had never heard the song before and something magically unexpected happened.

Nearly EVERY person, young, old, in/out of shape, man and woman started soulfully belting out this tune by Adele. It was almost inexplicable.

The unbelievable thing was NOBODY was looking at the screen for the words, they ALL knew them. I was shocked.

Earlier in the evening I met and our hoops group adopted a lesbian couple that had recently gotten married they were BELTING the song out along with everyone else as I sat next to them.

They were the ones that told me it was Adele. Several of my hoops buddies were singing their hearts song along with Adele.

These two young men (one black, one white) both over 6 feet, in incredible shape with a group of women were near us too going all America's Got Talent or The Voice.

I pulled the black dude aside and told him that he totally owned the song.

He said to me "I f**cking LOVE that song!!!" and we became friends for the rest of the evening, dancing together at one point to Love Shack.

I've never seen anything like it. And I learned today (but will share it tomorrow) more about what the song is about and it makes the whole experience even MORE unbelievable.

One of my peak Karaoke experiences of all time came from the unexpected connective beauty of a song that transcends race, gender, sexuality, age and apparently alcohol intake.

Thank you Adele....

Film Review: Assassination Nation is a KILLER film

Last night I watched Assassination Nation and it was nothing short of spectacular.

 

It portrays the damaging impact of social media/technology on, in particular, young women and a writer’s perspective on how they strike back.

 

It features four absolutely scintillating actresses as the main four young women. Every one of them has screen time that is can’t miss cinema. In my opinion Hari Nef who is a transgender woman rose above all of them.

 

Without giving up too much of the plot it’s a story about four very close high school seniors who are put in a dangerous position of being blamed for a hack that’s destroying a town, interestingly called Salem.

 

The four young women are chased violently around the city and they react and triumph violently.

 

I am ALL IN for creative pieces that help me get into the minds and hearts of young men and women who are subject to the difficulty of technology and social media. I am also completely here for the challenges that parents face and fall short of in helping our kids through it.

 

The movie is visually stunning. It integrates texting, technology and script nearly flawlessly. It’s a tad hard to keep up at some points but it’s not a dealbreaker.

 

Sam Levinson wrote and directed the film. He also wrote a bunch of Euphoria episodes which makes perfect sense.

 

He has a way of sensationalizing the core fears, anger, hurt and desire for understanding that young people I think have that is unparalleled. (The movie S**thouse is another good example of a writer who I really resonate with)

 

There is a scene in this movie where Lily (Odessa Young) tries to explain to her principal why she drew a suggestive and sexual woman for an art piece. It was a stunning piece of acting and writing that absolutely captivated me in trying to understand a new perspective.

 

As for Hari Nef, she was magnetic, charismatic, powerful and vulnerable in a way that I rarely see on screen. She gives voice to the challenges, anger and hurt of transgender women in a way that was both heartbreaking and captivating.

 

Her powerful sensuality and emotional presence left me wanting more every time she was onscreen.

 

Admittedly, I went into the film seeing Joel McHale hoping I’d get some comic relief and absolutely didn’t. He is a dark, deeply disturbed character worthy of attention.

 

The film does a TREMENDOUS job showing how the group think mob mentality sometimes takes deeply hurt and downright hypocritical people down AND takes down good, hard working people looked at through a distorted lens that leaves us all the worse off.

 

I readily admit this was a movie when rotten people were killed or maimed, violently, I cheered. Is it my best side? Probably not, but art accesses all parts of us.

 

The climax (and I use that word intentionally) of the film when the four young women storm the town and gather an army of powerful, angry, devoted young women behind them in a very violent way had me in tears.

 

In its own way it reminded me of the end of Revenge of the Nerds (old school).

 

It’s hard to describe why a film that is graphically violent could have me so tearful but I’ll try. This film tries to access what is the reality that the velocity of how fast things are changing for our daughters is spectacular. They want to be seen, heard, felt in ways that we MUST adjust to.

 

In fact fighting that only widens the division and makes things even MORE difficult. There is behavior in the film that is confronting and not what I’d want my daughter engaging in and yet it’s my job to be there for her when (NOT if) she makes mistakes.

This film helps me feel the challenge.

 

I realize that films like this or series like Squid Game are hard to watch and yet their messages are important. I’m not a huge violence fan but if it’s used in the context of expressing a connective and deep message I’m far more open to it.

 

Assassination Nation is not very nuanced and yet the levels of the messages are deep and wide. It’s a can’t miss piece of cinema art.