08 November, 2016

The Modern Handmaid's Tale of the 2016 Election


SHOPPING

Reading The Handmaid’s Tale months before the Election is terrifying.

Identifying our missteps now, before they distort and bleed into our future is the cautionary tale warned by Nineteen Eighty-Four, Brave New World and Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale. The novel depicts the United States of America being transformed into a slave state, governed ideologically by the Book of Genesis. Women are catalogued into sub-classes of unwomen, jezebels, wives, servants and breeders, all wearing assigned uniforms. Males are “hunters” and those higher in rank may obtain a “breeder” or Handmaid. The novel’s main character, Offred lives as a Handmaid with The Commander and his wife, Serena Joy. Serena, once a televangelist, has lost her power and is thought to be barren. It is actually The Commander who is sterile. However, according to new law, only women can suffer from this.

I take this in as my boyfriend lounges on the couch watching what has become a political farce, thinking: it will always be like this. I pause when an anti-Trump ad appears on the screen, proclaiming, “we’ll round them up in a humane manner!” I congratulate myself on the ironic timing that I’ve chosen to read this omen.

That night as I fall asleep my mind wanders back to The Handmaid’s Tale.

NIGHT

November 9th was a surreal day. I imagine the only comparison could be made to the day after a National Purge, if such a thing existed. We walked deserted city streets, neon signs still illuminating shuttered shops. “At least we’ll always have the beach”, he said; as we walked under star lined palm trees, wet sand at our feet, a warm celestial sky above us. Somewhere in Washington D.C., a man with the gleam of American Puritanism in his eyes whispered “just when and where”.

By January we’ve become so rundown we don’t even notice what’s happening. At first we thought we were safe. We were white after all.

The journalists were the first to go. We thought it would start with the Mexican border; we were wrong. We settled back into our routines, still hung over from the holidays and New Year. This year looking a little bleaker, trying to push the lingering feeling of uncertainty down inside ourselves. Opening Gmail I expected several days worth of headlines to load from The Daily Beast, The New York Times, The Atlantic, Salon, Vice News, anything; there was nothing. I checked the Twitter account of Charles M. Blow; it had ceased to exist. C-Span Washington Journal continued to air regularly.

I wake up drenched in sweat, stomach eroded. This is not real life. Every effort to drift back into my dreams ends as my heart shudders with thunderous beats inside my chest that heave my entire consciousness awake again.

Somehow in the next hour, I find sleep.

They say dreams only last 30 seconds. They say dreams aren’t recurring. I tell myself this isn’t real life, that this is only just a dream.

There is something subversive about this garden of Serena’s, a sense of buried things bursting upwards, wordlessly, into the light, as if to point, to say: Whatever is silenced will clamor to be heard, though silently. (Handmaid, 153)

I see Serena’s slumped figure gardening in the yard. As I approach her from behind the edges of my subconscious vignette waver and shimmer like hot pavement vapors in the desert sun. I reach out to her, and she turns to me but her face is gone. My vision blurs and her face is back, but this time it is Melania Trump. She says in a muted but frantic speech: “What a beautiful spring day this is, a beautiful May day”. She continues on gardening as I keep staring. She looks up at me and in one quick movement, motions, as if to say: “Stay Quiet”.

Sometimes I think she knows. Sometimes I think they’re in collusion. Sometimes I think she put him up to it, and is laughing at me; as I laugh, from time to time and with irony, at myself. Let her take the weight, she can say to herself. Maybe she’s withdrawn from him, almost completely; maybe that’s her version of freedom. (Handmaid, 163)

This time we are not in Serena’s garden. This time it is no longer Serena. This time Melania’s face is clearer than before. We are in the sitting room, waiting for The Commander to enter and turn on the television. She watches me, knowingly, letting me stew over her carefully chosen words in the garden. Almost as if to taunt me, to let me know what she is doing, by choosing not to do anything at all. At once The Commander enters, mouth full of bright teeth that dazzle against an agitated spray tan, and she goes about her nightly routine, though there is a pause to her step, a defiant delay that I think I am imagining. She hands him his pipe and newspapers but does not engage him as usual. There is a feeling of distance and strength. Again, I am imagining things. She settles back into her chair once The Commander is comfortably set up. She glances at me for a millisecond. I think I see the traces of a faint smile. I think I am imagining things. Deep down I know I am not.

HOUSEHOLD

I am no longer dreaming, but I’m not fully awake and I have overslept. Usually, woken by lawnmower at 7AM on a Monday by Raul and Gus. I would wonder about their whereabouts if I wasn’t living in a cloud of uncertainty. I leave for work at 9AM, arriving to my office by 9:15. This is unheard of. I think back and realize the roads were barren. I can only recall fancy white people driving along in gleaming Mercedes Benz. Come to think of it, there was no massive Ford F-150 pick-up trucks that I so frequently pass on my daily commute, filled with expensive equipment, ladders, buckets and Gatorade drink-coolers. I leave my office, hoping this is just an oversight. I walk to the upscale hair salon next door, owned by Johnny Flores, famously from Mexico. The doors are locked. I leave feeling crazy, they must always be closed on Mondays.

I spin the control on my car radio, trying to find the consoling logic of KCRW. Nothing. Gone. I do however come across a channel with an eerie message being broadcast: dot dot dot dash… dot dot dot dash… This goes on indefinitely. It means nothing to me but I can’t get it out of my head. An empty tapping, full of meaning.

Still driving, I float past the dense populous of Los Angeles. Across so many different situations; just below and beyond the 10 freeway. Glittering lights illuminating the sky, one-by-one coming alive to tell me that yes, there is still life here. And maybe, just maybe, this is all in your mind. Next on the 405 freeway, the beauty of the California landscape is foreboding and unmistakable. Smog that conceals itself as pink haze nestles in between peaks of arid mountain canyons, settling deep into its deadly yet beautiful gullies. For a brief moment I am placated by its beauty, thinking of how tricky the terrain of California is. So many hostile pieces of land, so ripe for natural disaster, poisonous snakes and flowers – masquerading in beautiful vivid colors, strong heady scents temporarily stunning and disarming whoever it holds in it’s grasp. How easily we are fooled.

When I get home, he looks nervously at me and his eyes tell me that we are thinking the same thing. Later that night, he disappears on the phone for a while. Coming back he says to pack an overnight bag. We are heading to the mountains. We drive in silence, probably thinking the same thing, or not. The dog is with us and fidgety. She has not yet sensed the trouble surging and swelling beneath the surfaces of our exteriors. We arrive to a cabin in Big Bear surrounded by several other cars. The home belongs to Declan, previously a government employee with left leaning tendencies. Apparently, he has dire information that cannot be spread over telephone.



SALVAGING

We all gather around the piece of equipment on the floor of the lodge. We tune the satellite radio to channel 5. It is static. After a decade long moment however, we hear that same empty tapping. This continues for 2 hours, just long enough for the batteries to die. Declan says that if one of these devices fell into the wrong hands, they most likely wouldn’t have procured the necessary batteries. This seems assumptive to me, but I dare not offer any opposition. It’s funny how quickly you fall into place when oppression is tapping on your shoulder and whispering in your ear. We quickly replace the devices batteries, hands shaking. Moments after we tune the channel again, we hear a low guttural voice…

“nolite te bastardes carborundorum”…

“nolite te bastardes carborundorum” …

More silence.

A slow crackling, then we hear him; the voice of salvation, sounding far, far away. It is a call to arms for those of us left. We learn that the new government intends to fully shut off the Internet using an EMP launch. We learn that mass quantities of kale and high-grade essential oils have been contaminated with fast-acting radioactive poison, targeting liberal vegans. We learn that they will forbid women to own property, repossessing anything female-owned in the coming weeks. We learn that society will be divided into groups; based on class status and reproduction viability. We learn that Bill Mahar & Michael Moore have started an underground movement somewhere in Cuba. We learn that many of the most stringent Trump supporters are not being rewarded. In fact those who vowed to “start a movement” are being considered threats to the new order. No one is rewarded. No one wins. We learn a lot of things.

In a national emergency you don’t think you’d be concerned with material things. You don’t think a lot of things. The consequential order in which you experience events makes you thankful or thankless. We have packed the bare necessities, including the dog and two cats. My refusal to leave them behind, acknowledges a willingness to give myself away. Forsaken items that you worked your entire life for creates a type of resentment that I cannot properly put into words.

As we approach Mexico, we realize how stupid we were to think Border Patrol would not be expecting us. They ask where we are headed and we say on vacation, first stopping in Mazatlan, then Guadalajara, then Mexico City and eventually arriving at the Las Brisas Resort in Acapulco. In the rearview mirror I see four Border Patrol Agents armed with AK-47s heading towards us. I feel a sense of panic, while trying to maintain absolute serenity. The dog is whining in the back seat. I hear a tiny cat’s meow and I think, “who goes on a road trip with cats”. How can our government force us to abandon or betray those that rely on us most? The four agents are thirty feet away; I feel whispering almost chanting voices swirling around in my stomach. I start active yoga breathing. He is speaking with the border agent at the window but their words have become humming noises. The kind of humming that surrounds and overwhelms you just before you lose consciousness. The agents are twenty feet away and the voices are spiraling out of control, up into my esophagus trying to escape out of my throat. I push them back down with another breath drawn from deep in my belly. I think the agent at the window has asked me a question but I am frozen. If I move an inch the spiraling, chanting, whispering voices will come bursting out of the top of my head. The agents are ten feet way and the dog is barking. The skin on my face feels red, my temples are on fire, the back of my skull feels wet. I pull myself upright with what feels like every single muscle available in my head, neck and face to look at the agent, and that’s when I see the barrel of the gun. And everything goes black.

BIRTH DAY

My eyes open. I’m staring at the ceiling. I am in my home in the United States. I feel sick. My subconscious lingers in a way that leaves me unable to fully assert the difference between dreams and reality. That feeling that renders you unable to sleep again until the sun rises.  I look at the clock, it is November 9th, 2016. I am afraid to look at my phone or CNN. This is a historical moment, one that will forever change things for women. The direction of that change however, depends on one thing and one thing only. Your Vote.




17 January, 2012

Film & TV goodies happening NOW

Okay, so let's see what 2012 has to offer so far.  Excited!

January

27th      THE GREY
             *Let it be noted that I would pay to watch Liam Neeson clip his toenails.
           
             ALBERT NOBBS
             Looks deep..heavy...complex.. How will it fare against The Grey?

29th      LUCK premieres on HBO



April

1st         GAME OF THRONES RETURNS!!!!



May

11th     THE DICTATOR
            Sasha Baron Cohen.  Ben Kingsley.  John C. Reilly. Wii Sports: Execution.  If that isn't enticing, this movie simply isn't for you.


18th     BATTLESHIP
             #1 reason to see this movie is the eye candy casting: Liam Neeson, Aleksander Skarsgard, Taylor Kitsch, Brooklyn Decker.  Need I say more?
            #2 Did Milton Bradley acquire the rights to The Twilight Zone?


25th     MOONRISE KINGDOM
            The latest masterpiece from genius/swoon-worthy Wes Anderson.



July

20th     DARK KNIGHT RISES
            I adore Christopher Nolan, in a psychotic way.  But I have to say the trailer looks Transformerish.  Did Michael Bay guest direct a scene?



December

14th     The Hobbit
            LOTR & Peter Jackson fans you can now officially start nerding out.

29 November, 2011

'Artist,' 'Shelter' lead Spirit noms - Entertainment News, Spirit Awards, Media - Variety

Everyone adores the Oscars.... the Globes... but every year I get so excited when the Spirit Award noms are released. Oh, the gems I have found when shaping my Blockbuster Queue after this list... <3

'Artist,' 'Shelter' lead Spirit noms - Entertainment News, Spirit Awards, Media - Variety

'Beginners'

'Beginners'

'Take Shelter'

'Take Shelter'

'Martha Marcy May Marlene'

'Martha Marcy May Marlene'

'The Artist'

'The Artist'

The Spirit Awards saw a pair of disparate dramas -- Michael Hazanavicius' silent movie "The Artist" and Jeff Nichols' doomsday tale "Take Shelter" -- lead the nominations with five each, including best picture.

Best feature nods also went to cancer comedy "50-50," family dramas "Beginners" and "The Descendants" and actioner "Drive." Film Independent's noms were announced Tuesday morning at The London in West Hollywood by Anthony Mackie and Kate Beckinsale.

Fox Searchlight - with "The Descendants," "Martha Marcy May Marlene," "Cedar Rapids," "Another Earth" and "Win Win" - led all distribs with 14 nominations, followed by Sony Pictures Classics with nine and TWC and Focus with six each. "Beginners," "The Descendants," "Martha Marcy May Marlene" and "Drive" each scored four noms, and "50-50" scored three.

The 27th edition of the Spirit Awards will be presented Feb. 25 - the day before the Oscars - at its usual location in a beachside tent in Santa Monica. To be eligible, a film must be made by a U.S. producer for under $20 million.

Lead actor nominations went to Jean Dujardin of "The Artist," Michael Shannon of "Take Shelter," Ryan Gosling of "Drive," Demian Bichir for "A Better Life" and Woody Harrelson for "Rampart." Lead actress nods went to Lauren Ambrose, "Think of Me"; Rachel Harris, "Natural Selection"; Adepero Oduye, "Pariah"; Elizabeth Olsen, "Martha Marcy May Marlene"; and Michelle Williams, "My Week with Marilyn."

Hazanavicius and Nichols received noms in the directing category along with Mike Mills ("Beginners"), Alexander Payne ("The Descendants") and Nicolas Winding Refn ("Drive"). J.C. Chandor's "Margin Call" took the Robert Altman Award - given to one film for director, casting director and ensemble cast.

The 49-member Film Independent committee screened 270 movies, resulting in 44 films receiving nominations. Notable omissions of candidates receiving awards consideration included the film "Like Crazy," George Clooney and Judy Greer in "The Descendants," Glenn Close in "Albert Nobbs" and Christopher Plummer in "Beginners."

The Spirit noms were announced following Monday night's Gotham Independent Film Awards in New York, which saw a tie in the Best Feature category between "Beginners" and Terrence Malick's "The Tree of Life," which was not eligible for the spirits.

"Black Swan" won the top award at the Spirits last February.

Four Spirit nominees also picked up kudos Tuesday morning from the New York Film Critics Circle, including "The Artist" as best feature, Jessica Chastain (supporting actress for "Tree of Life," "The Help" and "Take Shelter"), Hazanavicius (director for "The Artist") and Albert Brooks (supporting actor, "Drive").

View the multiple nominations gallery

FEATURE
(Award given to the producer; executive producers are not listed)
"50/50"
Producers: Evan Goldberg, Ben Karlin, Seth Rogen
"Beginners"
Producers: Miranda de Pencier, Lars Knudsen, Leslie Urdang, Dean Vanech, Jay Van Hoy
"Drive"
Producers: Michel Litvak, John Palermo, Marc Platt, Gigi Pritzker, Adam Siegel
"Take Shelter"
Producers: Tyler Davidson, Sophia Lin
"The Artist"
Producer: Thomas Langmann
"The Descendants"
Producers: Jim Burke, Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor

MALE LEAD
Demián Bichir
"A Better Life"
Jean Dujardin
"The Artist"
Ryan Gosling
"Drive"
Woody Harrelson
"Rampart"
Michael Shannon
"Take Shelter"

FEMALE LEAD
Lauren Ambrose
"Think of Me"
Rachael Harris
"Natural Selection"
Adepero Oduye
"Pariah"
Elizabeth Olsen
"Martha Marcy May Marlene"
Michelle Williams
"My Week with Marilyn"

SUPPORTING MALE
Albert Brooks
"Drive"
John Hawkes
"Martha Marcy May Marlene"
Christopher Plummer
"Beginners"
John C. Reilly
"Cedar Rapids"
Corey Stoll
"Midnight in Paris"

SUPPORTING FEMALE
Jessica Chastain
"Take Shelter"
Anjelica Huston
"50/50"
Janet McTeer
"Albert Nobbs"
Harmony Santana
"Gun Hill Road"
Shailene Woodley
"The Descendants"

DIRECTOR
Michel Hazanavicius
"The Artist
Mike Mills
"Beginners
Jeff Nichols
"Take Shelter
Alexander Payne
"The Descendants
Nicolas Winding
"Refn Drive

SCREENPLAY
Joseph Cedar
"Footnote"
Michel Hazanavicius
"The Artist"
Tom McCarthy
"Win Win"
Mike Mills
"Beginners"
Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash
"The Descendants"

FIRST FEATURE
(Award given to the director and producer)
"Another Earth"
Director: Mike Cahill
Producers: Mike Cahill, Hunter Gray, Brit Marling, Nicholas Shumaker
"In the Family"
Director: Patrick Wang
Producers: Robert Tonino, Andrew van den Houten, Patrick Wang
"Margin Call"
Director: J.C. Chandor
Producers: Robert Ogden Barnum, Michael Benaroya, Neal Dodson, Joe Jenckes, Corey Moosa, Zachary Quinto
"Martha Marcy May Marlene"
Director: Sean Durkin
Producers: Antonio Campos, Patrick Cunningham, Chris Maybach, Josh Mond
"Natural Selection
Director: Robbie Pickering
Producers: Brion Hambel, Paul Jensen

FIRST SCREENPLAY
Mike Cahill, Brit Marling
"Another Earth"
J.C. Chandor
"Margin Call"
Patrick deWitt
"Terri"
Phil Johnston
"Cedar Rapids"
Will Reiser
"50/50"

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD
Given to the best feature made for under $500,000. Award given to the writer, director and producer. Executive producers are not listed
"Bellflower"
Writer/Director: Evan Glodell
Producers: Evan Glodell, Vincent Grashaw
"Circumstance"
Writer/Director: Maryam Keshavarz
Producers: Karin Chien, Maryam Keshavarz, Melissa M. Lee
"Hello Lonesome"
Writer/Director/Producer: Adam Reid
"Pariah"
Writer/Director: Dee Rees
Producer: Nekisa Cooper
"The Dynamiter"
Writer: Brad Inglesby
Director: Matthew Gordon
Producers: Kevin Abrams, Matthew Gordon, Merilee Holt, Art Jones, Mike Jones, Nate Tuck, Amile Wilson

CINEMATOGRAPHY
Joel Hodge
"Bellflower
Benjamin Kasulke
"The Off Hours
Darius Khondji
"Midnight in Paris
Guillaume Schiffman
"The Artist
Jeffrey Waldron
"The Dynamiter

DOCUMENTARY (Award given to the director)
"An African Election"
Director/Producer: Jarreth Merz
"Bill Cunningham New York"
Director: Richard Press; Producer: Philip Gefter
"The Interrupters"
Director/Producer: Steve James; Producer: Alex Kotlowitz
"The Redemption of General Butt Naked"
Director/Producers: Eric Strauss, Daniele Anastasion
"We Were Here"
Director/Producer: David Weissman

FOREIGN FILM (Award given to the director)
"A Separation"(Iran)
Director: Asghar Farhadi
"Melancholia" (Denmark/Sweden/France/Germany)
Director: Lars von Trier
"Shame" (UK)
Director: Steve McQueen
"The Kid With a Bike" (Belgium/France/Italy)
Directors: Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne
"Tyrannosaur" (UK)
Director: Paddy Considine

SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD
(The 18th annual Someone to Watch Award recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant.)
Simon Arthur
"Silver Tongues"
Mark Jackson
"Without"
Nicholas Ozeki
"Mamitas"

PIAGET PRODUCERS AWARD
(The 15th annual Piaget Producers Award honors emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources demonstrate the creativity, tenacity, and vision required to produce quality, independent films. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by Piaget.)
Chad Burris
"Mosquita y Mari"
Sophia Lin
"Take Shelter"
Josh Mond
"Martha Marcy May Marlene"

TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD
(The 17th annual Truer Than Fiction Award is presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant.)
Heather Courtney
"Where Soldiers Come From"
Danfung Dennis
"Hell and Back Again"
Alma Har'el
"Bombay Beach"

ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD
(Given to one film's director, casting director, and its ensemble cast)
"Margin Call"
Director: J.C. Chandor
Casting Director: Tiffany Little Canfield, Bernard Telsey
Ensemble Cast: Penn Badgley, Simon Baker, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Irons, Mary McDonnell, Demi Moore, Zachary Quinto, Kevin Spacey, Stanley Tucci