Watching "The Interview": #Whatever

Greetings comrades.

So. If you have not yet seen the latest Rogen-Franco movie "The Interview," then you may be missing out on what may be the biggest public relations campaign, or hoax, since the H.G. Wells saga The War of the Worlds. I first heard the Wells radio play when I was a public-radio listening youngster growing up in the Appalachians -- a region of the United States not known for alien invasions. (No way are aliens gonna find a place to land in our state -- no flat land! Nice job, though, Mr. Wells.) I loved the radio play, and could not get over the fact that this genius had made it seem as though Martians were going to take over the world. (Ahhh!) 

Fast forward to Christmas 2014. 

The media would have us believe that an independent movie about a head of state who is also a cultural icon, of sorts, for his hair and his enthusiasm for basketball, would be so offended as to wage war against the U.S. showing this movie.

Flash forward to the last Presidential press conference of the year ...

Even President Obama fields questions at his end of the year press conference on the topic of censorship and freedom related to the movie The Interview. First, the media enthralled us with stories of a wild hacking incident at Sony pictures by #thegop -- The Guardians of Peace. 

Brilliant. 

Then, there is the plot line of the movie itself: a journalist and his producer fly to China and then to Pyongyang to interview the head of state -- a wildly iconic present-day figure in his own right -- Kim Jong-un. Meanwhile, the United States' FBI named North Korea as the likely suspect behind the Sony hack.

What? I know, right? Crazy, crazy, and awesome marketing, non? 

So, of course I knew I had to watch this movie, even though I feared it might be stupid. Then, I realized that I had never even seen a Rogen-Franco movie, and that all I know about them is that the duo spoofed Kim Kardashian and Kanye West in the video "Bound 2".

I only stomached the original video by the married dynamic duo once, but I watched the spoof more than once. Therefore, I felt confident that watching "The Interview" on Christmas-day with my dad and my friend from China would yield at least a moderate laugh.

I should also note that I tried to download the movie on Christmas Eve, but got a peculiar message which you can see in the photo-collage below. However, this error could have been due to the fact that I tried downloading the movie from a Mac. The next night, I tried a PC and I ba-boom!

My overall assessment of this movie? 

Juvenile.

But the movie features show-stealer Diana Bang as Kim-family liaison "Sook". 

So, I am happy to have only paid 5.99 to rent this movie for a total of 48-hours through YouTube.

There you have it!

Sarai Koo Places Seoul Food: A Korean American Living in Los Angeles at Vroman's Pasadena & Hasting's Ranch

PASADENA -- Quiclkly surveying the buslting Vroman's Bookstore, the woman in black bustles through the book aisles scoping out the best location for her new book. She is Sarai Koo, a Los Angeleno, whose passion for relationship-building and storytelling builds bridges. 

Sarai Koo, an American woman of Korean ancestry, interrogates the myth of the "model minority" with poignancy and humor in her first book, Seoul Food: A Korean American Living in Los Angeles. This book is a contemporary memoir of a young woman's ability to define herself despite pressures to conform. 

Among the topics Koo takes on include body image and beauty standards, educational institutions, overcoming the aftermath of the 1990s LA riots, and, of course, food -- Seoul food. 

Although my personal opinion of this book may be biased due to my acquaintance with the author, the book's biggest strength is that it shows the complexity of the LA-Pico Rivera community during the 1980s and 90s and beyond making this book a natural read for historians and urban planners, as well as anyone interested in culture.

I'm looking forward to chatting with Sarai Koo about what prompted her to write her memoir, so "stay tuned".

The book is available at Vroman's Bookstore Pasadena and Hasting's Ranch, and on Amazon. 

Get a copy!

Urban Planners Sharing Stories: thrdPlace Meets The Edge at Base Camp

Silicon Beach, CA -- Among the kind and talented who converged on NextSpace for the Immigration reform talk sponsored by FWD.us this past Tuesday, was a representative from thrdPlace, an urban planning/community organizing team led by DeKoven Ashley and Mike Colosimo. As this interview with Carrie Norton, founder and CEO of Green Business Base Camp, demonstrates, Ashley and Colosimo prove that growth is a social and a local process of engagement. I wore my OFA hat, to listen and learn about how urban initiatives are re-shaping the world of work. The new world, I learned, is built on the simple premise, as Ashley and Colosimo state, of showing up and not being afraid to share stories in an effort to build a bright future.

A Labeling Machine

The machine.

Photo Credit: (Gail Taylor, 2010). American Apparel labeling machine, at the factory in downtown Los Angeles.

It makes our lives simpler. Distracting, irritating, yes. Therefore, the aftermath of progress, may simply be getting re-acquainted with ourselves and our work.

If Marx and Engels were concerned about the alienation of the worker from his/her work, then what could be the antidote to this distancing? Another question might be: What would be a cultural politics, today? 

Consider, radical self-reflexivity. In The Kristeva Reader, Julia Kristeva writes, "Another generation is another space," Kristeva, a French theorist, considered the new way that political entities disenfranchised from power will interact with creators of knowledge and knowledge-structures in a globalized world. She said, "Another generation is another space," (209). And one of Kristeva's strengths in this essay is that she is intentional about speaking about space from a Western perspective. The Western-mode of segmentation as process is contestable. Especially today, when leisure appears to be the default mode.

Consider, introversion as method as the machine roars on.

 

Above the Fold

Race, class, privilege, gender, sex, and, power take center stage in ABOVE THE FOLD, a Pasadena Playhouse world premiere, by Bernard Weinraub, starring Taraji P. Henson as "Jane," a New York-based newspaper reporter. When Jane's editor, "Marvin," played by Arye Gross, sends her to the South to cover a political campaign, her plans quickly change when shortly after arriving, she learns of the alleged rape of a stripper by members of a fraternity. She gets the scoop from a prosecuting attorney and politician, "Lorne," played by Mark Hildreth. Through this play, the audience is confronted with the myriad ethical challenges reporters face.

To what degree is the story that runs above the fold representative of the story needing to be told? This question becomes a dominant theme. A sub-theme is the degree to which one's future is determined by personal decisions and societal stereotypes and conventions. 

Jane confronts her own identity, as well as her own vulnerability, as she writes stories about the alleged crime. The audience must decide if she is out for glory, eager to have a story printed above above the fold (the upper half of a newspaper), or eager to seek the truth, or both. Her integrity at stake, Jane wrestles with her boss, her interviewees, and her own conscience. 

Kudos to the lighting and set design team. The technology-heavy set, with a huge rendering of a smartphone, a ticker, and a television screen broadcasting the latest headlines, reminds the audience of the way print journalism competes with the immediacy of social media and websites.

The Weinraub script addresses the complexity of an African American woman's way in the world, as opposed to place in society. As a result, ABOVE THE FOLD may leave audiences uneasy, but empathetic.

Networking

Don't let your insecurities hold you back.

Groupthink at DUI

A serial play written by Gail Taylor for Pretty Kitty Publishing (copyright, 2014). 

Scene 3

THE LIGHTING HAS CHANGED TO REFLECT A SENSE OF URGENCY. HEATHE AND JANE ARE STILL SEATED AT THE TABLE. HEATHE HAS DEVOURED THE CELERY AND NOW SLOWLY ROLLS THE HARD BOILED EGG OVER THE BROWN PAPER BAG CRACKING THE EGG SHELL. THE EGG POPS OUT OF THE SHELL PERFECTLY.

HEATHE STUDIES THE HARDBOILED EGG INTENTLY, ALMOST FORGETTING THAT JANE IS STILL SITTING WITH HIM.

JANE

  I would be delighted to join you -- for lunch. In fact, [rummaging in tote bag] I have my kefir and yogurt, right, oh, where is, oh! Right here.

JANE PLACES A SMALL CONTAINER, A NAPKIN, AND A SPOON ON THE TABLE. SHE ALSO PLACES A SMARTPHONE ON THE TABLE.

  Professor, I wonder if you would mind if I record our discussion. You were talking about the village. I want to talk about the village and the city. What the village and the city mean to you. What they mean to me.

HEATHE

  How they signify?

  

JANE

  Yes. Signify, correct. For example, can we agree that the DUI campus is the city? 

HEATHE

 Yes, you may record. 

  I shy away from analogies, but perhaps, yes, the city.

  You do realize that in the end, none of this really matters. 

JANE PUSHES A BUTTON ON THE SMARTPHONE.

JANE

  Because no matter whether one hails from Shanghai, or Maidsville, we want the same things? Right? 

HEATHE

 

  We do?

JANE

  OK.

   Maybe.

HEATHE

  Smoggy air for all with a dash of sub-standard infrastructure, and poor education. Let's all have that.

  No. We can't have equality for all.

  

  Equality only works when we are with our peers, Jane.

JANE

  I guess that's why it's called the club.

HEATHE

  The club is in your mind. 

JANE

  Do you know what's in my mind? 

  Tell me the truth. When is the last time you had lunch with -- me. Or even someone like me?

  Not that it matters, anyway.

HEATHE

 

HEATHE LOOKS BAFFLED. 

  I'm sorry?

  What is it that you mean to suggest?

JANE

  I do not mean to suggest anything other than, it is not unusual for someone such as you to meet a student -- especially a good student -- for coffee, or lunch. Is it? Off campus, too. And what is wrong with that?

  Do you think it's wrong?

  Well, over the break, I even said hello to you and a peer of mine whilst you two were having a pint at the Blue Dragon.

  Good for you both.

HEATHE

  You go there?

JANE

  

   Fish 'n' Chips, Sir Heathe. Fish 'n' Chips.

HEATHE

 

  I'm going to have to find another spot.

JANE

  

 The point is, you acknowledged me there. You saw me and you said, "Hello, Jane." You spoke to me like you speak to a colleague or any DUI person around the green.

  Yet, when you see me around this campus, you act as though I am some knind of first-year, and yet, there, right over there, is evidence of our relationship. [Gestures toward the manuscript that is on the desk].

  What do you have to say?

HEATHE

  About?

JANE

 Really?

HEATHE

 Are you angry? You know. It's about ...

  Jane. It's about difference. You know. It's about place, Jane. YOUR place. 

  What it's about, why hasn't someone explained this to you? It's just that, you are seen out there, amongst the folk, that's where you beling. You are of the people.

  DUI campus is DUI. We are ourselves. 

JANE

  Except when you are amongst each other. It makes no sense. Unless we are talking about vampires and werewolves.

HEATHE

 Bizarre.

  You haven't finished eating.

JANE 

  I'm not interested.

HEATHE

 

  But you were before.

  Whatever.

JANE

  The question is -- Haven't you thought about what might be gained from us getting together casually? I mean, how I could grow. What intellectual conversations might be had that could benefit --

HEATHE

  You?

   Now you are being ridiculous. There are no intellectual conversations.

  You are quite selfish, Jane. And no one, no one has the time.

JANE

  I guess it all depends on how you like to spend your time.

SHE CAREFULLY WRAPS THE SPOON INTO THE NAPKIN. PLACES THE LID ON THE BARELY EATEN CONTAINER OF YOGURT. PUNCHES THE BUTTON ON THE SMARTPHONE. PLACES THESE ITEMS INTO HER TOTE BAG. GETS READY TO WALK OUT OF THE OFFICE.

HEATHE

  Are we done?

JANE

 Thank you for your time, Professor Bishop. 

  I had hoped to meet this mysterious Willard from Cambridge to have a discussion about my notes on your book, but I can see that I might have to wait a while since undoubtedly, you plan to meet with Willard alone.

HEATHE

  Your services are no longer required. 

JANE

  And slavery is over!

HEATHE

  I'm truly sorry.

JANE

  Did I mention that I, too, have an associate? You must know that. Kent, from Brown?

JANE WALKS TOWARD HEATHE'S DESK AND PICKS UP THE MANUSCRIPT. SHE PLACES IT IN HER TOTE BAG.

  Please have Willard contact me. I will arrange a meeting. 

  Willard, Kent and I will discuss my notes on your manuscript. 

  Now, if you will excuse me, I have research to conduct.

JANE EXITS

FADE OUT

[THE END]

Groupthink at DUI

A serial play written by Gail Taylor for Pretty Kitty Publishing (copyright, 2014). 

Scene 2

HEATHE AND JANE ARE STILL SEATED AT THE ROUND TABLE.  A BROWN-PAPER BAG IS ON TOP OF THE TABLE, BETWEEN THEM. A BOILED EGG IS ON TOP OF PLASTIC WRAP. 

HEATHE SUGGESTIVELY EATS A STALK OF CELERY DURING THE FOLLOWING MONOLOGUE.

JANE FINDS THIS WEIRD. YET, SHE IS UNDAUNTED.

HEATHE

  I have a question for you, Jane. Do you want to work here? You want to work here? If you want to work here, Jane, then you must do everything they tell you ... everything they tell you ... to do. You must, or they will never let you leave.

  Never.

  You must enjoy this life. But is it really utopia? Reading theses and dissertations, meeting with students from all over the world, who come from the most remote villages, whose futures are predetermined, most of whom will fritter-away their time partying, or not. 

  Some of them will make it, but more of them won't. And when they do fail, they will not feel failure. Not in the same way as some here feel it, though. I am talking about ... Well, you know.

  Do you understand?

  There are many who come here for the beautiful trees, the clean water, the pure air, and they stay long enough to be exposed to our teachings. And then, they leave, Jane. Leave. 

  Jane, you are still here.

  You did not leave. 

  You never leave.

  Why don't you leave?

  You must want something. 

  Or, someone? 

  Or, maybe what they are saying is accurate, and you have lost your intellectual faculties.

  But surely, you do not stay because this is utopia. 

 This is not Cambrigde, Jane. 

  You can ask Willard about that, if you're still here.

JANE

  Who is comparing DUI to Cambridge?

   And who is Willard?

HEATHE

  You, you act like this is Cambridge. Writing papers, putting your name on literature reviews.

JANE

  My work. Help me understand why I wouldn't put my name on my work.

HEATHE

  Ah, see. There you go. Your expectations. You must be having the time of your life at a place where no one expects someone like you to be seen.

  Congratulations, Jane! Good for you! And now, you are invited to leave DUI!

JANE

  What? I don't understand.

   I thought you wanted me here. I thought you employed me to do your research. 

   I thought you would guide me through my monograph, my own research. What is this about?

  What have you done?

HEATHE

  Listen to yourself.

  What are you saying? Do you know what you are saying? 

   Is everything an absolute with you -- people?

JANE

LEANS IN CLOSELY TOWARD HEATHE. SPEAKS IN A SERIOUS TONE.

  You people? 

  What people? 

  People who work hard, research, go places you long-ago wrote off, and long-ago left in flames?

  

HEATHE

  You know, as well as I, that those people will never listen to people like --

JANE

EXHALES LOUDLY.

  HEATHE!

HEATHE

  Thank you, Jane.

  Your monograph will make an excellent 'searchit.com entry, thus helping us to educate the next wave of graduate school-losers.

  You did a good job, a great job, kid.

  Thank you.

[FADE OUT]

(To be continued.)

 

Groupthink at DUI

A serial play written by Gail Taylor for Pretty Kitty Publishing (copyright, 2014). 

Scene

DuCamp Union Institute (DUI), beautiful, with lots of trees, fountains, and glass-boxes, attracts studious, yet coddled 30-somethings known for being nerdy-rich and less attractive than B-list international and Hollywood celebrities.

Arriving on the first day of her fourth year at DUI is Jane Kensington Smith (JKS), a glamorous, brainy, doctoral candidate in European thought. JKS is of indeterminate ethnic and religious identity.

She enters the office of 83-year-old Professor Emeritus Sir Heathe Bishop, her mentor. He is pale, has liver-spots, yet is sharp-minded, but has OCD (obsessive-compulsive-disorder). His biggest obsession is lighting fixtures.

Jane's relationship with Sir Heathe is tenuous. This is to be their last meeting.

JANE ENTERS HEATHE'S OFFICE. SHE IS DRESSED CONSERVATIVELY, A TAILORED SPORT JACKET OVER SLACKS.HER ONLY ORNAMENTATION IS A PEACOCK-FEATHER PIN ORNAMENTING HER LAPEL.

HEATHE SITS BEHIND HIS DESK. HIS OFFICE HAS THE ARCHITECTURE AND TRIMMINGS OF A CALIFORNIA-STYLE CARPENTER HOME. BUT THE INTERIOR IS PAINTED A DEMURE GRAY. ALL OF THE BOOK SHELVES ARE EMPTY.

HEATHE LOOKS LIKE HE HASN'T SLEPT FOR DAYS.

JANE IS SURPRISED BY HIS LOOKS AND THE ABSENCE OF BOOKS.

JANE

  Hello, Professor Bishop.

HEATHE

(Looking up from his e-reader).

  Hello. Just leave it by the ... Uh, oh. Jane! Hello.

JANE

  Right. Yes, good morning.

HEATHE

  Have you come for something?

JANE

  Is now a good time? If it isn't, I can ... It's just that, I thought you would be expecting me? 

HEATHE

(Long pause.)

JANE

  You know, the manuscript? 

HEATHE

(Long pause.)

JANE

  Professor, may I sit down?

HEATHE

(Snaps to attention.) 

Yes, of course, and why don't we move to the table? 

HEATHE MOTIONS TO A SMALL, ROUND TABLE NEAR A SUNNY WINDOW IN THE OFFICE WHERE THEY WATCH STUDENTS PASSING BY.

HEATHE

  What brings you here? 

JANE

(Smiling.)

  Well, just this.

(She reaches into her luxe-tote and pulls out a 500-page manuscript adorned with multi-colored Post-its.)

  It took me about six-weeks. I have attached my comments to the top. My hand-written notations are on the Post-its. And may I say, what am honor it was for me to read your work.

  And to be apart of such an endeavor. 

HEATHE

(Long pause.)

JANE

  This was the highlight of my semester, editing your book. And I learned so much about --

HEATHE

  Right. 

JANE

  You will find my notes are quite detailed. To the point, even. Here, have a look and --

HEATHE

  OK. Look, Jane --

HEATHE PLACES HIS HAND ON THE MANUSCRIPT AND SLIDES IT TOWARD HIM. HE BRIEFLY EYEBALLS JANE'S COMMENTS BEFORE STANDING UP, AND WALKING TO HIS DESK WHERE HE PLACES THE MANUSCRIPT AND JANE'S NOTES ON HIS DESK.

HE REACHES INTO HIS ECO-FRIENDLY BRIEFCASE.

JANE

NERVOUSLY.

  So, will you let me know what's next? Is it the index?

HEATHE

PULLS OUT A BROWN PAPER BAG AND SITS BACK DOWN AT THE ROUND TABLE. HE PUTS THE BAG IN BETWEEN HIMSELF AND JANE.

  Look, Jane, I am sure your comments are good. I have always thought you to be a good writer, and a good editor. There are others who are better than you, and there are many others who are not as good as you. Many others, yes, yes. I will look at your comments. And I will share them with Willard when he arrived from Cambridge, later.

JANE

  I'm sorry, Willard? Do I know him?

HEATHE

HEATHE SLOWLY OPENS THE BROWN PAPER BAG. IN A MOCKING TONE OF VOICE, HE SAYS:

  Willard? Do I know him?

JANE

(SUDDENLY TAKEN ABACK.)

  What is going on? I do not know any Willard? But if you want to discuss this, I am certainly open to having a discussion.

HEATHE

(Heathe laughs hysterically. He cannot control his laughter.)

  Well, excuse me. I am so glad to know you are open to having a discussion, but your service is no longer required. 

  And (Heathe reaches into the brown paper bag.) if you continue to pursue this matter as Willard edits my new book, you will --

JANE

  Excuse me, Professor. What is in that bag?

HEATHE

(Heathe wistfully glances out the window and slowly turns back to Jane.)

  Look, Jane. I really haven't the time. It is my lunch.

(Heathe pulls out one long celery stick from the brown paper bag and one hard-boiled egg. He places these items on clear, plastic wrap).

JANE

  OK. 

  Fine. 

  But we still have yet to discuss my work? My monograph.

HEATHE

(Places celery stalk suggestively against his lips.)

  Oh, that. 

  Care to stay for lunch?

[DISSOLVE.]

(To be continued.)