Trump has not been happy with the Republican National Committee. He proposed a person close to him to be the chief operating officer of the organization. He proposed another man close to him, an election denier, to be a co-chair of the RNC. And he proposed his daughter-in-law to be another co-chair. I wondered why there were two co-chairs, and I learned that the rules of the RNC require one male and one female co-chair. Say, what? I expected conservatives to become vocal, not about Trump’s seeking to control what is supposed to be an independent organization, but about this two-gender requirement. (Of course, the conservatives believe there are only two genders, so I am not surprised that there are not more co-chairs.) This reeks of affirmative action. This is an example of wokeism. Surely the co-chair requirement should be abolished.
What Margot Asquith said about David Lloyd George still applies to some today: “He couldn’t see a belt without hitting below it.”
At this time of year, my local movie theater plays Oscar-Nominated Live Action Shorts and Oscar-Nominated Animated Shorts. I try to see these before the awards and make my own judgments about who should win. I recently saw the live action program. These movies are always well made with excellent production values. The credits seem just as long as for a full-length movie. I wonder each year who the audience is for these shorts. I am not aware that such shorts are shown commercially, or at least not enough to make back the amount of money that it must take to make them. Almost uniformly the five or so films are interesting, often with innovative stories. There is, however, one problem with the programs. I used to see movie shorts as a kid, sometimes in a theater as an interlude between the double feature. More often, I saw them on TV as local stations tried to find content to fill out their airtime. Often they were, or at least meant to be, humorous, such as instructional videos by Robert Benchley or The Fatal Glass of Beer featuring W.C. Fields. (Everyone should see The Fatal Glass at least several times in their life.) Humor, however, in the nominated live action shorts is in short supply. I guess to be nominated a film must be serious. The ones I just saw did feature one quirky film, but the others explored grief, tragedy, abortion restrictions, and teenage suicide. Each was remarkably good in writing, directing, and acting. Each was affecting — so much so, that I had troubled sleep the night after I went to the theater. I plan to see the animated shorts. However, to my surprise, some of them are also quite disturbing. One year before the final animated short was shown, a manager of the theater came out and said that all children should be taken out of the auditorium. The film was too disturbing for children. He was right. It had graphic nudity and graphic violence. I hope that is not the case this year.
I seldom believe in censorship, but sometimes a phrase that at initially seems fresh becomes so used that I want to have it banned. First on my list right now is “off ramp.” Second is “soft landing.”
“If you make people think they’re thinking, they’ll love you. If you really make them think, they’ll hate you.” Don Marquis.
