This Week in PurpleAmerica (1/20-1/27)

Barbie! Bob Uecker! New Hampshire! Spike Lee! Tim Scott!

Usually, I start to put these recap posts together starting on Tuesday evening. I start with a few items and then slowly add to it each evening over the course of the week until late Thursday evening when I schedule it to send bright and early Friday morning.

But a strange thing happened this week. By Wednesday evening, so much had happened and I had written so much that I was already getting messages that the Substack entry was too large for email and up against the limit for a single Substack post. Either I would have to stop, or split it into two posts. So I have to keep this intro short.

What I can I say, busy noteworthy week. So without further ado…

PurpleAmerica’s People of the Past Week

The Good

Three time National Champion Coach for Stanford Women’s Basketball, Tara Vanderveer became the winningest coach in NCAA Basketball history on Tuesday, surpassing revered Duke Men’s former coach Mike Krzyzewski. That is no easy achievement. Congrats Coach V. You now set the standard.

Joe Mauer was inducted into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame, along with Adrian Beltre and Todd Helton. What made Mauer unique though was that he played high school baseball in St. Paul, and played his entire career with the Minnesota Twins, making him a true Hometown Hero.¹ In an era with big contracts and “it’s purely business” mentality, its good to see some players still get it.

The S&P Index cruised to record highs this week. The Dog Days are Over.

Tim Scott seems like nice enough a guy, so we want to congratulate him on his recent engagement. But…

The Bad

Tim Scott. Dude, Nikki Haley appointed you to the Senate and you pay her back by endorsing Trump. Then, Trump mocks you and makes fun of you and you just smile and accept it. It’s painful to watch you lick Trump’s boots. Show a spine. You’re better than this.

Senate Republicans are shooting down an immigration bill, of which they agree and have advocated for everything in it. Why are they opposed? Trump told them to do so.

The E.Jean Carroll trial was postponed this week due to an undisclosed illness of one of the parties that later turned out to be Trump lawyer Alina Habba’s supposedly contracting COVID. Well, photos surfaced of Habba at Trump’s campaign event in New Hampshire, confirmed with photos by a former Trump aide. Paging Judge Kaplan.

The Ugly

Dean Phillips. We wrote about Phillips’ quixotic nonsensical campaign previously here. Ugh, you lost horribly to a guy who wasn’t even on the ballot. You were an up and coming Congressman before Steve Schmidt contorted your mind into thinking you could beat Biden. Time to leave the stage.

I don’t care what anyone else says. The biggest Oscar’s snub was not nominating Cocaine Bear for Best Picture. There. I said it.

Have a nominee for us to consider? Send an email to purpleamericanunity@gmail.com!

PurpleAmerica Pop Culture Random Top Five

This week: The Top 5 Biggest Oscar Nomination Snubs in History

When we hear “It’s an honor to just be nominated,” we genuinely appreciate that it is. Too often, great movies and performances get flat out overlooked. So much attention this week over the Barbie Bruhaha (more on that below) that we forget that this happens ALL THE TIME. Throughout the history of the Academy Awards there have been overlooked masterpieces that failed to get even nominated. Today, we look at the most egregious…

5. Ron Howard, Best Director, Apollo 13. Going into the Academy Awards, Apollo 13 was the favorite to garner attention and it did—9 nominations in all including Best Picture (it would lose to Braveheart). Howard even filmed actors on the “Vomit Comet” to simulate weightlessness. But Ron Howard, the Directors Guild Winner for Best Director, failed to even get nominated for the Best Director Oscar.

4. Do The Right Thing, Best Picture. When I took a film class, this film was the final exam. Everything about it is a monumental achievement in film, from the palette, the mise en scene, the acting, the soundtrack, the lighting. All of it. It is a superb example of filmmaking. It’s a travesty it wasn’t nominated. In fact, the only two awards for which it was nominated were for Supporting Actor (Danny Aiello, well deserved) and Original Screenplay (Spike Lee, also deserved). It should have won Best Picture easily (the winner was Driving Miss Daisy…I mean, REALLY?).

3. Spike Lee, Do The Right Thing, Best Director. The film is a success because of the quality of Direction. Spike deserved 100% credit for crafting a masterpiece.

2. Steven Spielberg, Best Director…. Spielberg is probably the greatest director ever. He single handedly created the summer blockbuster. He’s been honored numerous times as Best Director. What’s crazy is that there are huge films for which he wasn’t even nominated. Jaws (!), Jurassic Park (!), Minority Report, Catch Me if You Can. When you look at who else was nominated these years, you can easily pick off one that was forgettable and popular only in the moment.

1. 2001: A Space Odyssey, Best Picture. One of AFI’s Greatest Movies of all time and truly the greatest science fiction film ever, 2001 was a cinematic breakthrough. Without it, you have no Star Wars, no space films at all. The techniques Kubrick developed were way ahead of its time, so much so there are conspiracy theories he was responsible for faking the moon landing. It’s STILL a visual feast that if made today would be replicated with CGI and be lesser for it.² It would win a bevy of technical awards, but wasn’t even nominated for Best Picture. Crime.

PurpleAmerica’s Best Articles of the Week

David Frum on The Deal Biden Offers Voters in 2024.

Tom Nichols calls out Trump as unmanly, and I’m all here for it.

Will Saletan flat our proves The Republican Party is Nuts at the Bulwark.

Obamacare Enrollment reaches 21 Million, even as Trump and Republicans vow to repeal it.

There are only two northern white rhinos remaining in the world. How they plan to bring them back…

And before we get into the Cultural Corner, the New York Times’ Pamela Paul chimes in that Barbie just was not a good movie. I seemed to enjoy it more than she did, but all of her points are dead on, and everything about the Oscars ties into the next segment…

PurpleAmerica’s Cultural Corner

The Oscar Nominations were handed out on Tuesday, and before one could even find out who was nominated, social media had a complete meltdown over “The Barbie Snubs.” The general sentiment could politely be put this way:

But more often and more viscerally described this way:

Generally, it’s hard for me to see how a movie that has 8 nominations including for Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress can be conceivably referred to as being “snubbed,” so any complaint about “Barbie getting snubbed” is flat our wrong. It got plenty of attention and accolades.

But let's break it down further. Barbie WAS nominated for Best Picture. Since expanding the field from 5 to up to 10 nominees so the Oscars could bring in more mainstream fare, there have always been large blockbuster movies nominated. In truth, I didn’t care for it much, but since it was the biggest movie of the year and was generally regarded as a high quality film, sure, it probably deserved the nod. No issues there.

It was also nominated for Supporting Actor and Actress. No issues there, but some of the outrage is stemming from Gosling being nominated and directed at him--that's pretty unfair. He's pretty great in it and deserved the nomination, especially when you consider potential alternative nominees. Other than Robert Downey, Jr who seems all but assured of the Oscar for his work in Oppenheimer,³ the other nominees are good but don’t standout in the same way Gosling did. In fact, his role is big enough to be for Best Actor, but he likely wouldn’t have gotten a nomination in that category given the amount of competition there. Because he’s supporting the main character (“Barbie”), it seems fine to keep him here and I have no problem with the nomination.

Which brings us to the first omission-- Margot Robbie. She's fine in it, and was perfect for the role. I thought she should have won years ago for “I,Tonya” or even “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.” She was so good in the latter that Sharon Tate’s sister said she completely captured what Sharon was like in real life. She’s not a main character in that film, almost an afterthought, but she lights up the screen everytime she’s shown. Tarantino was criticized for not giving her more lines, but she didn’t need them.

But here, to give her a nomination you have to take it away from one of the others nominated. This is the problem when we turn subjective art into a competition. Who do you get rid of?

It’s ultimately subjective. I’ve seen four of these and although I personally have a preference, all the nominees I’ve seen are deserving of nods. It's a tough call akin to splitting hairs. Robbie will win an Oscar eventually, she’s too good not to.

But let's talk about the obvious and most glaring omission, Greta Gerwig for Best Director. In this, the increase in films nominated for Best Picture works against her; Best Picture has 10 nominations and Best Director only 5 (and its rare for a film to get nominated for Best Director and NOT Best Picture), so by definition, 5 directors are getting snubbed. Gerwig created a whole aesthetic and vibe for a world that doesn't even exist. I'm not a huge fan of the film, but Barbie's success is primarily in its achievement of its vision and that comes from its DIRECTION. (moreso than for the acting awards for which it WAS and WASN’T nominated). So the question becomes, was it better in direction than other films nominated?

To this, I say definitely YES. I've always found Yorgos Lanthimos films dry, flat and dull, even his "great" ones like “The Lobster” and “The Favourite”; kind of like “Stanley Kubrick-Lite” but without function. Likewise, “Killers of the Flower Moon” was a huge FAILURE of direction. It had a potentially great story, and great acting from Lily Gladstone, but it wasn't very well directed. Scorsese changed the point of view to the villains and turned it into an anti-hero gangster story, instead of focusing on the Osage who were more interesting and keeping it a mystery. And that last 10 minute sideshow act denouement was horrendous. Who's going to say that about Scorsese though? There seems to be more Emperors w/o clothes in this category than any other. Gerwig certainly belonged here.

So in Gerwig's case, I think she really got screwed. Is there misogyny at play here? Sort of-- it's more placating and sucking up to prestigious, established directors than it is gender based, but I'm not naive to think that very mindset doesn't favor old men at this moment in time. Not to mention, prestigious cinema vertite fare always gets more awards attention than mainstream comedy blockbuster sugary escapist films.

But really, and I want to stress this point, ART shouldn't be COMPETITION. You can watch and appreciate all different forms, styles and genres of it. We tend to look at these awards as rubber stamps of approval from the public at large, to validate our own opinions, when in reality they are just choreographed events intended to draw attention and eyeballs. You don’t need a nomination to validate how you feel about a film, director or actress. What you like may not be what others like. It doesn't matter. If Barbie was the best movie of the year for you, Enjoy it. Crown it. Watch it again! I'd also recommend checking out many of these others nominated--its a way to find and watch great films. But keep in mind, the Oscars and other awards are as subjective as anything.

PurpleAmerica’s Subscriber Mail

When we here at PurpleAmerica Respond to the Teeming Millions (well, we’re still working on that first million)

Message #1…

PurpleAmerica-

It’s outrageous, egregious, preposterous that you can refer to some of the greatest TV and movie lawyers and not include Jackie Chiles from Seinfeld. I’m shocked, chagrined, mortified and stupified.

—”Doctor Byson”

Dear Dr. B. ⁴

Touche. You are absolutely correct. This is the greatest of my very many public humiliations.

Message #2

Dear PA,

How can you not include Barry Zuckercorn and Bob Loblaw from Arrested Development? I mean, they’re the Fonzie and Chachi of TV lawyers.⁵

[Unsigned]

Dear [unsigned]

Ooo….that’s what I call a law bomb. A Bob Loblaw Law Bomb.⁶

Have a question you want us to answer? Email us at purpleamericanunity@gmail.com

PurpleAmerica’s Historical Note from This Week

American treasure and Milwaukee Brewers radio announcer Bob Uecker is 90 years old today.

A former catcher in the major leagues, he failed to make any semblance of an impressive career for the Milwaukee Braves. He once joked his career highlight was when he was intentionally walked by Sandy Koufax.

As some would say, his talents lay elsewhere. With his charm, self-deprecating humor and persona, he would go on to become the radio announcer of Brewers baseball games in 1971 and took on the moniker “Mr. Baseball.” He made over 100 appearances on the Johnny Carson show, often highlighting funny sports bloopers. With Milwaukee also the home to Miller Brewing, Bob parlayed his good humor into comedic relief to many Miller Lite commercials in the 70s and early 80s.

His persona was popular, and as a comedic actor, he made starring roles in the 80s TV sitcom “Mr. Belvedere” and “Major League.”

Uecker was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in 2001, was honored by the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2003 and in 2005 honored in the Milwaukee Brewer Ring of Honor. A statue of him was made outside American Family Field, where he is honored along with Milwaukee luminaries Hank Aaron, Paul Molitor and Robin Yount.

And even at 90, he still calls Brewers baseball games. Happy 90th Ueck.

PurpleAmerica’s Dad/Uncle/Cheesy Joke of the Week

Let’s give it to Bob…

One more, just because he’s so damn funny.

And with that…

Like what you are seeing here at PurpleAmerica? Share and Comment. Let your friends and family know! Repost on Twitter and Threads. Forward us topics you’d like us to discuss! It’s an open community here.

Footnotes and Fun Stuff

1. Mauer was drafted first by the Twins in the draft, foregoing what was seen as the best pitching prospect in baseball, Mark Prior. Mauer is seen as the best catcher of the past 25 years, while Prior’s career was shortened by injury.

2. It’s possible to argue there would be no CGI. Lucas was inspired by 2001 to make Star Wars using the techniques Kubrick pioneered. Do do so, Lucas created a subdivision of his production unit, which became Industrial Lights and Magic. ILM in turn pioneered CGI, so we see the Butterfly Effect at work.

3. This brings us to another unseemly thing about the Oscars; they often go to people as payback from the studios for making them a lot of money. No studio made more money this past dozen years than Marvel, and Downey was a big reason for that success.

4. For people not familiar with Jackie Chiles on Seinfeld, whenever he needs a sham hospital diagnosis, he always calls his secretary, “Hey Susie, get Dr Byson to make an appointment for Mr. Kramer, tell him it’s for me.”

5. I chuckled at this since they are both played by Henry Winkler (Fonzie) and Scott Baio (Chachi) respectively.

6. This was actually a couple quotes from an actual episode of Arrested Development.