IF JEOPARDY CALLS, I'M READY

Dear George, 

My spouse is a Jeopardy addict, tuning in faithfully at 7:30 every weekday evening, so I watch along with her. The part I like best is when host Ken Jennings elicits personal stories from each of the contestants, allowing the audience to know them a bit better. Contestants’ stories are always quirky and amusing. I started thinking about what story I might tell if I were to be on Jeopardy. For a long time I drew a complete blank. This was unsettling since it suggested that my life has been a total bore. Finally I came up with some possibilities. I don’t think I’d win if I were on a Jeopardy show, but I’ve prepared four stories just in case I were to have a winning streak. Here is what I have ready in case Jeopardy happens to call. 

(1) A Driving Lesson 

Ken Jennings: I understand that you weren’t perfect as a new driver. 

Me: So true. I had just turned sixteen. In my very first outing by myself, I drove down Stephenson Avenue and turned right onto Sheridan Road. A couple of blocks later I heard a siren and saw flashing lights behind me. It scared me to death. I was sure I hadn’t been speeding. I pulled over, and the police officer asked if I knew why he’d stopped me. I said I didn’t. He explained that when I turned onto Sheridan I had pulled out right in front of his police car and caused him to run off the road. His car ended up in the M&M Brewery fountain. He explained to me why it is important to look both ways when turning. His message has stuck with me ever since. 

(2) A New Subway Record 

Ken Jennings: So you had an interesting subway experience in New York City. 

Me: Yes, I was twenty years old. While working on a co-op job in New York City, I rented a room in Washington Heights. My friend John asked my landlady about renting her other room, and they got into an argument about whether his girlfriend could visit. The landlady wound up kicking both of us out. It was about ten p.m. We walked around until gunfire in the neighborhood made us uneasy. Thinking it safer, we got on the northbound A-train about midnight but the subway clientele got scary as we neared the South Bronx. Finally we returned to Midtown and got on the shuttle train between Times Square and Grand Central Station, a 5-block trip. We rode the shuttle back and forth till the morning rush hour, perhaps a hundred trips. It might have been a world record. 

(3) Follow the Chemistry Instructions 

Ken: I understand you weren’t the best chemistry student. 

Me: True. When I was taking Inorganic Chemistry in college, the teacher gave us a task of mixing hydrochloric acid with another chemical. He went through the instructions at least five times since, if one mixed the chemicals in the wrong order, they would explode. I probably was daydreaming because, as I began the task, I mixed them in the wrong order. The chemicals exploded, spraying hydrochloric acid into my face and eyes. The teacher rinsed my eyes out, and I was rushed to the college infirmary. Within a few hours large red blisters appeared on both my eyeballs. In danger of losing my vision, I stayed in the infirmary for a week, and by the end, thanks to Mother Nature, my eyes had returned to normal — a huge relief. 

(4) A Brush with Celebrity 

Ken Jennings: What is this about a brush with celebrity in New York City? 

Me: When our J was a teenager, our family would go to Manhattan every Christmas to celebrate with my sister- and brother-in-law. On one trip in the mid-1980’s J and I took a hike in Central Park. We were walking along a path next to Fifth Avenue near the Metropolitan Art Museum, telling stories, joking, and laughing, when I noticed a tall woman in a fur coat watching us and smiling. When we got closer, I realized that it was Jackie Kennedy Onassis. She was apparently taking a walk outside her Fifth Avenue apartment which was right across the street. We exchanged smiles but didn’t say anything. I’m still pleased that Jackie enjoyed her glimpse of father and son having a good time. 

So those are some of my stories so far. All of them are from my younger years. I’ve been trying to think of a good story from the last ten years, but so far I haven’t had any luck. I guess life used to be more adventurous. 

Love, 

Dave

THE BEST CINCINNATI NEW STORIES OF 2022

 

Dear George, 

The population of Menominee County where my home town is located and is about 23,000 while Hamilton County which includes Cincinnati has 826,000 people. Consequently there are about forty times as much of everything in Cincinnati than in Menominee — poor people, rich people, homicides, suicides, vegetarian restaurants, tobacco shops, you name it. As a “small town guy,” I am always amazed by our local news in Cincinnati. Here are my choices for “best” stories in 2022 (where “best” means most amusing, strange, etc.). 

Love, Dave 

 THE AFTER SCHOOL SATAN CLUB 

 Local parents were disturbed when the Lebanon City Schools approved meetings of the “After School Satan Club” for children in the first through fifth grades. The club is sponsored by the Satanic Temple whose organizers say that the Satan Club is an alternative to the Good News Club, an evangelical organization that offers Bible and faith lessons after school. The Satanic Temple does not really believe in Satan but instead promotes “scientific rationality”. Lebanon parents aren’t convinced. (cincinnati.com, 1-21-22) 

DETAINED FOR BEING BLACK 

Two police officers were called to a suburban Meijer store to look for an accused shoplifter described as a white man in his 30s, wearing a dark green jacket with a red hoodie. They promptly stopped a 60-year-old Black man, Arik Lindsey*, who was wearing an orange down coat and a brown and tan scarf. Lindsey’s lawyer said its another instance of a Black person being confronted by law enforcement merely for going about his or her daily life. (cincinnati.com, 2-4-22) 

COACH WYCHE WILL BE AT SUPER BOWL 

Sam Wyche, coach of the last Bengals Super Bowl team in 1989, died of cancer in 2020 at age 74. However, his daughter, Callie Wyche, has brought his ashes and bobblehead to each of the Bengals playoff games, and she’ll have him sitting in front of the TV screen in Cincinnati for the Super Bowl. She’s not sure whether her dad has had a role in the team’s wins, but she’s not taking any chances. (cincinnati.com, 2-9-22) 

 BAD INMATE MANNERS 

Ryan Stock, 24 of Green Township, was jailed for kidnapping a man and shooting him three times in the head when he couldn’t give Stock and his colleagues $5,000. Disgruntled in jail, Stock used a bottle to spray “wet feces” on three different deputies. He is currently undergoing competency tests to see if he understands the charges against him. (cincinnati.com, 2-27-22)  

FAKE DAUGHTER ENDS SOMEONE ELSE’S FATHER’S LIFE 

When Elicia Malthus arrived at the hospital in Edgewood to visit her dying father, Donald, she was told that Elicia Malthus was already in the room visiting him. The impersonator, Marissa Jenkins, 23, signed in as Elisha Malthus and advised staff to remove life support. Marissa was not related to Donald Malthus but was his “ex-stepfather’s sister’s girlfriend’s child” and referred to him as “uncle”. Malthus died the following morning. Jenkins has been charged with identity theft and forgery. Police are also investigating the theft of $2,900 in cash from Malthus’ wallet in the hospital room. (wlwt.com, 4-1-22) 

NOT REALLY SATAN’S DOING 

Southbound I-75 drivers this week probably noticed that a billboard for “The Chosen”, a web series about Jesus, has been defaced. The graffiti artist drew heart-shaped glasses on Jesus’ face and wrote “Stupid Plots” on the billboard. As it turns out, the vandalism was the work of the series’ producers who altered billboards nationwide to promote “The Chosen”. The series co-founder said it only made sense to have the Devil attack Jesus, and he hopes that fans enjoy the humor of this gag. (cincinnati.com, 4-20-22) 

 BAD BOYFRIEND 

Pat Hickey of Clermont County pled no contest to having burnt down his own house and frame his girlfriend. The fire was caught on home security camera which showed two people entering the house with gas cans and removing two large TVs. Hiceys had purchased a custom-made mask of his girlfriend’s face from a company called “That’s My Face” and wore it during the arson. While Hickey did not go to jail, he was required to pay $400K back to the insurance company. (wlwt.com, 4-27-22) 

CRIMINAL JUDGE 

Garda A. Stuckey, 61, of suburban Wyoming, a candidate for juvenile court judge in Hamilton County, has had over a dozen run-ins with local police in the last decade. These include instances where she was found walking topless in her community or lying comatose in a parking lot. Most of the time police or witnesses describe Stuckey as intoxicated and disoriented. Police have made numerous runs to her home for “domestic trouble”, and she has been charged with child endangerment. Democratic party officials chose not to endorse Smith, saying “She did not fit the level of expertise and professionalism that we would expect.” (cincinnati.com, 4-29-22) 

 MUCH TOO YOUNG DRIVER 

A 7-year-old boy was alone in a red Kia SUV, driving in the eastbound lanes of Roosevelt Boulevard in nearby Middletown. He then crossed the median, entered the westbound lanes, struck a guardrail, and crashed into a parked red jeep. Bystanders helped get the boy out of the car after the crash. His parents, unaware that he had left the house, joined him at the hospital. (cincinnati.com, 5-13-22) 

 PURE EVIL Cincinnati police officer Erik Wertha was reassigned and then fired for having “pure” and “evil” tattooed on his right and left knuckles. Department policy forbids tattoos on the face, neck, head, and hands. Wertha appealed, saying that the tattoos do not represent “pure evil” but are on different hands and symbolize the struggle between good and evil. He will not have the tattoos removed because of the cost of cosmetic surgery. (wlwt.com, 6-7-22) 

 MEALS NOT YUMMI 

Anastasia Shinster and Sachar Wilson weren’t happy with their meals at Yummi Xpress on Reading Road in Roselawn and wanted their money back. Wilson sucker punched an employee in the face and kept asking Shinster to shoot him. Shinster then pulled a gun out of her purse and shot the restaurant owner in the arm. Both are due in court on Monday. (local12.com, 7-23-22) 

HELPING THE BENGALS WIN 

 An Enquirer sports columnist during the Bengals win streak asked readers: “What did you do to make the Bengals win again?” Here are some of their rituals. (1) I stopped watching the games live. (2) I stand up and scream on important plays. (3) Put my left leg over right for offense; right leg over left for defense. (4) Keep the remote and phone about a 30 degree angle next to each other on the couch arm. (5) Wear my gold chain every game. (6) Set the volume to 24 on my TV and 19 or 21 in my truck. (7) Wear the same sweatshirt for each home game and never wash them. (8) Don’t wear any Bengals gear. (cincinnati.com, 12-15-22) 

 *Pseudonyms used throughout.

A LETTER TO AARON RODGERS

 

Dear Aaron, 

I’ve thought about writing a letter to you in the past. I grew up fifty miles north of Green Bay, and, aside from God, family, and country, people in my home town worship the Green Bay Packers. I followed Don Hutson in grade school, cheered rabidly for the Packers during the Lombardi Super Bowl era, and have been thrilled by the team’s resurgence during Brett Favre’s and your tenures as quarterback. In addition to your world-class athletic skills, I’ve also respected you as an intelligent, articulate person with good values and a sense of humor. Needless to say, I’ve been confused and disappointed by the recent uproar regarding your choice to not get a Covid-19 vaccination. You’ve expressed your desire to have a conversation about the issue rather than continued confrontation and hostility. Hence, this letter. 

Here is my understanding of the situation. While the NFL encourages vaccinations, it does not require them of players Approximately 5% of players have chosen not to get vaccinated, and there hasn’t been much hullabaloo about this. According to NFL rules, unvaccinated players are required to be tested daily and to wear masks when in public situations. When you were asked if you were vaccinated on the weekly radio show on which you appear, you replied, “Yeah, I’m immunized.” As you subsequently acknowledged, this was a misleading statement since you haven’t been vaccinated with any of the approved Covid-19 vaccines. Regarding mask-wearing, you’ve said, citing Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., that you consider this to be an unjust rule and have deliberately chosen not to follow it in various situations. 

 The most widespread criticism of your behavior has to do with judgments that you lied to the public about being vaccinated. While you claim that you were telling the truth that you’ve been immunized (by an alternative homeopathic treatment), you have acknowledged and taken responsibility for misleading people with your statement. Personally, I think you made an unfortunate mistake in the radio interview, and owning up to it is the best course available. (You should have just said that you’d chosen to do an alternative treatment.) 

 A further issue is the nature of the treatment you have undergone. The main component is ivermectin, an anti-parasitic drug used to treat intestinal worms and lice in horses. However, the Food and Drug Administration has not authorized ivermectin for use against Covid-19, stating that there is no evidence of its effectiveness in combatting the disease and that use of large doses in humans can cause comas and seizures. You indicate that a major influence in your decision was advice from podcast host Joe Rogan, but, of course, Rogan has no medical expertise. Nor does Fox News host Laura Ingraham, another major proponent of ivermectin. From a medical and scientific standpoint, there don’t seem to be adequate grounds for your decision. Consistent with this, the NFL rejected your appeal to have your alternative treatment accepted as a substitute for Covid vaccines. 

 You’ve also argued that “personal health decisions in my opinion should be private.” While this sounds almost self-evident, it’s also the case that, with a world-famous figure like yourself, health decisions can have significant consequences for teammates, loved ones, the many persons you come into contact with, and millions of fans. That’s neither personal nor private. One concrete example is your being excluded from the Kansas City game because of a positive Covid test, a Packers loss which the team might well have won if you’d been vaccinated and eligible to play. You’ve stated that “I’m not, you know, some sort of anti-vax, flat-earther.” But your public statements have given impetus to the “anti-vax, flat-earther” movement. According to recent CDC data, unvaccinated people are 6 times as likely to contract Covid-19, 10 times as likely to be hospitalized, and 11 times as likely to die from it, compared to vaccinated people. Recommending and modeling non-vaccination to the general public by someone of your celebrity increases the likelihood of infection, hospitalization, and death in the general population. 

My sense is that you’ve been surprised and distressed by the media controversy regarding your health choices and would have much preferred that these matters had remained private. It’s as though you’ve been caught up in a furor not entirely of your own making, and I sympathize with that. What to do about it is a puzzle. You could, of course, opt to be vaccinated and make that information public. I’m struck by the fact that none of your public statements advocate vaccination for the general public. Since your own reasons for an alternative treatment are idiosyncratic (i.e., your report of an allergy to an ingredient in the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines), I personally think that you could draw upon the great bulk of scientific information available and encourage others to get vaccinated. I hope you consider this possibility and change tactics. 

Sincerely yours, 

David L

Netflix and Amazon Prime Favorites

DEAR GEORGE, Like the rest of the world, we’ve watched a lot more TV than usual in the past twelve months of the pandemic, and we’ve run across many enjoyable offerings that we might not have otherwise seen. Katja and I both are drawn to murder mysteries, action thrillers, and BBC productions. Katja also likes historical dramas, biographies, and documentaries, while I lean toward comedies, sci-fi, and horror. Of the approximately one hundred shows that we’ve watched in recent months, here are our top ten favorite series currently available on Netflix and on Amazon Prime. I’ve also included Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer scores for each show [RT]. LOVE, DAVE

TOP TEN, NETFLIX: (#1) Schitt’s Creek. (Comedy) Rich video magnate Johnny Rose and his family find themselves broke and are forced to regroup in Schitt’s Creek. [RT = 93%]; (#2) Breaking Bad. (Crime/drama) A high school chemistry teacher ill with cancer turns to manufacturing meth to secure his family’s future. [RT = 96%]; (#3) Pose. (Drama) The story of ball culture and the gay and trans community in the late 80s and early 90s during the AIDS crisis. [RT = 96%]; (#4) The Crown. (Biography/drama) The political rivalries and romances of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign during the second half of the twentieth century. [RT = 91%]; (#5) The Good Place. (Comedy/drama/fantasy) Four people and their mentor struggle in the afterlife to define what it means to be good. [RT = 97%]; (#6) Fauda. (Action/drama/thriller) The human stories on both sides of the Israel-Palestine conflict. [RT = 100%]; (#7) The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story. (Crime/drama) Explores the murder of designer Gianni Versace by spree killer Andrew Cunanan. [RT = 89%]; (#8) The Last Kingdom. (Action/drama/history) As Alfred the Great defends his kingdom from Norse invaders, Uhtred seeks to claim his ancestral birthright. [RT = 91%]; (#9) Marcella. (Mystery/drama) Having left the Metropolitan Police for her family’s sake, Marcella returns to her job on the murder squad. [RT = 70%]; (#10) The Sinner. (Crime/drama/mystery) An anthology series that examines why ordinary people commit brutal crimes. [RT = 90%].

TOP TEN, AMAZON PRIME: (#1) The Night Manager. (Crime/mystery/drama) The night manager of a Cairo hotel is recruited to infiltrate an arms dealer’s inner circle. [RT = 91%]; (#2) The Durrells in Corfu. (Biography/cmedy/drama) Based on the real-life events of the Durrell family as they resettle from England to Greece. [RT = 94%]; (#3) Curb Your Enthusiasm. (Comedy) The life and times of Larry David and the predicaments he gets himself into. [RT = 92%]; (#4) Goliath. (Drama) A disgraced lawyer gets a case that could bring him redemption. [RT = 82%]; (#5) Mozart in the Jungle. (Comedy/drama/music) A brash new maestro stirs up the New York Symphony as young oboist Hailey hopes for her big chance. [RT = 94%]; (#6) The Americans. (Crime/drama/mystery) At the height of the cold war two Russian agents pose as an average American couple complete with family. [RT = 96%];(#7) Line of Duty. (Crime/drama/mystery) Follows the investigations of AC-12, a controversial police anti-corruption unit. [RT = 100%]; (#8) Get Shorty. (Comedy/crime) The adventures of a mobster-turned-movie producer in Hollywood. [RT = 95%]; (#9) A Very English Scandal. (Biography/comedy/crime) British Liberal Party leader Jeremy Thorpe is accused of conspiracy to murder his gay ex-lover. [RT = 97%]; (#10) Vikings. (Action/adventure/drama)m The brutal and mysterious world of Ragnar Lothbrok, a Viking warrior who years to explore and raid the distant shores across the ocean. [RT = 93%];

Life on Ludlow

Dear George, 

Last week Katja and I were upstairs watching TV when we heard a huge crashing noise outside our house.  I looked out the window, but there weren’t any cars that had collided at our corner  Because it had just started raining, I concluded the sound must have been a thunder clap.  A few minutes later though a fire engine pulled up across the street.  I went downstairs to reconnoiter and discovered a large gray pickup truck upside down on its roof in our neighbor's driveway.  The truck had been speeding up Ludlow Ave., jumped the curb, knocked down a fire hydrant, destroyed our neighbor's front porch, and skidded to a stop about two feet from the pillar that holds up our front porch roof.  Amazingly neither of the two passengers were injured.  It's not the first time something like this has happened.  I overheard someone say that the truck had been speeding 70 m.p.h. up the hill.  I complained online to the city but I haven’t heard back.  They did, however, put one of those big monitors that shows drivers their speed on my neighbor’s curb.

I’ve been plagued with muscle pains in my legs for months, and, even though I’d had a recent checkup, I called the doctor’s office to make another appointment.  My doctor wasn’t available for six weeks, so I went to see his junior colleague.  The colleague agreed with me that the pain might be due to the statin that I’ve taken for many years to lower my cholesterol.  He recommended that I not take it for a week to see what would happen.  Just by chance, I had a routine checkup with the cardiologist a few days later, and he told me to stop taking the statin altogether.  Katja thought this was frightening and called him to discuss it, but she never got through.  Happily, all the pain is gone and my legs are back to normal.  Even more surprising (after a couple of decades of taking Ambien every night to get to sleep) I now have no sleep problem at all.  I don’t take any pill, fall asleep in five minutes or less every night, and sleep soundly till eight a.m.  When I checked on the Internet, I discovered that insomnia is one of the most frequent side effects of the statin I was taking.  I can’t help but think that my doctor knew this all along.  

Katja and I are still trying to adjust to our close friend Donna Durham’s moving to Nashville last December.  Katja and Donna were colleagues together at their agency, and, when we all bought sheepdogs fifteen years ago, the three of us started spending a lot of time together (along with Sophie, Mike, and Duffy).   Friday nights at the movies, getting together for dinner at least once a week, doing Jumbles and the I Ching, watching the Oscars, the Super Bowl, and the Wimbledon finals.  Among other things, Donna and I probably spent 2000 hours over the years hiking with the sheepdogs at Miami Whitewater Forest, Fernbank, Eden Park, and elsewhere.  Suddenly lots of fun and excitement has disappeared from our lives, and I don’t know how we’ll fill the void.   

There are, of course, some pleasures in life to be had.  One of them is that Katja and I watch a couple of episodes of Frasier on Netflix every night before going to sleep.  It’s a very warm, funny, feel-good show, and both of us are hooked.  Part of the appeal is the connection between Frasier and his dad, Martin Crane, who lives with him.  Frasier and Martin are near-complete opposites.  Katja and Frasier seem to share identical interests: the opera, symphony, chamber music, theater, literature, fining dining, antiques, elegant clothes, home furnishings, the wine club, etc.  On the other hand, Martin, a retired cop, is a low culture guy: sports, camping, TV, beer, his dog, etc. — just about all the things I like most in life.  We’re always pleased that Frasier and Martin manage to get along as well as they do.  

Katja belongs to a long-established women’s writing group called the Contemporary Club, and she is obligated to write and present a paper every year or two.  Months and months ago she decided to do a paper on translation.  She majored in French in college, studied French literature in graduate school, and did a number of jobs as a translator along the way.  She put off her paper until a month before the due date, then took out 22 books from the library, and worked night and day.  Lots of pressure and anxiety.  It turned out very successfully, and now I think Katja misses having such a compelling mission.  She was thinking about doing a paper on Elie Wiesel, and I encouraged her to start on it soon.  She’s thinking it over.   

We went to see the tax guy recently.  Katja is in charge of financial matters in our household, and I got upset (as I do every year) by her list of forty plus charities to which she donates.  Some make sense to me, but there are lots of things that we have no personal connection to at all, e.g., tigers, Tibet, the Smithsonian, National Parks, firefighters, etc.  I asked the accountant if we were giving too much to charity.  He smiled and said no, that our charitable donations were perfectly fine for our income.  I ask him that same question every year and he always gives the same answer, but it doesn’t seem to stick with me from one year to the next.  

Since we have enough money to help support the Dalai Lama, I decided that perhaps we should spend more on ourselves.  We’re on spring break right now from our OLLI courses, and it seemed like a good time for a beach vacation.  Katja was thrilled when I brought it up.  The beachfront hotel prices that I found online were hefty, so we went down to the auto club to see if they could get a better deal.  Much to my dismay, the prices they found were double what I saw on the Internet.  I asked Katja what looked best to her, and she picked a highly rated resort on Siesta Key near Sarasota.  I took a deep breath and made the reservation.  We’re all excited.  I’ll let you know how it turns out.

Love,

Dave

TV's Weirdly Gendered World

Dear George, 

Katja and my TV watching has been creeping upward since we retired.  That’s not surprising since we do have a lot more time on our hands.  And, between cable and Netflix, there are many more viewing possibilities than there used to be.  Americans watch a lot of TV — about 35 hours a week for the average adult (1).  Adults 65 and over watch more than any other age group, approximately 48 hours a week (2).  What has struck me for a long time is that the content of TV shows is more about gender than any other topic.  Recently I’ve been collecting brief plot summary statements from tvguide.com to illustrate some of these themes.  Here’s a sampling of  storylines from TV Guide, subdivided by “women”, “men”, and “women and men together”. 

Women

Piper has an epiphany 

Allison has to lose weight 

Peggy suffers from a migraine 

Mary Lou takes French lessons

Charlotte volunteers for the blind

Violet provides comfort to a friend 

Elena serves tilapia for Thanksgiving

Samantha is uneasy about holding hands

Bride Bridgette needs a dress to say yes in

Cindy uncovers a family secret — her adoption 

Stefanie sells makeup at school as a side business

An unflattering photo of Jade is posted on the internet 

Men 

Josh and his team search the Brazilian jungle for a giant anaconda

Jim sees a monster holding the lifeless body of his foster mother 

“Pharma Bro” jacks up the price of a life-saving drug 5000%

A guy asks a friend to shoot him because “I like the scars”

Mike and his poker pals bond during colonoscopy prep 

Chase and Jacoby struggle for command of the boat

A cross-dressing professor goes on a killing spree

Eli finds farming more than it’s cracked to be 

Alfie leads a lonely life hidden in a cave

Frenchy and Gee battle a cannibal

Hoyt is moved from death row 

Michael severs all family ties 

Women and Men Together 

A small-town beauty queen is terrorized by a wealthy would-be suitor

Katie’s ex hides video cameras and microphones in her home

A young woman’s ideal man has the heart of a monster

Christine feels intellectually inferior to Max’s friends

Sammy Jo is ready to wash Jeff out of her hair 

Diana learns the truth about Richard 

George gets a girlfriend (and a rash) 

A distracted Jeremy forgets Tasha’s birthday 

Hank butchers his marriage proposal to Karen

Bella and Will struggle to enjoy one another’s hobbies

Cooper confesses to Angela that he’s married with children 

An escapee from a mental institution aims to avenge a ruined romance 

Because it’s all familiar the examples may not be too surprising, but they do remind us how stereotypic, often sexist portrayals of women and men dominate the media.  Women are generally depicted as emotional, caring, concerned about beauty, worried about finding men, and engaged in domestic pursuits.  Men, meanwhile, are off in adventurous and dangerous pursuits, striving for power, and engaging in violence.  When women’s and men’s relationships or transactions are portrayed, they are often conflictful and on the verge of collapse, usually because of men being ne’er-do-wells. 

The examples I’ve given here, of course, haven’t been randomly selected and represent only a tiny percentage of the plot summaries of currently available TV shows.  Extensive social science research, however, paints a very similar picture.  UNC communications researcher Julia Wood (nyu) describes findings from empirical studies of TV and film content:   “Men are presented as hard, tough, independent, sexually aggressive, unafraid, violent, totally in control of all emotions, and-above all-in no way feminine…Women are portrayed as significantly younger and thinner than women in the population as a whole, and most are depicted as passive, dependent on men, and enmeshed in relationships or housework.”  (3)

Browsing in TV Guide is food for thought.  I doubt if we’ll stop watching TV.  However, it’s helpful to be conscious of what it is we’re watching.  Rather than reflecting reality, all this stuff creates a fantasy world which serves to reinforce traditional sex role expectations.   The viewer should beware.   (Actually I thought we had moved beyond this in the seventies.)

Love,

Dave

Sources:

(1) www.businessinsider.com, “The average American watches so much TV it’s almost a full-time job” 

(2) www.marketingcharts.com, “The State of Traditional TV: Updated with Q2 2017 Data” 

(3)  www.nyu.edu, Julia T. Wood.  (Dept. Communication, UNC)  “Gendered Media: The Influence of Media on Views of Gender.”

Detrumping

Dear George,

One of my favorite words during my college years was “ennui”.  Dictionary.com defines it as: “a feeling of utter weariness and discontent resulting from satiety or lack of interest.”  I’d sort of forgotten about this excellent term until recently when I started reflecting on my emotional state of emptiness and sudden need for naps.  I’ve been unable to put my finger on the source of these feelings until I started thinking about what my typical day is like.  It goes as follows:

• 9:30-ish:  Read the latest Trump news in the Cincinnati Enquirer.  
• 10 to 6:  Check Google News 3 or 4 times during the day to get Trump updates. 
• 5:30:  Read all the New York Times stories and editorials about Trump.  
• 6:30: Watch NBC News for Trump news.
• Evening: Check MSNBC or CNN off and on for Trump critiques.
• 11:00: Watch the Daily Show for Trump satire.
• 11:35: Watch Stephen Colbert’s monologue about Trump
• Midnight: Go to sleep and get rested for the next day of Trump-watching.  

This sounds like a joke, but, in fact, it’s reasonably accurate.  Talk about satiety.  I can’t think of any time in my lifetime that the media has devoted as much attention to a new president.  The connection between Trump and the media seems to be a symbiotic one.  Trump feeds off attention, and the contribution of media attention to his popularity doesn’t seem to depend on whether it’s positive or negative in content.  The media, at the same time, are thriving.  Despite  (or more likely because of)Trump’s constant attacks, CNN ratings are up about 40% from a year ago.  New York Times subscriptions have increased 1000% since Trump’s election.  The Times gripes about the media’s excessive attention to Trump, but they devote around 50% of their daily editorial space to heated criticisms of Trump and his administration.  

I’d like to think that my excessive media habits mean that I’m doing my duty as a citizen by keeping in touch with current events.   Maybe that’s about 5% of it.  A much bigger chunk is something like obsessively watching a horror story.  The administration’s actions have damaging consequences for major sectors of the American populace: women, immigrants and refugees, Muslim-Americans, gays and lesbians, the elderly, African-Americans, the poor, and, when it comes down to it, just about everyone else.  It’s like reading about serial killings or terrorist attacks.  It’s horrible, but it grabs your attention.  Then there is simultaneously a comedy side.  There is a weird cast of characters, and the administration is sufficiently chaotic that it’s a bit like watching the Keystone Kops.  The late-night talk show hosts can’t keep up with all the material.  However, humor can only go so far.  At its core, this is the opposite of funny stuff.    

So, going back to ennui, I’d say that my feelings of ennui are tied to my belief that  we, as a nation, are teetering toward calamity.  Following media accounts of Trump’s words and actions is sort of like breathing toxic air all day long.  It’s no wonder that people feel terrible.   Part of me says to simply tune it all out — turn off the TV, read the sports page instead of the editorials.  I doubt if I’ll do that though.  However, I’d like to be more aware of what I’m doing and why.  I feel like I’m falling prey to Trump’s antics and the media’s highlighting of them.  It’s time to try to get some detachment and perspective.  Just how to do that is another question. 

Love,

Dave

What We Learned at the Movies

Dear George,

Even though they were vicarious experiences, movies provided the most thrilling moments of my childhood.  I started going with friends about second grade.  We lived a couple of blocks from the Menominee Theater in the old Opera House, and I'd go there each Saturday for the matinee.  Then, on Thursdays after school, the D.A.R. Boys' Club had a movie time for kids.  It usually featured a full-length western (e.g., Roy Rogers, Hopalong Cassidy), but the most exciting part was the 15-minute serial which preceded the main feature.  The serial was always about a lone hero (or superhero) battling hordes of vicious bad guys, and nearly every episode ended in a calamity in which the hero was apparently destroyed or was facing imminent death.  Miraculously, by the next week’s show the hero had dodged his demise and was off on a new spine-tingling adventure.  Hollywood produced about 95 such serials during the 1940’s: war, crime and detective stories, jungle adventures, aviation, the Old West, sci fi, etc.  Here’s a quick peek at some of the most popular offerings.

The Adventures of Captain Marvel (1941, 12 episodes)

Captain Marvel was my favorite for a long time, and this was the very first superhero serial.  Based on the comic books, an ancient wizard gave teenager Billy Batson the capacity to turn into Captain Marvel by uttering the magic word “Shazam”.  Captain Marvel battled against the Scorpion, an evil hooded figure who, with his army of blood-crazed demons, strove to destroy the world with the most powerful weapon ever known. 

The Green Hornet (1940, 13 episodes)

When the city is beset with a menacing crime wave, crusading newspaper publisher Britt Reid dons a disguise and, with the aid of his brilliant Korean valet Kato, fights back against the Leader, the criminal mastermind who is behind the Syndicate.  The Hornet and Kato take on an auto-theft ring, a crooked insurance racket, and a dishonest flying school among others.

Jack Armstrong (1947, 15 episodes)

Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy, and his friends try to rescue a famous scientist and inventor of a revolutionary atomic engine from the clutches of Jason Grood, an arch-villain who is bent on dominating the world with the death ray on his spaceship.  The quest takes Jack and friends to a remote island where they must deal with a fierce tribe led by Princess Alura as well as with Grood's evil henchmen.  We kids poked fun at Jack because he was so All-American.   

Dick Tracy vs. Crime Inc. (Republic Pictures, 1941, 15 episodes)

Originally a comic strip by Chester Gould, Dick Tracy featured a hard-hitting police detective who used forensic science to track down the bad guys.  Critics regard “Dick Tracy vs. Crime Inc.” as "one of the best serials ever made."   Tracy battled the Ghost, an evil master criminal who possessed the ability to make himself invisible.  One of the Ghost's plans was to destroy New York City by dropping bombs along a fault line to create a huge tidal wave engulfing the city.  Viewers held their breaths. 

The Phantom (1943, 15 episodes)

In a serial based on the comic strip, Professor Davidson and his daughter Diana are trying to find the Lost City of Zoloz in Africa to establish an archaeological site.  However, a local crook is also searching for hidden treasure there, and a Nazi agent plans to destroy the peace of the native tribes and build a secret German air base.  Diana's fiancé, Godfrey Prescott, who is also the Phantom, sets out with Ace the Wonder Dog to restore peace to the jungle and put a stop to the treasure hunters' and the Nazis' wicked plans.

The Shadow (1940, 15 episodes)

The movie serial was based on the 1930's radio series and on pulp magazine stories.   Having the "power to cloud men's minds so they cannot see him," the Shadow posed as Lamont Cranston, a wealthy young man about town.  Margo Lane was his love interest and crime-solving partner.   In the 1940 serial the Shadow battled The Black Tiger who had the power to make himself invisible and was trying to take over Earth with his death ray. 

Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe (1940,12 episodes)

Based on the 1930's sci-fi comic strip, “Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe” was the last of three Flash Gordon serials made between 1936 and 1940.  Buster Crabbe starred in the title role.  The evil villain Ming the Merciless created a deadly plague by dropping "Death Dust" in the atmosphere.  Flash and his companions travel by spaceship to the planet Mongo, eventually finding an antidote which they bring back to Earth.  Ming sends an army of robot bombs after Flash, and the respective groups battle until Ming is killed.  His last words were, "I am the universe," but one of the good guys observes that Flash Gordon has conquered the universe.

Son of Zorro (1947, 13 episodes)

Jeff Stewart returns home  from the Civil War to find that corrupt politicians have taken over the county and are terrorizing the citizenry.  Donning the costume of his ancestor, the famous Zorro, Stewart sets out to bring the criminals to justice.   

Batman (1943, 15 episodes)

In his first screen appearance, the Caped Crusader (a.k.a. Bruce Wayne) and his junior partner, the Boy Wonder Robin, battle Prince Daka, the Japanese mastermind of a wartime spy-sabotage group which is located in Gotham City's now-deserted Little Tokyo.  Daka has a death ray that turns American scientists into electronic zombies who do his bidding.

Superman (1948, 15 episodes)

Superman, of course, is the superhero of all superheroes.  This first live-action film portrayal of Superman tells his story from the beginning when he is rocketed from Krypton to Earth as a newborn infant.  When mild-mannered Clark Kent takes a reporter job on the Daily Planet, his alter-ego Superman soon tangles with The Spider Lady who considers herself the Queen of the Underworld and who obtains possession of a meteor fragment from Krypton, the only substance that can render Superman helpless.

Movies are entertaining in their own right, but they also provide moral instruction about the nature of the human condition, the world we live in, and our roles in society.  More than anything else, I’d say that these 1940’s serials have to do with gender roles and socially sanctioned violence.  We learn that the world is a dangerous place where powerful enemies – Nazis, criminals, murders and kidnappers, saboteurs, rustlers, inner city thugs, evil geniuses bent on world domination – constitute a threat to  communities and law-abiding citizens.  Basically, the world is split into the in-group and various dangerous, malevolent out-groups.  Moreover, conventional institutions like the police are powerless in the face of overwhelming threats to the social order.  It’s only the extraordinary individual who possess the ability and fortitude to battle the dangerous evil-doers.  And, despite harrowing calamities and constant near-disasters, good always triumphs over evil.

For the most part, these are stories for and about males.  Most of the heroes are men, as are most of the villains.  We learn that ideal adult males are powerful, independent, courageous in the face of extreme danger, highly skilled and capable of physical force and violence, and willing to put their lives on the line for God and country.  Perpetrating violence against the enemy is not only justified but glamorized and idealized.  Most of the serials also include a secondary woman character who is the friend, companion, and/or love interest of the hero.  She’s typically beautiful, good, charming, and loyal.  Often in peril, she’s dependent on protection and rescue by the male hero.    

The cultural messages we receive as kids, whether from the media or other sources, center on preparation for adult roles.  A lot of content of these old-time movie serials consists of subtle and not-so-subtle messages about the role of the sexes in a patriarchal society.  These, of course, reflect traditional stereotypes and gender norms.  We could argue that we've come a long way as a society since the 1940's.  However, when I think about the content of many action thrillers we’ve seen in the 2010's -- also predominantly male-centered and pro-violence -- I'm more struck by the stability of certain basic themes over the decades.  I do like to go to the movies a lot, but these serials from years ago remind us that we need to reflect upon and be cognizant of what we're being told.

Love,

Dave

SOURCES: www.allmovie.com; www.classicflix.com; www.fandango.com; www.serialexperience.com; www.wikipedia.org; Google Images 

G-mail Comments

-JML (4-5): Roger Ebert would have enjoyed that!  :(

-Gayle C-L (4-5): Very cool !  ;))