WISDOM OF THE SAGES
EPISODE XI: FALL 2022
Hello People of the World;
I write this on the last day of the month. Now this, on the first day of the next month. Now the second day of the next month. Now, the third day of the next month. Now on the fourth day of the next month. Finally posting it now on the fourth of Decmeber.
As always: Stay safe. Stay home.
All right, let’s get going:
1:[ This virus really showed how equal we all really are: how quick all we are to forget the dead.
2:[ Movie Reviews:
Wakanda Forever – The sequel to one of the biggest franchise films. This time the country of Wakanda is center stage as they fight off the colonization of their resources. They must also deal with the loss of King T'Challa and the Black Panther. To make things worse, they must contend with Namor and the Kingdom of Talekon, and undersea country rich with Vibranium.
This is a very good sequel. It takes on the loss of both T'Challa and Chadwick Boseman with grace.
These Black Panther films always felt separated from the rest of the MCU. Angela Bassett, Letitia Wright, Danai Grira, Dominique Thorne, Mabel Cardena, Micheala Coel, and Florence Kasumba all shine given the story of grieving and loss of faith. Especially Bassett who takes on the weight of this fictional country on her shoulders with ease and power. A great change up for the story. I cannot forget Lupita Nyong'o and Nakia and the awesomeness the brings to every role she is in.
I must point out the Latinx-Indigi actors Marel Cardena as Namor's Second-in-command; my fave Maria Mecedes Coroy in a short but memorable role as Namor's mother. Also, Namor himself, played by Tenoch Huerta. I loved they switched up the tired Atlantean trope and made Namor Aztecan.
There was a lot to cover and the movie was long but it moved at a crisp pace making sure that every thread was pulled to the conclusion. Like I said, a very good sequel. I got emotional watching this. It is not only a very good sequel but a great tribute to Boseman and his legacy in the MCU.
The Glass Onion – Pretty good. This mystery is a commentary on Musk types and social networks. Here, Benoit Blanc returns to solve a murder of a genius tycoon. But like "Knives Out", the genre conventions are turned on its head.
I think what helped it, but also hurt it, was it worked to be both like and unlike "Knives Out". The cast was fine. Daniel Craig is always good as a southern rube. Janelle Monáe is awesome in this. Everyone else, plays to type. There is an unnecessary Ethan Hawke cameo.
All in all, a good time. There was a tighter-knit cast with the first, of mainly character actors. This one had "Stars". Still, league better than most stuff I seen this year. But who know, there is an entire month where this might get bumped out of this Top Ten.
3:[ I love that people are calling the Disney+ show STAR WARS: Andor, “Star Wars for grownups”, because it finally admits that the rest of Star Wars has always been for kids….
4:[ The Avoidance of Being an Adult – The Senior Citizen Adventures: I have been noticing a lot of movies about senior citizens lately. I guess this stems from the current generation of millennials wanting to avoid being an adult. I thought it annoying at first but it makes sense and I empathize with them. Their future is grim. We handed them a world on fire and expect them to fix it. Since they are the most educated of all prior generations, they see the hypocrisy of it. So, if they wish to skip adulthood and go right into being a senior citizen that can do and say what they want, more power to them.
5:[ The Appropriation of Childhood Things – I never understood the movement trying to make STAR WARS more “dark” or “adult”. The films are supposed to be ageless. People often say that with all of the violence in the movies, they were really made for grown-ups. But this is a new-ish phenomenon. Recently, the comic book character of Batman has been appropriated by “adults”, as well as, all of the Marvel characters. It’s okay to enjoy a simple thing. But this idea that we are dragging our childhood things with us to the grave, in order to give our lives some sort of relevancy is silly. We should be okay with becoming irrelevant.
6:[ There is this moment that happens. It can be with anything, where you sense a change and if you should roll with it or try to make a change. When you are drinking your hot chocolate, you sense the moment: “Hmm, I’m drinking warm chocolate milk.” Do you stop or do you finish your drink? When you bite into a crunchy onion ring, you sense the moment: that slight pull on the onion. Can you bite through and make a clean bite, or will the onion be chewy and you simply stuff the whole onion ring in your mouth?
7:[ I had a third example for the item above, something more abstract and societal, but I forgot what it was. Forgive me, I came across this thought while eating onion rings at Portello’s. I’m thinking of adding it to my comedy routine….
8:[ We cannot go back to “Normal” all after this: That Native Americans are only important to the myth of conquest that is Thanksgiving….
9:[ I am slow, it only struck me know why Yoda and Obi-wan want Luke to face Vader in “Return of the Jedi”. Sheesh. It's Luke's Trial. He MUST choose to be a Jedi. All Jedi face the trial and must choose to be a Jedi. They don’t tell him TO KILL Vader, that is an assumption Luke makes. Because that is a part of the trial and the choice.
If they are well-trained, the choice is simple. If it is fraught as Anakin's and Luke's were, the choice can be uncertain. Yes, Anakin did become a Jedi but he did not go through the trials and was awarded the title through his actions during the Clone War. He also was met constantly with doubt from the Jedi Order from the time his training began.
So, when he is faced with losing the one he loves most, the Jedi Order asks him to learn to let go. (They not tell him TO let go. People make this mistake and mis-hear what Yoda is telling him.) He believes it is because they are hiding something from him. But they simply want him to learn to grieve. Make no mistake, the Jedi Order did bring themselves down through their own short-sightedness. Sidious uses that to force Anakin into another choice and Anakin chooses the Sith…
10:[ I was once again scrubbing through my Facebook timeline trying to find November “happenings” to make comment on. I really just need to work on gathering interesting things to write about throughout the month and work to get them posted by the last day of the month. I’m just lazy, it appears….
That is it for this month.
Kinda STAR WARS heavy.
Sorry about that. I hate what the fandom has become. But must fandoms turn gross when their irrelevancy begins…
As always, I invite you to comment, correct, or contradict anything I write here. I am open to a critical debate. Thanks for taking the time to check out what I write here and I will see you in a month.
Until next time, remember “I try to show the schemers how pathetic their attempts to control everything really are.”
2022 Ernest M Whiteman III
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