Midrange Weekly Dec 28
You’re Weekly Round Up On What’s Got The Midrange Staff’s Attention
Midrange Staff @midrangeyvr
Welcome back to Midrange Weekly, we hope you’re enjoying the exquisite disorientation that is that endless purgatory between Christmas and NYE. The holidays have ranged from weird to skipped this year but at least more of our friends than ever took a crack at home made egg nog. Beyond the fun of not a single person being able to track down a Playstation 5 this Christmas, there was as usual a lot going on this week. Here’s all the muck that’s currently fit to rake.
Let’s Talk About What Happened In Nashville
The recent terrorist attack in Nashville is disorienting not just because of the seemingly random nature of such a grievous attack happening in the American heartland on Christmas day, but also due to the frankly bizarre details- scarce as they are- that we have so far. That the explosion came from a parked truck that warned of the impending blast via loudspeaker indicates a perpetrator with a taste for the theatrical, but also perhaps implies he wanted to give people a chance to escape. Even more perplexing was the audio in the loud speakers of the truck apparently also playing Downtown by Petula Clark circa 1964. Is this meant to be a cryptic clue, a window into the bomber’s madness, a randomized non-sequitor to further baffle investigators, or a garden-variety technical malfunction? Depending on the outcome of the investigation we may never know as what little evidence there is from the blast remains indicates the prime suspect, Anthony Warner, killed himself in the explosion.
It’s important to note, as stated above, this is terrorism. Publications like the NYT can dress up their coverage with obsequies euphuisms like a tortured soul or a quiet life when describing so little known quantities about Warner that it can only be jumping to conclusions, but it’s journalistic malpractice. That’s not how we describe a curbside bombing that takes out half a block in Iraq or Afghanistan. We call it terrorism; sectarian violence if one is feeling technical, which would also very likely fit the bill here. Western countries look down upon the destabilizing carnage that is endemic of the Middle East that is at least in part symptomatic of our own colonial adventurism. We use terms like terrorism to describe not just the savagery but sheer callousness in behaviour whose objectives ostensibly revolve around political or cultural grievances. When our own people do it here however, we use sympathetic terminology and look for tragic circumstances that may have shaped a person’s life right up their incendiary demise. Don’t play along when such misleading language is used.
While things like motives or partisan identification (if there are any of relevance) have yet to be determined, one thing is certain: so far (as of Sunday) Trump hasn’t said a fucking thing about it. At this point it’s reductive and tiresome to play the “imagine if this was Obama doing it” game in regards to right wing coverage of this event so far, but it really would be a visceral and rabid response of scandalous proportions from the likes of Fox News and its facsimiles had a city block been detonated under Obama’s watch and he spent the weekend golfing and not even acknowledging it happened. Furthermore, while it’s far too late for such things, this strikes me as particularly acute inflection point into understanding the scam that is Donald Trump’s performative solidarity with conservative working class Americans. What could possibly be more traditionally heartland Americana than Nashville, and yet he hasn’t lifted a finger over them being attacked. The cognitive dissonance it must take in light of this abdication to claim- still- that Trump is fighting tirelessly for the average working American is greater than I can envision.
The only thing worse than his wilful ignorance on the matter is that he very likely is holding off on weighing in until it’s determined if Warner was or wasn’t a far right extremist. Predicting Trump’s actions based on his instinctual and self-serving patterns are not particularly hard to do and this seems absolutely on brand for him to avoid comment until a motive is determined. If Warner was a Trump supporter whose conservative orthodoxy was radicalized by the fever dream mendacity of Fox, OAN, Newsmaxx or whatever the hell is trending on Parler, then Trump bares some of that blame. Whether or not he can internalize that concept or is simply gaming out the media reaction is irrelevant. Some may insist that is naïve and foolish to blame a third party for the actions of a seemingly solipsistic person. That strikes me as yet another failure of imagination and community due to the veneration of the idea of rugged American individualism. People influence other people. Manipulation is a real thing. That Trump didn’t explicitly command such an action doesn’t mean he’s not fine with cultivating a cultural and media ecosystem that encourages it. He just doesn’t care. -Tristan
BC’s Family Compensation Act Needs Reform
CBC
This past Monday I was startled to read and learn of the death of Natasha Forry. The CBC posted a lengthy account of what transpired for this young woman.
To recap: Forry died of a staph infection. She was misdiagnosed several times by doctors who at first believed she was suffering from appendicitis, then subsequently the coronavirus. She was only 29 years old.
Coroner’s believe her infection came about after her initial visit on October 2nd to drain a large cyst on her leg.
After reading about her death and how such a tragic act could have transpired, I found myself staring blankly forward for a bit. Her story hit me. It made me cry a little to the preciousness of life and how easily it can be lost. 29 is so young.
But, as sympathetic as I was in that moment, clarity came my way to the reality that so many die each day. Her life was no more or less special than those whose stories I don’t know of. It’s a fact of life we all bear with us each day. That one day, we will die. Sad as that fact of life is, how we carry on each other’s legacy is tantamount to making sure those whom we’ve loved are never forgotten.
I never met Natasha. But in her story, her mother’s anguish lingers because of an antiquated law this province still upholds. Her mother has no recourse for her pain and suffering because Natasha died with no dependents.
“But they say they’ve been blindsided by B.C.’s wrongful death laws. Unlike other Canadian provinces, in B.C. families are not able to get compensation for grief, pain and suffering or loss of companionship.
Claims under the Family Compensation Act are limited to “pecuniary loss” — basically, income loss and expenses incurred.
Forry’s family says they called six different law firms, but were told because Natasha didn’t have dependents, the family has no legal recourse.” — CBC
Because of car accidents, we’ve added seat belts and air bags. We have insurance for our homes and lives. There are an innumerable amount of systems and processes we’ve set up in our society to help prevent pain and suffering. And in the event of something tragic, there are avenues for those looking for justice and compensation. Sadly, Natasha’s mother has none. This is wrong and the law must be changed.
Luckily, there is a website out there aiming to help her mother and countless other families who’ve been left to accept that nothing can be done. The website is called intheirname.ca
After reading Natasha’s story, check this site out and fill out the form listed on its main page. It’s a letter addressed to your local BC MLA. If there’s one small thing we can all do before this crummy year ends is to put pressure on our government to fix this law immediately. Natasha’s death was tragic. Her legacy for this province should be a reminder of what we can do to help right its misfortune. - Jamie
Alt-hipster Christmas Movies That Aren’t Die Hard
I realize I’m overly sensitive to such a mild, almost innocuous, festive behaviour, but I’ve absolutely had it with people saying that Die Hard is their favourite Christmas movie, and thinking they are so darn cool for saying it. What really grinds my gears about it is that no one is saying it with even a hint of earnestness or sincerity, but rather bolstering their alleged counter culture too hip for Christmas bonafides by opting to choose a movie that is obviously way more rad as hell than any traditional holiday film. Further agitating my aggrieved senses is that what was once an admittedly clever rejoinder to the tired question of ‘what’s your favourite Christmas movie’ say 10 year ago, is now painfully dull and redundant, absolutely worn into the ground. And yet people boast the identifier with such an air of undeserved self-satisfaction, as if they and they alone had thought of a truly unexpected and slick response. Everyone says Die Hard, stop being so proud of yourself my dude! To that end, if this tradition of favourite Christmas films that aren’t really Christmas films is to evolve to the point where I no longer want to suicide myself by gravy related drowning, let’s start considering other options, yes? In fact there are a lot of great movies that happen during Christmas that aren’t really Christmas movies that we can discuss in the same context of Die Hard.
Lethal Weapon
The spiritual sibling to Die Hard, these two films launched twin franchises that dismantled the admiration of the impossibly cool and muscular action super star and replaced them with relatively basic every day dudes. While it’s purely subjective on my part to say that Lethal Weapon is fundamentally a better film than Die Hard (it is but that’s a vicious argument for another day), it also takes place during Christmas. Lethal Weapon even has a shoot out in a Christmas tree lot, and it’s pretty cool. Later on a Christmas tree, so lovingly lit and adorned in festive ornaments, finds itself on the receiving end of police cruiser that smashes through a house. Speaking of which the palace of blissful domesticity that is Murtaugh’s home is actually the same house (on a studio lot no less) that they filmed Christmas Vacation in, further boosting its Christmas adjacent cred.
Batman Returns
It’s wild that in the original mainline run of Batman films, it only took till the second outing before holiday genre stories started getting thrown into the mix. Batman Returns is barely even a counter culture hipster selection for favourite Christmas films; it straight up is one. Tree lighting ceremonies, bad guys pop out of bigly wrapped gift boxes, a dusting of tranquil snow seems to cool the collective temperature of a Gotham City that is ready to blow. It’s merry as hell. Most strikingly are the festive bells and Yuletides that are not so subtly integrated into Danny Elfman’s score for this round. It’s interesting in that the gothic and baroque claustrophobia of Batman’s fictional city is rendered a bit more hospitable and relatable through the veneer of a cultural and commercial holiday that is so ubiquitous within real life. One could even argue that in making Gotham seem a touch approachable in this sense drains it of its noir surrealism that gave the first Tim Burrton Batman such a defiant edge. The penguins with little rockets were cute though.
Gremlins
Fuck yes Gremlins. Putting aside what’s more synonymous with Christmas than a film selling you stuffed animals to buy for your kid; actually don’t put that notion aside as that’s actually how the film’s story begins. Beyond Gizmo serving as the perfect holiday gift in a narrative and meta level, the typical Christmas trappings- trees, hats, lights- are all over the place. And if the whole point of this mind numbing exercise is to find a film that you can watch on Christmas that doesn’t inundate you with the traditional offerings of holiday dogma, Gremlins strikes that balance better than just about any film. Even more so that its mish-mash of hackneyed cartoon violence and occasional sojourns into true horror are particularly heretical around Christmas time, in a delightful sort of way. One could also strip away the genre distinctions and argue that the gremlins themselves are a sub textual interpretation of the story of the Grinch but with more killing. If someone doesn’t write a long form essay on this exact thesis I absolutely will and yes that is a threat. -Tristan
Warner Bros.
Wonder Woman, Theaters, And Streaming
Back on December 3rd, Warner Bros. studios announced they would be releasing all of their 2021 major film content in theatres and on their HBO Max service. FYI: AT&T owns Warner Bros. and HBO.
Warner Bros. CEO Jason Kilar said this during the announcement. “We see an opportunity to do something firmly focused on the fans, which is to provide choice.”
This past weekend saw the release of Wonder Woman 1984. It’s the sequel to 2017’s massive hit Wonder Woman which grossed over a billion dollars at the global box office. It’s the first movie to be released by Warner Bros. via this format. Currently you can rent it in Canada for $29.99.
This is a new world and movie theatres better get used to it.
First, the Netflix effect has changed everything. It’s given everyone this massive amount of choice right at our fingertips. As such, numerous other studios and their parent companies found themselves panicking as they tried feverishly to catch up to a world in which they were slowly falling behind. Disney+ is a prime example of this. Each saw a chance to take control of their brand with something they’d never had before, recurring revenue. Jeff Bezos saw this back in 2006 when he launched Amazon Prime. With over a 100 million subscribers, at $10 a pop, that’s a lot of money coming in — each month! Staying on the sidelines was no longer an option.
Movie theatres, sadly, have taken their sweet time to adjust to a world that was fast passing them by. The coronavirus just accelerated a phenomenon any kid saw coming. Why wait for something I want now?
This is the world we live in and it’s here to stay. Movies soon will be available on most platforms to rent or via a subscription, and I don’t see consumers complaining about it. The opposite will ring true in their minds as many will wonder why it took so damn long. I’ve lamented this thought for sometime now. Give us the option and let us decide. You can hit the theatre or watch at home, but I want that choice.
Now faced with massively declining to zero box office revenues for a good while, Warner Bros. took the first step of many. Wonder Woman grossed a paltry $16.7 million this past weekend in the US. A far cry from the over $100 million it made just a few years ago. The metrics and numbers are understandable. A pandemic rages. But with so many stuck at home, countless will pay $29.99 to see this movie now. Nerds can’t wait.
Disruption has been the driving force of our world for over a decade now. AirBnB, Uber and Netflix are prime examples. I’ve written about this many times before. Movie theatres were bound to join the fray. They won’t die, but how they are used will have to change.
Ultimately going to the movies is still a fun thing to do. It’s still a great first date option. But staying home has become a must now, but a fulfilling option as well. Might as well give us what we want if we’re willing to pay for it. - Jamie
FLUX FIVE
This Week:
Connie Converse“Father Neptune” 1957 How Sad, How Lovely
The Cinematic Orchestra “Ma Fleur” 2007 Ma Fleur
Four Tet “You Were There With Me” 2005 Everything Ecstatic
The Presets “Beams” 2008 Beams
Cocteau Twins “Fifty-Fifty Clown” 1990 Heaven Or Las Vegan
Enjoy! - Mick
Things From The Internet We Liked
Burial released a new single and it’s awesome
Burial remains one of the most enigmatic and provocative figures in electronic music. His new single Chemz, is long enough to be an EP and goes to some wildly exciting places as he takes the enormity of a truly dramatic romance and glitches the hell out of it. Highly recommend.
What The Hell Really Happened At Four Seasons Total Landscaping?
The short answer is we’ll never really know. However NY Mag reporter Olivia Nuzzi does her damndest, and likely sacrifices many brain cells in trying to unravel the mystery of the Trump administration’s insanely pathetic denouement. Nuzzi consistently proves herself to be one of the very best East coast correspondents and her writing on Trump has been invaluable. Definitely worth your time.
An Excellent Explainer from Vox On The Real Cost Of Smart Speakers
We all know our smart speakers are listening to us. This video just puts everything into context. What we’re willing to accept depends on what we know. Watch and learn more.