3 Things We’re Diggin’
Week of April 3, 2023
3 Things We’re Diggin’ This Week include:
[A.J.] I'm reading Hollywood: The Oral History by Sam Wasson & Jeanine Basinger. It's a 700-page brick of film history but its co-authorship title is misleading. In reality, this book is filled with the words of hundreds of those individuals who shaped the creation and legacy of Hollywood. There's everyone from Steven Spielberg and Jordan Peele and Alfred Hitchcock to the lesser known actors and actresses of the silent era (the 1910s and 1920s). Wasson and Basinger were granted access to the American Film Institute's archives where they transcribed hundreds of interviews and organized them so that their book reads like a conversation between industry professionals from 1910 all the way to today. I just finished reading the chapter on the silent era of Hollywood and I'm surprised by how similar the techniques and philosophy behind silent films are to today's TikTok era. They just grabbed a camera and shot every type of scene. "We got into the training of just do it and get out of here. Once in a while you'd get a nice one, a gem, but the rank and file of them sometimes were not too hot." Those were the words of Raoul Walsh, a director from the silent era, but he might as well be talking about TikTok, a visual medium that is still in its nascent years. Both silent films and TikTok were seen as a gag when they first came upon the scene. Then sound was introduced to silent pictures and Hollywood became Hollywood. Will TikTok have the same kind of legs?
Bubba is digging vacation.
[Ashleigh] Something I was diggin’ last weekend was the women’s NCAA basketball championship. I love watching sports on TV. There is so much excitement and built in drama, and it always makes me excited to watch championship games - athletes work so hard every day and it’s really cool to see their hard work play out and result in something. However, almost 100% of the sports I watch on TV are played by males. Tennis is basically the only sport I watch that features females. That’s why I was so excited for this game. It felt exciting and relevant, which is really good progress for women’s collegiate sports. A lot of that excitement rightfully came from Caitlin Clark, who was on fire and destroying teams during Iowa’s tournament run. Then I learned about Angel Reese and the LSU coach, Kim Mulkey and her fabulous outfits which I applaud and LOVE (because why not have some fun), and got even more into the game. I knew from the start of the game that LSU was going to win. The whole team just seemed like they wanted it more. While I was right, it was still a fun game to watch. And OF COURSE, there was unnecessary drama. About which, I will say sports are intense, and emotions are high. And when you’re good, you can get away with kind of being an asshole (aka the now infamous “you can’t see me” hand gesture). But wow, is this drama interesting to me. It’s totally racially charged, but in a way I’m happy for the discussion because it brings to light the ridiculous double standards we have for white and black people to the mainstream. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, you can read about it here. But, at the end of the day, I’m grateful for a very solid women’s basketball game I was able to watch with my family, and I hope to watch many more!
