The last Saturday of the month is reserved for fun questions. Yesterday's post was quite long, and we have the SCOTUS item above, so we're going to limit ourselves to just 10 questions.
And for those still working on the headline theme, there were a few readers who figured it out and wondered if we were inspired by the fact that the president is named Donald. But that theory is just Daffy.
And now, on to the questions:
R.M. in Norwich, CT, asks: Why do you think it took so long for soccer to become popular on a professional level in America?
(V) & (Z) answer: There are undoubtedly a number of factors. However, we think the most significant, by far, is that people have only so much headspace for sports, and other sports beat soccer to the punch in the United States (and Canada). In particular, the soccer "niche," namely "low-scoring sport, in which every goal matters, and everyone plays both offense and defense" is also filled by hockey, and the U.S. and Canada have had a meaningful pro hockey presence since the 1920s.
J.C. in Thủ Dầu Một, Bình Dương, Vietnam, asks: It's hard to be a woman. Especially in the past. Misogyny and oppression by the male hegemony seem to be everywhere. Time travel stories tend to feature men, because why would you want to go to the past to be even more oppressed? So if you are a woman and have a time machine, when and where is the best place to go?
(V) & (Z) answer: Let us start by noting that the status of women 100, 200, or 300 years ago is odious to most citizens of 21st century liberal democracies. However, there were many women in those eras who very much embraced a worldview where women and men were fundamentally different, and the distinct qualities of women made them special. Put another way, someone like Abigail Adams did not think she was oppressed.
That said, if we assume a 21st century woman, with feminist/post-feminist values, they might find much to like in ancient Sparta. That society was not exactly matriarchal, but it was awfully close, as women were key to doing nearly everything needed for the society to operate, so the men could all train as soldiers.
Another pretty solid option from long ago is ancient Egypt. That was a prosperous society, and men and women largely had equal status. The same is also true of certain periods of Indian history.
It also wouldn't be too bad to be a woman in the western United States, between 1860 and 1910 or so. The populations of the western states were overwhelmingly male (often more than 95%), and so there was something of an arms race to grant women certain privileges and status. This is why Wyoming became the first state to give women the vote, in 1869.
Finally, if you want a modern version of the basic dynamic in Sparta, then the U.S. from 1941-45 comes pretty close. Women were badly needed to keep the industrial economy going, and so enjoyed freedoms and status, not to mention wages, that would have been unthinkable 10 years earlier.
F.S. in Cologne, Germany, asks: What are the ten best movies about World War II?
(V) & (Z) answer: Because these movies are very different from each other, we're not going to try to rank them. Instead, we'll give them in chronological order. Oh, and we couldn't quite cut it down to ten, so there are a dozen movies here:
- Casablanca (1942): If we were doing a ranking, this would be a serious contender for #1. It's a nearly perfect movie, and still resonates nearly a century after it was made.
- The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957): This list is very heavy on films that show how complicated an experience it is to participate in a war. Alec Guinness' Colonel Nicholson certainly embodies that.
- Judgment at Nuremberg (1961): This film seems to be fading from memory, which is a shame, because it's got an unbelievable cast, with many of them—Judy Garland, Burt Lancaster, Marlene Dietrich, and especially Montgomery Clift—turning in what is arguably their last great performance. Meanwhile, it was Maximilian Schell, who was just beginning his career, who won the Oscar for Best Actor.
- Patton (1970): Another complicated film, thanks to the magnificent screenplay by Francis Ford Coppola. It's often described as a "pro-war" film. We're not sure it is. But we're mot sure it isn't, either.
- Das Boot (1981): A hard film to watch, because it's so claustrophobic. We are glad to have seen it once, but can't imagine watching it again.
- A League of Their Own (1992): (Z) has gotten in arguments, more than once, about whether this counts as a World War II film. Huh? The home front is part of the story too. And not only does this film have a great cast, great performances and a great story, Roger Ebert quite correctly observed that a female director (Penny Marshall) understood what a male director might not have, that it was not always an easy call to leave more traditional gender roles behind for something more progressive.
- Schindler's List (1993): Another film that is hard to watch, but it's certainly the best of Spielberg's "message" films, as his personal connection to the subject matter comes through in every frame.
- Downfall (2004): What a performance from Bruno Ganz as Adolf Hitler.
- Inglourious Basterds (2009): Tarantino films tend to be uneven, and this one is not an exception. However, every scene where Christoph Waltz is on screen is electric.
- The Imitation Game (2014): The filmmakers had to commit some pretty serious offenses against the historical record in service of drama, but it's a fantastic film about a very important story.
- Jojo Rabbit (2019): One of the two outstanding Nazi comedies, and the other one, The Producers, isn't really a World War II film.
- Oppenheimer (2023): Will this be the last great World War II epic?
We imagine readers will have additional thoughts, which can be sent to comments@electoral-vote.com. Note, however, that there is one very obvious candidate for this list that we left off because we don't actually care for that film very much. In other words, don't assume we "forgot."
J.K. in Mahomet, IL, asks: Greatest music movie ever?
My first choice is Amadeus, which melds music, soul, heart and person better than any!
My second choice would be Wayne's World for the incredible "Bohemian Rhapsody" scene... mic drop...(V) & (Z) answer: We would say there are two very different kinds of movie soundtracks. The first kind is made up of music that was wholly (or mostly) written for that movie (or for the musical the movie was based on). The second kind is made up of music that was wholly (or mostly) borrowed by the movie, and was not composed for that film.
Here is a top ten, with #1 being best, of soundtracks in the first category:
- Star Wars, Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
- The Godfather
- A Hard Day's Night
- The Wall
- Beetlejuice
- Grease
- The Graduate
- The Sound of Music
- Shaft
- Purple Rain
And here is a top ten, with #1 being best, of soundtracks in the second category:
- The Blues Brothers
- Pulp Fiction
- Juno
- Hairspray
- High Fidelity
- American Graffiti
- Forrest Gump
- The Royal Tenenbaums
- Do the Right Thing
- Fantasia
R.M.S. in Lebanon, CT, asks: I have been a Star Trek fan since the early 90s. One of the things I like about it is the series unabashedly embraces a humanist worldview. I realized I was a humanist by the time I finished middle school. It's a philosophy that rejects the supernatural and emphasizes human ability and agency to resolve conflicts and overcome problems. Unlike most faiths, the characters do not believe human nature is inherently good or bad; they believe it is just a product of human evolution.
However, I haven't been able to find any other shows or film series that embrace humanism. Do you know of any?(V) & (Z) answer: It depends on how strict your definition of "humanist" is, but we would say that all of these shows are substantially aligned with that philosophy: Doctor Who, House, M.D., M*A*S*H, Sherlock, The Big Bang Theory, The Mentalist, The West Wing and, although these might seem to be off-the-wall choices, The Andy Griffith Show and Scooby-Doo.
W.H. in San Jose, CA, asks: Have you any experience or thoughts about "immersive theater" experiences, where the audience is encouraged to have a more participatory and interactive role?
(V) & (Z) answer: Neither of us has been in the audience for an "immersive theater" play, like Tony and Tina's Wedding. However, (Z) has seen many living history presentations of various sorts, some where the performers do not presume to speak as historical figures (e.g., Civil War reenactments; see below), and some where the performers speak in first person and behave as if they are denizens of a particular period (e.g., Colonial Willamsburg, Plymouth Plantation). (Z) has also done many escape rooms; those would seem to be a version of immersive theater.
In other words, (Z) is a fan. In particular, he went to Plymouth Plantation when he was 11 or 12, and it was engaging in a way that something like a museum was not, for a kid. So, immersive theater would seem to be an excellent tool for reaching people who might not otherwise be interested in theater, or history, or the like.
M.R. in New Brighton, MN, asks: What experiences have you had with Civil War reenactments? Have you ever attended or participated in a reenactment? Have you ever been asked to provide historical advice for a reenactment? How popular are these events—has interest in these events gone up or down in the last few decades?
(V) & (Z) answer: (Z) assumes this is not a set-up, and that the question is legit. In any event, his dissertation was written about Civil War reenactors. So yes, he's a wee bit familiar with the phenomenon. He has been to many reenactments, though never as a participant (that felt like it crossed a line). He has given advice, on occasion, and has been interviewed for a few documentaries, news stories, etc. And interest tends to go up during big Civil War anniversaries (e.g., the sesquicentennial), and down at other times. So, interest is a bit down right now.
R.V. in Pittsburgh, PA, asks: I've attended audience tapings of Jeopardy! back when Alex Trebek hosted. This was couple times prior to 2017—back then, you could watch 3 morning shows, or 2 afternoon shows. Not sure if it's still that way now.
Has (Z) ever been on game show, either in the audience or as a contestant?(V) & (Z) answer: (Z) has never been in the audience for a game show. He did the Jeopardy! test, and made it to the audition/interview stage, but didn't make the cut. He also auditioned for a show called Trivial Pursuit: America Plays. They were just wrapping up their first season, and were lining up contestants for the second season. The good news is that (Z) was chosen to be on the first show of the second season. The bad news is that the show was canceled during the hiatus.
D.J.M. in Salmon Arm, B.C., Canada, asks: The foundation of a comedian's performance is the one-liner. What are your top three favorite one-liners?
(V) & (Z) answer: To keep this manageable, we will start by noting that the "classic" one-liner comedians don't really resonate today. So, we can't put Henny Youngman's "Take my wife... please!" or Rodney Dangerfield's I called Dial-a-Prayer and they told me to go to hell" or Bob Hope's "You know you're getting old when the candles cost more than the cake" on a modern list.
Of course, many modern comedians don't much use one-liners, preferring more complex routines in the style pioneered by Lenny Bruce. But we would say there are three contemporary practitioners of the one-liner who do still resonate (even if two of them are deceased, both having died prematurely). We're going to give our favorite one-liners from each member of the trio:
- Bill Hicks: Keith Richards outlived Jim Fixx, the runner and health nut... the plot thickens. (This line was later lifted by Denis Leary.)
- Mitch Hedberg: I used to do drugs.... I still do drugs, but I used to, too.
- Steven Wright: I put instant coffee in my microwave oven and almost went back in time.
B.R. in Arlington, MA, asks: Where would you love to go and teach for a year as an opportunity to live and explore somewhere else?
(V) answers: Cambridge (UK) has a very good computer science department and is an interesting town. Cambridge (US) is also interesting, but been there already.
(Z) answers: I would also choose England. Languages are not my forté, and I would not want to spend a big chunk of the time abroad learning to communicate. Further, there is much in the U.K. that I have not seen and would like to.