I fled what little of the Super Bowl I had to overhear when the children from Sandy Hook were paraded out with some superstar or another to sing a rousing chorus of America the Beautiful. Am I the only one who found this obscene and a tiny bit emblematic of exactly what's wrong with America? I fled from the house and out with one of my oldest friends to see a screening of one of my favorite movies, Days of Heaven. It's been way over twenty-five years since I first saw this Terence Malick movie, and watching it on a big screen in a wonderful movie theater was a treat. I think people either love or hate Malick's movies as they tend toward the ponderous, but I can't imagine anyone hating the sweep and beauty of Days of Heaven, not to mention the sight of the young Richard Gere, Sam Shepard and Brooke Adams. Call me pretentious or out of touch, but as the camera rolled over the vast plains, the waving wheat, the hundreds of impoverished workers that unloaded from giant steam engines that rolled through the expanse of the heartland, I felt vastly more American and glad of it than I had catching a glimpse of the Gomorrah that is Super Bowl Sunday.
I was fixing dinner, a nice dish of roasted fennel and salmon with a roasted lemon, honey and fresh herb vinaigrette. My husband almost reflexively had turned the TV on to watch the Superbowl (even though we have both almost quit watching TV mainly because it's mostly crap and takes time away from the good stuff). I heard the children singing through a large opening we have between kitchen and family room, and stepped around to see who was singing. When I realized who those children were, I felt ill. Supper, later, tasted like ground glass.
ReplyDeleteThere is a huge disconnect that I can't quite put my finger on. My father was an NFL referee and so I have always watched the Super Bowl and have even attended a couple... my husband and I were talking last night how they are all the same regardless of the teams, scripted and commercial... and how we all seem to gather to watch a "sporting" event and critique the advertising. There is no soul to it. I feel uncomfortable with how they have "sainted" Ray Lewis and he has become god's mouthpiece when he probably should be in jail for murder. We truly are an insatiable consumer society. I'm just hoping the power outage was not part of the show, but maybe some Katrina karma to inconvenience the spectators. Glad you chose to disengage... I've yet to do it.
ReplyDeleteIt made me uncomfortable, the way U2's half time show bothered me when they rolled the names of all the victims of 9-11 on a massive screen behind Bono. As for football, I'm a huge Broncos fan who often feels alienated by the sexism in the ads and inherent in the presence of cheerleaders. I do hope to one day see women playing in the NFL--perhaps Sam Gordon, the girl who scored 35 touchdowns for her (I believe otherwise all male) little league team in Salt Lake City, of all places. As for Malick, I really wanted to like Tree of Life. I'll give Days of Heaven a try.
ReplyDeleteTree of Life was my least favorite of Malick's movies. I had a hard time during the dinosaur moments and I can't stand Sean Penn, so it was a difficult watch. I did like the mother and her boys and the sort of lyrical beauty and horror of their home life. Days of Heaven is so different -- it's short and has spectacular cinematography -- I'm not sure how it would play on a tv screen, though.
DeleteI missed most of it, having chosen to take the dog for a walk and read a good book. I am consistently stymied by what the marketing executives and sportscasters and television moguls think they know about the average American. I do not understand why we simultaneously hear that consistent exposure to violence in movies and video games has no impact on our psyche, but billions of dollars are spent to show us a 30 or 60 second commercial that is supposed to convince us to purchase something we don't need.
ReplyDeleteToday, I will surround myself in my own bubble with meditation and books and furry pets and be glad it's over for another year.
yeah, i missed it all. the tv was off in our house all evening. my hubs went out to watch it at a bar, but returned right around half-time. he was tired and, as a non-sports guy, didn't really give a sh*t what happened. he just felt he "should" watch it since he has testosterone and all... im just hearing bits and pieces today about all the events and commercials etc but have to say my life went on without a beat :)
ReplyDeleteI have never been a Superbowl fan. I spent yesterday evening at Trader Joe's, thrilled to have the aisles to myself. I never saw Days of Heaven, but reading this made me want to.
ReplyDeleteit was like the lead-up to Christmas in America - dominating most news casts (news? really?) and I don't usually watch. especially this year when I was visiting my grandson -- who needs Superbowl b.s. when there's a 17 mos. old to play with? Yeah, though I didn't see the children singing, it does seem a very odd/weird thing to do. Haven't they been traumatized and exploited enough? What was the point? Ugh.
ReplyDeleteI did comment here but it somehow isn't showing up.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you. There is a vast sickness which has taken hold of this nation. To my notion, it is infesting the whole country with a mentality that I don't understand at all.
Dress it up in the flag and put it out there and you can get away with anything somehow.
Another thing- I believe you are one of the sanest people I have ever known.
You always make me feel better -- like there are actually sane people in this world. I'm not kidding.
ReplyDeleteI didn't see the game but had the same concerns when I heard about the choir.
ReplyDeleteHmmmm...I've never seen that movie. Must check it out!
ReplyDeleteI should add that ignorance of the Super Bowl is yet another advantage of being overseas. I didn't even hear about that Newtown choir. Yikes! That would have bothered me, too.
ReplyDeleteAnother thankful day without cable. I hadn't heard about the children. That's awful.
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