Don Hall 10/24/18 Don Hall 10/24/18

Problematic Movies of the 80s | Risky Business (1983)

I’m not entirely sure why I voted for Ronald Reagan in 1984 but I’m starting to suspect that it may have had something to do with my love of movies featuring rich, white boys and their capitalistic coming of age stories.

Don Hall 10/22/18 Don Hall 10/22/18

I Believe… [Can I Just Eat My Omelette?]

…that once you’ve hit a point of notoriety in town when people who know who you are but have never met you already have a negative opinion of you see you in a local restaurant and feel strongly enough about it to make a scene, perhaps its time to run for office.

Don Hall 10/20/18 Don Hall 10/20/18

Problematic Movies of the 80s | Class (1983)

Revisiting those films from my youth (which also happen to be the films of Supreme Court Justice Kavanaugh’s youth) to see if they pass the burn test.

Don Hall 10/18/18 Don Hall 10/18/18

Oh C’mon... We’re All a Little Bit Native American at This Point

The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist. The greatest trick The Donald ever pulled was convincing the world he was an idiot.

Don Hall 10/16/18 Don Hall 10/16/18

Hysteria in the Face of a Hook in My Scrotum

It’s likely that parents reading this have already crossed themselves or knocked on wood in deference to the fact that their children would never be put in these positions. That their children are safe.

Don Hall 10/15/18 Don Hall 10/15/18

I Believe… [Doubling Down on Losing]

…that nothing screams “LOSER!” like someone so fully committed to a decades-long losing political strategy that it seems righteous to continue to defend it despite all evidence that demonstrates its ineffectiveness. This includes proponents of both Trickle Down Economics and Identity Politics.

Don Hall 10/14/18 Don Hall 10/14/18

Problematic Movies of the 80s | The Cannonball Run (1981)

“This isn’t what I expected.”

“What did you expect?”

“I dunno. Gang rape?”

“Oh, Beauty. We’re racers not rapers.”

Don Hall 10/10/18 Don Hall 10/10/18

Regime Change in the Age of Trump

White males do not need a safe space and shouldn’t cry about when called names on Twitter or protested by a crowd. But neither should black males, white females, or anyone else.

Don Hall 10/8/18 Don Hall 10/8/18

I Believe.. [Maybe They Should've Called It "Turdsie"]

…that, if you’re going to adapt Tootsie for the stage as a musical, perhaps a focus on creating memorable songs, a believable narrative and avoiding a ball peen hammer approach to modernizing it for the #MeToo zeitgeist might be a better way to go.

Don Hall 10/7/18 Don Hall 10/7/18

Problematic Movies of the 80s | Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)

I was 16 years old when this hit the theaters. What I remember of this movie was that I liked it, thought it was funny and mostly loved the character of Brad (played by a young Judge Reinhold.) The Spicoli character, played with stoner perfection by Sean Penn loomed large, and the fact that I got to see Phoebe Cates’ tits was a big plus. I saw it in the theater only once but it left a good impression upon my teenage brain. It felt authentic in many ways to my own high school experience as it was unfolding.

Upon rewatching it to see how potentially problematic the thing was, here are some takeaways…

Don Hall 10/4/18 Don Hall 10/4/18

When the Plate Glass Decapitates You and Trump Is the Only Thing On Your Mind

Like a heavy feather, the plate glass gracefully sliced through air for 7.6 seconds before gently decapitating Flores where she stood.

Don Hall 10/2/18 Don Hall 10/2/18

America is Not the Amityville Horror or Poltergeist House

The house that is the United States, if it were an actual house, has plenty of flakey hemoglobin on the grounds.

Don Hall 10/1/18 Don Hall 10/1/18

I Believe… [Go to the Gym Anyway…]

…that the days you really don’t want to go to the gym — making excuses, promising yourself that you’ll fast that day if only you can skip — but do are the days that matter most.

Don Hall 9/25/18 Don Hall 9/25/18

Who are These Fucking Rapey Dudes

I’ve never met an incel, at least not a card-carrying one or one who admitted it, let alone a “He-Man Woman Hater.” I can’t think of a time when I was friends with a dude who thought it was anything but vile stupidity to cat-call a woman on the street or from a car. Granted, I quit theater years ago, don’t hang out much in comedy clubs and decided that the improv scene was far too much like high school so maybe I’m missing out on all the dripping toxicity of dudes who are doing everything they can to be seen as funny and cool in order to get laid, sometimes at any cost.

Don Hall 9/24/18 Don Hall 9/24/18

I Believe… [The Real Resistance is Happening on Twitter and Fortnite]

…that feeling anxiety, victimized, or unjustly treated no longer makes you special or interesting. Your many ineffective tweets at @therealDonaldTrump and Fortnite ranking does.

Don Hall 9/18/18 Don Hall 9/18/18

Playing "What If?" Can Save Your Sanity

“Can I tell you something that you won’t judge me on?”

Don Hall 9/17/18 Don Hall 9/17/18

I Believe… [Hurricanes Give CNN Staffers Boners]

…that as horrifying as the latest hurricane is/was, all I can see in my mind’s eye is CNN programmers furiously masturbating (with consent from the female staffers, of course) as the ratings go higher and higher because nothing sells ads more than American disasters.

Don Hall 9/10/18 Don Hall 9/10/18

I Believe… [The Positives of Trump]

…that if there is anything positive about the Trump presidency it is that all of a sudden, more of the citizenry is paying attention to the mechanics of governance and he's making every other president we've ever had look great.

Don Hall 9/9/18 Don Hall 9/9/18

The Lack of Hope Is the Disease

Oh, yeah? Another mass shooting? How terribly desensitized we’re becoming to this trend.

Don Hall 9/6/18 Don Hall 9/6/18

Your Life, Your Music

"If you don't live it, it won't come out your horn."
— Charlie Parker

The converse to this Parker quote is that if it comes out your horn, it’s because you lived it.

I’ve been thinking a lot about bias these days. Looking into my own biases and parsing out where, exactly, the playing of my horn is exposing those dark areas of things I cannot get behind no matter how many strident, angry voices tell me to.

What comes out of my horn for some time in recent history is predicated by my experience, thus the quote.