Behind the scenes, following a radical re-design of my site, the fall and winter of 2019 - 2020 involved lots of viewings to prepare for Journey Through Twin Peaks (and simultaneously catch up with the most hyped new releases of the past year), as well as canvassing for Bernie Sanders while following the rapidly-unfolding news from the Democratic primary. My Journey research entailed the old series and many films by Peaks directors; the new movie list included a Tarantino, a Scorsese, a wildly controversial and zeitgeist-capturing "comic book film," and a soon-to-be groundbreaking Best Picture winner; and the primary roller coaster ranged, in the period covered here, from Bernie's sluggish early autumn climaxing in a heart attack to his gamechanging endorsement by AOC, fallout with former ally Elizabeth Warren, steady climb to frontrunner status after a series of early wins, and grim turnaround as Joe Biden suddenly surged following South Carolina. On my site, however, that Peaks/film/political activity mostly occurred "offscreen," as I released a steady stream of backlogged work completed in the past year (most of it looking back on the mid-teens, the early zeroes, the early sixties, or all of the above)...the only exception being a massive "mother of all podcasts" episode for patrons in late January, in which I discussed those Peaks directors, those 2019 films, that enthusiasm for Bernie, and much, much, much, much more.
Subjects outside of that particular podcast include the launch of my "Unseen" series reviewing big films of the decade that I missed until now, a month of tangentially Halloween-ish horrors and thrillers, an exploration of Mary Sweeney's quiet solo work and its relationship to the work she did (and didn't do) for David Lynch, a couple of coming-of-age films set in the early zeroes (an era just now hovering in the twilight between recent and remote past), and two seasons of Mad Men covering the early sixties - now officially my longest viewing diary.
The title and above image for this archive chapter obviously evoke the era captured in Mad Men, but both derive directly from my highlight, SEVEN AMERICAN GENERATIONS: iGen, millennials, X, boomers, silent, greatest, and lost; inspired by the end of the decade (and millennials approaching middle age), I illustrated and explained every generation in every era over the past century, exploring what it means to age as history keeps marching on - proven by the very period represented here (and the chaotic weeks that immediately followed).
SEPTEMBER
After months of work, my new site design is unveiled; the blog format is replaced by dedicated pages for various topics, approaches, and other miscellany briefly described here
The series shifts from Thanksgiving 1960 to Valentine's Day 1962 as a new season kicks off
Charting my course for at least three months (six, as it turned out) with viewing diaries, podcasts, and reviews carrying the load on Mondays and Wednesdays
Pete's family tragedy yields both a moral crisis and a business opportunity
A new series - reviewing one of the most popular films of a given year that I haven't seen before - starts with the Marvel blockbuster that doubles as sociopolitical phenomenon
Brutally cutting comedian Jimmy Barrett and his seductive wife Bobbie present problems for Don, and a dinner with them and Betty only complicates the matter
My third "Twin Peaks Cinema" entry centers a film from the Twin Peaks era with a very Lynchian interest in doubles; meanwhile I round up the last batch of eleven from my "Favorites" series
As the title suggests, this episode employs a clever format spanning three weeks and three characters' ongoing stories
OCTOBER
For the month marked by Halloween, I focus on horror films and spooky thrillers, starting with this Norwegian tale of sixteenth-century witch trials
Don weathers a crisis with Bobbie while Peggy flashes back to her own unresolved crisis from the end of last season
Before it became a twenty-first century cinematic masterpiece, Mulholland Drive was an abandoned nineties TV pilot, now only available via fuzzy 4:3 VHS dubs on YouTube - what are the differences?
In one of the series' most schematically themed episodes, Peggy struggles as the only woman in her position at Sterling Cooper
This biopic of the Frankenstein author spurred thoughts about the Romantic vs. Enlightenment eras as well as the nature of the biopic genre
Every invitation backfires as Don climbs socially and Jimmy begins to drive a wedge between the Drapers
I finally watch one of the decade's masterpieces, inspiring one of my longest "Unseen" reviews to dissect the style, theme, and historic context of Jordan Peele's racially-charged horror film
After seeding doubts in person, Jimmy's Utz ad provides the final push Betty needs to confront Don and set off a separation
My Halloween run of reviews closes with this classic of German Expressionism, whose connections to David Lynch's storytelling structures I find particularly fascinating
NOVEMBER
Duck's drinking habit finally takes him down; meanwhile, the rest of the office grieves Marilyn Monroe
My Favorites reading series concludes with a French New Wave classic, as I also ask: what in the world do Fellini's Roman escapade and Lynch's TV prequel have in common?
Family issues run through this episode as sixties America begins to shake off the order and obligations of the fifties
This musical stirs memories of a moment already passed - personally (my move from California) and politically (the shock of Trump's election)
One of my favorite episodes of Mad Men takes a Polanski/Fowleresque turn as Don abandons a business trip to fall in with a strange family in southern California
With special guests who conducted a deep dive into Mark Frost's work, we dig into the only Peaks episode that Frost directed
Don visits an old friend in California who reminds him of his early Draper days, and helps him to re-consider his future
A Lynch film steps into the "Twin Peaks Cinema" slot; how do its double characters, its plot mechanics (pun intended), and its mid-nineties Lynch style connect to or contrast with the original series, prequel, and follow-up?
DECEMBER
The Cuban Missile Crisis none-too-subtly pairs with the Drapers' marital (and maternal) moment of truth
Inside a preteen girl's mind, her personified emotions navigate the collapse of her familiar childhood frames of reference - and how does this relate to the world of 2015?
A new season begins on a minor key as Don and Sal spend a revealing night in Baltimore
A fan of the much-maligned second season subplots joins us to rank twenty-two episodes in one of my most fun Unwrapped guest appearances
Betty's father slips further into cognitive decline and Don must make a decision
Bursting at the seams with era-defining collages and generational headshots, I illustrate a guide to which generation is which, when their milestones unfolded, and how they experienced various moments in living American history
Larger images and attributions fill a differently-ordered line-up of the illustrations for my big generational post
Peggy gets stoned at the office while Roger holds a party at a country club
At year's/decade's end, I unveil the full line-up for my new Unseen series, which will look even further back (over a century)
Eugene's reminiscences - of World War I and more - form a requiem
JANUARY
Although I'll dive more extensively into the work of Twin Peaks episode directors within a month, for now I focus on three-time director Tim Hunter's quirky eighties teen drama, whose ties to Peaks are numerous and obvious (starting with a body on the shore)
A drugged mother's mind wanders through surreal dreamscapes while her body undergoes the pangs of birth
An eighteenth-century bureaucrat languishes in colonial Argentina, haunted by a mysterious bandit; both the novel's author and the film's director experienced their own tumultuous traumas around or after its making
"The British are coming!" is the rallying cry of Mad Men's mid-season until a grisly, darkly comical shock alters the nature of this corporate invasion
A teen drama from the early zeroes, now seventeen years in the past, provokes meditations on the passage of time and the subtle shifting of eras, as well as the film's marvelous use of place
In another cleverly-structured episode, we discover what led Don, Betty, and Peggy to where we first find them - an unsigned contract, some cheerful but untrustworthy hitchhikers, and two propositions from older men
Before a returned Star Wars could scratch the cultural itch, this supposedly minor Marvel space opera became an unexpected smash
Don and Betty travel to Rome in the era of Fellini and Antonioni, earning their chic moment on the Via Veneto
Greta Gerwig's acclaimed directorial "debut" spurs thoughts about her own career and the 2002/2003 moment depicted onscreen
FEBRUARY
The civil rights movement and the Rockefeller presidential campaign provide a backdrop for Don's and Betty's growing strain
My most massive episode - by about a nine-hour long shot - is divided into six chapters and another five bonus mini-episodes covering everything from deep-dive conversations about Peaks mythology to a feature film each from the entire Peaks directorial staff, from the violent climaxes of four hot new 2019 films to dozens of political topics from the past year, and finally my case for Bernie Sanders as he surges to the forefront for the Democratic presidential nomination
Don's affection for a local teacher leads to a long drive with her misfit brother
In my final Unseen entry during this period, the early teens tech craze yields a vision of the future that leaves me, in a good way, wanting much more (especially about the ethical, even spiritual implications of an artificial intelligence love affair)
As Roger relives a youthful fling, Don and Betty reach a moment of truth fueled by Betty's discovery of Don's biggest secret
Agnès Varda's seventies work study - a nonfiction peek into a series of shops on a Parisian avenue - makes for an interesting comparison to Louis Malle's Place de la République, another French documentary of the same era
Finally, the moment we've all been waiting for, directed by prestigious guest filmmaker Barbet Schroeder: the JFK assassination
Lynch editor and longtime collaborator Mary Sweeney, who originated The Straight Story as writer/producer, makes her directorial debut with another Midwestern small-town slice of life forming an interesting comparison piece with Twin Peaks - perhaps even more so with The Return
MARCH
Following a frequently dark and dramatic season, Mad Men leaves us with a bouncy Billy Wilder-esque caper as Draper's merry band conspires to both save and abandon Sterling Cooper; meanwhile, a marriage reaches its own long-awaited crossroads
A Mark Frost-directed political thriller proves timely for both the 2020 campaign and the release of a Frost interview book, as I release my final podcasts before the era of new Journey Through Twin Peaks begins (along with, well, other things)
Next: The Audiovisual Runway (March - May 2020)
(in which I resume and wrap up YouTube video series on my way to covering season three in Journey Through Twin Peaks)
•
(in which I resume and wrap up YouTube video series on my way to covering season three in Journey Through Twin Peaks)
•
Previous: Neptune's Orbit (June - August 2019)
No comments:
Post a Comment