#his picture with danny glover is so precious

[illiana-mystery]

Flight of the Intruder (1991)

[tabloidtoc]

National Examiner, January 25

Cover: Secret Dawn Wells took to the grave: her affair with Bob Denver of Gilligan’s Island 

Page 2: Best and Worst Celeb Tippers -- Katherine Heigl, Amy Schumer, Drew Barrymore, Jessica Simpson, Britney Spears, Madonna, Johnny Depp, Jay-Z 

Page 3: Charlie Sheen, Ben Affleck, Sean Penn, Sharon Stone, Naomi Campbell, Mark Zuckerberg, Tom Selleck and Donnie Wahlberg took the 2020 Tip Challenge 

Page 4: Goldie Hawn’s movie roles 

Page 6: Melissa Gilbert who played Laura Ingalls on Little House on the Prairie says if there’s one piece of unfinished business that emerged from the show it’s that she’d like to punch former co-star Shannen Doherty -- Shannen was only 12 when she joined the Little House cast for the show’s ninth and final season playing Jenny Wilder but in a couples therapy session with her first husband Bo Brinkman it came out that Shannen at 22 had bagged Bo in bed 

Page 7: Country star Dolly Parton may be 75 year old but that doesn’t stop her from leaping out of bed at 3 a.m. every morning -- she’s a very very very early riser and she goes to bed pretty early but she’s up and down

* Tom Hanks has been in countless movies and TV shows but his most important role in life has been as a father of four and he has tips for how to do it right 

Page 8: If you’ve soured on feeding canned dog food to your precious pooch you’re not alone -- plenty of owners are switching over to healthy people-food diets for their pets but it’s essential to get guidance from your veterinarian 

Page 9: Most of your kitty’s diet should be a nutritionally complete cat food but you can give them a treat from your plate every once in a while -- you just need to know how to choose feline-friendly snacks with nutrients they need and which they should NEVER eat -- check with your veterinarian 

* Why animals creep into our dreams -- we all dream about animals from time to time and here are some of the most common creatures of our nights and what they could be trying to tell us 

Page 10: On his 21st birthday Matt Goodman raised a glass to his late father who had left behind the money to buy his son’s first beer 

Page 11: Your Health -- the stark truth is that sleeping naked is good for you 

Page 12: Top Guns -- these Hollywood stars were fastest on the draw -- James Garner, Henry Fonda, Eli Wallach, Burt Lancaster, Roy Rogers 

Page 13: Kevin Costner, Yul Brynner, Gary Cooper, Clint Eastwood, John Wayne 

Page 14: Dear Tony, America’s Top Psychic Healer -- a lesson from COVID-19 which is work on mentally healing ourselves, Tony predicts Miley Cyrus will struggle to overcome many of her self-destructive habits, finding strength through religion and she will be back on the hit parade come summer 

Page 15: If you and your partner fight a lot here’s a great idea to grasp: holding each other’s hand is the key to better conflict resolution 

Page 16: Prince William and Duchess Kate Middleton might be royals but they’re raising their children just like any other parents and family is their first priority and Will and Kate are rarely apart from their three kids Prince George and Prince Charlotte and Prince Louis 

Page 18: Maggie the shelter stray was twice unlucky when two potential forever homes kicked her to the curb but now she’s found her true calling as a beloved K-9 officer 

Page 19: A homeless man in Atlanta put his life on the line to rescue every single cat and dog from a blazing inferno at an animal shelter 

Page 20: Cover Story -- a three-hour tour that turned into a three-season laugh-fest on Gilligan’s Island made Dawn Wells a star and she took the show’s juiciest secrets to her grave including a red-hot affair with co-star Bob Denver -- Dawn who died of complications related to COVID-19 at age 82 hid a crazy sexy side which she kept under wraps because it was the exact opposite of the squeaky-clean image se presented to the world as farm girl Mary Ann on Gilligan’s Island 

Page 22: This Michigan teen is a top Elvis Presley impersonator even performing in Las Vegas and the only one with Down syndrome 

Page 24: Texas firefighters were hailed as heroes after they rescued a four-year-old boy who had fallen down a well 

Page 25: Here’s the dirt on soil-free gardening 

Page 26: Nice Work If You Can Get It -- celebs shell out stupid money for stupid jobs -- Rod Stewart travels with a room-darkening team, Lady Gaga hates to sleep alone and her personal assistant had to get in bed with her on nights when Gaga was solo, Larry Ellison likes to play basketball on his yacht and employs a person who job it is to circle it in a boat and retrieve stray balls from the ocean, Mariah Carey has a woman who stands beside her at all times holding a drink, Snoop Dogg pays a professional blunts roller, Prince Charles has a personal dresser, Justin Bieber’s entourage includes someone to hold his drink and another to hold his slice of pizza, Sean Combs has an assistant whose only job is to carry around an umbrella for him 

Page 28: Burt Lancaster was one of Hollywood’s biggest stars acting in more than 70 movies during a four-decade-long career but he was also a silly practical joker says his daughter Joanna Lancaster one of the actor’s five children 

Page 30: Legendary actress and dancer Ann-Marget will be 80 years old in April but she’s still stepping out and making movies -- you’re not dead when you reach a certain age said the star who shot to fame when she famously dated Elvis Presley when they made Viva Las Vegas in 1964 

* Candice Bergen running wild and free at age 74 -- she recently became a first-time grandmother and is selling her hand-designed merchandise online 

* What is Marie Osmond doing during the pandemic? She bought a Harley motorcycle and so did her husband Steve and they love to go riding together -- the twosome also take walks and see their kids and grandkids and stay busy and have fun 

Page 42: All Washed Up -- surprising facts about bathing and showering 

Page 44: Eyes on the Stars -- Ellen DeGeneres goes for a spin in California (picture), Chrissy Teigen and John Legend take their kids Luna and Miles to watch planes make the tricky landing at St. Barts’ airport (picture), Joan Collins claims she once gave Bobby Kennedy the brush off because neither of them was single at the time, George Clooney can’t bear the thought of his early film Grizzly II seeing the light of day but it is set to be released later this year, Barry Gibb the last living member of The Bee Gees says life was incredibly hard after losing his brothers and bandmates Robin Gibb and Maurice Gibb who died in 2012 and 2003, Ray Liotta and Jacy Nittolo engaged, Bob Seger paid tribute to saxophonist Alto Reed a longtime member of his Silver Bullet Band who lost his life to colon cancer 

Page 45: Prince Charles and Duchess Camilla show off their walking sticks outside their home at Birkhall in Scotland (picture), Tori Spelling gets some puppy love from one of their pet pooches in L.A. with help from hubby Dean McDermott (picture), Megan Fox has moved on with Machine Gun Kelly and her estranged husband Brian Austin Green isn’t moping solo -- he vacationed in Hawaii with Sharna Burgess of Dancing with the Stars, British photographer David Bailey is dishing on his storied career in his memoir -- he claims sloshed Elizabeth Taylor tried to swipe his camera and his first impression of ex-wife Catherine Deneuve was that she was short and a bit on the fat side, Phyllis McGuire who shared the stage with her late siblings Dorothy and Ruby as the McGuire Sisters died in her lavish Las Vegas home -- she found fame through her voice and infamy through her relationship with Sin City mobster Sam Giancana 

Page 46: Good-hearted sheriff’s deputies surprised a woman with a vehicle after they kept getting calls about her walking along the highway in the freezing cold each morning 

Page 47: These UN Ambassadors use star power to help -- Emma Watson, Danny Glover, Nicole Kidman, Angelina Jolie, Antonio Banderas, Whoopi Goldberg, Susan Sarandon, Liam Neeson, Laurence Fishburne, Mia Farrow, Katy Perry, Alyssa Milano 

[twoguystrybbq-blog]

Arthur Bryant’s Barbeque

Ben:

I feel like I should be embarrassed that I hadn’t yet tried Arthur Bryant’s. It is, after all, what I’d consider one of the few major heavyweights of Kansas City barbecue. Along with Arthur Bryant’s, we’ve got Joe’s, Gates, Jack Stack… and that’s about it. As we’re seeing, there’s no shortage of world class barbecue outside of those few, but they remain the titans of the scene -- the most well known and long-respected barbecue joints.

And I had never been to Arthur Bryant’s. Hell, I don’t even think I had tried the sauce, which is ubiquitous at all Kansas City Price Choppers (“P-Chops,” if you’re cool). But to be honest, I think I subconsciously always had my reasons. The logo reminds me of Famous Dave’s -- a barbecue chain I’d loosely consider the Chili’s of barbecue. The aesthetic of Arthur Bryant’s is simple; they’re not making an effort to attract me as a customer. There’s no cool gimmick about the location (compared to, say, Joe’s at a gas station). There’s only a couple of locations in Kansas City (compared to Gates, which has six). For whatever, reason, Arthur Bryant’s had always avoided my radar.

Until now. This would be our first stop at a heavyweight of Kansas City barbecue.

We had decided earlier in the week to hit up Arthur Bryant’s, and Leo told me “go hungry.” Per custom, that’s never a problem. What am I going to do, pack in a country breakfast before eating world class barbecue? Of course not; this isn’t my first rodeo and thankfully isn’t even close to my last.

We visited Arthur Bryant’s for a late lunch on a Saturday after, you guessed it, a night of over-serving ourselves the night before. But, in our defense, I offer two credible reasons for our drinking. 1) Hungover hungry barbecue is absolutely the best barbecue; and 2) it would be irresponsible to not purchase three-dollar shots.

In any event, I skipped breakfast, and by the time Leo arrived at my apartment around 2:00 pm, the hunger was something fierce. I left Gracie a fresh bone to occupy her time and we were off into the rainy Kansas City afternoon.

My first impression of Arthur Bryant’s is everything I’d expect: in an old but large building and a line out the door. The line is, of course, a good and bad sign. The good: the food is so good people are willing to wait. The bad: I was starving. I peeked inside to survey the line and was pleasantly surprised it wasn’t too tightly packed and, like any good barbecue joint, customers are moving through quickly.

Once our spot in line moved inside, we had plenty of opportunity to admire Arthur Bryant’s wall of accomplishments -- articles, awards, plaques, thank you notes from celebrities, and the restaurant’s most recent claim to fame, the Obama visit (next to a less prominently featured photo of John McCain and Sarah Palin sharing a plate of brisket). This place clearly has some history and is a true destination for barbecue.

I loved ordering at Arthur Bryant’s. The counter set up is one of my favorites unique to barbecue joints: you speak to one employee who completes your entire order by cutting the meat right in front of you. It’s like an old-fashioned ice cream parlour, but better, because it’s meat.

After some discussion, Leo and I decided to eat our barbecue family style; we’d split brisket, ribs, burnt ends, baked beans, and fries. A feast was in order.

By the time we had both ordered our respective halves of the meal, grabbed the necessary utensils, and seated ourselves, I was frantic with hunger, ready to plunge into our magnificent bounty. Like asking a child on Christmas morning to hold off on opening his gifts, I had Leo hold off for a few precious seconds so I could snap a handful of photos of meat piles in front of us.

I can’t recall what item I tried first, but what I do recall is this: every single bite of Arthur Bryant’s was superb. Elite barbecue. If I had to pick my favorite, I’d go with the brisket. It was thin sliced, Kansas City style. Not greasy, but incredibly moist. It’s the type of brisket that really allows the flavor of the meat to shine; I could eat a pound of this brisket without sauce or bread. It’s like a fine steak… only better.

And the sauce. Remember, I had never even tried Arthur Bryant’s famous sauce. Each table has three sauce options: Original, Rich and Spicy, or Sweet Heat. The original here is actually pretty unique. It’s not thick or sweet, but rather super tangy, and pairs perfectly with everything (my personal favorite was to drizzle the sauce over a heap of brisket on top of a slice of bread, allowing the bread to sop up all that goodness). The Sweet Heat was more akin to what I expect from a traditional Kansas City sauce -- thicker and sweeter. But the original, man. The original sauce is a “must try” in the pantheon of Kansas City sauces.

Simply put, my entire meal at Arthur Bryant’s was one of the best barbecue experiences I’ve ever had. The ribs, like the brisket, were moist but not greasy, with the meat sliding right off the bone. The burnt ends fall apart on the plate, leaving you a mess of meaty goodness with bursts of charred flavor. The beans were just the right amount of sweetness. And to pack it all in, we had a mountain fries; fries that could be dipped in barbecue sauce, juices from the burnt ends, or some magical mixture of both.

In the religion of barbecue, Arthur Bryant’s is the Vatican. It’s Mecca. It’s the Bodhi Tree. You owe it to yourself to make the pilgrimage.

After about fifteen minutes of gorging myself, I was approaching my breaking point -- fullness was nigh. I didn’t want to stop. One more fry. One more slice of brisket. Maybe pick at the rib a bit more. Arthur Bryant’s is so good that even when I’m full to the point of pain, I keep pushing forward, onward toward meat sweats and an inevitable meat nap.

Our feast at Arthur Bryant’s was the only meal I had that day. And, to be honest, I’d have no problem with making that my only meal every single Saturday. On the drive home, Leo and I couldn’t stop talking about just how damn satisfying the meal was, how it’s incomparable. Each week I struggle to find new ways to describe the unique experience of eating world-class barbecue, and this was no different. For lack of a better word, I’ll leave Arthur Bryant’s at “incomparable.”

Leo:

The best yet.

Thunder cracked, lightning flashed, and rain poured down as I rushed out to my car.  “Whew,” I thought, “what a great day for a rain!”  Prior to the storm, it had been about 95 degrees outside, but now it was down in the 70’s.  I didn’t even need the air conditioning!  The night before, I had bested Ben 3-out-of-five Bocce ball and my “reward” was a shot of Fireball.  Due, at least in part, to this “reward,” I was feeling it and had been struggling with a headache all morning.  The abatement of the heat was much welcome and I felt my headache start to slip away.

While Ben and I could have met at Arthur Bryant’s, I volunteered to drive because I wanted to see his new dog Gracie.  Gracie is awesome!  But the last time I went over to Ben’s, she barked a bit and growled at me for a few minutes before she warmed up to me.  I hoped this time would be different.  I knocked at the door: “Baaaark,”said Gracie.  “shhhhh, it’s just Leo,” said Ben.  The door opened and Gracie barked again and growled a bit.  I held out my hand for her to smell me and this time, instead of retreating away, she smelt me and became a big ol’ cuddlebug.  “Great!” I thought, “she remembers me.”

I petted Gracie for a bit until Ben said that he hadn’t eaten all day (it was about 2:00 pm) and I got the signal that it was time to go.  We said goodbye to Gracie and walked out of Ben’s apartment.  It had stopped raining, but it was still cool and it was nice to ride to Arthur Bryant’s with the windows down.  And, as it turns out, Arthur Bryant’s is only a six-minute drive away from Ben’s apartment.  Because it was well past lunch time, I figured that we wouldn’t have much of a wait, which was good because I was getting hungry, too.

We pulled up and I found a parking spot right on the street.  We also noticed a group of people standing in front of Arthur Bryant’s.  “Surely, that’s not the line,” I thought, “it has got to be some kind of group that is leaving or is waiting to go in.”  But it was the line, all the way from the cash register to outside the front door. 

 We stood in line and talked about the Handmaid’s Tale (which is excellent, by-the-by) and looked at all the pictures and news articles on the walls.  Arthur Bryant’s clearly had a history of being a well-respected barbeque restaurant!  We saw pictures of Hollywood stars (Danny Glover and Steven Spielberg) and President Obama and Senator John McCain.  

Then, we saw the menu.  I’d eaten at Arthur Bryant’s once before with my roommates and we ordered several pounds of meat and two or three sides to share.  I mentioned that this might be a good way to get a taste of different meats instead of getting a sandwich and Ben agreed.  At first, we were going to get two pounds of meat, a half-rack of ribs and two sides.  Did I mention we were hungry?  Luckily the line was long enough for us to think about this decision and we decided to get a pound and a half of meat instead of two pounds.  We ordered a pound of brisket, a half-pound of burnt ends (yes, a pound of burnt ends costs the same as a pound of any other meat!), a half-rack of ribs, an order of fries, and a side of beans.  

The food was ready very quickly and then we were sitting at a table with a feast before us.  Where to start?  I decided to try out the sauces with a couple fries to see which the best was (by-the-by an order of fries is a tray of fries, so, so many fries).  There were Original, Rich & Spicy, and Sweet Heat, each with its own consistency and color.  The Original was a tangy delight and I could immediately taste why Arthur Bryant’s had won so many awards.  The Rich & Spicy added a kick of heat to make things interesting.  But the Sweet Heat was my favorite.  It was the thickest of the three sauces and was the perfect blend of sweet, the Original’s tang, and just enough heat to keep your mouth constantly watering.  Enough fries! On to the meat!

I grabbed a rib and slathered it in Sweet Heat.  Oh my God.  It was the best rib that I’d had in memory.  It was smoky and delicious.  The meat was just the right amount of tender.  

Then, I got some of the burnt ends.  I can’t explain how good these burnt ends were!  They gave me a whole new category of good barbeque.  While other burnt ends were good because they were buttery, fall-apart-in-your-mouth good, Arthur Bryant’s burnt ends were tender and so rich.  Little squares of heaven.  I had a couple that were charred and these were the best because you could taste the years of flavor that had built up in the smoker.

Lastly, I got to the brisket.  I piled a heaping helping onto my tray and covered it in Original, Rich & Spicy, and Sweet Heat.  Again, it was tender without being fatty.  It was smoky without overpowering the taste of the meat.  It was a beautiful combination of the meat, the rub, and the sauce, all of which came through to my taste buds.  As quick as I could, I was through with the first pile of brisket and I got some more and some more burnt ends.

This whole time, Ben and I were mostly silent except to comment on how good the meal was.  I think a comment arose that “all other BBQ only tastes good because I’d forgotten how good Arthur Bryant’s is.”  That comment sums up our experience nicely.  

We had so much food.  I can eat a lot and was stuffed before the end of the meal.  We made it all the way through the meat and then divvied up the remaining fries and beans (which made a nice snack later!).  We walked back out to the car in stunned silence.  I couldn’t believe it was over!  I wanted to go back and get more barbeque, despite my stuffedness.  Whew, it was good!  All we could talk about on the way home was how great Arthur Bryant’s was and that it was the best so far.  Other places have one or two items that you must try, but everything at Arthur Bryant’s was amazing.  If you can only go to one barbeque joint in KC, it has got to be Arthur Bryant’s.  But we’ve only been to six restaurants so far, so maybe I’ll have to revise this opinion in time.

Well, I hope that you are hungry!  If you don’t have lunch plans today, you should go to Arthur Bryant’s!!!  

[nonoboymusic]

Monday Music: Parekh & Singh / Wes Anderson & Colonial Legacy

A lovely, little group to stumble across as the summer nights linger a little longer than we deserve in the northern hemisphere and we have need of songs with which to further enjoy the lengthened twilights and unnamable oranges and pinks which play on clouds or air pollution, depending on your location.

The venn diagram of people who would enjoy Parekh & Singh and people who would enjoy quirky coming of age comedies with an OCD level of attention to whimsical detail and the meticulous direction of Wes Anderson, has a large overlap, as you can see in the chart below.

It is then a smart branding move of Parekh & Singh, with their perfectly pocket sized indie dream pop tunes to make music videos in tribute to Wes Anderson, the divisive, brilliant auteur, and favorite of the indie set. 

I quite like this music. It’s good. But, what I find really interesting here, is thinking about Wes Anderson’s films and specifically the criticism he faces when it comes to his handling of minority and foreign characters, especially in the context of two Indian guys taking his work, which at times has indeed, been questionable, especially in its portrayel of Parekh & Singh’s fellow countrymen, and other south asians.  

I’m an ardent W.A. fan, but I do not mind if people jump on Anderson for Gene Hackman’s character being openly (and hilariously) racist in Royal Tenenbaums or if they have a problem with Owen Wilson’s Custer obsessed, war paint donning character in the same film. In all honesty, the mention of the tongue-in-cheek “Chick-chaw” trail in Moonrise Kingdom always makes me cringe, even though I love that film. I appreciate when people are aware enough to point out uncomfortable moments of appropriation in his films and I do not make apologies for him. But, I personally don’t get too bent out of shape over that stuff when it pops up in movies, especially when I think that this director (white man, he may be) is smart enough and sensitive enough to be pointing out the problems of race in society through showing cartoon versions of racism. My argument would be that Anderson doesn’t get race right all the time, but he might actually be doing better work with it than we might have previously thought, given the knock that Wes Anderson and White are synonyms.

(Eli Cash high on mescaline wearing war paint, Royal Tenenbaums)

Take Royal Tenenbaums. Hackman’s character Royal is an admitted “asshole” after all and his racism is a part of that lost old white man-ness of his character. Eli Cash, Owen Wison’s character, and the other great offender within the ensemble cast, is a drug addicted sendup of white academics who get way to deep into the culture they “study,” and go totally off the rails, wearing funny hats and in Cash’s case, writing in a “sort of obsolete vernacular.” The one prominent black character in any of Anderson’s ensemble casts is Henry Sherman, played by Danny Glover. Sherman certainly is largely there as a target for Hackman’s racist comedy (”Coltrane,” “You want to talk some jive!? I’ll talk some jive!”) but Glover’s character is also successful accountant and ends up marrying Royal’s wife, played by Anjelica Houston, which obviously upends a lot of stereotypes of black folks in cinema. 

(The great back and forth between Glover and Hackman, Royal Tenenbaums)

Thinking about it now, I actually think Royal’s racist moments, are not only for easy-ish laughs, but to also identify him as a man out of time, as a tragically flawed hero. In many ways, Royal Tenenbaums is a very American movie, about a family which chases innovation and prestige, dedicating itself to upholding a strong protestant work ethic, only to come up short despite all of their talent because in the end the world is hard and we are all broken to some degree, and all that really matters is love and tending your own garden, as Voltaire might say. The tragedy and triumph of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s writing and life sings throughout all of Anderson’s American set films (especially in RT and Rushmore, which was inspired by Fitzgerald’s “The Last Tycoon”).  

What better sin to possess the patriarch of this dying star of an American family with than a kind of dwindling, last gasp of the white supremacy. Royal has to overcome many things in order to redeem himself by films end -- abandoning his family -- but he also must overcome a bigoted white machismo, as he finds himself outmatched not only by a changing, more progressive society, but also more directly by a strong, smart, and handsome black man, who has won the heart of his wife, because he is a better man than our hero could ever be. 

Just because an issue is dark and complicated, doesn’t mean it can’t serve well in a colorful comedy--see the way Anderson also handles mental illness, anxiety and suicide in this film, in a way which doesn’t drag the proceedings into total despair, or interrupt the pace, or comedic stability of the overall work, but at the same time, does not treat these topics as inconsequential, but in fact addresses them with respect. 

(Royal Tenenbaum and Henry Sherman making amends, Royal Tenenbaums)

In short, I think it’s fair to criticize Anderson. If you just don’t like his style, fair, his talent may not engulf you the way it does myself and other fans, and this certainly alters how we view his appropriation, or how he writes for characters of color. I get it. It’s fair to cry foul over a movie like Tarantino’s Django Unchained, and say, maybe, white film makers just shouldn’t put words into the mouths of black actors when explosive issues of race are involved. I can respect that because it comes from a position of historical knowledge in which, taking in the scope of slavery, anti-blackness, civil rights, and white supremacy, it’s almost too much to deal with, and honestly, who needs a white guy trying to write blackness onto the screen, especially when plenty of black filmmakers don’t get the same shot. 

If you don’t like Anderson’s precious, meticulous aesthetic (or Tarantino’s over the topness, for that matter), which I can understand, his inclusion of minorities and foreigners (which he has made a space for since his first film) is an easy target. But I think it’s worthwhile to consider this: W.A. is a white dude writing racially charged dialogues and characters, but what is that dialogue and what are those characters doing?

(Anthony, Inez, and Dignan from Bottle Rocket)

I met Wes once, at an NPR office of all places, and so I picture his tired but kind, press tour handshake and smile, when I think of him as I write this. He wears his influences on his sleeve. A white, liberal boy from Texas with a hard on for 60s European cinema and British folk/rock music, who is a nice guy in an expensive camel hair blazer. A soft voiced auteur who seems both normal and a bit snobby, with a singular vision within filmmaking. 

Still, I can sympathize with those critics who call him out, and I don’t necessarily disagree with their points. It’s important to have watchdogs out there to not let people get away with shit concerning race, because some really serious, bad stuff can go down if marginalization is the norm, like life or death stuff, not just annoyances from silly movies. Although, I do feel bad for these critics if they haven’t experienced  the brilliance of Rushmore, the first movie I remember sitting down and watching and afterwards, coming out of the theater,  telling my buddies Josh and Phillip, whoa, that was like a really good film.

(”Payback Scene” from Rushmore, featuring The Who’s “A Quick One While He’s Away”

So, back to Parekh & Singh... Two private school kids from Kolkata who do the indie dream pop thing as well as anyone in the states or Britain, with no trace of an accent. Obviously, British colonialism has left a trace on these guys. Is that a bad thing? Well, I sure like this music, and judging from their pin-point accuracy in performing this style, they sure like British music and have studied the great indie pop of the 90s and 00s from the isles and stateside. And what does their adoption of the Anderson aesthetic in their promotional videos and photographs say? Well, obviously, like many indie pop fans, they enjoy his films. It’s an eye catching visual to replicate and it got my attention, as I would imagine it got many of the hundreds of thousands of people who have viewed their videos’ attention. 

The intrigue arrives when we consider that Anderson’s least successful film, both as a film and a cultural product handling race, is Darjeeling Limited. It’s his most exploitative work by a mile, setting a story of three rich white brothers (played by Jason Schwartzman, Owen Wilson, and Adrian Brody) on a farce of a spiritual journey to reconnect with their nun-mother who is living somewhere in India. They travel by train and India, like classic films from the 50s and 60s, stands in for the “exotic” locale where rich white people find out something. 

(Darjeeling Limited trailer)

There are two supporting actors of south asian descent on the train --which serves brilliantly from a cinematography point of view as the main setting-- played by Amara Karan and Waris Ahluwalia, but they have little more complexity than the colored folks in a Tin Tin comic, that is to say not much (that is to also say, I cherish my Tin Tin comics, even Le Lotus Bleu.)

(Amara Karan plays “Rita” in Darjeeling Limited)

The criticism of Anderson, privileged, white boy director, is most founded here. The movie--rewatching some scenes, now--still has a ton of great moments, though the script is more uneven than his best work (especially the films cowritten by Owen Wilson) and the chemistry between the leads is not great. But when it comes to his treatment of India, there are a number of head shaking moments to choose falling into the cliches of bad, racist costuming, cultural mishandling (especially in terms of religion), exoticization of "oriental” women, white savior complexes, and the fact that the country is little more than literal window dressing from the inside of a train, a liminal but safe compartment from which these three western brothers bicker like children and try to find meaning while taking drugs, fucking hot chicks, and being tourists playing at the Beatles-y spirituality which so many westerners define India by. So, criticism deserved on this one, I say. It’s one thing when W.A.’s setting is Brooklyn or a prep school, because Anderson has some ownership over this cultural context. He has very little ownership over India. He took a trip there, enjoys Bollywood, but the conflation of the country and the superficiality with which he treats it, especially given how necessarily superficial and visually focused his movies are, that’s a little bit of a deal. 

Still, some great scenes, amazing shots, great use of The Kinks, and funny lines. 

(Brody, Wilson, and Schwartzmen in Darjeeling Limited)

So, the question I would love answered is what do Parekh & Singh think, as Indian dudes who love Wes Anderson about Darjeeling Limited. They probably love it, the same way, as an east/southeast asian dude, I really like Karate Kid or don’t actually mind Last Samurai, because 1.) Tom Cruise is fucking awesome always (in movies) and 2.) it’s a fucking movie and my outrage is better spent elsewhere. But, perhaps there’s something more annoying about Anderson’s missteps in Darjeeling than those hollywood blockbusters precisely because Anderson wears a camel hair blazer to an NPR interview with Robin Young. Artsy, bookish liberals are supposed to know better where big hollywood productions don’t give a shit about race sensitivity and just want to make money, so, duh, Tom Cruise totally should be the centerpiece of a movie that takes place in Japan. Still, I’m curious what Parekh and Singh would think (I’ve also texted several south asian friends on their Darjeeling feelings, realizing I’ve never asked). 

Anderson’s aesthetic is highly colonial. He loves the prim and proper style of the British Empire, the bright colors of the military uniforms, and the organization inherit in Britain’s grotesque domination of much of the world in the 19th and 20th century. 

(British Colonial style)

Musically, Anderson’s heavy use of 1960s British music is interesting because it came at a pivotal time in British and western history. It was the soundtrack of a dying Empire and an emerging globalized (American) world. I ask myself, was the British Invasion with all of its appropriation (Rolling Stones=Blues, then country, Kinks=Rock, Hillbilly) the swan song of an empire or a the sonic marking of a sea change towards a more progressive society? 

(The Kinks)

Concerning film, Anderson borrows heavily from French New Wave cinema and classic Italian masters, and we must ask, similarly to his British Invasion admiration/fetish, is this a continuation of brilliant but white-washed and colonial film making in the guise of mid century cultural change within these respective western european countries, or was this film making truly pushing towards a more culturally inclusive and aware future?

(Seberg et Belmondo, A Bout de Souffle (Breathless))

So, again, Parekh & Singh: Sons of colonial subjects taking the culture of their former conquerers and making their own music, or subjects of a continued colonial legacy? Probably both. Having grown up Vietnamese, but fully appreciating the French culture my mother was born into in Saigon, I don’t think it’s such an easy thing to demarcate. French culture is my culture, even if, I think French colonialism was bullshit, horrible, and wrong. British culture is Indian culture for some Indians, probably moreso of upper class kids like Parekh and Singh, and their private school crowd. No judgement on any individual actors. By looking at their work, as well as Anderson’s we can take a minute to reflect on the deeply engrained transnational, colonial influences, and the good and bad of this legacy in art, and in the world.

At the end of the day, this is talented group making good tunes and using a popular director’s style to promote their music, and I’m fine leaving it there. As an academic-ish, I do appreciate their videos for making me think more deeply about Anderson’s work and history, I guess. 

Also, I want to mention, that, after Darjeeling Limited and the ultra-white, school boy fantasy Moonrise Kingdom (a great film, despite the “Chick-chaw trail), I really loved Anderson’s next film Grand Budapest Hotel featured Tony Revolori, a Guatemalan-American actor as the film’s hero. I’m sure Parekh & Singh, like myself, appreciated seeing a brown skin kid as their hero, especially in what was perhaps Anderson’s best work to date.

(Tony Revolori as Zero in Grand Budapest Hotel)