Copie's Choice for the weekend of July 8

Published: Fri, 07/08/22

I hope that you had a fun and safe 4th of July!

Two weeks ago, in place of my regular email of recommendations, I wrote you an essay with my thoughts on the Supreme Court’s ruling taking away the Constitutionally guaranteed reproductive rights of women in this country. I heard from so many of you that last week, I asked if you’d like to see more pieces like the one I wrote on Roe and whether you’d read them if I created a weekly blog. The response I’ve received in favor of such an endeavor has been overwhelming.

Beginning next week, I’m going to write a weekly essay on politics, the news, current events or whatever else I think is important and need illumination and discussion The plan is to send them out on Wednesdays. The name of the blog will be COPELAND’S CORNER, just like my weekly podcast that you can listen to here.

For the first few weeks I’ll send the blog out to people on the current mailing list. After that, it will only go to those who subscribe to a mailing list that’s specifically for COPELAND’S CORNER. I don’t want to send my opinion pieces to people who don’t want to read them, hence the special list. It will be available for signup next week. In the interim, if you’re interested, look for a piece from me in your mailbox this coming Wednesday.

As for Copie’s Choice, here’s what I have for you this week:

MOVIE

I went with my son Casey last night to a screening of the new Marvel movie, THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER, starring Chris Hemsworth, Christian Bale, Tessa Thompson and Natalie Portman. Bottom line, if you like superhero pictures, you’ll love it. If you don’t, it’s not for you.

I’m a HUGE fan of the genre, so I loved it. I especially like the way that the tone of the last couple of Thor pictures has lightened up. There’s lots that’s funny here. The best part of the movie for me is seeing Dr. Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), Thor’s love interest, wield his hammer to become “The Mighty Thor” in her own right. I love how Marvel is making it a point to showcase girls and women in their films and television shows, not as "damsels in distress," but as heroines in their own right. As the soon to be grandfather of a baby girl, I love the showcasing of female empowerment.

CAUTION: If you plan on bringing small kids, the "S word" is used frequently throughout.
If you like superhero movies, GO.

LISTENING TO

It’s hard to believe that it’s been 41 years since Rick Springfield released the album WORKING CLASS DOG, which featured the iconic hits JESSIE’S GIRL and I’VE DONE EVERYTHING FOR YOU (written by Sammy Hagar). To commemorate the anniversary, during the lockdown, Rick put together a band and rerecorded the album live from his studio in Malibu. Every track from the original album is there with some improvised riffs and changes along the way.

I was a big fan of the original album and it’s been one of the coolest things in my career to have opened for him a few dozen times in concert. Great guy. Listen on iTunes, Spotify or wherever you get your music.

WATCHING

I realize that I’m REALLY late to the party on this one, but with the 30-year federal prison sentence handed down to R. Kelly this week, I was curious to see the 2019 documentary series that put his conviction in motion, SURVIVING R. KELLY. I also watched the sequel series on what happened after the original documentary aired.

Seeing how he sexually abused, brainwashed, tortured and used underage girls of color sickened me. As with the Cosby case, my only question is, why did it take decades for this abuse to come to light?? This kind of stuff doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Kelly (and Cosby) clearly had enablers who, at worst, assisted in facilitating the crimes or at the very least were aware of them yet turned a blind eye to what was going on.

At least Kelly’s victims got a measure of justice. A 30-year federal prison means just that; 30 years. There is no parole in the federal prison system so this 55-year-old man will serve every second of it.

If you haven’t seen these documentaries (and you can stomach the descriptions of Kelly’s abuse), you can see them on Netflix.

CARLIN

On a less sickening and depressing note, I saw the two-part documentary, GEORGE CARLIN’S AMERICAN DREAM on HBO Max this week. It’s one of the best researched, most informative and thoroughly entertaining documentaries I’ve ever seen. It’s Carlin’s story from “cradle to grave,” the good, the bad and the ugly. The man was an insightful genius.

DEFINITELY SEE THIS!

I had the pleasure of interviewing him on television in the late 90s. I was amazed by what a humble, down to earth guy he was. The man was a living legend at the time and treated everybody around him like he was their friendly next-door neighbor. My biggest regret is that I never got a chance to see him perform live. It would have been a masterclass in socially relevant comedy.

PODCAST

I just finished the first three episodes of RECLAIMED by ABC NEWS. It’s about Mamie Till-Mobley, the mother of Emmett Till, the 14-year-old Chicago boy who was tortured, beaten, shot in the head and thrown in the Tallahatchie River in August of 1955 because a white woman lied and claimed that he grabbed her and propositioned her.

The podcast is the story of the resilience of this woman, who worked so hard to get justice for her son and ended up lighting the fuse that became the Civil Rights Movement. I was surprised to learn that when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on that Montgomery, Alabama, bus, she was thinking of Emmett Till’s brutal murder when she did it.

DEFINITELY LISTEN!

That’s it for this week. Remember to look for the first COPELAND’S CORNER blog on Wednesday of next week!

Have a wonderful weekend.

Copie
BrianCopeland.com