Bit of a break from regular programming here — sorry if you were expecting another scintillating essay on Israel/Palestine. But for the first time, watching a movie motivated me to track down the director and interview him about it, in hopes that I could encourage more people to watch. The movie is called
I watched Jasper Mall last fall but had not encountered anyone else who had until your mention in this podcast. I've always been interested in decaying malls, so I watched. Got way more than I bargained for, though. I was depressed for a week. The old people, yes, but the young, too. "Liked" seems the wrong word, but it's funny how much of it I still vividly remember and think about from time to time.
I'll watch Some Kind of Heaven and hope I don't get equally depressed. Probably not, because after reading the Wiki entry for The Villages, I kind of want to move there! The low crime and low nonsense makes it sound like an American utopia compared to most of the US. The drawback is I don't care for cruise-ship-director type activities. I'll save further comment until I watch.
Okay, I've watched it now. My key takeaway: I don't want to move there. Way too much of a cruise ship "fun activities yay" vibe. If that's your thing, it might be great. But not for me. A quiet house on a golf course is a better fit for me. The reasons retired people move are, in my opinion, pretty pedestrian. Get away from kid noise, dog noise, maybe go to a tax-free state. No school system to support with property taxes. Nicer weather.
It was depressing to see how the years catch up to all of us, but I don't think those people at any age were a crowd I'd have enjoyed. People in their 70's and 80's acting like high schoolers hoping to get a date? But everyone's different and to each his own, and maybe the documentary focused more on the glamorous(?) and less on the mundane.
The film was apolitical -- for the better! -- despite the director's protestations. Well, I suppose it could be seen as political by the crowd that fetishizes politics and sees politics behind every tree. But that's another crowd I don't care about.
So I was surprised the podcast referred to politics so much. I sensed reviewers might have done so, and that was the driving force. I don't know. I didn't think about politics a single time, even though the podcast has primed me to do so. I listened to the podcast a second time to be sure I hadn't hallucinated the political discussion, and there was even more than I remembered.
Anyway, I found the documentary fascinating (again, "liked" seems the wrong word for such films), and I thought you did a great job with the interview.
wow, thank you so much for the recommendation! Gen-X'er here, so that age demo is getting closer on the horizon. Like Nomadland, I loved that it was a personal film. Not everything has to be sociology. Individual psychology is amazing in its own rite. Gonna let the doc settle a bit and then listen to the podcast.
I watched Jasper Mall last fall but had not encountered anyone else who had until your mention in this podcast. I've always been interested in decaying malls, so I watched. Got way more than I bargained for, though. I was depressed for a week. The old people, yes, but the young, too. "Liked" seems the wrong word, but it's funny how much of it I still vividly remember and think about from time to time.
I'll watch Some Kind of Heaven and hope I don't get equally depressed. Probably not, because after reading the Wiki entry for The Villages, I kind of want to move there! The low crime and low nonsense makes it sound like an American utopia compared to most of the US. The drawback is I don't care for cruise-ship-director type activities. I'll save further comment until I watch.
Okay, I've watched it now. My key takeaway: I don't want to move there. Way too much of a cruise ship "fun activities yay" vibe. If that's your thing, it might be great. But not for me. A quiet house on a golf course is a better fit for me. The reasons retired people move are, in my opinion, pretty pedestrian. Get away from kid noise, dog noise, maybe go to a tax-free state. No school system to support with property taxes. Nicer weather.
It was depressing to see how the years catch up to all of us, but I don't think those people at any age were a crowd I'd have enjoyed. People in their 70's and 80's acting like high schoolers hoping to get a date? But everyone's different and to each his own, and maybe the documentary focused more on the glamorous(?) and less on the mundane.
The film was apolitical -- for the better! -- despite the director's protestations. Well, I suppose it could be seen as political by the crowd that fetishizes politics and sees politics behind every tree. But that's another crowd I don't care about.
So I was surprised the podcast referred to politics so much. I sensed reviewers might have done so, and that was the driving force. I don't know. I didn't think about politics a single time, even though the podcast has primed me to do so. I listened to the podcast a second time to be sure I hadn't hallucinated the political discussion, and there was even more than I remembered.
Anyway, I found the documentary fascinating (again, "liked" seems the wrong word for such films), and I thought you did a great job with the interview.
I agree! If you haven't seen this film yet, put down your phone now and watch it. One of the best films I have ever watched.
Haven't listened to the podcast yet, but thank you so much for the recommendation. I've subscribed as a thank you. Some Kind of Heaven was that good.
Will definitely queue this up.
wow, thank you so much for the recommendation! Gen-X'er here, so that age demo is getting closer on the horizon. Like Nomadland, I loved that it was a personal film. Not everything has to be sociology. Individual psychology is amazing in its own rite. Gonna let the doc settle a bit and then listen to the podcast.