Joe Rogan Warming to Christianity?, VA Bans Iconic WWII Photo, HBO's Doc Critical of Texas Ignores IL, NY and CA, Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul Could Be Cable TV's Death Blow (The Five for 03/08/24)
Plus, Taylor Swift collaborator drops a brilliant album, Colin Farrell's new mystery series for Apple TV+ looks great...and I actually say a nice thing about bro-country duds Florida-Georgia Line.
Hey, welcome to The Five…a publication about the stories that matter.
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With that being said…let’s get into Culture & Commentary.
[one]
I rolled out of bed Wednesday morning to the strangest news of all…one of the the most iconic photos in military history had been baned (then unbanned) from VA health facilities.
Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough said the federal agency is not banning a famous WWII photograph after the circulation of a memo online declared the image banned from all Veterans Health Administration facilities.
The photo depicts a sailor kissing a woman when Japan surrendered in World War II.
According to the memo, first posted on X, formerly Twitter, Assistant Under Secretary for Health for Operations RimaAnn Nelson requested the removal of the photo from all Veterans Health Administration facilities.
A VA official told USA TODAY the memo was sent out and should not have been, and has been rescinded.
I had always assumed this was a sailor who had come home to his girlfriend/fiancée/wife after the war. In fact, it was a sailor who kissed a nurse who was passing by in New York’s Times Square. The original VA memo claimed the photo "depicts a non-consensual act" that is "inconsistent with the VA's no-tolerance policy towards sexual harassment and assault.”
Let’s zoom out here, and check out another photo from the same celebration, which are moving me to tears at this moment.
Basically, it’s like a Super Bowl parade on steroids. People hugging, spinning, dancing, shouting…and yes, kissing strangers. Just like happen at Christmas (mistle toe) and New Year’s Eve parties (kissing at midnight) for decades.
Perhaps it’s difficult, in retrospect, for us to understand the jubilation…as we knew the ending of the story of WWII from the beginning. But these people had seen their sons and daughters shipped off to war, and come home in pine boxes. Or, not come home at all.
On top of that, we assume that people were safe in the U.S. because WWII played out in Europe, Asia and North Africa. But in reality, Germany had plans to invade the U.S. going back to 1897. The idea that war would have come to U.S. soil was statistically slim, but not impossible.
The fact that the Department of Veteran’s Affairs could not grasp the context of the mood around the WII victory…well, actually makes a lot of sense…because I just remembered that the VA may have murdered more U.S. soldiers per capita than the Taliban.
Don’t fool yourself into thinking these two incident are unconnected. Bureaucrats like Undersecretary RimaAnn Nelson getting involved in interior decorating decisions, rather than focusing on running an organization committed to the wellbeing of veterans…kills soldiers.
But hey, it’s the government. So, Nelson will likely face the same penalty as the bureaucrats who ushered in the housing bubble of 2008, the bureaucrats who fumbled and lost Bin Laden when we had him cornered in Afghanistan in December 2001, and the same bureaucrats who drove tens of thousands to suicide and overdose deaths during the COVID lockdowns ( for what it turns out it was the flu all along)
Which is to say…nothing at all.
If you want to kill people, join the mafia or a street gang.
If you want kill people, get away with it and keep your pension…find a government job.
[two]
The world’s most popular podcaster, once a proponent of “New Atheism” and heavy drug use…sounds more like Billy Graham than Richard Dawkins these days.
From the Joe Rogan Experience (episode 2099 with Aaron Rodgers)
A lot of people's moral compass and the guidelines that they've used to follow to live a just and righteous life has come from religion. And unfortunately, a lot of very intelligent people They dismiss all the positive aspects of religion because they think that the stories are mere superstitious fairy tales that, you know, they're, they have no place in this modern world.
And, you know, we're inherently good and your ethics are based on your own moral compass and we all have one. And that's not necessarily true. We need to do, we need Jesus. I think for real. Like if he came back now, it'd be great. Like Jesus, if you're thinking about coming back. Right now? Now's a good time.
Pretty soon. Yeah. Now's a good time. Well, there's a lot of people think that that might be coming. Well, it might be. Mark of the beast. If there is the Christianity part and and Jesus wants to come back and save everything It'd be good right around now. Yeah, like don't wait till the election.
One of my favorite podcasters theorizes it’s not just Joe Rogan…it’s all of us. “New Atheism” seems to be dying off, and people are trying out all kinds of things to find religious meaning and belonging.
Deep Talks: Exploring Theology and Meaning Making:
What has taken place as we've been in the secular age and are are slowly moving out of that secular age in our secular age as traditional religious participation has been in decline, and we can see statistic after statistic that's demonstrated lower church attendance, et cetera, et cetera.
In that moment, we were offered a myriad of secular, what I've called substitute religions. Secular substitute religions practiced by many who genuinely, but mistakenly, have seen themselves as non religious. From an NFL football game, to a political rally, or even going to Comic Con, many who reject traditional religions turn to these experiences, which have deeply formational liturgies.
They are filled with moments for what Jonathan Haidt calls turning on the hive switch where we can get caught up in what Emile Durkheim called collective effervescence, which gives us a sense that we are not just an individual, but we are connected to something bigger than ourselves, whether that is the agenda of the group or whether there is some sort of tapping into in this collective effervescence, a sense.
That we are bigger than our own individual stories. People go to football games, political rallies, comic cons. They go to the movie theater with others. They go to a concert with others to experience this, this sense of religious awe and wonder to be shaped into a particular story, understanding how these substitute religions don't ultimately satiate human longings for deep meaning or function to sustain institutions and communities.
That contribute to the long term flourishing of humanity is essential if we're going to properly address the current meaning crisis in the West. An inability to see something like a pro football game, a political rally, or even a comic convention as a religious experience is largely the result of a failure in our modern Western imagination to properly understand and define what religion is.
There’s a glaring problem with making football…or pop culture…your god. Eventually the Chiefs dynasty ends, and your beloved Star Wars saga descends into an indiscernible mess because nobody thought to map out how the heck the trilogy was going to work BEFORE filming. And just like that, the counterfeit religions die.
But the Bible holds on, and people are still fascinated with the person of Jesus 2,000 years later.
Joe Rogan’s show works so well because he’s an everyman…which makes his warming to Christianity, not the story of a celebrity with newfound interest in Christ…so much as the nation’s spiritual restlessness.
[three]
The bias is in the subject…HBO could have just as easily made a documentary about people (like me) who had to flee their home states due to lack of economic opportunity and high taxes, but heaven forbid the corporate media examine giants take a hard look at how Chicago politics have hollowed out once bustling industrial cities in Illinois like Moline (home of John Deere) and Peoria (home of Caterpillar) who increasingly move jobs to more business friendly states like Iowa and Arkansas, respectively.
That’s not to say the series isn’t good…God Save Texas has earned high marks on Metacritic (which The Five will now use in place of Rotten Tomatoes, which has a history of corruption). I haven’t watched yet…but I don’t doubt the documentary shines a light on some very real issues (which just so happen to pop up in an election year, but that’s a story for another day).
But, it’s important to notice a similarly critical lens will never turn towards, say the homeless camps of drug addicts in San Francisco or the poor people in New York and Chicago who’s social services are being cut to give illegal migrants luxury housing.
[four]
The Five isn’t a publication that moves fast, which means for the most part, sports coverage (which changes daily) is impossible. With a staff of one (who has a full time job), there just aren’t enough hours in the day for sports writing. That being said, this boxing event could shift the entire sports and entertainment world.
Netflix is getting into combat sports in a major way, picking up what it is calling a “boxing mega-event” that will see the controversial former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson face off against YouTuber-turned-fighter Jake Paul.
Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions is partnering with Netflix on the event, which will stream live on the platform July 20 from AT&T Stadium in Dallas.
The match will be included for all Netflix subscribers (many other boxing bouts still use a pay-per-view model), though tickets will be sold to fill the 80,000-seat arena. There will also be a co-main event and undercard bouts
“Mike Tyson is one of the biggest icons in boxing history and Jake Paul is one of the biggest disruptors in boxing history,” Gabe Spitzer, vp nonfiction sports for Netflix, said in a statement. “Saturday, July 20 will be pure drama in the ring in Texas. We are thrilled to partner with Most Valuable Promotions for this historic event and we can’t wait for these two to face off for fans all across the world on Netflix.”
If you think there’s NO CHANCE a 58-year-old can beat a 27-year-old…I would challenge you to watch the footage below:
Even if you don’t care about boxing in general, or this matchup in particular…here’s what this matters:
A). Netflix has 260 million paid subscribers. If they’re getting into live sports…it changes everything. Apple TV+ already owns MLS soccer, and if the streamers start gobbling up pieces of the NBA, MLB, NHL and NFL…cable TV will essentially end within three years. Full stop.
B). Jake Paul has been a Gen-Z star since 2013…aka most of the lifespan of many of his young fans. This is yet another shift in the culture that takes away power from the traditional structures (such as Hollywood and pro sports leagues) and puts it more in the hands of individual content creators.
You’d better believe I’ll have a couch full of friends with plates full of wings on 07/20. Even if this is a bad fight, it’s still a history making cultural event.
I’m not a gambler…but this is the exception. Throwing $20 on Tyson to make it interesting.
[five]
A man in LA with slicked-back dark hair and a classic convertible solves murder mysteries while battling personal demons? Apparently Apple TV+ REALLY wanted their own version of Netflix’s The Lincoln Lawyer.
But hey, sometimes originality is overrated…this looks great, and Colin Farrell (The Batman, Horrible Bosses), fresh off an Oscar nomination, looks to be in fine acting form. Stream it April 5th.
The first full trailer for Fallout dropped. Based on a popular (and long running) IP series that’s produced seven hit video games since 1997, the story follows a young woman who’s been raised in a “vault” (underground bunker), with people who escaped the nuclear fallout…and have stayed locked away for 200 years.
Ella Purnell (Yellowjackets, Army of the Dead) plays a girl who leaves her comfortable home and enters the wasteland to help rebuild it, only to find…unfriendly people…and nuclear-waste-mutant-monster-things…and giant robots. And a cowboy who’s nose has been shot off (Walton Goggins of Justified fame). The whole thing has a really interesting 1950’s pop culture aesthetic laid overtop.
My guess is that we’re looking at a huge hit for Prime Video here, a la HBO’s success with The Last of Us game-to-show adaptation.
Stream it 04/12.
If you’ve never seen the 1999 animated film The Iron Giant, seriously, go fix that…as it’s a “kids movie” that goes deep on the fears and phobias 1950’s Cold War America. The upcoming The Wild Robot looks to hit some of the same emotional beats, depicting a robot who washes ashore on an uninhabited island and…well, basically the rest is a remake of Bambi, from what I can tell.
There are very few kids entertainment properties I would catagorize as “film” rather than just popcorn flicks, but anything that comes from the team that produced the highly underrated 2010 animated flick How to Train Your Dragon is worth your consideration.
Oh yeah, the cast includes Pedro Pascal (The Mandalorian, The Last of Us), Catherine O’Hara (Home Alone), Mark Hamill (Star Wars), Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave, Black Panther) and Ving Rhames (Pulp Fiction, The Green Mile, Misison Impossible: Dead Reckoning). 100% chance I take my five-year-old to see this in theaters.
[new music]
Bleachers (government name: Jack Antonoff) is most famous as a Taylor Swift collaborator on several albums now (Swift calls her “musical family,”), but he had a heck of a career before linking up with the world’s best-selling artist (including punk-rock outfit Steel Train and and indie darlings Fun.) and before forming Bleachers in 2012, drawing heavily from 80’s pop and college rock…as well as the sounds of his home-state hero….Bruce Springsteen (there’s a healthy dose of saxophone on this one).
Antonoff dug deep for this one, tapping into experiences surrounding the death of his sister. Sonically, it’s a joyous album, but the Jack’s pen takes the lyrics to dark corners of the soul.
A first listen is not a review…but going off what I’ve heard so far…Highly recommended.
Oh dear Lord…what is happening here? I’ve made hating the bro-country duo Florida-Georgia line a part of my personality since the Obama Administration…and guffawed when the duo broke up in 2022 after bitter in-fighting over COVID.
Well, Brian Kelly has released a “diss track” at his former bandmate Tyler Hubbard, and Saving Country Music may have written the best piece of entertainment journalism this year about it:
Imagine being the untalented one in country music’s most notoriously untalented and historically terrible duo Florida Georgia Line. FGL was literally patient zero for the horrible scourge of Bro-Country that ravaged country music for over a decade. What a legacy to live down. These dudes were lucky to last a dozen years before the public told them to get fucked and they imploded in a blaze of bad white boy raps, rehashed 808 beats, and faded designer denim.
Florida’s Brian Kelley should be glad he’s not cleaning bidets at Mar-a-Lago for a living. He hung on to the nut sack of Tyler Hubbard to stardom, standing there making millions as his entirely disposable harmony vocals were run through an Auto-Tuner before being buried imperceptibly in the mix. Brian Kelley was a prop so the outfit could qualify for “Duo of the Year” trophies and because Tyler Hubbard looked like he was still eating glue in the 8th grade.
The only problem…despite hating everything Brian Kelly has ever done…I like this song and the video is great. Kelly drops the bro-country schtick and doesn’t try to “write a hit” and wound up with the best song of his career. Color me impressed.
Until the next one,
-sth