My criteria for each pick is a combination of merit/quality, personal preference (anyone who tries to pretend their "top" lists are objective are lying to themselves), achievements in a given field, and cultural significance/impact. I also try to make choices for world news/current events-related picks that I have a decent amount of knowledge about, that way I can have something unique to add instead of just relaying the same basic points everyone else does. That way, if I fail hilariously at saying anything interesting, I can fail hilariously my way.
Enjoy!
MOVIE: Moonlight
Gotta go with Moonlight here.
There were some fine movies I saw this year, from Civil War to Rogue One, that I enjoyed. None of them blew me away or stayed with me long after I watched them, however, even if some of them made interesting or noteworthy narrative moves. Overall, 2016 felt slim compared to 2015, or at least among the movies I've seen. There was one exception, however. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them has remained with me more than any other movie I saw last year- or at least stayed with me more than any other movie from last year in a positive way. I still have nightmares about paying money for Suicide Squad.
Unlike so many movies this year- including movies that I enjoyed, like Civil War- Fantastic Beasts offers a cast where each character has both a reason to be there and a reason for us to like them. For instance, before seeing the film, I had heard that a character without magical abilities would be one of the four main characters. I remember rolling my eyes and thinking the character would feel like a waste of space. Yet this character, Jacob Kowalski, ended up being my favorite character of the movie. He was both a relatable everyman and an aspirational figure in how well he handled everything. I don't want to spoil anything, but the end of the movie had me on the verge of tears (no, it's not about him dying).
While I didn't connect with Newt Scamander or the other characters as much as I did with Kowalski, I did appreciate one thing about Newt's Scamander that another writer pointed out: the way Newt evades using aggression and other traits of hyper-masculinity in his pursuit of his narrative goals. Even in his most dire moments, Newt is never using threats or force to get what he wants or try to pursue people. Rather, he appeals to people's empathy and reason, sometimes to success and sometimes to failure.
Don't get me wrong here. I train at an MMA gym, I love action movies, and I think violence could have theoretically been justified in a few situations in this movie. I'm not saying I think violence is automatically bad or that it has no place in entertainment. At the same time, almost every single adventure/fantasy/sci-fi movie in the history of cinema which has featured male protagonists has had them either deal with their problems primarily with super masculine tactics like aggression, intimidation, and violence, or had them portrayed as weak and worthy of derision for not using those tactics. It's refreshing to see some variety here. It's also nice to see a popular, well-regarded movie where a male character can keep his gentleness and still accomplish his goals.
COMEDY MOVIE: The Nice Guys
While there were plenty of funny movies last year- including Civil War- I could only remember one of the comedy movies I saw this year without Googling "comedy movies 2016" to come up with a list. The Nice Guys is a buddy cop movie without cops set in the 1970s. Directed by Shane Black, this movie stars Russel Crowe and Ryan Gosling as two private eyes who, as most protagonists in these types of movies tend to do, find themselves in way over their heads.
What works so well with this movie is the performances of Crowe and Gosling, as well as Angourie Rice, who plays Ryan Gosling's daughter with a jaded maturity similar to Chloe Grace Moretz's role in 500 Days of Summer as Joseph Gordon Levitt's younger sister. All of them do exceptionally well, especially Ryan Gosling, who breaks his typical mold by acting like a bumbling idiot and dork instead of his usual charming cool-guy roles. This movie alone is proof that Gosling has more range than we may think.
Aside from consistent laughs, the movie has a genuinely interesting, lively environment in its recreation of the 1970s. The arc of the characters in this movie are serviceable enough that the regular laughs and engaging environment can keep you caring, though they are nothing special. The only major disappointment here is that the plot is not very engaging. It is both convoluted and also just not that interesting. That problem aside, though, the movie is a great laugh and unapologetically unique.
ANIMATED MOVIE: Zootopia
Zootopia has a lot going for it. It has gorgeous visuals (seriously, look at that city), a creatively imagined world, well-defined characters, metaphors about racism, and poignant emotional moments that work precisely because of everything else on this list. Almost everything is well-executed and works wonderfully together. The fact that Shakira shows up as a singing gazelle is just a bonus.
The only place this movie slips up is the metaphor department. The movie does a good job of showing how the predators are stereotyped as aggressive and untrustworthy. There is a very powerful moment where a main character even falls into the trap of unintentionally stereotyping her predator friend, and the look of betrayal on that friend's face is devastating. The scene where they make up resonates just as well in the opposite direction.
The problem is, the metaphor doesn't make sense. Predators are treated like an oppressed group, but they're also disproportionately in positions of power, from the city government to the police department. So is this a case of a group in power being oppressed? By definition, they wouldn't be oppressed if that were the case.
Still, this is a children's movie, and it offers a good chance for kids to understand discrimination and why it is bad. The message of the movie is, predictably, that we need to love one another and live in harmony. Even with a few slips in the details of the metaphor the movie executes its theme well, and is just plain fun to watch in the process.
ACTOR: Diego Luna
I could talk about his charming performance as Cassian in Rogue One, his surprisingly believable role as a gangster in Blood Father, or how much it means to us Latina/o folks that he keeps his accent in his movies. Instead, I have a different idea. Watch this video of Diego Luna talking about Jabba the Hutt and tell me he doesn't deserve this spot on the list based off of that alone. Go ahead, I'll wait.
ACTRESS: Kate McKinnon
Boy, that controversy about the Ghostbusters reboot, right? Woo. What a mess. Apparently, in an era of nonstop reboots, having a new set of Ghostbusters that have ovaries was the straw that broke the camel's back. To the point that the stars of the movie were being harassed, particularly Leslie Jones, because if you're going to be sexist garbage you might as well be racist garbage, too.
Beyond all the controversy, what we got was a good but not great movie. Overall I like the original a little better than this remake, but each movie has their strengths. This version's biggest strength is undoubtedly Kate McKinnon, who steals the show as the delightfully weird Dr Jillian Holtzmann. As Holtzmann she plays a wacky Ghostbuster who is the best inventor of the group. She is always cooking up new gadgets, which saves the group from certain destruction more than once. She also brings a humor, liveliness and charisma that make her my favorite Ghostbuster of all time (sorry, Bill Murray).
In addition to her stealing the show as Holtzmann, she also did a great job as Hillary Clinton on SNL this year. It's no secret that she and her coworkers, along with most of the rest of Hollywood, are Team Democrat. What I appreciate, though, is that in her imitation of Hillary Clinton she wasn't afraid to directly point out problems with Clinton, either. Not just poke fun at some of her mannerisms, but also some of her more dubious policy history and campaign contributions as well. Combined with her excellent understanding of Clinton's body language and mannerisms, her impression became a highlight of SNL during 2016. Her Ruth Bader Ginsberg ain't bad, either.
HIP HOP ALBUM: 4 Your Eyez Only
Unlike the movie categories, hip hop album of the year was difficult for me to choose because of how many dope albums came out. In the end I was stuck between the newest efforts from Run the Jewels, J Cole, and Common. I didn't feel right choosing Common because his 2016 effort didn't feel even the slightest bit close to the best work he's ever put out, and I didn't feel right choosing Run the Jewels since I chose them for album of the year in 2015 and I don't like choosing the same thing for consecutive years. That left J Cole's 4 Your Eyez Only.
Something funny about this album is that it is technically a concept album, which means it should be further from the reality of Cole than the average album is for the average MC. 4 Your Eyez Only it is from the perspective of a fictional former hustler from the hood who is recording the album for his daughter. It is quite clear, though, that J Cole put quite a lot of himself into the character. Because the album pretends to be about someone else, however, Cole is paradoxically more personal, honest, and vulnerable on this album than the overwhelmingly majority of MCs choose to be on theirs. I haven't heard a record this honest and vulnerable, as well as genuinely introspective, since I heard Varsity Blues from MURS.
One of the recurring themes of this album is death. An awareness of it, an acknowledgement of its ever-present reality, a fear of it, a desire to symbolically overcome it through some sort of legacy. This album can be seen as the hip hop equivalent of Ingmar Bergman's The Seventh Seal or Atlus's video game Persona 3. While Max Von Sydow's knight finds meaning in the face of death by saving a family with a baby boy and Makato finds meaning in death by sacrificing himself to save the world, J Cole's protagonist finds meaning through his daughter.
This presence of death isn't hard to miss with an intro track titled "For Whom The Bell Tolls," invoking John Donne's wonderful poem Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions, which is where the phrase used by everyone from Hemingway to Metallica to, now, J Cole comes from. The poem focuses on how every individual death diminishes humanity. As Donne puts it: "any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee." This album takes that theme and runs with it, reflecting on the tragedy that happens when so many people are disenfranchised and made more familiar with death than anyone should be. Titles for other tracks like "Everybody Dies" and "Immortal" reinforce this theme, and that's to say nothing of the lyrics. J Cole may have invented a new sub-genre with this album: hood existentialism.
One track has received a lot of flack for being about "laundry" of all things. Yes, the track is called "Foldin' Clothes" and that is indeed what it's about on the surface. But that's like saying Citizen Kane is about a sled or that The Great Gatsby is about parties in mansions. The chorus explicitly says that he wants to do it to help out the mother of his child by taking care of chores, and the song contains the lyrics "listen, this is a meditation for me/a practice in being present, there's nowhere I need to be/except right here with you/except right here with you, folding clothes." Now, these lyrics are admittedly corny and not especially complex, something which can be said about most of this album and prevents it from reaching classic status in my eyes. But its thematic coherence, its well-crafted mood, and its ability to make you think about its subject matter make it my favorite album of the year.
HIP HOP SONG: Nobody Speak
I mean, right?
MMA PROSPECT: Érik "Goyito" Pérez
Full disclosure: I actually occasionally train with Goyito at San Diego Combat Academy/10th Planet San Diego. We're not his primary gym, and I've only ever rolled with him once (he crushed me), but he is still someone I've trained with and I want to get that out of the way.
That said, I don't think many people will disagree with me putting him here. Goyito has been in the UFC for a couple years and he seems to now be finding his rhythm. In 2016 he beat both Francisco Rivera and Felipe Arantes in fights where he showed not only promise, but also flair (that luchador mask tho) and a sense of excitement that makes his rise all the more exciting to watch.
Goyito has a frenetic pace, agile footwork, and good feints. He is primarily a puncher, but he's good at mixing in a number of other MMA tools as well, particularly an impressively strong inside leg kick, solid single leg takedowns, and the occasional intercepting knee. He also isn't afraid to use the occasional unconventional kick or jiujitsu transition, either.
He can tend to neglect to use head movement or other defensive maneuvers after landing a combination, as well as get into wild swinging exchanges where strategy is thrown out the window. Still, he is young (only about a month and a half older than me), and he can either learn to fix those gaps or incorporate them into his gameplan moving forward. It'll be exciting to see what he does in 2017.
MMA FIGHTER I'D LIKE TO SEE BOUNCE BACK: Cain Velasquez
Unfortunately I do not train with Cain Velasquez. After winning the heavyweight championship from Australopithecus Lesnar-ensus and having an epic trilogy with the then-consensus number two heavyweight in the world, Junior Dos Santos, Velasquez has had a bumpy road. He came back from an almost two year injury-induced layoff to face Fabricio Werdum in June of 2015 and lost the title to him. In July of last year, over a year removed from his loss to Werdum thanks to yet more injuries, Cain fought Travis Browne and looked like the Cain Velasquez of old.
Velasquez was due to face Fabricio Werdum in a rematch a couple months after the Browne fight, but that ended up not happening. I'll give you one guess as to why.
A healthy, functioning Cain Velasquez is a marvel to behold. He has more cardio than anyone else in the heavyweight division, he strategically mixes up his striking with his wrestling perfectly, he has way better striking technique than most other wrestling-based MMA fighters, his ability to close distance is insane, and I'm pretty sure what he can do to his opponent when he pins them against a cage should be banned by the UN Council on Human Rights. Cain Velasquez is, so far, the only heavyweight who could seriously challenge Fedor Emelianenko's claim to the title of Most Skilled Heavyweight Ever.
Because of his constant injuries, though, Velasquez hasn't built a record to challenge Fedor's. He has beat some truly elite heavyweights, but his career has been far too inconsistent. If he avoids injury in 2017, and is able to beat Werdum then win the title from Stipe Miocic, his record will further match his potential. But really, win or lose, I'd just be happy to see a heavyweight division with an active Cain Velasquez.
MALE MMA FIGHTER: Stipe Miocic
This spot was between two contenders: Stipe and Conor McGregor. Honestly, it probably should go to McGregor because he became the champion of the lightweight division on top of the featherweight division, but like with Run the Jewels above, I don't like making the same pick two years in a row. Also, while Conor McGregor did indeed defeat Jose Aldo last year, he has not defended the featherweight belt since and has implied he has no plans to do so, hence being stripped of it recently. At this point he's basically just the lightweight champion.
Enough about McGregor, though. Stipe Miocic had an excellent year. He fought three times in 2016, which is impressive for a heavyweight, capturing either Fight of the Night or Performance of the night in all three of his matches, which is impressive for any weight. After dispatching of the always dangerous Mark Hunt in 2015, Miocic's first fight in 2016 was against Andrei Arlovski, who was on a six fight win streak with wins over the likes of Bigfoot Silva, Frank Mir, and Travis Browne. Arlovski looked to be on the verge of a title shot himself, but Miocic put a stop to that with his deity-like fists. After knocking out Arlovski, Miocic fought for the title and knocked out Werdum after he rushed Miocic without any thought to his defense.
Many heavyweight champions lose their belt in their first title defense. Not Miocic. He defended his belt against Alistair Overeem, who is more minotaur than man. To quote internet writer Seanbaby, Overeem "looks like someone at Marvel comics drew a man genetically engineered to fuck your girlfriend." As someone who is also a world class kickboxer in addition to being a world class MMA fighter, he fights like that as well. Yet thanks to careful planning and excellent boxing from Miocic, he was able to overcome trouble in the beginning and knockout Overeem to defend his title.
Miocic is an exciting fighter with good hands, a strong chin, and top level conditioning for a heavyweight. It'll be a pleasure to see him continue to fight into 2017, hopefully against the winner of Fabricio Werdum and Cain Velasquez if that rematch can happen soon. Junior Dos Santos, Alistair Overeem, Mark Hunt, and others can't be counted out, either. The heavyweight division is perhaps at its most exciting since the days of Pride, and I can't wait to see what unfolds.
FEMALE MMA FIGHTER: Joanna Jędrzejczyk
Beating Joanna Jędrzejczyk in a fight is like trying to pronounce her last name: very few people in the world, if any, can do it. Joanna came to MMA as a six time world champion and four time European champion in Muay Thai, with an overall record of twenty seven wins and two losses. She's as skilled in the art of the eight limbs as the United States CIA is skilled in the art of overthrowing democracies to install dictatorships.
Some of Joanna's best moves are a left jab-right cross-right kick combo, leg kicks in general, and a badass clinch game. She also has outstanding cardio and evasive skills, able to make sure she is just out of range for her opponent's attacks. Her only seeming flaw is that she sometimes backs straight up when attacked instead of circling out, but considering she likes to set up her devastating clinch when her back is to the fence, her backing up hasn't cost her much trouble so far.
She defended her belt twice in 2016, looking like a Muay Thai textbook while doing so. She had some moments of looking mortal against wrestler Claudia Gadelha and fellow Muay Thai fighter Karolina Kowalkiewicz, having to deal with the former's takedowns and the latter's excellent jabs, crosses, and kicks, but she still won each fight handily. In the end, Jędrzejczyk emerged largely unscathed and continued to cement her status as one of the top MMA strikers in the world.
A quick shout out is also due here for Amanda Nunes, whom I almost gave this spot to. After beating Valentina Shevchenko (who would later go on to beat last year's pick for female fighter of the year, Holy Holm, proving she is no joke herself), Nunes fought Meisha Tate for the women's bantamweight championship. She threw a combo that looked like something from a Dragon Ball Z episode and got a rear naked choke after following Tate to the ground. When Ronda Rousey came back and got an immediate title shot, the UFC promoters seemed to forget Nunes existed and only promoted Rousey. Nunes didn't seem to have any fucks to give about the UFC's plans, though. She dispatched Rousey easily.
The fact that Amanda Nunes, with such an impressive 2016, didn't get fighter of the year shows how fantastic women's MMA is getting. They still have some catching up to the men's divisions when it comes to popularity, but when it comes to excitement, they're doing just fine.
MMA FIGHT: Robbie Lawler vs Carlos Condit
There were a lot of great fights in 2016, but for me, the best match happened on only the 2nd day of the year. Due to a series of injuries for other contenders, Carlos Condit was supposed to fight Robbie Lawler for the title in late 2015, but due to a thumb injury for Lawler it was pushed to UFC 195. With twenty one of Robbie Lawler's total twenty seven career victories coming by knockout or submission, and twenty eight of Condit's thirty wins also coming by way of finish, this was set to be a hell of a fight.
The thing about fights that sound exciting in theory is that they can be disappointingly boring when they happen for realz. This was not one of those fights. Robbie Lawler's high level MMA boxing and Carlos Condit's high level MMA kickboxing clashed wonderfully. Lawler used his excellent gauging of distance, headwork, jab, and counter punches while Condit used awkward but effective movement, all eight of the Muay Thai weapons, and elusive footwork. The results was one of my favorite fights of all time.
What's great about this fight is that it was a fight that could satisfy both casual fans and educated fans alike. Brawls like Brian Stann vs Wanderlei Silva (or really any Wanderlei fight) and Dan Henderson vs Shogun Rua are exciting to watch in a primal, high-octane way. I love those sorts of fights. I also love watching strategy and high level technique play out too, though. Sometimes those things play out in a way that isn't accessible to the casual fan, but not here. Condit and Lawler used moves from their toolboxes in a way that could satisfy fans of all levels of MMA understanding.
The fight was close, as many truly great fights are. Most people agree Condit won rounds one and four while Lawler won rounds two and five. The only controversial round was round three, where Carlos Condit landed more significant strikes but Lawler seemed to more damage with his. The fight ended up going to Lawler in a controversial split decision, despite the fact that many scored it for Condit. I personally scored it for Condit myself. Despite my own disagreement with the decision, however, the fight was close, and really either fighter could have been given the decision.
In the end, though, everyone won. Condit and Lawler both gave fantastic performances worth being proud of, which gave them Fight of the Night honors and a nice bonus by the UFC. Fans got an all-time great fight. The media got something controversial to cover. What more could any of us ask for?
SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY: GK-PID
Multicellular life isn't a topic we explicitly think about often. Sure, sometimes we'll pay mind to the fact we are basically self-aware apes and that life as we know it is a pretty kewl thing we can take for granted, but it's easy to take not only our existence but the existence of every plant and animal on Earth for granted as well. It can be easy to think that the way things are was always our destiny, that evolution has always been marching us toward this inevitable course of the birth of humanity.
Really, though, it was dumb luck.
Like my pick for fight of the year, my pick for scientific discovery of the year came along only shortly after the beginning of 2016. On January 7th, a professor of ecology and evolution named Joe Thorton published a study showing how multicellular life came to be through the "protein scaffold" known as guanylate kinase protein interaction domain (GK-PID). I'm not gonna pretend I know what that means, but the condensed, simple version is that a genetic mutation a billion years ago caused the GK-PID to develop in a way that allowed for the development of organisms with more than one cell. Because of the better genetic diversity, multicellular organisms were able to do well in natural selection and continue existing and branching out. A billion years later, through an incredibly slow and erratic and luck-based process, here we are.
I have no idea what the practical implications of this study are, or if there even are any. It's incredible, however, to know that we can trace there very development of complex life itself through advanced scientific methods. It's further testament to what we can do as a species when we decide to think scientifically and work together and build knowledge that later generations will build on top of. If we can figure out where life as we know it came from, what else can we do?
SCIENTIFIC ACHIEVEMENT: Science Helps Quadriplegic Man Play Guitar Hero
Welp, apparently this is what else we can do. This is so cool. Who would have guessed that when we're not busy enforcing violence and inequality on each other we're capable of such incredible and life-giving feats?
BULLSHIT NEWS STORY: Lottery Winner Shitting on Boss's Desk
Usually for this category I choose a bullshit news story that tells us something concerning about the way we view the world, but not this time. When I first saw the story about a lottery winner repaying her shitty boss with a literal shit on his desk, I felt a sort of vicarious euphoria that anyone else who has ever worked under a terrible boss or manager instantly understands. The article spread across the internet like wildfire. If what I saw from friends and loved ones who reposted was any indication, I imagine most people watching around the world had a feeling similar to mine.
Unfortunately, the story was fake. The vicarious delight and instant sympathy we felt with the woman was a lie.
Or was it? Despite the falseness of the news story, it did create an immediate solidarity with the woman and those who shared this article, which is very, very rare to see happen so unanimously on the internet. When denizens of the internet send non-stop hate mail to Youtubers who have slightly different movie or video game tastes than them, or harass journalists who don't see eye to eye with them, it's fascinating to see so many corners of the internet so united.
It's a nice reminder that, at the end of the day, we are all human beings and we do have common experiences that can give us empathy for people in similar situations. And is there anything more relatable than working under a shitty boss? The effect of this video on me was quite strong, and I haven't worked for a shitty boss for almost six years. It's an almost universal experience for anyone who has ever had to work any job in the history of ever. So thank you, viral video, for bringing us together for a moment, even if your story turned out to be as full of shit as this imaginary boss's desk.
ACTUAL NEWS STORY: Trump's Election
So, uhh, holy shit, right? At the beginning of this year it didn't even seem likely Trump would win the primaries and become the Republican candidate, let alone win the election. Like always, there were people afterward who said they "knew" exactly how things would play out all along. Let's allow a moment for a collective eye roll toward those types of people.
Regardless of who did or did not know how everything would shake out, Donald Trump won the presidential election. Of course, every one and their mother had an analysis of Trump's victory. Was it because Americans wanted to symbolically throw a brick through the window, voting for Trump as a way to give the finger to Washington even if they didn't care for Trump as a person? Was it sexism and/or racism? Was it the culmination of the urban vs rural divide in the US? Was it the result of a broken election system? Was it because of low voter turnout? Was it because Clinton couldn't capture working class whites? Was it the beginning of the decay of late stage capitalism? Chances are, if you ask ten different people why Trump won you'll get ten different answers.
The thing about each of those answers is that you can find ample evidence to support or challenge any of them. That's because of one simple truth: there is no one simple answer. Politics is an extraordinarily complicated process, and one overarching narrative could never explain why all hundred and twenty nine million people voted in this election, with just under sixty three million voting for Trump (compared to almost sixty six million for Clinton). Now we have as a president a man who bragged about sexually assaulting women, who proposed a ban on Muslims entering the United States, who called Mexican immigrants rapists, and who wants to re-enter the nuclear arms race. It's gonna be a tough four years.
There is a silver lining, however. Because of how openly bigoted Trump has been in his campaigning, people are mobilizing in ways they never did under Obama. This is despite Obama being responsible for numerous deaths of innocent civilians in the Middle East with our War on Terror; leaving behind US military conflict in seven countries (Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Syria, Yemen, Libya, and Somalia for those keeping track at home); deporting a record number of undocumented immigrants from the US (yes, more than Bush); expanding the surveillance state; and more. Because he is much more inclusive and diplomatic in his rhetoric, however, Obama did not get nearly the same pushback Trump is already getting. Clinton's administration would have been a continuation of these types of policies, which would probably have also gone unchallenged.
Right after Trump's election many took to the streets, and it looks like the same thing will be happening in two days for his inauguration. People are getting active and mobilizing in a way this country hasn't seen in a long time. If we are able to properly channel this discontent and challenge those in power, Republican or Democrat, we will not only be okay but possibly even manage advances in economic, human, and environmental rights. The future is in our hands.
MEME OF THE YEAR: Arthur's Fist Meme
What is it about a meme that makes it good? I'm no expert, but I'd say versatility is one of the most important traits. The Arthur Fist Meme fits that criterion excellently. It was great not only seeing how many relatable memes could be churned out with this template, as well as hilariously specific ones, but also seeing the creative ways some people subverted the meme, such as the one above that flips the image so that it appears to be Arthur's left hand instead of his right.
That's what's great about memes. Say what you will about some particular ones, but overall they give us another medium for experimenting with different, creative forms of humor and social commentary with things as simple as a picture with words. In the same way that most stories have common templates and are made special by their details, so too are memes. May our days forever be as dank as our memes.
VIDEO OF THE YEAR: Think and Feel Like an Editor
If you've ever wanted to know more about the technical aspects of film making without taking a film class, you owe it to yourself to watch the Every Frame a Painting channel on Youtube. The above video is about editing, which is what the creator of the series Tony Zhou does for a living. It's a fantastic video about an aspect of film making we don't usually think about: how editors decide how to take footage and edit it together into a coherent movie. It's eye-opening.
Most of Zhou's videos involve him choosing a director or actor and focusing on a specific thing that the director or actor does well. Other favorite videos of mine are his videos about Akira Kurosawa and movement, Jackie Chan and action comedy, Michael Bay and "Bayhem", and Martin Scorcese and silence. Check them out for a quality film education that doesn't cost a dime. Especially if you have dreams of working in film yourself.
PHOTO OF THE YEAR: Muhammad Ali's Funeral
There has never been a celebrity death that hit me as hard as Muhammad Ali's. Not even close. Muhammad Ali was many things to many people, and that's what was so wonderful about him. A lot of people will spend their entire lives pursuing greatness in one aspect of life, and a few will even achieve it thanks to incredible amounts of hard work and good fortune. Ali, however, managed to achieve greatness in multiple ways. Very, very few people are able to pull that off.
Of course, Ali's biggest legacy is in boxing. Now, while many people call him The Greatest for his achievements in the ring, there are others who say he was a good boxer but not quite the best. Joe Louis, Sugar Ray Robinson, Henry Armstrong, even Ali's former opponent and coach, "The Old Mongoose" himself, Archie Moore. Now, whether or not Muhammad Ali is as good as those men can be debated until the heat death of the universe, but he still reigned as heavyweight champion for an incredible amount of time and has names like Floyd Patterson, Sonny Liston, George Foreman, and Joe Frazier on his list of wins. It's indisputable that he was one of the greatest boxers of all time.
His record could have been ever better if he hadn't been stripped of his title in 1967, which brings us to another way in which he was great. When Ali was drafted to fight in the Vietnam War he could have agreed, gone over, half assed his service with a bunch of photo opps, and come back. Instead, he refused to fight for the US. He made no bones about why, either. As he said when talking about his refusal to go:
“Why should they ask me to put on a uniform and go 10,000 miles from home and drop bombs and bullets on Brown people in Vietnam while so-called Negro people in Louisville are treated like dogs and denied simple human rights? No I’m not going 10,000 miles from home to help murder and burn another poor nation simply to continue the domination of white slave masters of the darker people the world over. (...) If I thought the war was going to bring freedom and equality to 22 million of my people they wouldn’t have to draft me, I’d join tomorrow. I have nothing to lose by standing up for my beliefs. So I’ll go to jail, so what? We’ve been in jail for 400 years."
Ali was a fighter both inside and outside the ring, and when he fought outside the ring, it was for justice. He would continue to be a figure for that same spirit of justice, peace, and love throughout his life. He supported the Palestinian people, marched in support of Native American rights, talked a suicidal man out of jumping to his death, negotiated the release of US hostages in Iraq, worked as UN Messenger of Peace in Afghanistan in 2002, and more. THAT is what made Muhammad Ali "The Greatest" in my eyes. If it only came down to boxing, my choice would be Pernell "Sweet Pea" Whitaker. But Ali was more than just a boxer. Much more.
The world is sadder for his passing, but was lucky to have a man like him while it did. Rest In Power, Champ.
BADASS OF THE YEAR: Standing Rock Water Protectors
I'm sure I don't need to tell you about the Native American resistance against the North Dakota Access Pipeline. What's impressive about this story, though, is that mainstream media absolutely did not cover it until it got such a big focus on it through social media that they essentially had no choice but to finally do so. When they did, very little contextual background was given in their coverage of the conflict, which often made the protestors look like the aggressors (but what's new, right?).
Still the water protectors stood against the police that were protecting the big oil companies. Even when winter weather came upon the camp and temperatures became freezing, they stood. Even when police used water cannons in those freezing temperatures. Public support swelled. Indigenous people and allies from around the world offered symbolic, financial, material, and people support. Of course, Obama and others in power did nothing at first. Eventually, however, Obama temporarily halted the construction of the pipeline. Later, the Army Corp of Engineers finally decided on December 4th not to grant permits to build the oil pipeline.
Now, the battle still isn't over. Many water protectors remained after December 4th, suspicious of the oil company, and it looks like conflict has indeed resurfaced. There's still more work to be done.
Still, the water protectors at Standing Rock have won in a lot of big ways. First and foremost, they've united against private industry and the state that protects it, preventing them from harming the land. They've mobilized a global network of Indigenous and environment rights advocates. They seized media attention by sheer force of grassroots action and support. They've shown us that, in an era where cynicism is easy to give into, daring to fight and win for peoples' rights is still possible. Not just possible, either, but necessary.
That's what will get us through the years of Trump. That's what got us through the years of Obama. The years of Bush, Clinton, Bush Sr, Reagan. No matter what politician comes into office, we have people power. That's what matters most.
