Thoughts on Spider-Man: No Way Home

Hey everyone. I don't use this blog as much as I used to since my creative projects the last couple years have been co-hosting a history podcast (A Mouthful of History if you haven't heard of it yet) and writing a book, but I saw the newest Spider-Man movie on Saturday and had too many thoughts to fit into a social media post, so I figured I'd post 'em here.  Cool?  Cool.

Overall, I very much enjoyed it.  It's easily my favorite Spider-Man movie of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and probably a top three movie next to Toby Maguire's Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse.  I say "probably" because I still haven't definitively decided if I like it better than the first Toby Maguire movie, so we'll see how it ages for me.  But either way, it was great fun and I thought it did a lot of things better story-wise than the other two MCU movies.

 Rather than writing a long single post with a central idea, I figured I'd just make a list of what I did and didn't like.  Spoilers, of course, lie ahead.

 LIKED

Giving His Friends Something To Do

A good superhero movie rarely has a hero operating alone.  There are exceptions, of course, but most good superhero movies show that even someone with powers needs people around them to help them be their best selves, as well as help them in a more immediate sense.  Even mister loner himself, Batman, has Alfred to support him during tough times.

It can be hard to figure out how to write non-powered people in a superhero movie, however.  You have to give them agency (that is, make them do stuff that is helpful in some way toward the outcome of the story), but there's not much they can do in a literal sense to help fight bad guys.  This movie does a good job of giving Parker's girlfriend MJ and best friend Ned something to do, though.

It's great because while they're helping take care of Peter's mess, you also get to see them interact in a way that feels even more meaningful than before.  Yes, the two of them had screen time in previous movies, but in this one you don't just get a sense of their personalities through their dialogue, but in their actions and what they try to encourage Peter to do during pivotal moments.  It helps round them out in a way that made me feel like I knew them way better than I did before entering the theater.

Actual Stakes!

One of the biggest criticisms of the MCU movies from story-minded movie dorks like myself is that there aren't really any real dramatic stakes or meaningful risks.  Perhaps the biggest strength of the MCU is that it is charming and fun and light, which makes for some fun viewing, but there aren't tough decisions that come with actual consequences.  They talk about the idea of hard choices and sacrifice through dialogue, but it's not really demonstrated through the story because they're too busy making things fun.

Think of the Maguire Spider-Man movies.  Maguire's Peter Parker constantly has to make choices between being a hero or making his life as Peter Parker better, and pretty much every time he chooses the hero route he has to make sacrifices: his relationship with Mary Jane, his continued difficulty holding down a job while barely having any money, his strained friendship with his best friend Harry Osbourne.  Peter has to constantly make tough decisions with real consequences, often getting kicked while he's down for doing the right thing.

The MCU doesn't have much of that.  Even when it tries to take on tough questions, it often fails because it seems afraid of having scenes that aren't charming and fun at all times.  It makes for joyful moments, but I think it can also help explain why MCU movies don't stick with people once you leave the theater.  Holland's Peter Parker very, very rarely has to make any difficult choices, and when he does, the consequences aren't really that meaningful.

That changes in this movie, though.  When the villains are let loose, Peter has to make a tough choice between the easy way out (killing them) and the more heroic option (trying to help them, even if taking on that many bad guys is a real risk).  He chooses the latter, and he loses his aunt in the process.  Not only is the scene of her loss played without any jokes to undercut the tension, but Parker feels that weight throughout the rest of the movie (compared to a lot of MCU movies where, even on the rare occasion an important character is killed, the surviving characters are sad for the rest of the scene before making a joke and the movie moves on like the death didn't really happen).

Then, at the end of the movie, he chooses to save everyone by having everyone forget who he is!

The phrase "you can't have peaks without the valleys" is used for a lot of things.  I think it applies pretty well to storytelling.  You can have movies that are fun and charming, but if that's all they are, then you don't get a full symphony of humanity that makes them stay with you longer.  This movie does that a lot better than most other MCU movies.

Seeing Tobey Maguire

When Andrew Garfield showed up on screen, my main thought was "damn it, I hope they get Maguire too."  The Maguire movies weren't a central part of my childhood like they were for some other people my age, but I did like them as a teenager, and I've only grown more fond of their hard-earned sincerity as I've grown older.  Seeing Maguire felt like seeing an older brother who was supportive and kind even if a bit dorky.  My chest instantly tightened with emotion when he showed up.

For the rest of the movie, I was following Maguire as much as, if not more than, I was following Holland.  In a world as cynical and complicated as the present, and in an MCU series that feels more like a fun distraction than a meaningful antidote to everything going on, it felt comforting to see him on screen doing his best to help the younger two Peters.  The movie may have been weaponizing nostalgia to grab emotions from those of us in the audience who liked the OG Spider-Man trilogy, but considering the movie succeeded in a lot of its storytelling goals, it felt earned to me.

Redeeming Garfield's Spider-Man

Like I said above, I didn't feel much when I saw Garfield pop up on screen.  I'd seen the first Spider-Man movie of his when it came out, and it was... alright?  I honestly remember very little of it beyond some of its basic main plot points.  I never saw the second movie because I heard it was worse, and the clips I saw seemed to back up that claim.  Part of me wished it had only been Maguire that showed up.  Garfield seemed like a third wheel who had been added simply to complete the Peter Parker set, instead of someone really worth having around.

But, damn it, Garfield really grew on me.  It's a reminder that a movie with mediocre directing and writing isn't that actor's fault.  Garfield is a bit darker and less traditionally nerdy than the other Peters, but director Jon Watts runs with that to give us Garfield's Parker as he should've been portrayed before.  We get a Peter that is darker and more wounded than the other two, yet still with a dorky sweetness that defines the Peter Parker character.  The result is a trio of Peters where each have their own unique personalities and each bring something to the table.

Also, c'mon, the scene where he catches MJ is great.  I didn't even see the movie where Garfield's Spider-Man failed to save Gwen Stacy and this scene hit me in the gut.

Willem Dafoe and Alfred Molina

Two masters of their craft at the top of their game, having fun switching between hamming it up as ostentatious villains and earnest good men underneath who want to cure their demons.  Dafoe's Green Goblin is something like the Joker in this movie; he is the most chaotically evil and he does his best to bring the dark side out of people as much as he can.  Molina's Doc Oc, meanwhile, is the first other-universe villain we meet.  He's also the only one who stays good throughout the second half of the movie.

Perhaps my favorite moment in the whole movie was Molina's Doc Oc, after he jumped in to help the Peters toward the end, see Maguire's Spider-Man and give him an almost Uncle Iroh-esque greeting.  I smile pretty often during superhero movies, but the smile that moment put on my face was different.

DISLIKED

Sandman

Sandman in Spider-Man 3 is a sympathetic character who regrets his past and only does bad things in that movie's present to help his daughter.  By the end, he has turned things around.  In this movie we're introduced to him when he pops up to help Peter against Electro.  Then, when he sees Holland's Peter zap Electro away and thinks he may have killed him, Peter... just zaps him too instead of explaining the situation??  And then he's basically bad for the rest of the movie???

The point, of course, was to create deeper conflict for Peter by adding an extra villain for him to fight.  A central point of storytelling is that the more conflict there is, the better.  Molina's Doc Oc was already the redeemed villain who helped turn the tide in the final battle, so they needed every other villain to be bad so that combined (Green Goblin, Sandman, Electro, that lizard guy) they constituted a real threat to the three Peters.  But they didn't really do anything to justify the Sandman character as we know him siding with the bad guys.

All we get is a line saying he doesn't care about the other villains' redemption, he only wants to see his daughter.  But he could have just as easily thought "well, if I help the Peters gather up these escaped bad guys, I can get home to my daughter quicker."  That line of thinking not only makes more logical sense, it also makes more sense to who the Sandman character is after his redemption.  Instead they muddied up a character's motivation for the sake of the plot, which was a weakness in the movie's otherwise good writing.

J Jonah Jameson

Everyone, and I mean everyone, was excited to see JK Simmons playing J Jonah Jameson again.  Despite liking but not loving Spider-Man: Far From Home, the post-credit teaser with Simmons as Jameson was enough to pique my interest in this movie before I even knew what it would be about.  That's pretty amazing for a role that was only a supporting character in the OG Spider-Man trilogy.

What made Simmons as Jameson so great, though, wasn't just the way he spoke, but how he gave the gruff, even ruthless Jameson a human core.  Yes, he's an asshole and a terrible boss, but aside from being entertaining, you also see a more human side to him.  He even refuses to give up Peter's identity in one of the movies when being threatened by a supervillain.

In this movie, though, he just shows up to be an Alex Jones type asshole without much else being added to him.  Hell, we didn't even need to see his good side or otherwise have him be like the original Jameson, but getting to see more of him as a character/person in general would've been nice.  Instead we just got a caricature, which felt like a waste considering what Jameson did with the role before.

Happy Hogan

I like the idea of a bumbling but good-natured character doing what he can to help without powers while also giving a more human face to SHIELD after Agent Coulson's death, but they've always had him on the backburner in the MCU Spider-Man movies.  It just kinda seems like they could've not included him so that the half-hearted screentime he gets could go to further fleshing out some of the other characters and conflicts in the story?  He's a fuller character in some of the other MCU stories, but here he just seems like a filler character in a movie that is already pretty crowded.

OG Aunt May

I completely recognize that this gripe isn't even reasonable or an actual reason to discount the movie.  But, hey, I'm a dork, so I'm gonna go with it anyway.

Rosemary Harris, the woman who played Aunt May in the original trilogy, is still alive.  She even did a digital commencement speech in 2020, so we know she's still fairly lucid despite being in her 90s.  I would have absolutely loved it if they had a post-credit scene of Maguire returning to his universe and visiting his Aunt May.  Again, not something to reasonably count against the movie for not having, but man, I can't help but wish it had been included.

Conclusion

Overall, I liked this movie quite a bit.  The strengths very much outweighed the weaknesses for me, which is all you can really ask for from a movie since no story will ever be perfect.  It balanced a strong cast of characters, dramatic stakes, fun, nostalgia, and so many other moving parts incredibly well.  Even if I thought a couple plates were dropped in the process, it was such an impressive balancing act overall that I left satisfied.

Top Everything of 2020

Well, we've reached the end of 2020.  I'm not even quite sure what to say about the year as a whole that hasn't already been said by others.  It's been isolating, draining, chaotic, and just plain weird.  The passage of time has been weird, too- some things that feel like a month ago happened half a year ago, while other things that happened a few months ago feel like years ago.

We could talk about the weirdness of 2020 all day.  But, despite the weirdness, and the suffering, there are still a lot of interesting and positive things that happened this year, too.  Despite what we've been through, people and organizations the world over are still creating "best of" lists for the year 2020.  Part of it may be obligation, but I think another part of it is an attempt at trying to finally reflect on such an incomprehensible year.

As any of you who know me are aware, I don't just like one thing.  I couldn't write a post that only talks about the best movies or MMA fights, or only the most important news stories or unsung heroes.  Because to me, all of these things are interesting and worth talking about.  So, like I've done for 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019, here is my top everything list for 2020.

I hope you enjoy!

Note: For movies, I usually do an actor and actress of the year category for those who have had a great year as a whole.  Considering that this year there weren't too many actors who had a chance to star in more than one movie, I skipped those categories for this year.

Other Note: Also for movies, I will talk about things without SPOILERS unless otherwise noted.  For the areas with spoilers, I will add a warning and write that section in white text.  To see those sections, all you have to do is highlight the text.

 

MOVIE: Bacurau (Nighthawk)

I’ve never seen a movie quite like this one.  It’s a “weird western” that mixes a drama about rural poverty, a western, and sci-fi in a way that feels like a halfway point between realism and grindhouse.  The base premise is that the fictional small, impoverished rural town of Bacurau has had some strange things happening to it.  The residents, as well as former residents who only recently came to visit the town after the passing of one of its main matriarchs, try to figure out what is going on and how to fight back before they are all destroyed.

The first hour or so of the film is all about the town and the people therein.  We are introduced to the town by the granddaughter of the deceased matriarch returning to Bacurau for her funeral, and we meet a lot of characters along the way.  This includes a reformed gangster, a DJ who also functions as a sort of broadcaster for the town, a teacher, and a doctor who helps people when she’s sober, but goes into a rage whenever she drinks.  Weird things happen toward the end of this first hour, but it’s mostly about getting to know the people in Bacurau.

After the first hour, everything starts moving at a faster pace.  The mystery becomes more urgent as more and more worrying things start piling up.  I won’t talk about spoiler-y specifics until the next paragraph, but it’s a high-adrenaline time that contains overt undertones of criticism for the way Americans view the rest of the world as their playground, and the people therein as less than them.  It’s a sharp movie in every sense of the word, and one of my favorite international films in years.

[SPOILERS]The fact that Americans are people-hunting here is a powerful metaphor for the combination of entitlement and disregard many in the US unfortunately feel toward the rest of the world.  What makes the execution great is in the details.  The way most of them are aggrieved white collar workers, the way they thank God for giving them an “ethical” way to take out their frustrations, the way that one woman wants to have sex right after killing two elderly Bacurau residents, really showcases the dehumanizing colonist mindset these people have.

I also love that the way the villagers defeat these death tourists is through sticking together and fighting.  No lone gun-slinging savior here, just solidarity in action.  Not only does the town banding together stop the bad guys, but those who try flee or otherwise think only of themselves often meet with an unfortunate end.  It’s a stark reminder that people are stronger together, dramatized through an intense and engaging movie that I won’t forget anytime soon.[SPOILERS]

COMEDY: Palm Springs

I’ve always liked Andy Samberg’s works.  Behind their boyish silliness is a thoughtful and good-natured fun that usually works for me.  Of course, some of his works are better than others, so I went into this movie excited, but still with tempered expectations.  Luckily, those moderated expectations were blown away.  This is not just my favorite comedy of 2020, but one of my favorite comedies in years.

This movie follows Andy Samberg in a Groundhog Day-style time loop on the day of a wedding.  So far into the time loop he has lost count of how long it’s been, he spends a day getting to know Cristin Milioti, who played the titular mother in How I Met Your Mother.  Samberg and Milioti’s characters are on the verge of something romantic when JK Simmons shows up with a crossbow, trying to murder Samberg.  He tells Milioti not to follow him as he flees into a cave, but she follows anyway.  Long story short, it leads to her getting caught in the time loop with Samberg.

From there, Samberg acts as a guide of sorts as she learns to cope with the situation.  I’ll keep it spoiler-free for the rest of this paragraph and just say this is an incredibly fun rom com.  A lot of its biggest laughs comes from the outrageous things that Samberg and Milioti know they can do without having to worry about any sort of consequences, since the day always resets.  They’re also kept on their toes by the antics of Simmons for reasons that I won’t spoil in this paragraph.  The performances from these three help elevate the already good writing to something truly memorable.

The movie is also quite thoughtful, however.  [SPOILERS]JK Simmons is trying to kill Samberg because Samberg, during a drug-fueled binge, brought Simmons into the time loop.  For most of the movie, Simmons- who has a loving wife and family- is pissed.  Thus throughout the film Samberg, Milioti, and Simmons are trying to figure out different ways to cope.  By the end, however, they’ve all found their peace.  Simmons learns to value spending time with his family in the loop, while Samberg and Milioti find a way to escape (and Samberg to escape the metaphorical comfort he’s gotten used to) and become better people in the process.  It’s a great end to a great movie.[SPOILER]

ANIMATED MOVIE: Soul

Like basically every movie lover, I love Pixar's ability to tell a good story.  Next to Studio Ghibli, they stand as a shining example of how character driven stories, imaginative worlds, and earnest emotion can create stories that have something to offer viewers of all ages.  Soul absolutely fits that mold.  While I wouldn’t put the movie among my absolute favorites of theirs (Up, Toy Story 3, Coco), it’s still very good, and one of my favorite movies of the year.

If you haven’t already heard, the premise is that the main character, Joe Gardner, is a middle school music teacher who finally gets a shot at a big gig… then dies.  Before going to the great beyond, he manages to become a mentor for new souls that have yet to experience the world.  Of course, the mentee he gets is one that is so difficult that the likes of Mother Teresa, Carl Jung, Copernicus, and Muhammad Ali (among many others) have all given up on him.  Joe has to deal with this soul while trying to see if there’s a way for him to return to his body.

While you can probably guess ahead of time what the message of the movie will be, how they get there is fun, creative, and heartfelt.  When it comes to fiction, after all, it really is more about the journey than the destination, as there are only so many themes you can have in a story.  The questions about passion and purpose serve as the heart of this film, but the execution is what makes it so good.  It’s Pixar in their best form since Coco, and overall one of their best movies of the 2010s.

A quick note, however: there is debate among a lot of black viewers in the media sphere about whether or not it’s uncool that the first black Pixar lead spends most of his time in the movie not in his body.  As someone who isn’t black I don’t really need to comment on that, so I won’t.  I’ll just link a thoughtful article by a black writer that grapples with liking the movie while still recognizing its problems.

TV SHOW: Immigration Nation

This series does something kind of interesting- when you listen to interviews with the creators, you can tell they tried to give both critics of the immigration system (immigration lawyers, activists, immigrants themselves) and those who work for the immigration system a chance to share their side.  In doing so, however, they often unintentionally succeed in showing the flaws of the immigration system better than if they’d consciously set out to undermine it.

There are countless times throughout the show when ICE employees are asked if what they do is morally reprehensible, and they shrug and say they’re just doing their job.  Less constant but still common are times when these workers keep talking and reveal how little they care about the humanity of the immigrants they deal with.  Other times, people who express concern for what they do in their jobs are clearly put on the backburner by ICE, and one even gets told on-camera by his boss to basically be more draconian in his enforcement of immigration policy.  The old saying about giving someone enough rope to hang themselves with has never been more appropriate.

The way this show also interviews a variety of immigrants and lets them tell their stories is also tremendously powerful.  As someone who is half Mexican and grew up in a predominantly Latino working class neighborhood, and therefore knew countless immigrants both documented and undocumented, this show had me in tears more than once.  Sometimes ugly tears.  At one point after watching an episode I had to go on a drive and reevaluate if I’m really doing what I can to help my immigrant loved ones out there.

To put it plainly, this is not a fun or comfortable show.  But it’s an important one.  It’s a powerful one.  It’s one worth watching.

MMA PROSPECT: Miguel Baeza

Miguel Baeza, who has the awesome nickname Caramel Thunder, is a Peurto Rican fighter from Florida who competes in the welterweight division.  Baeza strikes a good balance between crafty and entertaining.  Since his win in June of 2019 in Dana White’s contender series against an opponent who came in eight pounds over the 170lbs welterweight limit, Baeza has won three fights.  All of those fights, two of which took place in 2020, have ended by knockout or submission.

Miguel Baeza possesses a great arsenal.  He has fast footwork, defensive head movement, incredible kicks, a strong one-two, and varies things up by sometimes going for body shots and takedowns.  It’s a well-rounded arsenal that he has used to great success against his opponents in the UFC, including against aging legend Matt Brown in May of 2020.

Going forward, I’d love to see him further develop his left hand, especially his left hook.  He has a decent one, but if he could get it to the strength and precision of his right hand, both of his hands would become serious threats for his opponents to worry about.  I’d also love to see him use body shots and takedown attempts a little more often than he does.  With all of that, as well as the reflexes and craftiness that comes with increased experience, he can become a real threat at welterweight.

MMA FIGHTER I'D LIKE TO SEE BOUNCE BACK:
Tony Ferguson

Tony Ferguson is one of my favorite MMA fighters of all time, so this was a tough one to see.  I even wrote a post describing my five favorite moves of his, something I haven't done for any other fighters before. 

Ferguson is creative, tough, and skilled in a variety of ways that I don't have the word space here to get into.  He's used those traits to set a record for win streaks in the UFC lightweight division (the most stacked division in the entire sport) that is rivaled only by Khabib Nurmagomedov.  Unfortunately, though, his performances this year (and the fact he's almost 37 years old) show that if he fought Khabib this year, he likely would've lost.  We can only dream what a fight between them would've looked like in, say, 2017 or 2018.

The first fight he lost this year came against Justin Gaethje in an incredible showdown that itself could be a fight of the year contender.  Gaethje started out strong, then for a moment started losing against Tony toward the second half of the second round, as his punches became more wild.  His corner caught his mistake and made Gaethje stick to their gameplan, however, and Gaethje regained the momentum and went on to win the fight.

Then Tony fought Charles Oliveira.  Oliveira was more technical than Tony, but also just as loose and fluid.  Often Tony overwhelms more polished strikers by spamming them with volume and taking advantage of the openings he creates while they are on their backfoot and striking tepidly.  Oliveira, though, did a good job of holding his own and getting creative while still remaining technically sound.  On the ground Oliveira didn't do quite as much damage as the commentators made it sound like, but Tony still got outclassed.  Other than his attempts at a buggy choke and a d'arce from on botom, he didn't have much.

As I said above, Tony is almost 37 years old, and he's taken a tremendous amount of damage in all the wars he's fought.  He is, unfortunately, not the same fighter he was a couple years ago.  Still, he has a lot of talent and heart.  I don't know what his plans are for 2021 and beyond, but whatever they are, I hope he has a better year than 2020.  Even if he only fights a couple more fights before retiring, I'd at least love to see him go out on a win.

MALE MMA FIGHTER: Kevin Holland

Usually this spot goes to a fighter with a championship, or even a fighter with a double-championship.  But while Deiveson Figueiredo did a good job of capturing the flyweight crown this year, and had a fight of the year worthy bout with Brandon Moreno (in which there were no losers, only two winners), he missed weight in his initial title bout, and his fight with Moreno ended in a majority draw.  He still has  a lot to be proud of, but Holland fought five times this year, and won every single one.

Only a handful of fighters have ever fought five times in a year.  Only two other fighters- Roger Huerta in 2007 and Neil Magny in 2014- have done so and won all their bouts.  Yet Roger Huerta fought during a different era, in a time with lower quality of competition.  In the modern era, only Magny rivals Holland's record.  Yet in Magny's 2014 win streak, he finished only two of the five fights he won.  Holland finished four of his five.

Make no mistake though, Holland isn't just getting knockouts from the power in his hands.  A lot of people started talking about the physical gifts of Holland after knocking out Jacare Souza from such an unusual position.  Of course, Holland is very physically gifted, but we shouldn't sell him short by acting like his physical gifts are the only thing that got him to the dance.  Afterall, in his fight against Joaquin Buckley, he was clearly out-gunned in the power department.

Holland is a modern MMA fighter in the best way.  He takes pieces of what works from various styles (especially striking styles) and blends them into a great game.  He mixes in a lot of Thai style knees and elbows, both out in the open and from the clinch.  He has the front snap kicks and side kicks, as well as in and out movement, of karate.  He also does a tremendous job feinting, including hip feints the way Lyoto Machida and Israel Adesanya like to do, where they twist their hips to make it look like they're about to kick.

He still has some growing to do (especially in his grappling), but for where he's at, he's doing a fantastic job.  I like not only his fight style, but also the way he playfully talks in the cage.  He's great fun to watch.  I look forward to see him continue to mix entertainment and fight craft in a way that can excite casual fans and fight science nerds like me in equal measure.

FEMALE MMA FIGHTER: Valentina Schevchenko

Unfortunately, not a lot of high-profile female fighters got a chance to shine this year as a whole.  While a lot of women had some great fights, not a lot had the chance to put on any particularly long win streaks or break any noteworthy championship records.  Only one female champion fought more than once in 2020, and not many women who weren't champions who broke any particular records.  So Shevchenko sort of wins by default.

And yet, at the same time, it's not by default.  Shevchenko did look outstanding this year (as did Amanda Nunes, who would've been in contention for this spot if she'd fought more than once in 2020).  Shevchenko has crisp strikes, chains them together well, is light on her feet, has a good eye for when to counter, and mixes in takedowns with her striking quite well.  She is a complete fighter who has the respect of the MMA world for a reason.  While she often throws flashy attacks (and sometimes, like her spinning wheel kick against Katlyn Chookagian, actually lands 'em), it's these fundamental qualities that wins her fights.

It's impressive how Shevchenko has been on top of the division since she won the title back in December of 2018.  She does so many things well in such a fundamental way that there isn't much to say, but there's a lot to celebrate.  People say the women's flyweight division is thin, but that's only because she's cleared it out.  It'll be interesting to see who rises in the division against her in 2021.  Hopefully, for the sake of the sport, they can pose a real challenge to Shevchenko so we can see it become more competitive.

MMA FIGHT: Weili Zhang vs Joanna Jedrzejckyk

While there were not too many women who had a great 2020 as a whole, there were plenty who put on amazing performances.  Among fights of all genders and weight classes, Weili vs Joanna in particular stand out from the pack.  Of course, Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno did too.  To me, both fights are of about the same quality.  However, since Weili vs Joanna happened earlier in the year (and therefore is more out of the MMA world's mind than Deiveson vs Brandon), I figured I'd choose their bout to return some attention to it.

This fight is a beautiful demonstration of how far MMA fight science has come.  A decade ago, there was usually a clear delineation between fun fights vs technical fights.  In the modern era, however, fighting technique and strategy are so sophisticated that there is a lot one can learn even from wild, high-octane fights.  This fight is one that anyone of any background can appreciate.

Joanna came in with great muay thai fundamentals, threw to the body often, had great knees, and overall showed the well-rounded technical ferocity she is known for.  Weili, for her part, did a great job of feinting, throwing inside leg kicks, crashing in on Joanna's kicks with her
strong right hand, and did a good job of entering and exiting on different lines of attack.  These different tool sets of each fighter, mixed with their incredible tenacity, created a fight for the ages.

A big variable in the fight was Weili's right hand.  When she threw it straight she often landed, while when she threw it as a wild power punch it usually missed.  Throughout the fight she often switched between the two ways of throwing.  When she threw the right hand straight and mixed it in with her feints and inside kicks, she did the most effective damage of the entire fight.

I can't wait to see what Weili does next.  Unlike Valentina Shevchenko, Weili is looking at a pretty competitive division in front of her.  For Joanna, I'd love to see her bounce back.  She's an amazing fighter and trailblazer for the division.  I imagine these women will fight again at some point in the future.  While it would be unfair to expect a fight this incredible next time out, I do have confidence it'll at least be a good one.

SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY: Humans Reaching the Americas

The old story about how people came to the western hemisphere was that they crossed the Bering land bridge from Siberia something like 15,000-ish years ago.  That was because the only evidence we had before of human settlement only went back that far.  New archaeological evidence found in Mexico, however, shows that human beings have been in this hemisphere for as long as 32,000 years.  During that time the Bering land bridge couldn’t be crossed, meaning they got here through different means.  The leading hypothesis right now is by boat.

That’s what’s great about science.  Instead of settling for what we have now, it’s always trying to improve our understanding of the world by searching for new evidence and updating itself with that new evidence.  Of course, it’s not perfect, and especially when it isn’t guided by a desire to benefit humanity as a whole.  But here’s an example of science helping us understand more about ourselves and where we come from, to ask questions that allow us to figure out things about who we are that we couldn’t answer as accurately as before.

SCIENTIFIC ACHIEVEMENT: Deep Asteroid Rocks

Okay, yes, this is basically the runner-up award for scientific achievement, as the covid vaccine is obviously number one.  Shout out to the people who developed it.  I am deeply grateful that they have created something that will hopefully get life back to normal by the end of 2021.

That said, everyone around the world is grateful to them, so I figured this would be a good spot to shine a light on another achievement.  There were, despite the horrors of 2020, actually a lot of contenders for this spot.  But, as someone who as a kid had a poster of the planets on his wall and loved thinking about outer space (especially after watching Power Rangers in space, one of little David’s favorite iterations of his favorite show), I must go with this one.

Going to an asteroid and getting space rocks is nothing new.  What is new is what JAXA (the Japanese version of NASA) did on December 6^th with the Hayabusa2 asteroid explorer.  On the Ryugu asteroid, they blasted a 33-foot crater and retrieved what they found inside.  This is the first time in human history that we’ve ever gotten a sample of asteroid material from below the surface.  Many astronomers believe the Ryugu asteroid is as old as the solar system, and that they contents inside may even give us clues about the origin of life in our little corner of the galaxy.

ACTUAL NEWS STORY: Covid

Usually I present my bullshit news story pick before my real news story pick, but you'll see why I changed it up this year in a moment.

Anywa, this year was defined by a virus.  A virus that, while not particularly deadly as a percentage of who it kills, is wildly deadly in terms of how many people it kills in raw numbers due to how ridiculously contagious it is.  What the virus really did, however, was expose a number of faults in how our system is structured.  Yes, the Trump administration is run by a bunch of oafish grifters who couldn't be trusted to fix a cold outbreak at an elementary school.  That said, the pandemic hit the entire world hard, and I think a lot of Democrats unfairly blame Trump entirely.  Which, again, he was a miserable failure, he definitely deserves blame- but I also believe our problems go a little deeper.

A lot of other industrialized countries, while not over the virus, at least have it under control to an extent.  As of writing this, the United States is absolutely not one of those countries.  While other countries are struggling with covid because of underdevloped healthcare systems, lack of clean water, scarce resources, overcrowding, and a variety of other tragic material circumstances, the US is not one of those countries.  We have the material ability to fix it, but we don't have the political ability.

See, most other industrialized countries have provided some sort of assistance for their population while having them quarantine, such as monthly monetary payments.  Some places have even sent out care packages with masks and other supplies.  The United States has done nothing other than increasing unemployment payment and a one-time $1,200 check.  Mixed with our cruel for-profit healthcare system, this has made the impact of the virus much harder on our country than other industrialized ones.  Which, again, was a choice by those in power- the United States is still the biggest economy in the world (for now), but big money has emaciated the state so thoroughly that it can't respond with mild wealth redistribution even in the middle of a crisis.

This system can't keep going on like this.  I'm not saying it'll collapse tomorrow, or even necessarily in our lifetimes.  What I am saying is, as big money continues to leech the power of the state until it can no longer check against even the worst type of corporate abuses of power or implement any sort of public programs for the common good, our quality of life will continue to get worse to the point where it will eventually become unsustainable.  Unless we do something about it, that is.  I don't know what the future holds, but I do know that this moment will serve as a wake up call for a lot of people.  We'll see where things go in 2021 and beyond.

BULLSHIT NEWS STORY: QAnon

Believe it or not, I’m not just here to call Q-Anon stupid.  I think there’s some interesting sociological analysis to be had here.

As I said above, things are getting worse for those of us in the US.  What little protections we have, and what little redistributive policies for the common good we enjoyed, are gradually getting eroded by the ruling class and forces of big money they represent.  A lot of people can sense this instinctively, but for a variety of reasons don’t have the ability to piece together what’s actually happening.

The way Americans are taught to view “freedom” is as the ability to do whatever you want with no regard for anyone but yourself and the immediate people in your life that you care about.  It’s pure freedom without social responsibility, the Jacksonian ideal.  Because we are raised in that anti-social ideological environment, even realizing that this outlook is biased/not the universal definition of freedom is a thought not a lot of Americans are exposed to in a meaningful way.  Especially when they grow up in such a cutthroat economic system.  You can’t unlearn something if you aren't even made aware that the idea isn't an innate part of what we are and there are other ways of being.

Because of that, when things go wrong, a lot of people don’t have a coherent way to interpret what’s happening to them.  All they know is the powerful run the government, those same powerful people do not have our best interests at heart, and for some reason things aren’t as good as they used to be (the reason is economic, but since Americans aren't taugh to think in terms of class, they usually attribute it to random cultural factors).  Now drop that same American into a pandemic.  Staying inside sucks, and because they do not have a good grasp of science, all they know is that they do not like staying inside.  And if it’s not something I like doing, then being required to do it is suppressing my freedom!!

What’s frustrating about QAnon is that there are nuggets of truth hidden within.  Yes, the foreign policy apparatus of the US is controlled by a network of unelected spooks in the CIA and military; you could call that the Deep State if you like.  Yes, the ruling class is full of gross assholes who hang out with pedophiles like Jeffrey Epstein.  Yes, the mainstream media has a lot wrong with it.  But then it takes those truths and turns them into this incoherent mess of satanic time traveling pedophiles that, ironically, actually challenges the status quo less than if they realized the whole damn system is crooked.  It destroys all nuance and critical thought for the sake of crafting a fantastical story that doesn’t require any self-reflection about our values or structures of power.  No need to question how this society is built if everything can be blamed on a small but powerful cabal of satanic billionaire cannibals!

Yes, it’s dumb and selfish.  But again, it’s because mainstream American society doesn’t have any strong social values, which stems from the fact that we have a much more selfish and free-market society than even other capitalist countries, not to mention such low union density.  Until we can unite together to demand something better- which not only improves our life conditions, but also unites us and creates common purpose in the process- we will continue seeing things like QAnon pop up.  We can call it stupid and selfish all we want, but we have to recognize it's a symptom of what's wrong, not a cause.

MEME: How It Started vs How It's Going

I've probably said this before, but I think what helps make a great meme is versatility.  What I love about this specific meme format is that you can make memes that are wholesome (like the one above), silly, insightful, or even biting political commentary.  That's a great range of things you can do, and the fact that I've done everything from crack up to quietly nod my head in agreement to different versions of this meme throughout 2020 makes it my pick for top meme of the year.

VIDEO: How Bolivia Won

In 2019 a rightwing military coup forced the democratically elected president of Bolivia, Evo Morales, to step down.  Long story short, in 2020 that coup government tried its best to prevent the restoration of democracy, as it knew Evo's MAS (Movimiento al Socialismo/Movement for Socialism) party would win.  Thanks to the people of Bolivia pushing for the restoration of democracy, however, elections were held on October 18th.  MAS candidate Luis Arce won, as expected.  This video does a great job detailing what happened.

PHOTO: Doctor Comforts Covid-19 Patient

Essential workers are, well, essential.  It’s in the name.  But I think what we’ve learned this year is just how essential healthcare, emergency, service, agricultural, and other such workers truly are.  Society literally cannot operate without them, whereas it could easily continue without consultants, or marketing executives, or insurance salesmen.  The workers at these jobs have learned two things.  One, that they are important.  Two, that working together during times of crisis is a way to get through it.

Something underreported in recent years before covid is just how many labor strikes there have been.   Even in 2020 there were manystrikes, ranging from the normal causes of strikes (pay, benefits, job security) to issues specific to covid (protective equipment being the most common concern).  What gives me hope about this moment is that people are started to gain confidence as workers.  This means not only striking for better living conditions, but in the process forming bonds that favor a societal ethic of the common good.

Essential workers have sacrificed everything this year to keep the world spinning.  But they also did so to keep their lights on and their stomachs full.  As someone who spent the year working as an educator during the school year and a contractor during the summer (quite the combination, I know), I am grateful for what these essential workers have done, and I hope after the pandemic ends we can keep recognizing our importance as workers and work together for something better.

BADASS: Black Lives Matter Protest Leaders

Earlier this year, footage of George Floyd’s murder sparked a national uprising against police brutality.  Other prominent cases- such as that of Breonna Taylor, an essential worker who the police murdered in her sleep- also added fuel to the fire, and we saw the largest uprising against police violence (and, in many cases, systemic inequality in general) in US history in terms of pure numbers.

The protests often got intense, and I say that as someone who has attended protests for over a decade.  My first protest during the initial wave of uprisings this year happened toward the very beginning, when large parts of LA were taken over by the protestors and the police were on the back foot.  I saw burning cop cars, blocks covered in signs about racial equality, and armies of unarmed people with masks on staring down the police who pointed bean bag guns at us.  Another time, at a protest by an LA prison, we got into a standoff with armed police and prison guards that had sirens blaring so loud I could barely hear my own thoughts.

I saw tremendous courage out there.  When things got hairy I managed to stay near the frontlines, but I must admit there were people much braver than I was.  A lot of people went to the very front, staring down the police even when they fired bean bag guns or hit people with their batons.  Everything I saw from people- especially young people- gave me hope.  The fact that so many logistical things were taken care of by the organizers, from free food and water to strategically planned locations for the actions, impressed me deeply.

On a national level, we frankly didn’t get many concessions.  In my opinion, part of that stemmed from the fact that there was no centralized organizing body that could coordinate between the protests in different cities.  The uprisings were powerful everywhere they happened, but they weren’t strategically plotted in an organized way for a united platform of specific demands.  That’s something that can happen with time.

Yet there were a number of local victories, from reallocations of city budgets toward social services instead of further militarizing the police to actual experiments in fundamentally reimagining what policing can look like.  If we keep up pressure, even more concessions can be leveraged.  Some may think the high number of protestors in 2020 not leading to everything we want means defeat, but it’s important to remember that the civil rights movement of the 1960s started back in 1945, and even had roots tracing back further.  Like I said above, we can improve with time.  It’s a shame more wasn’t won in 2020, but this is just the beginning.  While it doesn’t feel that way right now, there is reason to have hope.