Recent Pop Culture Experiences

-There are no shortage of fans when it comes to actors, authors, singers, painters, directors, dancers and athletes. But have you ever heard of anyone becoming a fan of…a narrator? Well, now you have, because I am hereby declaring myself as a fan of Jim Dale.
Let me bring you up to speed on Mr. Dale. As I’ve mentioned here before, I recently listened to the entire Harry Potter series on audio cassette while driving to and from work. About mid-way through the first book, I thought to myself: “Yeah, the story is decent, but you know what’s really awesome? The guy doing the reading”. I mean, he was spectacular. He had a different voice for every character of varying ages and nationalities – even managing to sound like pre-teen girls without resorting to a falsetto. Hargrid (the giant) sounded large and gruff and Snape sounded cold and foreboding. I don’t know how he managed to keep it all straight, but I would often know who was speaking just by the voice. For example, when he read: “’I don’t like this,’ said Ron”, I knew it was Ron even before he got to the ‘said Ron’ part.
I looked on the back of the box and discovered that Dale subsequently won an Emmy award for his reading (well deserved, sir!). He also narrates the TV show Pushing Daisies, which I had noted to my wife more than once that “this show has a great narrator”.
Anyway, after finishing up the Harry Potter books, I went to the library and looked for another audio book narrated by Dale. I found one: Around the World in 80 Days. At the end of that book, Dale says: “We hope you enjoyed this unabridged recording of ‘Around the World in 80 Days’, by Jules Verne”, and for a split second, I thought “Hey, wait, this book was by Jim Dale, not Jules Verne”. But then I thought: “Silly James, Dale was merely the narrator, not the author”.

-While browsing the virtual shelves at Amazon.com the other day, I fortuitously stumbled upon Paddle to the Sea, a short film from the 1960s that I had last seen in Kindergarten. In fact, I totally forgot the film even existed until I saw the ad for it. I immediately went over to Netflix to add it to my queue, but to my consternation, they did not have it (marking the first time Netflix ever failed to have a DVD I was searching for). Alas, the local library did have it. We watched it that very night as a family, and Owen was completely enthralled by it, asking to watch it again on each subsequent night that week. He calls it “Paddle the Boat”, an endearing moniker that’s no less of a misnomer than the title (as there is not a single stroke of paddling in the entire film).
At any rate, after rewatching this film for the first time in nearly three decades, I have added it to its rightful place in my pantheon of Best Short Films Ever. Go rent it, you’ll like it, and so will that special toddler in your life.

-The wife and I recently viewed the documentary The Fog of War. It won the Oscar for Best Documentary back on 2003, and it’s directed by Errol Morris, which equated to a sure bet (in my opinion). The film is, essentially, an interview with Robert McNamara, who, in case you don’t remember, was Secretary of Defense under both Kennedy and Johnson. McNamara, who doesn’t succeed in proving his case despite being given an hour an a half to do so, comes across as a man who has lived long enough to see how historians have painted him (he’s 92 years old).

He does a good job of splitting the blame between his underlings and subordinates. Like a manager, when it’s convenient, he blames the President and, when it’s convenient, he blames his employees. McNamara seemed to have no trouble recalling the absurd atrocities Johnson (in his all-too-relevant Cowboy politics) committed during his tenure as Commander-in-Chief, yet can’t seem to remember details about his own life, like if he authorized Agent Orange or not.

McNamara implied that Kennedy’s assassination was a tragedy for another reason: had Kennedy lived, the American involvement in Vietnam would have ended far sooner than it did under the two buffoons who succeeded him. It’s an interesting thought, but ultimately pointless – maybe Kennedy would have ended Vietnam…maybe Buddy Holly would have become more famous than Elvis…maybe Jesus would’ve become CEO of a bread company. Who knows?

The documentary is filled with reflective comments from McNamara, wondering why it took so long to learn the lessons we learned in Vietnam, wondering if the acts of aggression we committed are crimes against humanity, wondering if the evil we performed in Vietnam was justified by the good that came of it. I kept wondering: what’s with this WE crap, Bob? When millions of Americans were protesting on the streets – including a man who lit himself on fire right outside your office, how dare you ask why it took us so long to learn. It didn’t take us a long time to learn Vietnam was immoral…it only took you a long time.

Near the end of the film, Morris asks McNamara if he feels guilty, and McNamara (who, earlier, said he always held a policy of answering, not the question that was asked to you, but the question you wish was asked of you) simply says he’s dammed no matter how he responds. So he says nothing. Nice try, Bob, but your attempt to win sympathizers is too little, too late.

Harry Potter: B
Jim Dale’s narration: A
Paddle to the Sea: A
The Fog of War: B
Robert McNamara's career: F