Pop Xulture Newsletter # 21
Focusing on Being the Ricardos. 3/2/24
Hi Friends and welcome to the first Newsletter of 2024! I’ve been hard at work, so let’s dig in.
Xurrent News
The beginning of January saw two articles with my involvement from Christ and Pop Culture (CAPC). The first was part of my annual series comparing the current year and it’s forty-year-old compatriot. I wrote “1983 vs. 2023: When Is Revival Right for America?” over the course of 2023 but spent the last six weeks of the year honing it to perfection. I realize the theme of “revival” may not sound super interesting but consider another perspective of “revolution,” coupled with AI, fearmongering, and some fun pop culture artifacts like The A-Team, the birth of the internet, and Barbenheimer.
I also had the opportunity to contribute to the article “CAPC’s Favorite TV of 2023,” writing on The Last of Us. If I may be so self-indulgent, I’d like to share a bit of my favorite portion:
Choices by the showrunners like a willingness to bounce around the timeline engage the viewer while allowing for a greater emotional depth. Interestingly, those choices enable the audience to become invested in the characters while increasing the believability of the demanding decisions they’re forced to make. Even production design and a budget to shoot in 180 locations enhance the affectivity. I’ve rarely (if ever) seen a better mix of settings that amplify emotion, everything from claustrophobic confinement to nature’s sprawling reclamation.
The article is a great little compilation featuring writers much better than I, so check it out to nod in agreement with your favorite shows or to find a few new ones.
Over the course of a couple days I recently (and feverishly) wrote a piece of fiction. You’ll be able to dive into my first shareable short story within the next few days!
I also just finished the first draft of the script I mentioned in the December Newsletter. I’ll let you know how the pitching goes.
Xomposition Exclusive
Two years ago (almost exactly) I posted my second exclusive article for you: “Being the Ricardos: Like Lipstick for Chocolate.” Director and screenwriter Aaron Sorkin is one of my favs and I have good childhood memories of watching I Love Lucy. In rare fashion, my first draft of this article fairly closely resembled the final product. So I don’t have a lot of cut bits for you, but I do have some interesting notes from the writing process.
*BE WARNED THERE ARE SPOILERS BELOW*
Notes for Article on Being the Ricardos
Sorkin lightly hints at a major emphasis: Lucy only discovered Desi’s adultery by two rare actions. She never cleaned her lipstick with his handkerchief and very rarely did the laundry, which is where she subsequently found another women’s lipstick on another handkerchief.
But to Lucy it wasn’t just a house, it represented her dreams of having a home for a family. And at that moment it had been broken. Sorkin doesn’t do us the favor of revisiting that scene to nicely tie up our realization. He trusts the audience to put the pieces together and brings the desire to re-watch the film. It’s not that you’re missing anything after watching it once, but there is a greater appreciation for the layers lovingly included through great storytelling.
After realizing the lipstick on Desi’s handkerchief was the wrong color, Lucy calls Fred and Ethel and wants them to meet at the studio. Lucy works out the table scene. She is unable to control her husband and her home is out of control, so she controls the scene.
[END EXCLUSIVE ARTICLE CONTENT]
Xoncluding Thoughts
I’ll be attending WonderCon at the end of this month (March) as I do every year and I’m thinking about posting like I did last year (here). Are there any panels or vendors or content you’d like me to check out? Let me know in the comments!
Thanks, in Him,
-Chris (the Bearded Wonder) Fogle