WEBVTT - Beyond the Lights with Maya Williams 0:00:01.000 --> 0:00:03.960 On The Bechdel Cast. The questions asked if movies have 0:00:04.120 --> 0:00:07.560 women in them, are all their discussions just boyfriends and 0:00:07.640 --> 0:00:11.760 husbands or do they have individualism? It's the patriarchy, zeph 0:00:11.840 --> 0:00:15.320 and bast start changing it with the Bechdel Cast. 0:00:16.320 --> 0:00:19.919 Caitlin, you've got second place in the singing contest. 0:00:21.239 --> 0:00:23.400 No, no, you're happy about it. 0:00:23.920 --> 0:00:28.280 Oh yay, Now smash your trophy. You're not a champion, 0:00:29.080 --> 0:00:32.120 no of us. Right, that's that's the part I'm not 0:00:32.479 --> 0:00:37.479 happy about Mini Driver as bully mother. You hate to 0:00:37.600 --> 0:00:40.960 see it. I think that was a strong intro. It 0:00:41.040 --> 0:00:43.680 did go as it tends to do. It went a 0:00:43.720 --> 0:00:50.080 little Australian at the end, but that's that's okay. Where 0:00:50.080 --> 0:00:54.160 this is a safe place. Because one guy told Caitlyn 0:00:54.360 --> 0:00:57.440 they had a good Australian accent, and I chose to 0:00:57.480 --> 0:00:59.520 also take that as applying to me. 0:01:00.120 --> 0:01:02.880 So yeah, of course, of course we are a unit. 0:01:03.120 --> 0:01:03.680 We are one. 0:01:04.040 --> 0:01:08.080 We are a unit. Look at that unit, and that unit. 0:01:07.959 --> 0:01:13.319 Is called the Bechdel Cast. And I'm Caitlin Dorante and. 0:01:13.280 --> 0:01:18.000 I'm Jamie Loftus the other half of the unit. And yes, 0:01:18.160 --> 0:01:20.319 this is our podcast where we take a look at 0:01:20.319 --> 0:01:24.840 your favorite movies using an intersectional feminist lens, using the 0:01:24.880 --> 0:01:28.000 Bechdel Test as a jumping off point for a discussion. 0:01:28.080 --> 0:01:31.600 But wait a second, Caitlin, what's the Bechdel test? 0:01:32.040 --> 0:01:32.240 All? 0:01:32.400 --> 0:01:36.080 Is it a Minnie driver yelling at her daughter to 0:01:36.160 --> 0:01:39.560 smash a trophy? Because spoiler alert, yes it is. 0:01:39.680 --> 0:01:44.840 It does pass. Yeah. So the Bechdel test commonly known 0:01:44.880 --> 0:01:49.360 as the Bechdel Wallace test because Alison Bechdel created it 0:01:49.760 --> 0:01:53.840 in collaboration with her friend Liz Wallace. It first appeared 0:01:53.880 --> 0:01:57.040 in Alison Bechdel's comic Dix to Watch out For. And 0:01:57.280 --> 0:01:59.840 it's a medium metric that has many versions. The one 0:01:59.880 --> 0:02:03.040 that we use is this, do two characters of a 0:02:03.120 --> 0:02:06.360 marginalized gender have names? Do they speak to each other? 0:02:06.800 --> 0:02:10.519 Is that conversation about something other than a man and 0:02:10.720 --> 0:02:13.920 a little caveat that we add is is the conversation 0:02:14.600 --> 0:02:19.040 narratively important in some way or is it just throw 0:02:19.080 --> 0:02:23.360 away dialogue? Because ideally it's a nice, juicy conversation. 0:02:23.880 --> 0:02:28.640 It's got to have the juice. Yeah, And today we 0:02:28.720 --> 0:02:32.000 are covering a director we've covered many many and by 0:02:32.000 --> 0:02:34.680 many I think I mean too possibly three. 0:02:34.919 --> 0:02:37.040 Well, love and basketball. 0:02:36.919 --> 0:02:40.760 Yes, and the woman King, the woman King right, So 0:02:40.840 --> 0:02:43.440 this is three, this is three. Little does this director 0:02:43.520 --> 0:02:47.440 know that she's about to get her Bechdel cast Letterman jacket, 0:02:48.320 --> 0:02:53.560 which is a third appearance, Honor. We are covering Beyond 0:02:53.760 --> 0:02:57.840 the Lights today, a twenty fourteen movie directed by Gina 0:02:57.840 --> 0:03:02.360 Prince Bythwood, and we have a returning guest. It's true. 0:03:02.680 --> 0:03:07.160 They are a religious, black, multiracial, non binary suicide survivor 0:03:07.200 --> 0:03:10.880 who is currently the seventh Poet Laureate of Portland, Maine. 0:03:11.560 --> 0:03:15.320 I said, mained, mained, that's not the name of the state. 0:03:17.360 --> 0:03:22.000 Air debut poetry collection, Judas and Suicide, was selected as 0:03:22.040 --> 0:03:24.720 a finalist for the New England Book Award. They also 0:03:24.800 --> 0:03:28.880 have a second poetry collection, Refused a second Date. They 0:03:28.960 --> 0:03:34.200 recently published essays in venues such as LGBTQ, Nation, Stylist, 0:03:34.360 --> 0:03:37.520 and Full Stop, as well as interviews in Black Girl Nerds. 0:03:38.440 --> 0:03:41.240 Maya was one of three artists of color selected to 0:03:41.440 --> 0:03:46.360 represent Maine in the Kennedy Center's Arts Across America series 0:03:46.360 --> 0:03:50.080 in twenty twenty, and they were also selected as one 0:03:50.080 --> 0:03:52.920 of the Advocates Champions of Pride in twenty twenty two. 0:03:53.640 --> 0:03:56.840 You can follow her at Maya williamspoet dot com. It's 0:03:56.920 --> 0:03:58.560 Maya Williams. 0:03:58.120 --> 0:04:02.240 Say, well back, welcome back. 0:04:02.600 --> 0:04:05.119 I'm sorry it's not dear Evan Hanson. But also I'm 0:04:05.120 --> 0:04:06.280 not sorry that. 0:04:07.720 --> 0:04:08.480 It's okay. 0:04:08.640 --> 0:04:11.280 Honestly, I think that there's a few people out there 0:04:11.320 --> 0:04:14.280 breathing a sigh of relief that they have escaped the 0:04:14.360 --> 0:04:20.280 clutches of Evan Hanson this time, just this time, Maya 0:04:20.360 --> 0:04:24.599 will be back and you will experience the majesty of 0:04:24.600 --> 0:04:28.559 Evan Hanson. God, I really wish we could all watch 0:04:28.560 --> 0:04:29.520 that movie together. 0:04:30.279 --> 0:04:32.640 I've never seen it, so I don't even know what 0:04:32.839 --> 0:04:35.039 people are talking about when they talk about it, or like, 0:04:35.120 --> 0:04:37.600 obviously know what the I know it's a movie, but 0:04:37.640 --> 0:04:41.520 I don't know, brave why people talk about it. 0:04:41.600 --> 0:04:47.600 There's so many ways to watch that movie. There's just okay, 0:04:48.040 --> 0:04:52.440 I every watch a poem, but no, today we're talking 0:04:52.440 --> 0:04:56.600 about Beyond the Lights. Maya, what is your history and 0:04:56.800 --> 0:05:01.279 connection with this movie with the filmmaker you know Dealers twice. 0:05:01.600 --> 0:05:04.760 Yeah, I've seen I've seen this movie for the first 0:05:04.800 --> 0:05:10.320 time my freshman year of college, and I was obsessed 0:05:10.360 --> 0:05:13.840 with it at the time because I was like, oh 0:05:13.880 --> 0:05:17.480 my god, by racial representation, oh my god, mental help. 0:05:18.000 --> 0:05:22.000 And then and then come to adulthood of like, oh 0:05:22.080 --> 0:05:27.080 I don't like how she's in love with the cop. Yeah, 0:05:27.120 --> 0:05:29.680 but we'll get into that, and and yeah, it's very 0:05:29.680 --> 0:05:33.680 familiar with this director's work. I got to cover the 0:05:33.720 --> 0:05:35.760 Secret life of Bees on the on the Black Girl 0:05:35.760 --> 0:05:37.640 Film podcast and that was a real joy and a 0:05:37.680 --> 0:05:41.200 real treat. Said, movies really good, has its fails like 0:05:41.240 --> 0:05:45.760 any other movie, but yeah, enjoyed that. And yeah, I 0:05:45.800 --> 0:05:49.760 watched this movie twice in preparation for this, and I 0:05:49.800 --> 0:05:53.440 couldn't find a commentary to like delve into. So I 0:05:53.480 --> 0:05:55.520 just spent a lot of my time just reading interviews 0:05:55.520 --> 0:05:59.960 and watching like featurette interviews. So so no commentary tidbits 0:06:00.080 --> 0:06:02.159 from me today. But it'll still be your name. 0:06:02.640 --> 0:06:05.839 I really that's like of the many things that we've 0:06:05.920 --> 0:06:10.400 lost in the like lack of physical media, and I 0:06:10.440 --> 0:06:11.800 feel like I have to keep saying, like I need 0:06:11.839 --> 0:06:16.400 to issue a formal apology to all of my friends 0:06:16.400 --> 0:06:19.599 and lovers who I roasted for having too many DVDs 0:06:19.600 --> 0:06:22.560 at their house, including Caitlin, because you were all right, 0:06:23.480 --> 0:06:25.520 you were all right. I was wrong. 0:06:25.800 --> 0:06:27.040 I accept your apologize. 0:06:27.200 --> 0:06:30.920 I'm really big for him. But I feel like one 0:06:30.920 --> 0:06:33.760 of the many things we've lost is the art of 0:06:33.800 --> 0:06:38.640 the commentary track. They just don't happen. It's embarrassing. I mean, 0:06:39.080 --> 0:06:44.000 we do get you know, we've gained letterboxed interviews, we've 0:06:44.040 --> 0:06:47.159 gained round tables, but we've lost the commentary. I just 0:06:47.160 --> 0:06:48.440 feel like we got to bring it back. 0:06:48.600 --> 0:06:51.479 What was the Ben Affleck commentary that was hilarious? Was 0:06:51.480 --> 0:06:52.880 it for Armageddon? 0:06:53.279 --> 0:06:55.880 It was for I think it was for Armageddon, Yeah, 0:06:55.880 --> 0:06:58.280 where he was just and then there's also a really 0:06:58.360 --> 0:07:03.160 good one yeah, where he's just like roasting specifically from 0:07:03.160 --> 0:07:06.479 a science perspective, which is just like, I don't know. 0:07:06.600 --> 0:07:09.640 Sometimes I'm reminded that, like Ben Affleck is like a 0:07:09.680 --> 0:07:14.360 pretty smart person, and it kind of like rattles. It 0:07:14.440 --> 0:07:17.280 rattles me every time I re learned that where sometimes 0:07:17.280 --> 0:07:20.040 you early you hear him speaking fluent Spanish, You're like, wow, 0:07:20.200 --> 0:07:26.800 ben Affleck is objectively smarter than me. That's wild. I mean, 0:07:27.040 --> 0:07:30.720 this isn't passing the Bectel test whatsoever. No, but do 0:07:30.800 --> 0:07:33.760 you remember when he had that cardboard cutout of Anna 0:07:33.840 --> 0:07:36.840 to Armis on his lawn when they were dating. Oh 0:07:36.880 --> 0:07:40.960 my god, I feel like that passed out of the 0:07:41.000 --> 0:07:43.480 cultural memory way too fast. First of all, that they 0:07:43.520 --> 0:07:46.960 did date, it was like a pandemic relationship. Yeah, and 0:07:47.000 --> 0:07:51.560 that like I guess that his kids liked her, which 0:07:51.600 --> 0:07:54.480 is great, but that like led to for some reason, 0:07:54.600 --> 0:07:57.280 there was a time during lockdown where there was a 0:07:57.280 --> 0:08:00.360 cardboard cutout of Anna to Armis on the lawn that 0:08:00.360 --> 0:08:01.760 the kids were like playing with. 0:08:02.200 --> 0:08:04.160 That's uch weird. 0:08:04.480 --> 0:08:07.320 I feel like I'm remembering that basically correctly. 0:08:08.240 --> 0:08:09.400 No, I believe you. 0:08:10.240 --> 0:08:14.480 Okay, Well, anyway, what's your history with Beyond the Lives, Caitlin? 0:08:15.720 --> 0:08:18.520 I had not seen it before, so this was my 0:08:18.560 --> 0:08:24.600 first watch. And yeah, that's kind of it. I think 0:08:24.640 --> 0:08:28.600 there's some interesting things about it that I enjoyed, and 0:08:28.640 --> 0:08:32.000 then there's other things that I didn't enjoy so much, 0:08:32.920 --> 0:08:37.360 and we'll dive into that further. Yeah, but yeah, short 0:08:37.400 --> 0:08:39.079 history with it. What about you, Jamie? 0:08:39.679 --> 0:08:43.640 Yeah, I also had not This movie was not on 0:08:43.679 --> 0:08:46.480 my radar, which is I thought was kind of bizarre 0:08:46.480 --> 0:08:50.160 because I'm like a fan of Gina Prince Bythwood. I 0:08:50.240 --> 0:08:52.160 just I don't know, I don't know if like, I'm 0:08:52.160 --> 0:08:53.840 sure I heard about it when it came out, but 0:08:54.160 --> 0:08:57.160 this movie just missed me. I'm not really sure what happened. 0:08:57.160 --> 0:09:00.120 It was successful and it was well reviewed, so I 0:09:00.120 --> 0:09:04.240 guess I don't know. Twenty fourteen I was. I guess 0:09:04.280 --> 0:09:06.600 I was like working at a bakery. I don't know, 0:09:06.800 --> 0:09:09.040 I was at a bakery. It missed me. 0:09:09.320 --> 0:09:12.280 Well, it was well reviewed, but it only made like 0:09:12.360 --> 0:09:15.000 fourteen million at the box office, so it's not as 0:09:15.000 --> 0:09:16.760 though a lot of people went and saw this and 0:09:16.800 --> 0:09:19.080 that this was like a super popular movie. 0:09:19.640 --> 0:09:21.120 But it's like, I guess. All I would say was 0:09:21.160 --> 0:09:23.800 like it's it wasn't like a flop by any means, 0:09:24.480 --> 0:09:27.719 but yeah, I this one missed missed me. I had 0:09:27.720 --> 0:09:30.760 a fun time, based on the very vague title, figuring 0:09:30.760 --> 0:09:34.760 out what genre was which actually does speak to what 0:09:35.000 --> 0:09:39.640 a prolific and what's the word I'm looking for? Like, 0:09:39.840 --> 0:09:43.200 when you hear that Gina Prince Bithwood has directed a movie, 0:09:43.400 --> 0:09:46.000 you know you're probably gonna like it. But she directs 0:09:46.000 --> 0:09:48.520 across so many genres that I was like, I don't 0:09:48.520 --> 0:09:51.880 really know what to expect from this, and it surprised me. 0:09:52.840 --> 0:09:54.480 I'm excited to talk about it because I think that 0:09:54.520 --> 0:09:57.240 there's a lot of stuff about it that stands out 0:09:57.280 --> 0:10:01.840 in a way that I really liked. There the copaganda 0:10:02.000 --> 0:10:06.199 kind of took me by surprise. Yeah, and like how 0:10:06.440 --> 0:10:08.720 specific the propaganda got. We were like, you know how 0:10:08.760 --> 0:10:12.760 the LAPD is really good at handling domestic violence situations. 0:10:12.800 --> 0:10:16.240 And you're like, hold on, no, wait a second. But 0:10:16.440 --> 0:10:18.600 there's a lot of things to like about this movie. 0:10:18.880 --> 0:10:21.280 And also I just feel like, I don't know, like 0:10:21.679 --> 0:10:24.240 the twenty fourteen noess of this movie because of like 0:10:24.320 --> 0:10:27.800 what a pop culture focus movie it is was fun. 0:10:28.040 --> 0:10:31.800 You were like, for some reason, for some reason, Don 0:10:31.920 --> 0:10:36.640 Lemon participates in the climax of this movie. Don Lemon 0:10:36.880 --> 0:10:39.240 is at the peak of the movie. I was like 0:10:39.280 --> 0:10:41.400 live texting the movie to someone else. I was like, 0:10:41.440 --> 0:10:45.360 you're never gonna believe who makes a cameo at the 0:10:45.400 --> 0:10:49.240 emotional climax of the movie. It is Don Lemon. There's 0:10:49.240 --> 0:10:50.760 a lot of people in this movie who have since 0:10:50.800 --> 0:10:54.080 been disgraced. It just was very twenty fourteen in a 0:10:54.120 --> 0:10:57.079 lot of ways. Don Lemon's at the climax of it. 0:10:57.080 --> 0:10:59.520 I just like Don Lemon spoke at by college graduation. 0:10:59.679 --> 0:11:03.720 It just really taking me back to like college era. Yeah, 0:11:03.760 --> 0:11:08.120 my college graduation. The two people who spoke were Don 0:11:08.200 --> 0:11:13.440 Lemon and Jay Leno deeply cursed event. But I would 0:11:13.480 --> 0:11:19.880 love to know what those two people talked about backstage. Anyways, 0:11:20.000 --> 0:11:21.960 this movie is weird. I think this movie is weird. 0:11:22.120 --> 0:11:23.960 I didn't love it, but I think that there's a 0:11:24.000 --> 0:11:26.839 lot to like about it and I'm excited to talk 0:11:26.840 --> 0:11:27.240 about it. 0:11:27.520 --> 0:11:29.160 Well, shall we do that? 0:11:30.160 --> 0:11:31.440 Let's shall do that. 0:11:32.240 --> 0:11:34.360 Let's take a quick break first, and then we'll come 0:11:34.400 --> 0:11:35.320 back for the recap. 0:11:46.520 --> 0:11:48.080 And we're back. 0:11:48.760 --> 0:11:52.240 Okay. So before the recap, I will place a content 0:11:52.400 --> 0:11:59.560 warning for suicide, sexual assault, and domestic violence. So the 0:11:59.600 --> 0:12:04.120 story opens in South London in nineteen ninety eight. We 0:12:04.400 --> 0:12:09.160 meet Nony Jean. She's mixed. She is black and white, 0:12:09.600 --> 0:12:13.239 and her white mom, Macy, played by Mini Driver. 0:12:13.280 --> 0:12:15.720 Jump Scare, did not see Mini Driver coming. 0:12:16.440 --> 0:12:16.560 No. 0:12:18.160 --> 0:12:21.720 She takes Noni to a black owned hair salon because 0:12:21.880 --> 0:12:25.440 Noni is performing in a talent contest the following day 0:12:25.760 --> 0:12:29.480 and Macy doesn't know how to style black hair, while. 0:12:29.240 --> 0:12:33.199 A radio recording about Princess Diana plays in the back. 0:12:33.440 --> 0:12:37.679 Yeah, God, I love it. There should be because in 0:12:37.720 --> 0:12:40.080 general this movie is like not. I just I think 0:12:40.120 --> 0:12:43.200 there should be like a good supercut of like clunky 0:12:43.440 --> 0:12:48.400 historical signifier moments, because that's when where you're like, oh, 0:12:48.720 --> 0:12:50.840 is it nineteen ninety seven? I feel like there's so 0:12:50.880 --> 0:12:54.680 many movies that they're also like randomly apropos of nothing. 0:12:54.720 --> 0:12:57.400 They're like, are you afraid of Y two K? Just 0:12:57.400 --> 0:13:01.320 to let you know, like what it is anyways. 0:13:00.960 --> 0:13:04.400 Yeah, yep, okay. So then we see Noni at the 0:13:04.640 --> 0:13:09.160 talent contest. She does an amazing job singing Blackbird by 0:13:09.240 --> 0:13:13.200 Nina Simone and she gets first runner up, but her 0:13:13.240 --> 0:13:16.240 mom is furious that the judges picked another girl as 0:13:16.400 --> 0:13:17.040 the winner. 0:13:17.400 --> 0:13:20.600 Which, yeah, while this scene that Minnie driver through was 0:13:20.880 --> 0:13:24.200 embarrassing and unfair giving it to I think her name 0:13:24.240 --> 0:13:27.320 is Little Tammy. She was robbed. 0:13:27.720 --> 0:13:30.160 She was robbed, Yeah, oh yeah, robbed by a bunch 0:13:30.200 --> 0:13:33.920 of white girls in like very shiny clothes, ye and like, 0:13:34.320 --> 0:13:37.160 which of course becomes very telling as to the trajectory 0:13:37.200 --> 0:13:39.520 for Noni, but like, yeah, we can get into that 0:13:39.640 --> 0:13:40.720 more later, but right. 0:13:41.080 --> 0:13:43.440 The point is though, that Macie puts a lot of 0:13:43.480 --> 0:13:47.439 pressure on Noni to be a winner, to be the best. 0:13:47.920 --> 0:13:50.760 We cut to Noni as an adult. She's played by 0:13:50.880 --> 0:13:54.679 google Batha Rah. She is now a hip hop artist, 0:13:55.160 --> 0:13:57.800 like a breakout, like on the cusp of being like 0:13:57.840 --> 0:14:02.640 an enormous record breaking star. We see a very horny 0:14:02.760 --> 0:14:03.679 music video. 0:14:03.720 --> 0:14:06.800 Of hers, which also is like, so I was like, uh, 0:14:06.960 --> 0:14:08.440 twenty fourteen. 0:14:10.559 --> 0:14:16.160 Gary, she wins her first Billboard Award for a song 0:14:16.520 --> 0:14:21.560 she performed with her boyfriend Kid Culprit. And also there's 0:14:21.560 --> 0:14:24.120 a one hundred percent chance I will accidentally call him 0:14:24.200 --> 0:14:26.400 kid Cutty. It's just gonna happen there. 0:14:26.680 --> 0:14:30.360 Well. And also it's like it's also MGK, which is 0:14:30.680 --> 0:14:34.080 also another jump scare that you're just like, okay, MIDI driver. 0:14:34.360 --> 0:14:37.040 I can accept that I like Manny, but then MGK 0:14:37.280 --> 0:14:41.000 and it's like twenty fourteen MGK, and he's clearly trying 0:14:41.000 --> 0:14:44.920 to like soft launch a movie career. It's just like, 0:14:45.080 --> 0:14:46.240 what is happening? Wow. 0:14:46.480 --> 0:14:51.000 Here's my little anecdote about that is that when I 0:14:51.040 --> 0:14:53.960 saw him in this movie, I did not recognize him 0:14:54.000 --> 0:14:57.160 because I don't know what Machine Gun Kelly looks like 0:14:57.360 --> 0:15:00.400 or who that even really is. I recognize the name, 0:15:00.440 --> 0:15:02.840 but then when I was like looking through the credits 0:15:02.840 --> 0:15:05.800 on IMDb, I was like, wait, what machine Gun Kelly? 0:15:05.920 --> 0:15:08.400 I know that name? Who is that person? And then 0:15:08.440 --> 0:15:11.280 I realized he plays Kid culprit, and I'm. 0:15:11.080 --> 0:15:14.560 Like, oh, so he's outside of like making a lot 0:15:14.600 --> 0:15:18.080 of bad music. He is most I think most famous 0:15:18.120 --> 0:15:21.680 for being in a really kind of intense public relationship 0:15:21.680 --> 0:15:26.440 with Megan Fox. Oh Gotsie. My brush with Machine Gun 0:15:26.520 --> 0:15:28.160 Kelly was when I was working at a haunted hay 0:15:28.240 --> 0:15:33.000 Ride and he and Megan Fox took like a huge 0:15:33.240 --> 0:15:35.000 like like not a limo but like a big like 0:15:35.360 --> 0:15:38.680 uber triple, like a really nice car to the hay 0:15:38.760 --> 0:15:41.640 Ride and paid like three hundred dollars to get the 0:15:41.760 --> 0:15:45.760 VIP experience. Oh gosh, I was like doing my little 0:15:45.800 --> 0:15:49.720 scary thing. And then uh and then a tractor, like 0:15:49.760 --> 0:15:53.840 a hay ride tractor full of only Megan Fox and 0:15:53.960 --> 0:15:58.320 Machine Gun Kelly past and they didn't get scared because 0:15:58.320 --> 0:15:59.120 it wasn't scary. 0:15:59.440 --> 0:16:02.400 Whoa, I guess you should have done a better job, Jamie. 0:16:02.960 --> 0:16:05.840 It was really humbling, and seeing Machine Gun Kelly kind 0:16:05.880 --> 0:16:07.080 of brings me to a dark place. 0:16:08.120 --> 0:16:12.200 Sorry. Well, anyway, he's in the movie playing Kid Cutty 0:16:12.360 --> 0:16:16.880 or something. Okay, So Noni's first album is dropping in 0:16:16.920 --> 0:16:19.800 a few weeks, and again she's like on the precipice 0:16:19.840 --> 0:16:23.080 of like extreme she's already famous, but She's like about 0:16:23.120 --> 0:16:26.360 to be a huge, huge star. Her mom, Macy is 0:16:26.520 --> 0:16:29.880 there and she's still very, very intense, and she is 0:16:29.960 --> 0:16:36.240 now Nony's manager. That night, Nony goes into her hotel 0:16:36.320 --> 0:16:40.880 room in Beverly Hills. She's sitting on the railing of 0:16:40.920 --> 0:16:47.680 a balcony and she attempts suicide, but a cop named 0:16:47.960 --> 0:16:53.080 Officer cas Nicol played by Nate Parker saves her and 0:16:53.240 --> 0:16:57.800 they have this moment where they look at each other meaningfully. 0:16:58.440 --> 0:17:02.760 And then in the aftermath of this suicide attempt, more 0:17:02.800 --> 0:17:06.560 cops have shown up, including Kaz's dad, who is the 0:17:06.600 --> 0:17:09.200 police captain played by Danny Glover. 0:17:09.320 --> 0:17:11.000 I'm scared Danny Glover of. 0:17:11.720 --> 0:17:13.920 Saw One fame, that. 0:17:14.000 --> 0:17:21.040 Is, as we're always saying, his most iconic roles, most 0:17:21.160 --> 0:17:25.480 famous for being like, who is Jig Saw? 0:17:27.720 --> 0:17:28.040 People? 0:17:28.160 --> 0:17:32.000 People are just like Danny Glover, oh of sol Saw One. 0:17:32.600 --> 0:17:35.800 He doesn't make it to Saw It too, unfortunately. I 0:17:35.800 --> 0:17:38.639 would love if they. I mean, there's been ten at 0:17:38.680 --> 0:17:42.880 this point, bring him back for eleven. Right, the cannon's 0:17:42.920 --> 0:17:46.320 a mess. You like, you won't be disturbing anything, and 0:17:46.560 --> 0:17:50.240 and you know Jigsaw would love to see him. 0:17:50.680 --> 0:17:51.800 Oh, tell me about it. 0:17:51.920 --> 0:17:54.360 Yeah, anyways, Danny Glover's in this movie. 0:17:54.200 --> 0:17:59.680 Yes, and he's telling his son, Officer Kaz, to lie 0:18:00.040 --> 0:18:00.840 out what happened. 0:18:00.960 --> 0:18:04.199 Who's and also Kaz I'm not mistaken in saying that 0:18:04.280 --> 0:18:06.440 Kaz says it's short for Kazam. 0:18:06.840 --> 0:18:08.800 That's correct. Yeah, I was. 0:18:08.760 --> 0:18:12.159 Looking through the letterbox. Also follow me on letterbox. I 0:18:12.359 --> 0:18:17.880 just don't account it's Jamie alert. But I was looking 0:18:17.920 --> 0:18:20.320 through letterbox to see if anyone makes note of the 0:18:20.320 --> 0:18:24.879 fact that our romantic lead is named Kazam, which is 0:18:24.920 --> 0:18:27.919 a joke that only appears once. I think that, like 0:18:28.520 --> 0:18:31.880 it comes back one more time where she's like, wow, Kazam, 0:18:31.960 --> 0:18:33.480 you sure know how to kiss, and it was like, 0:18:34.359 --> 0:18:35.200 his name's Kazam. 0:18:35.359 --> 0:18:38.200 His name is Kazam. He says that he was named 0:18:38.200 --> 0:18:43.160 that because his parents thought it sounded African, and then 0:18:43.560 --> 0:18:46.639 we just breeze past the rest of all of that, right. 0:18:46.480 --> 0:18:48.760 And then you're like, okay, well, he is too old 0:18:48.840 --> 0:18:52.239 to be named after the genie that Shack played, So 0:18:52.560 --> 0:18:55.960 I guess that that is out right, but it would 0:18:56.000 --> 0:18:59.160 be wild in my head, Cannon, he was named after 0:19:00.119 --> 0:19:04.119 Shack Gemie. Oh wow, remember that? 0:19:04.520 --> 0:19:08.479 And you know what, it's high time we cover that movie. 0:19:09.480 --> 0:19:12.320 Honestly kind of shocking that we have it COVID Kazam. 0:19:12.400 --> 0:19:16.199 I really I cannot tell you a thing that happened 0:19:16.200 --> 0:19:17.920 in that movie, but I know that I was really 0:19:17.960 --> 0:19:18.480 into it. 0:19:18.640 --> 0:19:20.920 I saw it at a drive in movie theater, and 0:19:21.400 --> 0:19:23.120 I also couldn't tell you a single thing. 0:19:23.359 --> 0:19:27.359 But definitely Shaq's name is Kazam in that movie. Yeah, 0:19:27.400 --> 0:19:31.720 so there are two movie characters named Kazam. 0:19:31.720 --> 0:19:34.960 But isn't there that Mandela effect thing where people are like, 0:19:35.080 --> 0:19:36.639 wasn't his character's name Shazam? 0:19:37.119 --> 0:19:37.320 Oh? 0:19:37.480 --> 0:19:39.840 Is that? Oh my gosh, is that? 0:19:39.960 --> 0:19:40.320 I think? 0:19:40.440 --> 0:19:40.600 So? 0:19:40.840 --> 0:19:42.400 Does that sound familiar? 0:19:42.520 --> 0:19:43.520 I'm not familiar with that. 0:19:43.800 --> 0:19:46.000 Hang on, I have to look this up. This is important. 0:19:47.040 --> 0:19:51.160 This is a good episode already, we're like an ad 0:19:51.359 --> 0:19:54.760 armist cardboard cutout Kazam. 0:19:55.119 --> 0:20:00.000 Although, oh no, wait, it's not Shack, it's sin Sinbad. Wait, 0:20:00.600 --> 0:20:01.960 hang on, no, it's. 0:20:02.000 --> 0:20:07.240 It's definitely Shack. It's definitely sha is Sinbad Shazam and 0:20:07.520 --> 0:20:12.720 Shaq is cousin. Maybe Wait what, No, Shazam is. 0:20:14.320 --> 0:20:17.359 That superhero movie from DC? Oh what am I thinking? 0:20:17.480 --> 0:20:21.280 There's I swear to goodness, there's some I believe Pandela 0:20:21.280 --> 0:20:22.040 effect thing here. 0:20:22.320 --> 0:20:26.679 I believe something about like Mandela Effect Sinbad rings a 0:20:26.760 --> 0:20:27.600 vague bell. 0:20:27.840 --> 0:20:33.960 Right, okay, okay, anyway, let's move along. Okay. So Officer 0:20:34.080 --> 0:20:37.400 Danny Glover is telling has I. 0:20:37.320 --> 0:20:39.600 Just found a Reddit post from seven years ago on 0:20:39.800 --> 0:20:44.240 our slash Mandela Effect titled the Sinbad Genie Movie. So 0:20:44.400 --> 0:20:49.040 you are okayat let's see. Okay. Even the people involved, 0:20:49.040 --> 0:20:51.720 like Sinbad himself, claim there is no such thing, but 0:20:51.840 --> 0:20:54.520 everyone I talk to remembers it in some fashion if 0:20:54.520 --> 0:20:58.080 they're old enough to hit the demographic. So this is 0:20:58.080 --> 0:21:01.720 someone who is convinced there is a sin genie movie. 0:21:01.320 --> 0:21:05.800 I also, okay, I knew it. There's okay, we all 0:21:05.840 --> 0:21:08.200 remember if if we're old enough. 0:21:08.359 --> 0:21:10.720 Well, I'm gonna text it to you. I'm gonna just 0:21:10.760 --> 0:21:13.040 so we can link it in the description. This feels relevant, 0:21:13.160 --> 0:21:17.400 Yeah it does, all right, all right, anyway, sorry the movie, yes, 0:21:17.400 --> 0:21:20.160 it's Gina fritz Bythewood set herself up for this by 0:21:20.240 --> 0:21:25.480 naming her romantic lead Kazam. She did. Yeah, yeah, okay. 0:21:25.600 --> 0:21:30.600 So Officer Danny Glover is telling kaz to lie about 0:21:30.600 --> 0:21:34.520 what happened that NONI had too much to drink and 0:21:34.640 --> 0:21:37.679 she slipped on accident in order to kind of like 0:21:37.840 --> 0:21:42.800 protect her image Titanic vibes big time. Okay, and I 0:21:42.960 --> 0:21:45.560 slipped and I would have gone overboard if if. 0:21:45.520 --> 0:21:50.439 Jester kazam Here hadn't saved me and almost went over himself. 0:21:51.600 --> 0:21:54.880 Okay, the Titanic parallels in this movie, and I don't okay, 0:21:55.119 --> 0:21:58.560 I don't want to make light of suicide or suicidal ideation, 0:21:58.800 --> 0:22:02.639 but specific around this plot point, there are so many 0:22:03.160 --> 0:22:10.040 Titanic parallels that I will insist on saying, yes, okay, okay, anyway, okay. 0:22:10.080 --> 0:22:12.560 So kaz is like, no, I don't want to lie 0:22:12.600 --> 0:22:14.879 about this, like she should be in the hospital, she 0:22:14.960 --> 0:22:18.439 needs help, but he is pressured to go ahead with 0:22:18.720 --> 0:22:21.600 this lie at a press conference, and so now he's 0:22:21.720 --> 0:22:27.520 very disappointed in NONI and like this situation, this fabrication, 0:22:28.359 --> 0:22:33.720 and despite what was claimed at this press conference, the media, 0:22:33.880 --> 0:22:36.919 the fans, everyone is still speculating that it was a 0:22:36.960 --> 0:22:42.919 suicide attempt and because of the sex symbol image that 0:22:43.080 --> 0:22:48.120 the music industry has cultivated for a suicide attempt quote 0:22:48.200 --> 0:22:53.639 unquote tarnishes that image. So the record label wants to 0:22:54.080 --> 0:22:58.840 push her album release back, but Macy negotiates with the 0:22:58.920 --> 0:23:01.440 label to keep it as is, so now there's even 0:23:01.480 --> 0:23:05.480 more pressure on Noni to get people to forget about 0:23:05.480 --> 0:23:11.119 this story that's still circulating around the news. Meanwhile, kaz 0:23:11.320 --> 0:23:13.560 is receiving a lot of attention since he was the 0:23:13.560 --> 0:23:18.200 person who saved Noni, and he has public exposure now 0:23:18.359 --> 0:23:21.560 for speaking at that press conference, and he is being 0:23:21.720 --> 0:23:26.600 encouraged to leverage this and use it to elevate himself 0:23:26.640 --> 0:23:30.720 as a political candidate because he has aspirations as a politician. 0:23:31.600 --> 0:23:35.199 He then goes to pay a visit to Noni to 0:23:35.480 --> 0:23:39.359