Jeepers, I love ya John.

I saw both Network and Alien in the movie theater on the big screen when they opened. Both movies made a huge impression on me. Who can forget Howard Beale yelling out the window, “We’re mad as hell, and we’re not going to take it anymore!” Or the even more memorable late great Ned Beatty as the sinister TV exec delivering a sermon to Beale in the conference room, his face demonically lit from below.

Alien was the first of a kind, like Jaws or the Exorcist or the Poseidon Adventure were cinematic firsts. I’m lucky to have seen all of these big pictures on the big screen in the movie theater. Along the same thematic lines of the soulless corporation tinkering with and exploiting its expendable creations is the deeply political Blade Runner, which is still among my top 10 favorite movies of all time. I’ve probably watched it 10 times. The Vangelis soundtrack album was part of my record collection when I had a record collection.

Have you ever seen the movie Christine starring Rebecca Hall? It’s based on the true story of a television anchor who kills herself on live tv. Network was especially prescient.

The Rubins of the world are the 21st Century parasite latching onto our collective faces.

I saw Rollerball in the movie theater as well.

Yesterday, I watched the 2020 Super Bowl halftime show on youtube in the Can’t Remember the Name of the Corporation stadium in Miami. The talent and athleticism of both Shakira and JayLo are undeniable and jaw dropping. I was riveted. Such a dazzling display of light and sound and pyrotechnics, never mind the camerawork capturing the number from every angle. I lost count of the number of times JayLo’s crotch slid across the stage, practically through my laptop into my face. And yet there was something so cartoonish about the entire spectacle — so over the top, loud and over-seasoned with all the hair-tossing and stripper pole dance moves and gyrating dancers, like an audiovisual all-you-can-eat Vegas buffet. Entertainment for the masses in the era of decline as the empire slides into its twilight years.