"A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives." - Jackie Robinson
There was arguably no more important figure in the American Civil Rights movement than Jackie Robinson and his quote listed above is something that I try to remember every single day. It may be seen as inappropriate to tie a peaceful American hero into my argument about one of the touchiest subjects in the United States but please just hear me out.
My argument has been the same since I was about 18 years old when I could first vote and somehow the issue of abortion was brought up. If someone were to walk up behind me and shoot me in the back of the head, I could not care about that happening. The only people who would be affected are all of the people who I have shared my time with and in some way impacted their lives. Therefore, if there is an expectant mother, and hopefully father, who realize that they are unable to care for a child, they are the only people in the world who should have any say in their decision to terminate the pregnancy.
I only bring this up now because today is the 38th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision by the United States Supreme Court. Today, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives John Boehner posted on his twitter account the following message: "The 38th Anniversary of Roe v. Wade is a tragic reminder that we must respect life at all stages, especially the innocent unborn #prolife".
What Representative Boehner is probably unaware of is that his stance of wanting to repeal Roe v. Wade would have a detrimental effect on not only the would-be parents of unwanted children but the populous in general. You see, abortion has a direct correlation with crime. The following is a piece written by Steven D. Levitt that appears in the book Freakonomics:
After abortion was legalized, the availability of abortions differed dramatically across states. In some states like North Dakota and in parts of the deep South, it was virtually impossible to get an abortion even after Roe v. Wade. If one compares states that had high abortion rates in the mid 1970s to states that had low abortion rates in the mid 1970s, you see the following patterns with crime. For the period from 1973-1988, the two sets of states (high abortion states and low abortion states) have nearly identical crime patterns. Note, that this is a period before the generations exposed to legalized abortion are old enough to do much crime. So this is exactly what the Donohue-Levitt theory predicts. But from the period 1985-1997, when the post Roe cohort is reaching peak crime ages, the high abortion states see a decline in crime of 30% relative to the low abortion states. Our original data ended in 1997. If one updated the study, the results would be similar.
When assessing virtually any situation in life, the main question that needs to be asked is whether or not the decisions made will impact you or those around you. In the case of abortion, it is a decision between the expectant mother and to some degree the father but there is no other person who needs to concern themselves with a decision that will have no impact on their daily life. To those who do may not fully understand the impact of forcing someone to keep an unwanted child, it will almost surely be a negative one.
Before I get started, I'd like to point out that I've heard several people say recently that they'd like to go to the movies more often but they don't have anyone to go with. I went to the movie theater more than 40 times in 2010 and only five times was I accompanied by a friend or family member. After going to the movies by yourself a couple times, I guarantee you'll find it an enjoyable experience.
There is no real polite way to put it but 2010 was a shitty year in cinema; well, I suppose saying it was a bad year would have been more polite. That's not to say that it didn't have some excellent films but overall it was quite disappointing. These are the films I saw this year which did not disappoint:
10) Exit Through the Gift Shop
Exit Through the Gift Shop, directed by British artist Banksy, tells the story of underground graffiti artists and a very peculiar man named Thierry Guetta. Guetta starts as an avid fan of the graffiti artists documented in the film including his cousin who goes by the pseudonym Space Invader, but he eventually becomes so engrossed in the work that he begins to venture out as a graffiti artist known as Mr. Brainwash. There has been much speculation that the character and work of Mr. Brainwash is just an elaborate ruse by Banksy but either way it is a highly entertaining film.
9) The Social Network
It has been named the best film of the year by almost every major city's critics association and with good reason. The Social Network is director David Fincher's latest film which chronicles the rise of Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg. It may sound like a boring movie-of-the-week topic but the script written by Aaron Sorkin and the ensemble cast who recite his dialogue make this one of the year's best films. Jesse Eisenberg is excellent as Mark Zuckerberg but I was also very impressed by the performances of newcomers Andrew Garfield and Armie Hammer. The score by Trent Reznor and his partner Atticus Ross is dark, ominous and fits perfect with the tone that Fincher is trying to set.
8) The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Based on the international bestselling novel of the same name by Stieg Larsson, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a Swedish thriller about the criminal computer hacker Lisbeth Salander. She assists the journalist Mikael Blomkvist in the investigation of a person who has been missing for 40 years. That leads to some intense drama as Salander also tries to escape her own personal demons. Also released this year was the follow-up The Girl Who Played with Fire which I found nowhere near as compelling.
7) Inception
I can't think of a film in the last decade that I was more eagerly anticipating than Inception. With a resume that includes films such Memento, The Prestige and The Dark Knight, Christopher Nolan has earned my $10 before I even know what his film is about. So when I saw the first trailer for Inception in the summer of 2009, my interest was peaked. I made the trip to a midnight screening with some friends and while I was in awe of the scope of the undertaking and technical achievements, I was slightly disappointed. However, the more I debated the film, the more I appreciated it. After a second viewing, Inception makes more sense and is even more enjoyable.
6) Green Zone
Matt Damon teams up with the director of the last two installments of the Jason Bourne trilogy, Paul Greengrass for what is one of the most entertaining and intriguing films about the invasion of Iraq. Matt Damon plays US Army Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller who has led his team to several cites in Iraq that are reported to contain weapons of mass destruction but his team continues to come up empty. Green Zone follows his character as he investigates why there are no weapons of mass destruction to be found and how that information was obtained. It's a superbly entertaining film that is probably more based in reality than we'd like to believe.
5) The American
Within the first two minutes of The American, I knew I was going to enjoy this film. It opens with a beautiful snowy landscape and virtually no dialogue. As directed by Dutch photographer Anton Corbijn, The American has a subdued tone that I suspect many moviegoers would find dull but it helps to ratchet up the tension as the drama surrounding George Clooney's title character unfolds.
4) A Prophet
Nominated for Best Foreign Film at the 2009 Academy Awards was A Prophet which didn't received a release in the United States until February of 2010. Chronicling the life of a young criminal sent to prison and his ascent within a French crime syndicate, A Prophet is an amazing, even if sometimes difficult to watch, piece of film making. The star of the film is French actor Tahar Rahim who gives a tremendous performance in which a simple glance can tell an entire story.
3) Black Swan
I remember the first time watching director Darren Aronofsky's film Pi being blown away by the style and substance of a black & white film shot on a shoestring budget. Aronofsky has continued to choose challenging films and has never disappointed. In a tour de force performance Natalie Portman plays a dancer in a prestigious New York ballet company. It's a film that will leave you speechless at the end and want to see it again immediately.
2) The Ghost Writer
Say what you will about Roman Polanski's personal life but he has been one of the finest working directors over the last 40 years. His work in films like The Pianist and my personal favorite movie of all-time Chinatown is undeniable. The Ghost Writer is hands down the best thriller released this year. The Ghost Writer is adapted from a novel by Robert Harris whose title character is helping to write the memoirs of a former prime minister who closely resembles Tony Blair.
1) The Fighter
I'm not sure what it is about the sport of boxing that makes it translate so well to the silver screen but it does. From Raging Bull to Rocky to Million Dollar Baby to Cinderella Man to Teen Wolf Too (maybe not that last one) there have been more great films centered around the world of boxing than any other sport and The Fighter ranks among those other elite films. Based on the true story of "Irish" Micky Ward, The Fighter is an expertly crafted film directed by David O. Russell that sneaks up on you. Before you even feel like you care about Ward, you move the edge of your seat even if you suspect to know the outcome of the fights. Mark Wahlberg gives one of the best performances of his career as Micky Ward but Christian Bale steals the movie playing Ward's crack addicted brother and former boxer Dicky Eklund.
Honorable mention goes to:
The King's Speech
True Grit
Kick-Ass
The Town
Waiting for "Superman"
127 Hours
Fair Game
MacGruber
I'm not alone in believing that we are living in the golden age of television. That's not to say I think the 34 hours of television watched by the average American each week in 2010 is anywhere near reasonable, but I believe it. It's quite remarkable how much quality programming there was on television this year, even if most of it was not on the major networks. This year's list is similar to the list from last year but I had to make room for some spectacular new programs which actually bumped my favorite show of last year (Dexter) from the list entirely. Before I start, I should to clarify that I'm not a professional critic so I haven't seen every show. You'll likely see some glaring omissions (most notably Breaking Bad) because I just can't see every show that's out there. That being said, it wasn't until I posted my list a few years ago that I was turned onto The Wire, so feel free to give me a suggestion as long as it has nothing to do with some Italian douche bags from New Jersey or a fish-out-of-water sitcom that takes place at an Indian call center.
Now that we've got that out of the way, let's start the list, shall we:
10) Lost
It's hard for me to judge Lost only based on the sixth and final season because I started watching the show last January. In some ways I wish I had been watching since the beginning but it was helpful to following the storyline to skip the long hiatuses that accompany most major shows. The first two seasons of Lost are as interesting and compelling as just about any program you will ever see on network television. The final season tried to explain many unanswered questions and even though I personally felt the final reveal to be a bit of a cop-out it was still an interesting and worthwhile season.
9) It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Even though the ratings for It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia have never been higher than they were during the sixth season, it seemed as if the show had lost some of its luster. That was at least for the first half of the season but six episodes of the season were some of the funniest since the second season. The final two episodes in particular, which including guest appearances from Chase Utley, Ryan Howard and Tom Sizemore, had me wishing the season wouldn't end.
8) Mad Men
This is season of Mad Men was filled with highs and lows. The episodes "The Suitcase" and "The Summer Man" aired consecutively and were one of the best and worst episodes of the series. The season gave expanded roles to Lane Price and Sally Draper who each had very interesting storylines. The finale ended the season on an unexpected but very high note.
7) The League
To say that The League is about fantasy football is akin to saying that Cheers was a show about a bar. The world of fantasy football only serves as a backdrop to some of the most crude and hilarious comedy currently on television. The cast of hilarious comedians who improvise most of their lines (a la Curb Your Enthusiasm) do a great job of coming up with ridiculous dialogue.
6) Parks and Recreation
Following in the footsteps of The Office, the cast and writers behind Parks and Recreation made a huge leap in quality during its second season. A similar mockumentary approach is used with a camera following the mundane tasks of the Parks and Recreation department in the fictional city of Pawnee, Indiana and serious hilarity ensues. The ensemble of employees comprised of Amy Poehler, Nick Offerman, Aubrey Plaza, Chris Pratt and Aziz Ansari compliment each other perfectly. The third season will begin airing on January 20, 2011 and if you're not watching then you'll be missing out.
5) Friday Night Lights
I feel like twenty years from now people will look back at Friday Night Lights and be completely dumbfounded by the lack of success the show has received. This is a series that has received virtually universal critical acclaim including being called "what may be the best dramatic series in the history of television" by The Los Angeles Times. In 2010, the fourth season aired on NBC and featured some fantastic episodes including "The Son" which had one of the best scenes you're likely to see. The fifth and final season is currently airing on DIRECTV and will air later in this year on NBC. Some of the stars from earlier seasons are gone and while the new crop of students aren't quite as entertaining as those who came before them, but Coach Eric Taylor, played brilliantly by Kyle Chandler helps carry the load.
4) 30 Rock
There's a reason that 30 Rock and its cast continues to pile up awards- because it is the wittiest comedy on network television. The jokes comes so fast during the show that if you're not paying attention you'll miss some of them. In what would normally be a gimmick of a struggling show that had run out of ideas, 30 Rock aired a live episode in October that was performed twice (once for each coast) and hilarious both times. For some reason I get the feeling that 30 Rock will be appreciated later when it starts to air in syndication but for as for myself, I'll enjoy every Thursday night.
3) The Life & Times of Tim
HBO is responsible for some of the most creative and hilarious comedy that has been produced over the past decade. The Life and Times of Tim was not just the funniest animated series of 2010, but the funniest show of the year. Apparently I wasn't the only one who was impressed with the comedy as guest stars Aziz Ansari, Paul F. Tomkins, Elliott Gould, Bonnie Hunt, Phillip Baker Hall and others all lined up for a role on the crudely animated series. There were just twelve episodes that were fifteen minutes long but I didn't laugh harder or more at any show this year.
2) The Walking Dead
Created by Frank Darabont and based on a graphic novel by Robert Kirkman of the same name The Walking Dead was AMC's newest hit series. It starts right as a zombie outbreak begins with the primary character Rick Grimes is a sheriff's deputy from Georgia waking from a hospital and having to piece together what has happened. It is a truly compelling series with excellent characters and it's no wonder the popularity of the show spread like- well, a zombie infection.
1) Boardwalk Empire
The first season of Boardwalk Empire was perhaps the most audacious debut for any television show I have ever seen. It was reported that the pilot episode directed by Martin Scorsese cost $18 million to produce and while watching it appears completely within reason. The cast headlined by character actor extraordinaire Steve Buscemi is a remarkable ensemble and if it give the series a chance you'll get a chance to see my two favorite characters Chalky White and Richard Harrow. Buscemi plays Enoch Thompson who is loosely based on the real life criminal and Republican political boss Enoch L. Johnson. Boardwalk Empire gives a glimpse in the bootlegging crime syndicate that surrounded Atlantic City in 1920s. It was my favorite television program of 2010 and I can't wait to see how it develops in the second season this fall.
Honorable mention goes to the following terrific programs:
Bored to Death
Community
Dexter
Eastbound and Down
Modern Family
The Office
