Culture on My Mind – Not Just Musicals: Stand Up and Magic

August 11, 2023August 7, 2023 Michael FalknerLeave a comment

Culture on My Mind
Not Just Musicals: Stand Up and Magic
August 11, 2023

This week, I’m playing catch-up with the Theater and Musical Lovers YouTube Channel.

The channel and its associated Facebook group were established as an unofficial gathering of Dragon Con attendees who love theater, musicals, and the performing arts. Their goal is to create a community of fellow thespians and fans at the convention.

About a month ago, the thespians continued their exploration of the stagecraft that wasn’t musicals. This time, Sarah was joined by Jon Armstrong and Primetime Steve to discuss the craft of stand up and magic, the highs and lows of live performances, and why what they do is included in the theater genre.

Note: Depending on security settings, you may have to click below to see the video directly on YouTube. You should definitely subscribe to their channel for more updates.

The Theater and Musical Lovers Group will be hosting more of these panels. If you’re interested in participating or have some topic ideas in mind, head over to the group on Facebook and drop them a line. You can also find them on Instagram and coming soon on TikTok.

You can find Gary and Sarah on the socials: On Twitter, they are Gary_Mitchel, SarahRose_KPK, and Daisuki_Suu; on Instagram, they are Gary_Mitchel and Daisuki_Suu; and Gary’s horror-themed podcast that he hosts with Erin McGourn is A Podcask of Amontillado. Of course, the Theater & Musical Lovers channel can be found on YouTube.

Culture on My Mind is inspired by the weekly Can’t Let It Go segment on the NPR Politics Podcast where each host brings one thing to the table that they just can’t stop thinking about.

For more creativity with a critical eye, visit Creative Criticality.

Culture on My Mind – SUBSAFE

July 24, 2023July 17, 2023 Michael FalknerLeave a comment

Culture on My Mind
SUBSAFE
July 24, 2023

On June 18, 2023, the submersible Titan imploded during an excursion to the wreck of the Titanic in the Atlantic Ocean. The submersible was owned and operated by OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, and the incident claimed the lives of Rush, French deep-sea explorer and Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet, British billionaire Hamish Harding, Pakistani-British billionaire Shahzada Dawood, and Dawood’s son Suleman.

I watched as the internet exploded in memes and mockery over this event. I get the reasoning behind it: According to the 2022 Global Wealth Report from Credit Suisse, nearly half of the world’s wealth – 47.8%, or 221.7 trillion in US dollars – is controlled by 1.2% of the world’s population. Over half of the world’s population has a wealth of less than $10,000, and one-third of the population lives in the $10,000-$100,000 range.

This year, Forbes reported that there are 2,640 billionaires on the planet. They are collectively worth $12.2 trillion. That’s 2.6% of the world’s wealth controlled by a tiny fraction of the world’s population, and they are concentrated in the United States, China, India, and Germany.

I’m not here today to adjudicate that. It’s merely the motive behind the reaction of the masses as one billionaire’s hubris killed four other people. And while it’s possible that those four passengers may have known about the submersible’s shortcomings, it’s not likely in my opinion.

I look at skydiving, scuba diving, bungee jumping, rollercoasters, and other such thrill-seeking experiences that people enjoy. Most of them are taken with the assumption that some higher authority has oversight… that the attraction has a safety record and someone would have shut them down if it wasn’t safe to an acceptable degree of risk.

OceanGate has been transporting paying customers on submersible trips since 2010, including several trips to other shipwrecks. On its face, 13 years without significant incidents is a pretty good track record. Most people in search of a thrill-seeking experience would stop looking for problems at that point and sign the requisite waivers.

I don’t engage in the internet’s mockery of the Titan implosion because I can reasonably assume that those four passengers made the same risk calculations. But what came out after the Titan implosion is what really bothered me as a former submariner.

In a 2019 Smithsonian Magazine article, Rush was referred to as a “daredevil inventor” who believed that the U.S. Passenger Vessel Safety Act of 1993 “needlessly prioritized passenger safety over commercial innovation”. He later admitted that he broke rules with “logic and good engineering” behind those decisions. He described safety as a “pure waste” and suggested that people should do nothing in life if they want to remain safe.

The OceanGate submersible had multiple engineering issues which Rush ignored based on faulty assumptions and questionable engineering experience. Rush also ignored dissenting opinions from David Lochridge and Rob McCallum, even to the point of firing dissenters and pursuing legal action against them.

But, most importantly to what I want to discuss here, he openly stated in a now deleted video meeting with Teledyne Marine that he bucked the trend of hiring submarine veterans – “50-year-old white guys” – because he wanted his team to be younger and more inspirational.

The thing is that the talent that he kicked aside because he wanted to “make expeditions to the Titanic more enjoyable for his customers” could have potentially saved those customers on June 18, 2023. Submarine veterans (like me) know about the history of the USS Thresher and the quality assurance program that was developed as a result.

On April 10, 1963, the USS Thresher (SSN-593) was lost at sea with all hands. She was a Permit-class nuclear submarine, the fastest and quietest of the day, and designed to hunt and kill Soviet submarines during the Cold War. Thresher was launched in 1960 and conducted her sea trials over the next couple of years to thoroughly evaluate her new and complex technological systems. After a series of operations, she entered Portsmouth Shipyard in July 1962 for a post-shakedown availability to examine and repair systems, and as typical for first-of-class boats, the availability took longer than expected. Thresher was finally certified for sea and undocked on April 8, 1963.

The crew began post-overhaul sea trials the next day, and everything seemed to be okay until the deep-dive tests on April 10th. Thresher slowly dove deeper while making circles under her surface support ship, Skylark, pausing every 100 feet of depth to perform a shipwide integrity check. As the submarine neared test depth, Skylark received a garbled communication indicating “…minor difficulties, have positive up angle, attempting to blow”.

That “blow” would be an emergency blow of the main ballast tanks, which means rapidly filling the large tanks with high-pressure air and making the ship overwhelmingly positively buoyant. You’ve probably seen the stock footage in movies and television, particularly during The Hunt for Red October.

There was one more even more garbled message from the deep and Skylark‘s crew knew that something was wrong. An extensive search was conducted and Thresher‘s families were notified that night. Chief of Naval Operations Admiral George W. Anderson Jr. held a press conference to announce that the submarine was lost with all hands.

After an investigation, the root cause of the disaster was determined to be a failure of the saltwater piping system. Specifically, there was a joint that relied on silver brazing instead of welding, and that failure would have potentially shorted out an electrical panel, shut down the reactor, and caused a loss of propulsion. There was also some concern over excessive moisture in the high-pressure air system which would have frozen during an emergency blow and plugged up the piping. The Navy made several modifications to systems to prevent these failures in the future.

They also instituted the Submarine Safety Program, better known as SUBSAFE, which is a quality assurance program specifically designed to provide maximum reasonable assurance that submarine hulls will remain watertight and can recover from unanticipated flooding. The program’s scope includes every system exposed to sea pressure or critical to recovery during a flood. Any work on those systems is tightly controlled to ensure that materials, assembly, maintenance, and testing are perfect, including certifications with traceable quality evidence from point of manufacture to point of installation.

The track record speaks for itself: From 1915 to 1963, the United States Navy lost 16 submarines through non-combat-related causes. After SUBSAFE was introduced in 1963, the only submarine lost in similar causes was the USS Scorpion (SSN-589), and she was not SUBSAFE certified.

It’s an expensive program, but the cost of failure is much higher, and it’s a program that could have prevented the Titan disaster had some “50-year-old white guys” been consulted. SUBSAFE is embedded in the DNA of pretty much anyone who has earned a set of submarine dolphins. The regulations are written in blood.

The story of Stockton Rush and the Titan should serve as a cautionary tale. Safety and engineering may not be sexy and edgy, but it is a necessary part of pushing the limits of knowledge and understanding. The ocean’s depths are perhaps the largest unexplored frontier on Earth, and while I personally think that we should leave the Titanic graveyard alone, we should definitely continue to research the sea.

But we should never willingly throw away experience and wisdom in the process, otherwise, we invite hubris, ignorance, and ultimately disaster.

Culture on My Mind is inspired by the weekly Can’t Let It Go segment on the NPR Politics Podcast where each host brings one thing to the table that they just can’t stop thinking about.

For more creativity with a critical eye, visit Creative Criticality.

Culture on My Mind – The Queer Revolution: Breaking the Broadway Mold

July 17, 2023July 11, 2023 Michael FalknerLeave a comment

Culture on My Mind
The Queer Revolution: Breaking the Broadway Mold
July 17, 2023

This week, I’m playing catch-up with the Theater and Musical Lovers YouTube Channel.

About a month ago, the thespians explored the impact that LGBTQIA+ artists, writers, and performers have had on Broadway. From the groundbreaking work of Hedwig & the Angry Inch to the Tony-winning productions, Rent and Kinky Boots, queer voices have been instrumental in shaping modern theater. Having experienced Rent live, I understand the power that it holds. I still get a little misty when I hear “Seasons of Love”.

Panelists Christi Chalmers, Courtney, and Vulva Va-Voom joined Sarah and Gary to discuss their favorite queer characters and stories on stage, the icons that helped shape their identities, and how LGBTQIA+ narratives have helped to bring visibility and acceptance to the theater community and the world.

It was a celebration of the queer revolution on Broadway and the power of representation in the arts!

Note: Depending on security settings, you may have to click below to see the video directly on YouTube. You should definitely subscribe to their channel for more updates.

Culture on My Mind is inspired by the weekly Can’t Let It Go segment on the NPR Politics Podcast where each host brings one thing to the table that they just can’t stop thinking about.

For more creativity with a critical eye, visit Creative Criticality.

Culture on My Mind – Narrative Diversions (Spring 2023 Edition)

June 9, 2023September 1, 2023 Michael FalknerLeave a comment

Culture on My Mind
Narrative Diversions
(Spring 2023 Edition)
June 9, 2023

Narrative Diversions is a look at the various pop culture things I’ve been watching, reading, and playing over the last few months.

Movies

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023) – PG-13
This is the first Dungeons & Dragons movie that I have fully enjoyed, and that’s probably because it doesn’t take itself too seriously. In fact, it plays out like many of the campaigns that I’ve played over the years, mixing humor and heart with a story that’s easily understood. The sword and sorcery are organic, but they don’t overwhelm the humanity within.

It also acts as a love letter to the brand and its history, including a hilarious nod to the classic D&D cartoon from the 1980s.

Tetris (2023) – R [Apple TV]
This is based on the true story of Tetris, and despite some obvious Hollywood liberties, it tracks very closely to that complicated tale of getting this popular Soviet computer game to the Western world. I was engaged from start to finish, comedy, drama, and thriller included.

Ghosted (2023) – PG-13 [Apple TV]
As the polar opposite of Tetris, this spy flick channels those of the 1980s and 1990s with its absurdity and ridiculousness, but flips the typical gender roles with success. It doesn’t take itself seriously at all, and it includes a ton of cameos that add to the fun. Don’t expect a straight spy thriller here. Instead, come in expecting a B-movie with plenty of gunplay and slapstick humor mixed with some less-than-believable rom-com elements.

Peter Pan & Wendy (2023) – PG [Disney+]
As someone who grew up on Disney masterpieces, when people ask why the Disney classics need a remake, this will be one of my examples. Unfortunately, those reasons are also why this movie is getting review-bombed on IMDb by the usual suspects who hide like cowards behind terms like “boring,” “poorly written,” “woke,” and “not faithful to the original.”

Peter Pan is one of those evergreen properties that has been done and re-done seven ways to sunset. This version tracks pretty closely to the 1953 animated Disney classic, but it steps up in ways that the Disney original could not 70 years ago: Wendy takes on a much more substantial role in driving the plot, gaining a ton of character development over the typical mother role; Meanwhile, Tiger Lily is played by a legitimate Cree actor and this interpretation drops the stereotypical red skin and feather motif for a realistic representation of Native people; The Lost Boys include girls, minorities, and an actor with Downs Syndrome, and while they don’t have the staying power of the Lost Boys from Hook, they certainly don’t simply fill space; Finally, Peter is allowed character growth while being vulnerable about his past in Neverland.

Oh, dare I mention it, Tinker Bell is played by a Black actress. *gasp* How woke!

Despite the hue and cry from the tiny corner of the internet that supposedly rejects “cancel culture” while actively trying to cancel anything they don’t like, none of these changes negatively impacted the story. In fact, I fully believe that this version of Peter Pan is a great way to tell this classic tale in a manner that modern-day children will get. Unlike Pinocchio, this live-action remake had heart and kept me engaged throughout. The child actors did a phenomenal job as well.

Television

Quantum Leap – Season 1 [NBC]
This revival series has an interesting road to walk. In an era of television where spectacle seems to reign supreme and stories need to aggressively hook the viewer instead of building slowly over time, Quantum Leap chose to take the path of its predecessor. It hearkens back to a time when good heroes traveled from place to place and did good deeds along the way in a subtle fight against the wrongs in society. Television shows like The Incredible Hulk, Knight Rider, and the original Quantum Leap don’t really exist anymore, but their messages are still so important because one person can make a difference.

I loved how this revival took the basics of the original and modified them just enough to help them fit into the modern day. The concept of the Waiting Room is gone due to advances in technology and anyone can communicate with the Leaper in the Imaging Chamber. I also loved seeing more of an ensemble cast fleshing out the team at home that helps Ben solve his problem of the week.

The big difference is that this version also runs a season-long story arc in addition to the moral of the week format, and I really got into the mystery as it developed.

Quantum Leap isn’t about macho guns-blazing action and big CGI spectacles. Quantum Leap is about finding the good in life, embracing family, and acceptance. The original run was very progressive for its time, and this revival hits the mark in so many ways. I really hope that Scott Bakula can fit in somehow in the future.

Shadow and Bone – Season 1 [Netflix]
I generally don’t like many fantasy shows because I have a hard time following them, but this one was a bit easier to get into. There are still a lot of easy shortcuts and plot-armor moments to move the plot, but I recommend it and I’m even considering reading the books that the show is based on.

The Mandalorian – Season 3 [Disney+]
This season was divisive among fans, but I had a great time with it because of how it expanded the current continuity and teased things yet to come. The underlying thread of the Mandalorian people – the modern Star Wars equivalent to both the Romani and the Jewish diaspora, which were parallels drawn early in Season One – fighting for their true home is a powerful turning point for their people, and I don’t put much stock in complaints that Din Djarin was “upstaged on his own show” by Bo Katan. Season Three was a logical extension of the Mandalorian story.

I’m also a really big fan of this “Filoni-verse” concept where everything in this time period is connected. Marvel tried it once in the early days of the MCU, but Ike Perlmutter was Ike Perlmutter.

Star Trek: Picard – Season 3 [Paramount+]
The third and final season of this show went down the road that Patrick Stewart had feared since the show was announced. He signed on for the role because it wasn’t a Next Generation reunion, yet here we are.

Season Three gave fans that reunion and answered the question posed by Star Wars fans about what the sequel trilogy could have been with original heroes on one last adventure. That answer is fan service in lieu of a coherent plot, exchanging the soul of boldly going for a bumper crop of “member berries”. The ten-episode run was like a bowl of candy and lacked any amount of the philosophical meat that has defined Star Trek since 1966. Seasons One and Two were narrative dumpster fires, but they at least tried to tread new ground before getting bogged down with navel-gazing. Season Three was nothing more than TNG‘s greatest hits designed to allow the most popular Enterprise crew to ride into the sunset for (checks notes) the third time.

Fun? Yes. Disappointing? Definitely. At least it has generated plenty of interest in the “Star Trek Legacy” idea.

Alaska Daily – Season 1 [ABC]
This series is a slow-burn drama about a disgraced veteran journalist who finds a career revival while investigating the disappearances and murders of native women in Alaska. It’s a great vehicle for Hilary Swank and addresses a real-world concern with reverence and honesty. I loved the characters and the show, but it was recently canceled by ABC.

The Diplomat – Season 1 [Netflix]
Keri Russell and Rufus Sewell had a ball with this political drama that balanced tension with humor sometimes flirting with the absurd. The chemistry among the cast is good but the plot does get a little muddy from time to time. It also ends on a cliffhanger to tease a second season (which recently became official).

The Good Doctor – Season 6 [ABC]
Like most long-running fan-favorite television dramas, this one has become more about the characters than the plots. Those characters continue to grow and change with minor speedbumps along the way. Those bouts of friction can seem contrived but also (to some degree) believable because humans are far from rational.

This season also contained a backdoor pilot for The Good Lawyer, which I hope gets a series pick up because it was one of the episodes I enjoyed most.

The Company You Keep – Season 1 [ABC]
I tuned in for Milo Ventimiglia, Sarah Wayne Callies, and William Fichtner. I stayed for Catherine Haena Kim and the family drama. The romantic collision course storyline evaporates in lieu of political and criminal intrigue, which betrays the initial hook but carries the show fairly well. The characters are engaging and the theme music that kicks in when the family starts their cons makes me tap my toes every time.

It was recently canceled by ABC, so one season is all we get.

The Rookie – Season 5 [ABC]
The Rookie: Feds – Season 1 [ABC]
If you want a set of police procedurals with a high level of accuracy, these aren’t your shows. The big draw for the pair is the characters and their relationships. We started watching The Rookie because of Nathan Fillion, but the rest of the characters are easy to invest in. Both shows are quite predictable, but they have heart. I also appreciate the bits of social commentary that they add about modern policing in America.

Not Dead Yet – Season 1 [ABC]
It’s the story of a woman in search of a better life who also sees dead people. The situations and characters make me laugh, and Gina Rodriguez really sells this show. I can’t stand Lauren Ash’s character Lexi, but that’s more of a feature than a bug for this dysfunctional work family. It’s getting a second season as well.

New Amsterdam [NBC]
I missed this on the last post. Again, it comes down to characters and how they deal with conflict. Max wears his heart on his sleeve and has to manage his people while facing constant rejection for his out-there ideas. The show really fired on all cylinders with relationships and commentary on American medicine, but it really faltered after Max moved to London and continued to stumble in the final season. Even so, the finale was a tearjerker and I miss this series overall.

I also want to see the lost episode that was pulled due to COVID-19.

Sweet Tooth – Season 2 [Netflix]
Season One was amazing in its purity and innocence. Season Two picks up after the cliffhanger with intrigue and character drama leading into some great action in the last few episodes. I enjoyed the season but I feel like they spent way too much time with the kids being confined. The season felt so much better once the zoo was left behind.

Season Three will be the final one.

Schmigadoon! – Season 2: Schmicago [Apple TV]
Season One was hilarious. Season Two brought more of that while changing the tone to parody the darker side of Broadway musicals. While the ending serves as a good series finale, I really hope that we get a third season.

Star Wars: Visions – Season 2 [Disney+]
Another solid set of “what if” stories from the Star Wars universe, though I engaged more with this season than the previous one. Given the franchise’s origins in Akira Kurosawa films, it lends well to the anime genre.

Night Court – Season 1 [NBC]
Despite what the trolls on the internet say, this is in the tone and spirit of its predecessor. I binged the original series on Amazon before diving into this one, and they flow quite nicely together. I had a good time with the dumb humor and I hope that Season Two only continues to improve (just like the original did).

Secrets of Sulphur Springs – Season 3 [Disney+]
I love the easy-to-digest concept but shows starring kids are always racing the clock. This younger-audience time travel show doesn’t hold back in how it plays with characters spanning vastly different times all fighting against a single threat. The story over the last three seasons has been coherent enough, even if the details become murky in the long stretches between the seasons. The big problem comes from trying to tell a story that takes place within a few months or so while the child actors are obviously growing and aging.

The resolution also rankled a bit when it embraced the easy heaven/hell tropes to wrap things up. That bit came out of nowhere.

Shrinking – Season 1 [Apple TV]
It’s a story about grief and mental health, and it’s told in a quirky and often hilarious manner. Harrison Ford played himself, but he did it all too well. This was touching and had my wife and I rolling in laughter.

Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story [Netflix]
Grey’s Anatomy – Season 19 [ABC]
Station 19 – Season 6 [ABC]
Aside from being Shondaland productions, there are good reasons that I linked these three together. First, they are shows that I pay half attention to as my wife watches them. She does the same with my CW superhero shows, and we spend time together in the meantime. Second, they are thematically similar in their soapiness, sincerity, and messages.

On the Seattle side, the stories and characters are often shared between Grey’s and Station 19, but I found that the firefighters have the more powerful character dramas while Grey’s did a better job of tackling conflicts in modern medicine and politics. My wife and I agreed that Grey’s Anatomy has slipped quite a bit in quality – the COVID-19 arc where Meredith spent the season in a coma-fever-dream state was terrible – but hopefully things change with next season’s new showrunner. I give the show a ton of credit for lasting two decades.

Station 19 and Queen Charlotte both did well with stories about mental health, and I admit that the finale for the Bridgerton spinoff had me in tears. Admittedly, it’s a historical drama that takes a ton of liberties for the aesthetic that makes Bridgerton successful, but it made me care for this version of King George III. While the clip-show episode in the middle of the set brought the dramatic momentum to a screeching halt, it was important to provide context for the king’s character. Station 19‘s arc with Maya and Carina also got to me emotionally.

I appreciate shows that do mental health stories well.

Books

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin – Kevin Eastman, Peter Laird, Tom Waltz, and Andy Kuhn
My TMNT was the cartoon series from the ’80s and the live-action films from the ’90s, so when I have the opportunity to explore versions of the Turtles outside of those childhood experiences, I take it. This limited series tells a story of an apocalyptic future where one of the Turtles is left standing and seeks vengeance against the Foot Clan for his family following their conquest of New York. It was pretty powerful and a great read. It’s also prompting me to check out the fifteen collected volumes from IDW that are available on Kindle Unlimited.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The IDW Collection Volumes 1-14 – Kevin Eastman, Tom Waltz, Bobby Curnow, Sophie Campbell, et. al.
Following my reading of The Last Ronin, I dove into the available IDW collections on Kindle Unlimited. These collections chronologically assemble the mainline and additional side stories, and they explore the lean green fighting machines as reincarnations of Hamato Yoshi and his four sons from feudal period Japan. These stories have plenty of fighting, a lot of metaphysical and ethereal stuff, and great opportunities for April, Casey, Splinter, and characters new to me to take the spotlight. There are a lot of wacky storylines too. I got hooked and have really enjoyed reading them.

Reads in progress:

The President’s Club by Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy (43%)
The Complete Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (32%)

Those in-progress titles haven’t budged due to the lean green ninja teens. I did finish Star Wars: Heir to the Empire, which has only gotten better as we both have aged. I’m continuing with Dark Force Rising and The Last Command as palate cleansers.

Stage

A Soldier’s Play – Broadway in Atlanta
This is not a feel-good story, but it is an important one to tell in the vein of Greek and Shakespearean tragedies. It’s a loose adaptation of Billy Budd, but it also discusses a lot of racial themes centered on the World War II time period. My wife got chills by the end and I cried based on my family’s history with the military. Powerful stuff.

Moulin Rouge! – Broadway in Atlanta
I had no idea what to expect since I’d never seen this production or the movie version before. It was beautiful and bonkers if not a bit predictable. I’d definitely watch it again, and the movie version is now on my watch list.

Games

Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – Nintendo Switch
I’ve been getting lost in Hyrule and this story since it was released. People who claim that this sequel is nothing more than Breath of the Wild DLC have no idea what they’re talking about. I’m loving it and wish that I had more time to spend on it.

Culture on My Mind is inspired by the weekly Can’t Let It Go segment on the NPR Politics Podcast where each host brings one thing to the table that they just can’t stop thinking about.

For more creativity with a critical eye, visit Creative Criticality.

Culture on My Mind – The Impact of Theatre Education

May 26, 2023May 22, 2023 Michael FalknerLeave a comment

Culture on My Mind
The Impact of Theatre Education
May 26, 2023

This week, I’m back to the performing arts with the Theater and Musical Lovers YouTube Channel.

“Learning is about much more than science and math. Doing theater, music, and art in school really helps children’s minds grow because they’re using different parts of their brains. Parents who care should insist on that.”

– Julie Taymour

Theater is often thought of as a hobby and relegated to the sides of education that are considered less important than math, science, and other technical fields. On May 16th, Gary Mitchel and Sarah Rose were joined by educators who disagree with that assessment and they discussed why theatre education is important in today’s world, the lasting impacts it makes, and why we all should encourage more arts education in schools and communities.

This panel’s guests included Jennifer Simmons, Primetime Steve, Alicia, and Charles Pillsbury III.

Note: Depending on security settings, you may have to click below to see the video directly on YouTube. You should definitely subscribe to their channel for more updates.

Culture on My Mind is inspired by the weekly Can’t Let It Go segment on the NPR Politics Podcast where each host brings one thing to the table that they just can’t stop thinking about.

For more creativity with a critical eye, visit Creative Criticality.

Culture on My Mind – Twenty

May 10, 2023May 9, 2023 Michael FalknerLeave a comment

Culture on My Mind
Twenty
May 10, 2023

Despite growing up in Utah, I’m not particularly religious, but I do have a favorite section from the Bible. Today seems like a great day to share it.

Twenty years ago, I married my friend. Over the last two decades, we have lived in seven states, have provided loving homes for four pets, earned five academic degrees, and faced several life-changing challenges. The constant over them all has been each other.

There isn’t really a secret to success in relationships. Every one of them has different chemistry and dynamics that wouldn’t work in other scenarios. But if I had to pick one key, it would be communication. It sounds trite, but we talk about (almost) everything. The only secrets that we keep from each other are pleasant surprises (like gifts) or work-related requirements (like client confidentiality or things I may or may not have done in the Navy). We don’t engage in “bitch sessions” with friends about one another. We don’t talk about each other behind our backs. If we have problems with each other, we talk to each other about them.

We are a team challenging the world. We have faith in each other, hope for our continued journey, and love to bind it together. Always and forever.

If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.

—1 Corinthians 13

Here’s to the decades to come.

Culture on My Mind is inspired by the weekly Can’t Let It Go segment on the NPR Politics Podcast where each host brings one thing to the table that they just can’t stop thinking about.

For more creativity with a critical eye, visit Creative Criticality.

Culture on My Mind – Phantom of the Opera: A Salute to the Music of the Night

May 1, 2023April 29, 2023 Michael FalknerLeave a comment

Culture on My Mind
Phantom of the Opera: A Salute to the Music of the Night
May 1, 2023

This week, I’m back to the performing arts with the Theater and Musical Lovers YouTube Channel.

For 37 years, The Phantom of the Opera has been there, inside our minds! From its debut in the West End through its legendary run on Broadway, Phantom has dominated what most people think about when you mention theater.

On April 21st, Sarah Rose was joined by guests Lauren, Max, Ashley, Kurt, and Jenn to discuss the sweet intoxication, the chandelier, the secret sewer lair, and the music of the night.

Note: Depending on security settings, you may have to click through below to see the video directly on YouTube. You should definitely subscribe to their channel for more updates.

Culture on My Mind is inspired by the weekly Can’t Let It Go segment on the NPR Politics Podcast where each host brings one thing to the table that they just can’t stop thinking about.

For more creativity with a critical eye, visit Creative Criticality.

Culture on My Mind – A Great Ape at 90

April 21, 2023April 12, 2023 Michael FalknerLeave a comment

Culture on My Mind
A Great Ape at 90
April 21, 2023

This week, I’m thinking about the king of kongs.

Rather, King Kong, the gorilla monster that debuted in 1933. His first appearance was in the novelization of the 1933 RKO Pictures film. That film, King Kong, premiered two months later and was a smash hit, spawning various sequels and remakes and adaptations and parodies and spoofs and… you get the point. The film franchise alone consists of twelve titles. Those are split among seven American films (produced by RKO, Warner Bros., Legendary, Paramount Pictures, De Laurentiis Entertainment Group, and Universal Pictures), two Japanese tokusatsu kaiju films produced by Toho, and three direct-to-video animated films (produced by Warner Bros. Family Entertainment, BKN International, and TF1 for the fanmade sector).

On April 7th, Joe Crowe was joined by ape enthusiasts Mark Finn (@FinnsWake on Twitter) and Rick Klaw (Tachyon Publications) to celebrate the Eighth Wonder of the World, the greatest thing your eyes have ever beheld.

These Classic Track Quarantine Panels are typically held once every two weeks (or every fortnight, if you will). If you want to play along at home, grab your internet-capable device of choice and navigate the world wide webs to the track’s YouTube channel and/or the group on Facebook. If you join in live, you can also leave comments and participate in the discussion using StreamYard connected through Facebook, YouTube, and Twitch.

Gary can also be found on A Podcask of Amontillado, a horror-themed podcast that he co-hosts with Erin McGourn.

If you want to connect with the track, Joe, and/or Gary on the socials, you can find them on Twitter (ClassicTrack, JoeCroweShow, and sneezythesquid) and Instagram (SciFiClassicTrack, JoeCroweShow, and Gary_Mitchel). And, of course, to celebrate more pop culture awesomeness, you can find Dragon Con all year round on the internet, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

You can find those discussions and more every other Thursday as the American Sci-Fi Classics Track explores the vast reaches of classic American science fiction.

The episode art each week is generously provided by the talented Sue Kisenwether. You can find her (among other places) on Women at Warp: A Star Trek Podcast.

Culture on My Mind is inspired by the weekly Can’t Let It Go segment on the NPR Politics Podcast where each host brings one thing to the table that they just can’t stop thinking about.

For more creativity with a critical eye, visit Creative Criticality.

Culture on My Mind – Narrative Diversions (Winter 2023 Edition)

April 14, 2023September 1, 2023 Michael Falkner1 Comment

Culture on My Mind
Narrative Diversions
(Winter 2023 Edition)
April 14, 2023

Narrative Diversions is a look at the various pop culture things I’ve been watching, reading, and playing over the last few months.

Movies

Top Gun: Maverick (2022) – PG-13
I really need to dedicate a post to my history with Top Gun. The first film and the two Nintendo games were staples of my childhood and were big influences toward joining the Navy (like most 80s kids who were recruited). Anyway, this film was a fun return to Maverick’s world with amazing realism in the flight scenes, but there were a few things that really pulled me out of the experience. The first was surviving a Mach 10 incident, which is physically impossible. The second was the absurdity of the Star Wars-style mission and the escape that followed.

Additionally, the movie does flirt with Orientalism – stereotyping based on traits and representations of the Middle East and Asia – which becomes evident in the final act when Maverick and Rooster end up stealing an F-14 from the foreign power that Maverick’s team just attacked. The film goes to great lengths to avoid identifying the enemy who is enriching nuclear material, but it’s fairly easy to determine that the screenwriters are pointing toward states like India, Pakistan, Iran, and North Korea. Interestingly, Iran is the only one that currently operates F-14s. At least the screenwriters didn’t take the approach of making up a country with a -stan suffix on the end of the name, but they come awfully close to categorizing everyone in that region as an enemy.

Otherwise, like the first film, it was a fun popcorn action flick that I’ll easily watch again.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2022) – PG
Video game movies have historically been hard to pull off. The genre as we know it debuted with 1993’s Super Mario Bros. but has had a lot of trouble finding success until the last few years with Werewolves Within, the Angry Birds films, Detective Pikachu, Warcraft, Rampage, Uncharted, and the Sonic the Hedgehog films.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is a critical and financial success, and it’s easy to see why. The first entry came out swinging for the fences with a ridiculously fun story and over-the-top performances, and the sequel did the same with obvious improvements in the special effects. If my young nieces and nephews are any indication, these movies both hit the mark with their target audience.

I’ll definitely be back for the third film.

The School for Good and Evil (2022) – PG-13 [Netflix]
This one was a ridiculous romp that played with the whole library of fantasy and fairy tale tropes. It was apparently adapted from a novel of the same name, and while the cast and visuals were good, the storytelling was all over the place. The movie doesn’t really inspire me to pick up the book series.

It’s worth a look if you have kids who love fantasy and fairy tales, though the nearly two-and-a-half-hour runtime might be a deal killer.

She Said (2022) – R
A tough story to watch for sure, but necessary in this day and age. The story did meander a bit but I understand why given how difficult it was for Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey to uncover the details behind it. I have a lot of respect for their dedication.

I get that audiences didn’t want to revisit the scandals – especially people who think that #MeToo is overblown, that the victims have nothing to complain about, and that HW didn’t do anything wrong – but I’m hopeful that this film will take an important place in history as a chronicle of how and when things changed for the better in Hollywood.

Jurassic World: Dominion (2022) – PG
The first Jurassic Park was revolutionary. It was also the second movie that I saw in theaters. (The first was a re-release of Song of the South in the mid-80s.) Every sequel since has been a monster movie with a substantial budget, and while I enjoy watching the lizards eating hapless humans who don’t understand the Pandora’s box that they opened, none of them has reached the heights of the original.

This one was fun in parts, sluggish in others, and highly dependent on knowing what happened in the previous two Jurassic World entries. It was great to see the original trio back in action, though I would have also loved to see Joseph Mazzello (Tim) and Ariana Richards (Lex) back for even a quick cameo.

But, yeah… it’s apparent that the franchise has run out of creative steam. This is a good enough place to leave it.

Pinocchio (2022) – PG
In general, I have enjoyed the live-action versions of Disney’s animated classics. My favorites so far are 2016’s Jungle Book, 2019’s Aladdin, and 2019’s The Lion King. I also sing the praises of 2018’s Christopher Robin, though it’s not really a live-action remake. The rest of the crop have been okay, though Beauty and the Beast and Cinderella have stood out in that range.

Pinocchio was just bad. It was missing the soul of the 1940 film, and though the visuals and music were good, not even Tom Hanks could keep me engaged. Skip it.

Jungle Cruise (2021) – PG-13
It seemed like an absurd premise when it was announced. It ended up being a fun popcorn flick in the end. The writers were sure to knock out a ton of the jokes inherent to the Disney Parks ride within the first few minutes so that they could then settle into the story they wanted to tell.

With a two-hour runtime, it does lag a little in the middle and ends up being predictable, but Jungle Cruise is still a fun time.

Secret Society of Second Born Royals (2020) – TV-PG [Disney+]
In this story’s fictional European-styled kingdom, the first-born royal children get trained to be monarchs while the second-born royal children get superpowers. When those powers begin to manifest, the second-borns go off to a fancy school to learn how to become international secret agents.

The young actors do their best to carry the clichéd plot, but it starts to wear quickly. If you’ve got 100 minutes to kill, give it a shot.

Let’s Dance (2019) – TV-MA [Netflix]
Following the new Netflix trend of dance crew movies, this French comedy-drama is an exercise in the genre’s clichés. It kept part my attention while I worked on some other tasks. The highlight for me was the clever mix of classical music with dance music at the story’s climax.

Casablanca (1942) – PG
Believe it or not, I had not seen this classic before February 2023. It’s been on my list, but I just had not gotten to it. You can credit Mike Faber of The ESO Network for helping me to finally check this one off.

And it was worth every second. It easily earns its status as a classic film, and I was amazed at just how vibrant Ingrid Bergman was in every frame. Just amazing.

The Sound of 007 (2022) – NR [Amazon Prime]
This was a wonderful documentary on the history of music in the James Bond franchise, from Dr. No to No Time to Die. It’s definitely worth the watch.

Starring Adam West (2013) – NR [Amazon Prime]
An engaging biographical documentary about the life of Adam West. It was made four years before his death and is framed by the quest of his family and friends to get his name enshrined on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His energy and humor saturate the biopic and I enjoyed the experience.

Your Place or Mine (2023) – PG-13 [Netflix]
This is a pretty standard romantic comedy, but it stays engaging due to chemistry of Aline Brosh McKenna’s writing and direction combined with the acting of Reese Witherspoon and Ashton Kutcher. It starts with the main characters being close friends of many years who can pretty much finish each other’s sentences, and the questioning of that relationship within the first few minutes prompted me to blurt a truth out loud: Men and women can be friends without having sex.

I wish that’s where the movie had landed at the end, but the romcom formula demands a different resolution. Otherwise, I had fun with a lot of laughs.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023) – PG-13
Ant-Man is one of those Marvel characters that keeps surprising me. When the 2015 film was announced, I was skeptical and had low expectations, but wanted to see what Marvel had to offer because of what they had done with their cinematic universe since 2008.

Quantumania continues the tradition. It’s a haphazard yet fun movie, opening our eyes to a new world of exploration. My biggest complaint is that an Ant-Man and the Wasp film has not enough of the Wasp. Of course, they could have been counting the original Wasp since Michelle Pfeiffer really dominates the Pym/Van Dyne side of the script.

I liked this one a lot more than Eternals and Thor: Love and Thunder. It was fun.

The Miracle Season (2018) – PG
If you’re a fan of the “based on a true story” genre, you may have a good time with this one. It’s apparently pretty close to the real events and deals with grief and pressure quite well. It stars Erin Moriarty, Helen Hunt, and William Hurt, which is a great acting lineup, and I was also quite impressed with the direction and cinematography for what is essentially a Hallmark-style film. It’s a touching 99 minutes.

Television

The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window [Netflix]
This 8-episode series is a straight-up parody of the Lifetime-style suspense/horror movie genre. It yo-yos between slapstick absurdity and legitimate whodunit mystery, and Kristen Bell really sells the silly. Don’t set your expectations too high, but I found it worth the three and a half hours for her comedic talents alone.

The Last of Us – Season 1 [HBO]
Remember what I said about video game adaptations? If the game is anyway near as good as this 10-episode series, I need to buy it yesterday. Every episode was an exercise in character development and motivations, and I cried during a lot of them. The “last of us” means the last of humanity as a global pandemic threatens to end our species. This series is telling human stories, and it does the apocalypse far better than The Walking Dead ever dreamed.

It also reinforces my viewpoint that adaptations do not need to be one-for-one carbon copies of the video game experience. If I want the original video game, comic, or book, I’ll go experience that. If I want another perspective on the universe of those publications, I’ll take the adaptation.

If this season had been all about taking out zombies with headshots, it would have been yet another boring gun-toting macho orgasm drowning in blood and brains. Or, like The Walking Dead, a prolonged period of drudgery and character torture without an endgame. Instead, we get legit drama and suspense, and I’m all for it.

Star Wars: The Bad Batch – Season 2 [Disney+]
Season 1 of this show portrayed a galaxy in flux and explored how the collapsed Republic’s clone army fit into the nascent Empire. Soldiers who didn’t follow orders were cast aside while those who did lived as best they could under the iron Imperial grip.

Season 2 brought me a start to a discussion I have wanted to see. How do the clones fit into a galaxy that no longer wants them? How are clones who executed Order 66 seen in public and amongst their peers? How do those who regret their actions cope with what they did? How will the clone army live without a primary purpose?

This season has made me question how I look at the clone army in light of Order 66 and the concept that “good soldiers follow orders.” Philosophical meat like this is one big thing that I love about Star Wars. Watching Omega grow up in this trying time and exploring the secret science of cloning under the Empire’s control are bonuses, and that season finale is… wow.

The Night Agent [Netflix]
I like a good political thriller and this one kept me engaged for the most part. It works in the spirit of 24, pitting an unlikely protagonist with baggage and wits against terrorists and corrupt politicians who will do very bad things in a very short time. There’s nothing new here, and ten episodes went by at a decent enough pace. I think it wrapped up well enough that we don’t need any more seasons, especially since the original source material was a single novel. There’s no need to expand this into several seasons.

(Apparently, Netflix and Sony Pictures Television think differently: ‘Night Agent’ Renewed for Season 2 at Netflix)

Books

Star Trek: The Eugenics Wars – The Rise and Fall of Khan Noonien Singh, Volume 1 – Greg Cox
Star Trek: The Eugenics Wars – The Rise and Fall of Khan Noonien Singh, Volume 2 – Greg Cox
Star Trek: To Reign in Hell – The Exile of Khan Noonien Singh – Greg Cox
This trilogy of books was really well done. The first two focus heavily on the events surrounding the Eugenics Wars and the life of Khan, and they include the adventures of Gary Seven and Roberta Lincoln. They are the “Assignment: Earth” spinoff that I have wanted to see for a long time.

The third book spans the years between “Space Seed” and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, with a framing story that sees Kirk, Spock, and McCoy exploring the remnants of Khan’s encampment on Ceti Alpha V. I didn’t like it as much, though the events as Khan’s new civilization tries to survive were far superior to the framing story.

Maus: A Survivor’s Tale, Volume 1 – A Survivor’s Tale – Art Spiegelman
Maus: A Survivor’s Tale, Volume 2 – And Here My Troubles Began – Art Spiegelman
This is a tough one to get through. It’s a real story about real people who survived the Holocaust, and it’s hard sometimes to think about how monstrous people can be sometimes. I laughed, I cried, and I resolved once again to ban fascists instead of banning books. This story needs to be read and comprehended far and wide.

DC: The New Frontier, Volume 1 – Darwyn Cooke
DC: The New Frontier, Volume 2 – Darwyn Cooke
A fascinating look at the DC Universe in the post-World War II era. It’s a world that still needs heroes, but one where living as one without a secret identity is a crime. It’s also a world without unity among the heroes, including hidden agendas and dueling ideologies. It’s a well-done tale that I really liked once I got into it.

Star Trek: The Stardate Collection, Volume 1 – The Early Voyages – edited by David Tipton and Scott Tipton
Star Trek: The Stardate Collection, Volume 2 – Under the Command of Christopher Pike – edited by David Tipton and Scott Tipton
A fun collection of titles from IDW Publishing. I especially enjoyed the adventures of Captain Pike on the Enterprise, though I was sad to see how the line ends with a cliffhanger.

Star Trek: The Next Generation – Death in Winter – Michael Jan Friedman
I wasn’t a big fan of this one. It’s a quick read and is definitely an interlude that transitions the Star Trek novel universe from the crew-shattering events of Star Trek: Nemesis to the continuing adventures between the pages, but the scenarios never really allow the characters to gel together. Picard pines for Crusher, Crusher spends the majority of the story as an injured prisoner, and Worf and La Forge (the last remaining Enterprise crewmembers) are sidelined.

I also haven’t read anything with the original Stargazer crew since 1991’s Reunion, so I have very little to connect me to the characters of Pug and Greyhorse.

Star Trek: Enterprise – The Romulan War: Beneath the Raptor’s Wing – Michael A. Martin
Star Trek: Enterprise – The Romulan War: To Brave the Storm – Michael A. Martin
I really enjoyed this duology, particularly with the complicated character growth and vignettes that highlighted random crews and troopers in the depths of war. The one big complaint that I had was this story’s reliance on previous novels – Star Trek: Enterprise – Kobayashi Maru, specifically – but that’s the downside to reading event novels in the middle of serial runs.

Star Trek: Voyager – Homecoming – Christie Golden
Star Trek: Voyager – The Farther Shore – Christie Golden
This set is complicated for me. Overall, I like the story, but it bothers me that the first book is not marketed as the first part of a two-part story. The result is frustrating when you reach the end of book one with no resolution to the plot.

The story does open some interesting narrative doors and made me think about a few sci-fi concepts. It does briefly touch on the fact that Voyager was away for seven years experiencing some strange new worlds exploration while the Federation went through the Dominion War, and how alien the post-war Federation is to this crew. It also tries to play with a few Trek tropes to make you think you know what’s going on before pulling the rug from under your feet. But I don’t buy the motivations for the story’s main villain who, according to the flashback vignettes, does bad things because of a very traumatic childhood. The final resolution was also a bit too quick, opting for a fast shoot-em-up to tie everything off.

Worth the read? Yeah, but it really wasn’t the story I had hoped for to chronicle Voyager‘s homecoming.

Reads in progress:

The President’s Club by Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy (43%)
The Complete Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (32%)

I have also started re-reading the original Star Wars Thrawn Trilogy by Timothy Zahn. I haven’t read these since they came out in the 1990s but I remember absolutely loving them.

Stage

Hadestown – Broadway in Atlanta
I went into this one completely blind. It was beautiful, but my heart soared once I saw that it was a modern retelling of the ancient Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. It also made the climax that much more tragic because I knew what was coming. It’s a wonderfully done adaptation.

Tina: The Tina Turner Musical – Broadway in Atlanta
I’m familiar with Tina Turner’s story within my lifetime, but I had no idea how tragic her childhood was. Those early years were difficult to watch in this dramatization of her life story, and Ike Turner’s introduction was chilling because I know how bad of a person he was in their relationship. The music was awesome and the lead actor at our show was pitch perfect in her shoes.

If you go to this one – and you absolutely should! – stay through the final curtain call. Trust me, the finale is well worth it.

Games

Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword – Nintendo Switch
I’ve been playing this here and there when I have time to devote to it. It is one that I missed upon initial release, and this remaster makes me hope that Nintendo has plans for future remasters. Especially Twilight Princess. I have just assembled the Triforce and have to pursue Ghirahim toward the final confrontation.

I’m also patiently waiting for Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom to release.

Culture on My Mind is inspired by the weekly Can’t Let It Go segment on the NPR Politics Podcast where each host brings one thing to the table that they just can’t stop thinking about.

For more creativity with a critical eye, visit Creative Criticality.

Culture on My Mind – The Italian Plumber from Brooklyn

April 7, 2023April 4, 2023 Michael Falkner1 Comment

Culture on My Mind
The Italian Plumber from Brooklyn
April 7, 2023

This week, I’m thinking about Mario. In particular, the voices of the character during the history of the Super Mario franchise.

Today marks the premiere of The Super Mario Bros. Movie, an animated theatrical movie produced by Illumination, Universal, and Nintendo. It’s the second American movie about the franchise, but it is the third overall following the live-action adaptation in 1993 and the 1986 Japanese anime film Super Mario Bros.: The Great Mission to Rescue Princess Peach! (better known by its original title, Super Mario Bros.: Peach-hime Kyūshutsu Dai Sakusen!).

A digression: If you haven’t seen the 1986 anime, Kineko Video has a remastered edition with English subtitles on YouTube. Mario is voiced by Tōru Furuya, who also portrayed the character in Amada Anime Series: Super Mario Bros., Super Mario World: Mario to Yoshi no Bōken Land, the Satellaview games in Japan, and a Japanese commercial for Mario Paint.

Anyway, when the first trailer for The Super Mario Bros. Movie, fans complained about Chris Pratt providing the voice for the titular plumber and it got me thinking about the other American English voice interpretations over the years.

Charles Martinet (1992-Present)

The obvious one is Charles Martinet, who has provided the voice of Mario, Luigi, and various other counterparts since 1992. Martinet is a voice actor who literally crashed the auditions for the Mario voice. His guidance was to be an “Italian plumber from Brooklyn,” and Martinet had originally planned to channel the stereotypical Italian American with a deep, raspy voice. In fact, this is what American audiences knew from previous animated interpretations, but he wondered if this would be too harsh for kids. Instead, he toned it down to something more soft-hearted and friendly.

According to an interview with Kotaku, his babbling audition went something like:

“Hello, ima Mario. Okey dokey, letsa make a pizza pie together, you go get somea spaghetti, you go geta some sausage, I getta some sauce, you gonna put some spaghetti on the sausage and the sausage on the pizza, then I’m gonna chasea you with the pizza, then you gonna chasea me with the pizza, and gonaa makea lasagne.”

You read that in the modern Mario voice, didn’t you?

Martinet’s first role as Mario was 1992’s Super Mario Bros. pinball machine, but he was not credited for that work. His first credit was Super Mario 64 in 1996, and he has over 100 appearances to date as the character. That work is in addition to his library of film and television credits.

Peter Cullen and Saturday Supercade (1983)

Martinet wasn’t the first, though. The first long-form appearance of Mario outside of video games was in 1983’s Saturday Supercade, an animated series produced by Ruby-Spears Productions. Mario appeared in the Donkey Kong segments and was voiced by Peter Cullen, the famous actor behind Optimus Prime, Eeyore, Monterey Jack, and many other characters in his nearly 60-year career.

In an interesting bit of trivia, Donkey Kong Jr. was voiced by Frank Welker, who also voiced Megatron opposite Peter Cullen’s Optimus Prime in Transformers.

This version of Mario accompanied his girlfriend Pauline as they chased after the giant ape, and his voice was definitely gruff and authoritarian.

Larry Moran and Donkey Kong Cereal (1983)

Around the same time, Mario appeared in commercials for Donkey Kong Cereal. His brief lines were voiced by Larry “The Funny Voice Man” Moran. Moran was primarily known for commercials and gave Mario a higher and softer tone than Peter Cullen, though his “here we go” does sound very close to what Martinet brought to the table a decade later.

Donkey Kong Cereal was a Ralston Purina production that was sweetened corn cereal pieces in the shape of barrels. They later produced the Donkey Kong Junior and Nintendo Cereal System cereals, the latter of which I remember fondly.

Larry Moran died on December 28, 2017, at the age of 78.

Harris Shore and Donkey Kong/Donkey Kong Jr. Commercials (early 1980s)

Technically the first live-action version of Mario, Harris Shore brought a pretty generic version of the plumber to life in a series of advertisements for the Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Jr. commercials of the early 1980s. Harris Shore would later move to film and television in small character roles and is still active today.

Lou Albano and The Super Mario Bros. Super Show (1989)

In 1989, Mario came to long-form live-action in The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! The series ran from September 4 to November 30, 1989, and featured live-action opening and closing segments that sandwiched an animated adventure based on the original Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros. 2. Mario was portrayed in the series (both live-action and animated!) by WWF Hall of Fame wrestler “Captain” Lou Albano, and he was accompanied by Danny Wells as Luigi.

This version of Mario is my Mario. Even though it had a very short run on television, Albano’s interpretation is the one that comes to mind when I think of the character. Albano was an Italian-American and definitely had the accent. His voice was gruff and raspy, but he knew how to lighten it just enough for a kids’ show in the late ’80s.

The live-action side of the show acted as a parody of sitcoms, which were extremely popular in the late ’80s and early ’90s. These segments routinely featured guest stars and slapstick humor, while the animated segments took a deep dive into the video game world. This series also gave birth to The Legend of Zelda – “Excuuuuuse me, Princess!” – which ran in the animated slot on Fridays. Mario and Luigi’s animated adventures ran Monday through Thursday.

While Albano was primarily known for his wrestling, Danny Wells was a prolific actor who was best known as Charlie, the bartender on The Jeffersons. He died in November 2013 at the age of 72.

Lou Albano died in October 2009 at the age of 76.

John Lenahan and The Super Mario Challenge (1991)

The Super Mario Challenge was a game show that was produced and aired in the United Kingdom from September to December 1991. It was hosted by American illusionist and entertainer John Lenahan and featured kids who played the first three Super Mario NES games for large gold coins which determined the winner of the overall competition.

Lenahan was dressed in overalls and a ballcap to look the part of Mario, but he played the character straight with his own voice. Technically, he wasn’t portraying Mario, but I’ll count it anyway.

I know Lenahan best from his time at Podiobooks.com. He wrote and podcasted his first novel, Shadowmagic, on the site before it was picked up by The Friday Project/Harper Collins in the UK. Shadowmagic was followed by the paperback of The Prince of Hazel and Oak in April 2011 and Sons of Macha in March 2013.

Walker Boone, The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, and Super Mario World (1990-1991)

Mario got a lot more gruff in 1990 and 1991 when Walker Boone took over for The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 and the Super Mario World animated series. It was a huge shift for me since Boone’s Mario lost the softer playful elements that Albano brought. I watched some of Super Mario Bros. 3, but I didn’t tune it for Super Mario World.

Super Mario Bros. 3 is technically the middle part of the 1990s animated Mario trilogy produced by DiC Entertainment. This one aired alongside Captain N: The Game Master on Saturday mornings and focused a lot more on the various elements from the game of the same name. It ran from September to December 1990 and was followed by Super Mario World in the same timeframe during 1991. Super Mario World changed the setting and added characters based on the SNES game of the same name, but it only ran for 13 episodes.

Boone’s acting career lasted for just over thirty years. He died in January 2021 at the age of 76.

Ronald B. Ruben and Mario Teaches Typing (1991)

In 1991, we got Mario Teaches Typing, a PC and Macintosh game in which actor Ronald B Ruben did a really bad Italian impersonation. The educational game spun off from Super Mario World and used that game’s popularity and themes to help kids learn to type. This seems to be Ruben’s only voice credit aside from the video game M.U.G.E.N in 1999.

Nick Glaeser and Mario is Missing! (1993)

Similarly, 1993’s Mario is Missing! was an educational game for PC, Mac, and the NES and SNES systems. Mario had lines of dialogue in the PC version, and they were lighter in tone than Walker Boone’s but sounded pretty generic. Which, if we’re being honest, was the name of the game in 1990s computer gaming.

In this game, Mario was voiced by Nick Glaeser, an actor who has a handful of credits to his name.

David Plaschon and Mario’s Time Machine (1994)

In 1994, Mario was voiced by David Plaschon in Mario’s Time Machine. It’s another educational game on the same platforms as before, and the voice is very similar to Nick Glaeser’s work. This game received terrible reviews and is usually noted as one of the worst among the educational Mario games released in this time period. The only other credit I could find for Plaschon was as a producer for an Aliens video game in 1995.

Marc Graue and Hotel Mario (1994)

Also in 1994, Mario was voiced by Marc Graue in Hotel Mario. This game was one of the four developed for the short-lived Philips CD-i platform that featured Nintendo characters. The other three were Legend of Zelda games. This Mario was back to being gruff and raspy, though somewhat balanced between Albano and Boone. Marc Graue also provided the voices for Luigi and Bowser in the game, and he continues to work to this day providing voices for television and video games.

The Parodies

Before we get to the last (and potentially most infamous) Mario voice, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the parody versions over the years.

The Simpsons: Dan Castellaneta voiced Mario in the episode “Marge Be Not Proud” (1995). Hank Azaria voiced him in The Simpsons Game from 2007.
Futurama: Maurice LaMarche voiced Mario in the episode “Anthology of Interest II” (2002).
Seth MacFarlane’s Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy: Seth McFarlane voiced Mario in the short “Super Mario Rescues the Princess” (2008).
Family Guy: Seth McFarlane voiced the plumber in the episode “Lois Comes Out of Her Shell” (2012). McFarlane voiced Luigi while Mike Henry took on Mario in “Boopa-Dee Bappa-Dee” (2013). The character returned for “Encyclopedia Griffin” (2015), but I couldn’t figure out who voiced him.
The Pete Holmes Show: Pete Holmes voiced the character in several “Realistic Mario” shorts, circa 2014.
Robot Chicken: Mario was voiced in multiple appearances by Adam Talbot, Seth Green, and Matthew Lillard.
Mad: Mario appeared multiple times in the first three seasons (2010-2012) and was voiced by Kevin Shinick.

Bob Hoskins and Super Mario Bros. (1993)

The Super Mario Bros. movie from 1993 was the first live-action film based on a video game. The screenwriters envisioned a subversive comedy similar to Ghostbusters (1984) and The Wizard of Oz (1939), and their script was heavily influenced by Super Mario World and Super Mario Land, both of which were the most recent games of the Mario series at the time. Bob Hoskins played Mario and John Leguizamo played Luigi.

It credits an asteroid with killing the dinosaurs and splitting the universe into two parallel dimensions. The remaining dinosaurs cross into the new universe and create a world called Dinohattan. Mario and Luigi – the Mario brothers, literally Mario Mario and Luigi Mario – are eventually drawn into the parallel universe to rescue Daisy, the long-lost princess of the dinosaur land. The Mario Bros. meet Yoshi and Toad on their adventure, eventually defeating Koopa (who is de-evolved from human form into a T.Rex) and saving the princess.

Super Mario Bros. was a financial and critical failure, and even though Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto appreciated the effort, he felt it tried too hard to replicate the games instead of standing on its own. However, like most really bad movies, it has developed a cult following. After all, the fact that the film was made says a lot about how video games impacted pop culture.

The downside, of course, is that video game movies haven’t really performed well or been well received until recent releases and Super Mario Bros. is the first in that legacy. Werewolves Within (2021), The Angry Birds Movie 2 (2019), Detective Pikachu (2019), Sonic the Hedgehog (2020), and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2022) stand out as winners among critical reviews. Warcraft (2016), Rampage (2018), Detective Pikachu (2019), Uncharted (2022), and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2022) are the top five worldwide financial performers to date.

Leguizamo liked the script, but Hoskins was unimpressed. The latter also didn’t want to get typecast in children’s films, having recently starred in both Hook and Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Hoskins later called the production a nightmare and admitted that both he and Leguizamo were drunk for most of the filming process.

This Mario is pretty much a cynical, blue-collar New York stereotype. It’s not a Mario I think of when the character comes to mind.

Chris Pratt and The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)

The entire legacy brings us back to the next interpretation. Mario’s lines in the trailers have been sparse, but what we have heard sounds to me like Chris Pratt channeling a little bit of Charles Martinet and a little bit of Lou Albano. The lighthearted attitude and the Martinet dialogue stand alongside the hard-working hero ethos of Albano’s Mario.

I understand modern fans being upset that Martinet didn’t get the role in this film. He’s been the voice of Mario for three decades. But long-term fans have experienced so many more versions of the character and (hopefully) realize that the legacy surpasses the actors.

He wouldn’t have been my first choice for the character, but I’m willing to see where Chris Pratt takes the plumber from Brooklyn. The trailer looks fun, but my expectations aren’t especially high given the genre. My only real hope is that the movie is well received and performs well so that maybe (just maybe) we’ll finally get a good adaptation of The Legend of Zelda.

Special thanks to the following for the information used in my research:

Culture on My Mind is inspired by the weekly Can’t Let It Go segment on the NPR Politics Podcast where each host brings one thing to the table that they just can’t stop thinking about.

For more creativity with a critical eye, visit Creative Criticality.

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: