Entertainment Binge

By Isaac White

I’m going to tell you a story today. It’s not really a linear narrative, it’s just anecdotal tidbits with a bit of continuity thrown in here and there. Kind of like what I do every week when I’m having my chats with all of you. But this week is filled with subject matter you find in the movies.

Fathers and sons. Growing older. Watching as your child rapidly ascends to adulthood and you can’t stop it. I’ll slow it down right now, and you may think I will get all sappy. I assure you I’m not going to do that. This will be a bit wistful in tone at times. Perhaps it may seem a bit sad, but I promise you it’s not.

Boy, that sounds like fun eh? It’ll be fine, you have to trust me. We’ve been having a good time thus far right? So let the good times roll. The intention on my part is to discuss one movie for sure. Probably one series. I’ve been wanting to discuss a movie for a while now but I keep running out of room because I like to talk so much.

If you read this every week I assume (perhaps wrongly, you know the saying about folks who assume…) you most likely heard about the Barbieheimer thing that became an internet sensation. The intersection of the film Oppenheimer and the Barbie movie, and the many fun memes and gifs and other online shenanigans people made out of these completely contrasting types of movies.

To be honest I didn’t really look at any of it. I heard some things about it on the podcasts that I consume. Which is funny because 90 percent of the podcasts I listen to are news/political shows. The rest is a combination of 49ers, Uncle Joey, and some true crime stuff. Anyway, I was very surprised when I heard my favorite podcast, Breaking Points With Krystal And Saagar talking about this cultural phenomenon.

Now, I’m not going to sugar coat this. And I don’t mean any offense to you treasured people that read my weekly meanderings that I think qualify as coherent thoughts. Basically I’m softly leading into telling you all that I have absolutely no intention on watching the Barbie movie. Like ever.

That could change of course. It’s possible (though highly unlikely) that I hear enough about this movie to pique my interest in a way that just about forces me to view the thing. I don’t think that’s going to happen. And I’m not saying the film is bad. I have no idea. What I’ve heard about it so far has not been all that great but everyone has different tastes so who knows?

I did go watch the Heimer half of the Barbie/Oppenheimer mashup. This is where the wistfulness may appear because I went to watch Oppenheimer in the theater with the most important person in the world to me. My son, Isaac Jr. Some may know him as The Big Cheez. I put that in because he loves his nickname. Plus, I’ve been in public places with him and randomly hear a teenager yell out “CHEEEEEEEEEEZ.”

Moving on. You all know, from my sharing with you, that I am a huge movie nerd. I think that before a person receives the gift of their child(ren) they imagine the things they’ll do together, what will be their “things” with their kid. I know I did and I’m betting that most of you did too.

I think it’s natural, in fact, I think it’s healthy. There are many interests I have that I hoped my son would also enjoy. I love Syracuse football and basketball. I love politics. I love history. I love social and political activism. I love the 49ers. Above all my personal hobbies or non-vital interests, movies and tv are what I enjoy the most.

So as a movie and tv buff, (in my own estimation anyway) I naturally thought of how awesome it would be if my son had the same love for the mediums as me. As a small child when he watched tv we mostly had him watching Noggin (not sure how many parents remember that channel) which was a learning channel for children. More than half for sure. It worked too. He could read when he was three and his language and reading skills were incredibly high. I’ll stop bragging now.

As he grew, his tastes changed. The same way all of our tastes do. The thing was that he never took to film and tv the way I did. As most of these Zoomers (yes I’m calling Gen Z that because I heard it a bunch of times and think it’s fun) seemed to be, my son was really into gaming and just hanging out with his friends in digital spaces.

A couple of years ago he began to show more of an interest in film and tv. I think part of it is him having seen me be so enamored with the mediums that it stimulated his interest. Perhaps I’m giving myself too much credit for this shift. It doesn’t matter, I’m his Rakeni and I will take credit for this wondrous emergence of my son as a budding film and tv buff. Little over the top? Probably but it made me smile so I’m keeping it.

He would ask for recommendations, not watching all of the ones I suggested (Ugh why can’t kids just believe all of your tips as a parent are gold?) and finding material on his own that he grew to love. He became a huge Manga and Anime fan. That’s not for me but I really enjoyed watching him pick and choose his own tastes and content to watch.

I was especially happy because from the time he was about 8 until he was about 14-15 I thought the only thing kids really liked to watch was Youtube. It didn’t make sense to me then and still doesn’t now, that Gen Z and younger seem to not prioritize or enjoy movies and tv the way my generation and older does. Whatever, I’m aging myself I know but it just seems to be the case.

But when he hit around 14 that began to change. He started to earnestly ask me for recommendations. And as I said, he didn’t watch them all but when he did we’d talk about them. Then he’d tell me about stuff he found that I hadn’t recommended. Most of it I had seen before so we could talk about it. He’d find stuff that I’d never seen and I would watch it and we’d talk about it.

Then we started to go to the theater together. We went to see a couple of Marvel movies. I’m talking just about Rakeni and Ra a time. We’ve been to plenty of movies and the drive in with his Ista, but it’s a special thing to me when he and I go together.

As he gets older his tastes become closer to mine. I still enjoy good silly comedies. Or over the top action movies. Grossly grisly horrors. For the most part I watch straight up dramas (choose a subgenre there are plenty) that would be categorized as “grownup movies.” It’s what I like.

So, I was excited when I heard about Oppenheimer. The cast. The subject matter. I mean Robert Oppenheimer was a real man who was responsible for one of the greatest (and most terrible) scientific achievements in the history of the world. I knew a bit about him, not a whole lot, but I thought it would be fun to see the treatment of his life.

In other words (after a paragraph, I’m running out of room) I was really looking forward to the film. Directed by Christopher Nolan who is one of the best directors of his generation. Starring Cillian Murphy as Oppenheimer. Robert Downey Jr. as Lewis Strauss, Emily Blunt as Kitty Oppenheimer. The cast is fantastic. It’s so good that Rami Malek has very little time on the screen.

My son wanted to see the movie very badly. He told me that and invited me to the movies. I almost shed a tear when he did. Not only did my boy invite me to the movies, but he wanted to see OPPENHEIMER. He knows it’s the kind of movie I love, and I knew it as a signal that he has shifted fully into adult tastes.

A bit of a sad moment as I can see he’s becoming an adult and doesn’t need me as much, but also exciting because he and I now can share in the experiences of full on serious dramas like Oppenheimer. We watched the film together. It was awesome to be in the theater with him, looking over and seeing him fully intent on the screen. I knew he was entirely engaged.

After the movie he was super excited to discuss the film. We talked about it all the way home, when we got home, the day after. Yesterday. I’m writing this on Tuesday, and we viewed it when it opened on Friday. Now, I’ll tell you all that Oppenheimer is a good movie. It’s not an all-time great. And while Cillian Murphy put in a good performance, I don’t think it’s Oscar-worthy no matter what anyone says. Emily Blunt has the best performance in the film, trust me.

It doesn’t matter in the end. My son adores the film. I really really like it. I think it’s good. But because of the experience shared with my son, Oppenheimer, while not an all time great movie, will always be remembered very fondly by me. I will never forget a moment of that experience and while I know I turned this into a tale of father and son, I thought you may enjoy a story of how cinema can bring father and son together, as well as forge a memory and experience that will live forever between us. That’s the beauty of film. That’s the beauty of being a parent.

Thanks for reading and until next week…..