Raf

Mecca might be throwing you off. It takes up only a few minutes of screen time. There's also a glaring thematic omission in your summary that you should have picked up on by now. It matters. The co-author of the book on which the movie is based is far more famous for writing another book that, years earlier, was adapted into one of the most acclaimed miniseries of all time. One particularly well-known scene was parodied, hilariously, by Dave Chapelle in a movie that was COMPLETELY unrelated.

I tried to hint: the events of this movie take place three or four decades before Rodney King. That puts Lawrence of Arabia at... WAY TOO SOON. The lead actor would go on to win Best Actor for a less iconic role. Funny, he lost Best Actor for THIS movie to another actor for a less iconic role than the one that really defined his career. THAT Actor should have won the Oscar that went to Art Carney.

I don't know where the shock is coming from that we're allowing this discussion. We allowed a discussion on people claiming to produce foreign languages through magic. We allowed a discussion on the health benefits of superoxygenated water. The one relevant rule we have on GSC is no politics. This topic skirts the line. When it has been crossed, we have deleted posts without warning or apology. Based on the feedback, we are content that we are striking the right balance in making sure this conversation can proceed without crossing that line.

Ok, so it's a movie about someone who wrote an autobiography with the cooperation of another author who had to finish it when he died. Now... To whom is Mecca important? What person fitting that category is known to have written an autobiography? James Baldwin contributed significantly to the screenplay. His area of social expertise intersects with the "who thinks Mecca is important" element. Cross reference the two topics and three people emerge as likely candidates. Only one had a movie about him significant enough to be included on this thread. Oh, there was nothing obscure about this movie. And, as a joke, you did NOT have to watch nine movies before this to get up to speed. It is neither sequel nor prequel.

The director drew the ire of some educators [and the praise of others] by suggesting people skip school to watch this movie in theaters. [As someone who went on a class trip to see "The Wiz," I should say this would have been a worthwhile unauthorized field trip]. The movie opens with footage of the beating of Rodney King by four Los Angeles police officers, which, aside from a broad theme, has nothing to do with the events of this film, which took place decades earlier.

The vaccine does not grant 100 percent effective immunity. What it DOES do is reduce the risk of developing covid if exposed, just like the chickenpox vaccine, the measles vaccine and the flu vaccine, none of which get anywhere near the amount of pushback. And yes, some people DO get covid even though they are vaccinated. The vaccine reduces the severity of the disease in most cases.. No one is saying it never happens.. and the fact that it DOES happen is not proof the vaccine doesn't work. It works.

The vaccine does not grant 100 percent effective immunity. What it DOES do is reduce the risk of developing covid if exposed, just like the chickenpox vaccine, the measles vaccine and the flu vaccine, none of which get anywhere near the amount of pushback. And yes, some people DO get covid even though they are vaccinated. The vaccine reduces the severity of the disease in most cases.. No one is saying it never happens.. and the fact that it DOES happen is not proof the vaccine doesn't work. It works.

Of all the... You know what's dangerously close to cultism? Denying what the experts in a given field say because you read an old piece of literature that convinces you that you know better. Contrarianism, the belief that an iconoclastic view must be the correct view. THAT'S cultism. The rejection of expertise in favor of "special knowledge." That's cultism.

Here, I'll make it easy. The lead actor played one of the authors of the book on which the movie was based. He's in the movie for 3:21:58. So what kind of book was it? And why did the OTHER author have to write the ending?

It was not Ben Hur, which I do believe won Best Picture. A significant amount of the screenplay was written by James Baldwin, who died a few years before this film's release. His family didn't want his name in the credits, so you won't find him. The book on which the movie is based is credited to two authors. Only one appears as a character. For three hours, 21 minutes and 58 seconds. The other author, who does not appear, wrote the book's conclusion on his own.

This was the first non-documentary [and first American film of any kind] given official permission to film scenes in Mecca.

Incorrect. Hi Suda!

This movie was widely praised. For the director, it remains his most celebrated work in a career of celebrated works [not that he's flawless, but more hits than misses]. And for the lead actor, who's in nearly every scene [he appears on screen for 3 hours, 21 minutes and 58 seconds], it is also considered his defining performance. The lead actor did not win an Oscar. The director didn't win either. Neither did the movie. In fact, in one of the biggest snubs in Oscar history, neither the film nor the director were even NOMINATED.

Fine. Angelica Huston.

Have you READ the article you posted? "the virus EcoHealth Alliance was researching could not have sparked the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, given the sizable genetic differences between the two." So while the article engages in a lot of "hmmm" speculation, nothing in it even hints that the finding above has been contradicted. Meanwhile... https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-01529-3 An actual science journal, not to be confused with Vanity Fair. Rather than hand pick quotes, I'll just post the link and say enjoy. And stop using GSC to spread misinformation.

Governments and institutions have the right and moral obligation to mandate the vaccine, just as they do with dozens of other vaccines from smallpox and measles to chickenpox and mumps. The U.S. Supreme Court made it clear more than a century ago that the public interest in mandating vaccines outweighs the individual interest in clinging to misinformation to spread disease.

Allan, you are not skeptical for a plethora of reasons. You are skeptical for a plethora of excuses, the overwhelming majority of them stupid. Your reasoning is unintelligent. I'm not saying YOU are. Your REASONING is faulty beyond repair. "If the vaccine works, why the mandates?" Jesus, man, because dozens of vaccines are mandated for all sorts of reasons, and it has been so since George Washington MANDATED the smallpox vaccine during the Revolutionary War. Commie socialist unAmerican freedom hater that he was. "Now, I'm not saying people should be forced to play in traffic. But I just wish people would reciprocate and not tell me I can't play in traffic." Dude, they're not equivalent positions! I hope they "force" this vaccine on everyone the same way they did smallpox and chicken pox and measles and mumps and rhubella and polio and all sorts of other diseases we stopped hearing about until uneducated anti-vaxxers decided to give then new life by manufacturing fake links to unrelated conditions. Vaccines work. They save lives. They allowed us to move back toward normalcy. And the only reason they were not as effective in the US as they could have been is too many people refused to take them because they followed the politically driven advice of demagogues who either took the vaccine or didn't AND DIED OF COVID. These people wanted herd immunity, but you don't get herd immunity by thinning the herd. You get it through vaccinations, but even then only if most people participate. So if you don't want to be criticized for refusing to take the vaccine, TOO BAD. You're following stupid advice and if you were an isolated case that would be one thing, but then you're using platforms to spread the misinformation on which you've acted, which is providing other people with the stupid advice you're following and making it harder to bring this pandemic under control. Get the F8ing shot already.

Oh FFS, seriously? https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/effectiveness-research/protocols.html https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/coronavirus/is-the-covid19-vaccine-safe The vaccine saves lives. Vaccine cynicism costs lives. "I got god-given natural immunity" costs lives.

Ok, so we're talking about a movie in which a male star had a singing role and no one knew he could sing. Richard Gere? Will Ferrell? John C. Reilly? Chris Pine? Johnny Depp? Of course, any of them fit, but not many fit with the idea of getting lost in a set featuring woods. That narrows it down to any of the stars of Mamma Mia or, more likely, Into the Woods. Johnny Depp had already sung in Sweeney Todd, but who knew Captain Kirk II could sing? I'm going with Into the Woods. And if I got lost in the woods with Anna Kendrick, whoo boy....

If I got lost with her, would you ever find us again?

I was gonna pull the "Ahem, it's Tuesday" card, but declined. Friends, thank you for your generosity. Still hoping we get a bit closer to our goal, but no pressure. You bunch of... I didn't say that! Thank you!

It is really a vaccine. It was really a vaccine when one politician tried to take credit for it. It's still a vaccine regardless of anyone's political or religious views. It is more effective than the annual flu vaccine and as effective as the vaccines against chicken pox and measles. The difference is, you don't see people depriving themselves of THOSE vaccines because God gave them natural antibodies or the surgeon general at the time they were developed was a member of the All Night Party. The more people got it, the harder it was for the disease to spread. The disease jumped from one vaccinated person to the next until it just lost because so many people were vaccinated.

The only thing that passes me off is that the word "vaccine" is in quotes in the thread title. It works. It's the reason we were able to return to some normalcy. You have a better chance of fighting off the disease after the vaccine than you do if you catch the disease and survive it. You can argue faith v. science all you want, but putting "vaccine" in quotes is an act of utter ignorance.

Halfway to our goal. A little over, actually. Folks, no one says you have to announce your gift, or how much it is. Paw will be the only one who knows, and he will be the one to thank you. If you want to send $1.50 and a nasty note, we'll take both. We won't shame you for a small donation. Heck, we won't shame you for NO donation. Most of all, we promise not to spit in your direction no matter how little or how much you give.

10 to go!