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<title>10 December, 2023</title>
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<title>Daily-Dose</title><meta content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" name="viewport"/><link href="styles/simple.css" rel="stylesheet"/><link href="../styles/simple.css" rel="stylesheet"/><style>*{overflow-x:hidden;}</style><link href="https://unpkg.com/aos@2.3.1/dist/aos.css" rel="stylesheet"/><script src="https://unpkg.com/aos@2.3.1/dist/aos.js"></script></head>
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<body>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-down" id="daily-dose">Daily-Dose</h1>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-right" data-aos-anchor-placement="top-bottom" id="contents">Contents</h1>
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<ul>
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<li><a href="#from-new-yorker">From New Yorker</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-vox">From Vox</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-the-hindu-sports">From The Hindu: Sports</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-the-hindu-national-news">From The Hindu: National News</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-bbc-europe">From BBC: Europe</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-ars-technica">From Ars Technica</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-jokes-subreddit">From Jokes Subreddit</a></li>
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</ul>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-new-yorker">From New Yorker</h1>
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<ul>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>What October 7th Did and Didn’t Change About Israeli Politics</strong> - A pollster examines support for a two-state solution, Benjamin Netanyahu’s falling approval ratings, and why the next Prime Minister may not change course on relations with Palestinians. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/what-october-7th-did-and-didnt-change-about-israeli-politics">link</a></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>What Would Sandra Day O’Connor Have Thought About Affirmative Action for Men?</strong> - For decades, college-admissions offices have quietly imposed higher standards on female applicants. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/what-would-sandra-day-oconnor-have-thought-about-affirmative-action-for-men">link</a></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Capital Has a Bad Case of Year-End Panic</strong> - Worries about a second Trump term and the end of aid to Ukraine are entirely justified. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-bidens-washington/the-capital-has-a-bad-case-of-year-end-panic">link</a></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>How Hamas Used Sexual Violence on October 7th</strong> - Physicians for Human Rights Israel issued a report collecting evidence of sexual and gender-based violence. One of its authors lays out their findings. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/how-hamas-used-sexual-violence-on-october-7th">link</a></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Israel-Hamas Prisoner Swap, from the West Bank</strong> - Outside a prison where detained Palestinians were released, celebration and chaos. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-the-west-bank/the-israel-hamas-prisoner-swap">link</a></p></li>
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</ul>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-vox">From Vox</h1>
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<li><strong>Resilience is invaluable in tough times. Here’s how to build it.</strong> -
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<img alt="A drawing of a person standing in a rowboat in the middle of the ocean." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/b8bFVVaDtTmldcqS4JlUvE2FoPA=/364x0:5237x3655/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72948815/GettyImages_1440468806.0.jpg"/>
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Getty Images/fStop
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</figcaption>
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</figure>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
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Adapting to change is never easy, but you can shift how you respond to stress.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="KUJ1a8">
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When Luana Marques was growing up in Brazil, life was not easy. Her parents had her when they were very young, and they didn’t know how to take care of themselves, much less their children. Drugs and alcohol were also a problem. “Between the many instances of domestic violence, I often felt scared, wondering when something bad would happen next,” she says. She lived <a href="https://www.vox.com/poverty">in poverty</a> with a single mother and experienced a lot of trauma and adversity. Eventually, she moved in with her grandmother, who taught her how to approach her fears without avoiding them, and to tolerate discomfort. “My grandmother would call that being the water, not the rock,” she says. “When change happens, some of us become stuck, like the rock. The opposite is being the water. You flow around the change.”
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Ph7rYu">
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Years later, when Marques, now an associate professor of <a href="https://www.vox.com/psychology">psychology</a> at Harvard Medical School, was studying cognitive behavioral therapy, she realized that her grandmother had been giving her lessons in resilience.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="jxbXyn">
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The American Psychological Association defines resilience as “successfully adapting to difficult or challenging life experiences, especially through mental, emotional, and behavioral flexibility,” but Marques puts it more simply: “The way I think about it is the ability to build mental strength in such a way that your brain has what’s known as ‘cognitive flexibility,’” she says. “It means that when life throws you curveballs or adversity, you are able to make decisions that are aligned with your values.”
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="CFNqw8">
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As stressors like <a href="https://www.vox.com/russia-invasion-ukraine">war in Ukraine</a> and the Middle East pile on top of the pandemic, <a href="https://www.vox.com/money/2023/11/8/23951098/economy-inflation-prices-job-market-sticker-shock">inflation</a>, layoffs, and <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/505745/depression-rates-reach-new-highs.aspx">growing rates</a> of anxiety and depression, cognitive flexibility can be an important skill to hone and keep in our emotional toolboxes.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="6OYXDt">
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But the good news is, resilience isn’t a fixed asset. Though studies show that some people are naturally more resilient than others, just as some people are naturally more optimistic, there are ways to strengthen those muscles. <a href="https://www.psu.edu/news/research/story/professor-shares-tips-managing-stress-and-building-resilience/">Heidemarie Laurent</a>, a professor of caring and compassion at Penn State University (yes, this is really a thing), focuses on resilience in her work at the school’s College of Health and Human Development. “There is no one prescription,” she says. “For each person, it’s finding what you can really integrate into your life and stick with.”
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</p>
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<h3 id="gGDGZO">
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Pause so you can respond better
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</h3>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="j55hv2">
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The first step to becoming more resilient is to understand how your brain works. When you’re stressed, your amygdala, the part of your brain that handles fear, is activated, and you have a fight-or-flight response. “When you say to someone, ‘I’m so anxious, I can’t think straight,’ that’s actually your biology,” Marques says. “You can’t think straight because your prefrontal cortex is offline.” Instead of immediately reacting, Marques recommends that you recognize your emotional response to stress and take a pause. “That’s our superpower that we don’t use enough,” she says. “The ability to say, ‘Okay, I’m really angry, but I don’t have to act on that anger yet.’ Creating that pause builds resilience.”
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</p>
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<h3 id="fF9OQd">
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Build community and improve self-talk
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</h3>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Suw17F">
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Taking a beat allows you to reframe the way you’re looking at a situation. When experiencing stress, one of the first things we typically do is appraise it to determine how taxing it may be. Social support is one of the biggest assets that plays into that appraisal, says Jennifer Wegmann, a professor of health and <a href="https://www.vox.com/health">wellness</a> studies at Binghamton University whose research focuses on stress mindsets. Just knowing that you have a text chain of friends you can vent to or family that can drop off groceries while you’re sick makes you feel as though you’re better able to handle the situation. “Social connectedness is honestly a game changer when it comes to stress,” she says. “It is one of the most powerful strategies and tools that we have.”
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="moFArz">
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It’s also something that you can grow. Communities shifted in myriad ways during the pandemic years, and making friends as an adult <a href="https://www.vox.com/22992901/how-to-find-your-community-as-an-adult">has never been easy.</a> If you’re feeling unmoored or unsupported, look for ways you can expand your social circle by <a href="https://www.vox.com/even-better/23837430/how-to-make-friends-start-a-club">joining clubs</a>, asking a coworker to get coffee, starting playground meet-ups, or volunteering. “Pivoting outward to the needs of others in your networks can reinforce the realization that you’re a part of an interdependent network of humans,” says Laurent. “Helping others can be a really powerful strategy for improving our well-being.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="wmDVXr">
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Another big piece of reframing your view of stress is changing the way you talk to yourself. Too often, when we’re scared, we get trapped in cycles of negative thoughts, bullying ourselves in a way we never would a friend. To widen your perspective, Marques recommends asking yourself, “How would I talk to a friend in this scenario?” Would you tell them there’s no way they can finish a test on time or that a work project just isn’t good enough? Make a conscious effort to give yourself the support you would give a friend.
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</p>
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<h3 id="gkZ1M7">
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Approach your fears head-on
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</h3>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="YS68Zn">
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Sometimes, it’s hard for us to even think about the things that stress us out, much less face them head-on. Or we look so far into the future that we can’t deal with the decisions of the present moment. But, “resilient people walk toward their anxiety and stress,” Marques says. To ease that fear, she recommends finding ways to make your stressor less scary. If you’re afraid to ask for a raise, stopping to sit and write down five reasons you deserve it can help reinforce your own worthiness. If you have a stack of bills piling up, taking the first step of opening the envelopes and not putting pressure on yourself to take a second and third step could ease the process in the long run. It’s about “removing that extra layer of struggle with reality that gets in the way of meeting a situation as skillfully as possible,” Laurent says. “If I’m stuck getting frustrated with ‘this shouldn’t be so,’ it’s actually just creating more suffering within me. If I start with, ‘Here is the situation, and how can I meet that whether I like it or not?’ I leave space for myself to act.”
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="qeURXQ">
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Mindfulness can also help. It’s a term people love to chat about on social media, but Laurent defines it as “fully living moment to moment with awareness of what is actually happening, and not our internal stories about what is happening.” Building mindfulness might involve activities like meditation or spiritual practices, but it can also mean going for a walk in nature or taking in artwork, music, or other things you find beautiful. It can also involve spending time with other people where you’re having a more thoughtful conversation that leads to deep awareness about what’s going on with you and the other person.
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</p>
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<h3 id="EkhIaO">
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Align with your values
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</h3>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="O46lVz">
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A huge part of resilience is making sure that you make decisions that match your values. If you say family is very important to you but you don’t make it home for dinner every night, there’s a dissonance there. “If you live a life where values are aligned with actions, you have less stress, less anxiety, and more life satisfaction,” Marques says.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="JsTotY">
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And though you may think you already know what your values are, Wegmann recommends sitting down and thinking about what matters to you. “That takes time,” she says. “You have to be present and really be reflective to get to the nitty-gritty of, ‘What are my top values? What is most important to me?’” If your decisions are not lining up with those values, it’s time to make some changes and possibly set some boundaries. Are there things you can do to adjust your work/life balance? Do you need to start saying no to more things to protect the time you need to exercise, or spend time with valued friends? “Our willingness and our ability to put these bumper guards around us is one of the ways in which we can highlight our resilient nature because it changes how we navigate through the stress process,” Wegmann says.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="4RqgKF">
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Gratitude can be a piece of it, too. Keeping a gratitude journal or making a practice of finding five things you’re grateful for every day can not only help reveal things you value, but also lead to more positive feelings, she says. “It’s really connected to happiness,”
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</p>
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<h3 id="1KnNf9">
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Focus on healthy habits
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</h3>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="BItJK0">
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Even the most stress-resistant humans are going to have trouble bouncing back from adversity if they’re not taking care of themselves. The very basic healthy habits we’re all told to work toward — enough sleep, a healthy diet, regular exercise — are the foundations that hold up our ability to deal with stress. “If you’re not sleeping enough, if you’re not moving your body and you’re not eating enough, you just don’t have enough energy in your body to even get your brain to function,” Marques says. “And so whenever somebody comes to me and says, ‘I need help with anxiety,’ I say, ‘How’s your eating? How’s your sleeping? How’s your exercise?’ Because if I don’t get your foundation right, then you don’t even know if you’re hungry or you’re anxious.”
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</p>
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<h3 id="4QDzkH">
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Know that resilience is a process
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</h3>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="zRn3jE">
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The process is not linear, and that’s okay. “A person’s journey to becoming more resilient is more of a spiral or a labyrinth,” Laurent says. “At times, it might feel like you’re going backward from where you started. But all those twists and turns are taking you along this path. And seeing that is part of having a broader perspective.” It’s important to look back and give yourself credit for the stressors you have moved through and all the adversity you have overcome. You can remind yourself that if you’ve gotten this far, you know you can take on the next thing that comes your way.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="q5VmEW">
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Marques, who wrote <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/bold-move-a-three-step-plan-to-transform-anxiety-into-power/18859302"><em>Bold Move: A 3-Step Plan to Transform Anxiety Into Power</em></a>, has seen people who have focused on resilient practices change the trajectory of their lives. In working with a nonprofit focused on men transitioning out of prison, she met a young man who told her that after a challenging look from another man, he asked a friend to bring him a gun so he could shoot him. But in the time it took for the gun to arrive, he paused, thought about his options and what he wanted, and walked away. After a presentation, a woman came up to her and said Marques had convinced her not to quit her job and deal with problems at work instead, and she got a promotion. But most of all, Marques knows that her grandmother’s lessons in resilience are the reason she was able to leave Brazil and make it to Harvard. “If her advice didn’t work, I wouldn’t be sitting here right now,” she says.
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</p></li>
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<li><strong>Can Democrats overcome their deep divisions over Gaza?</strong> -
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<figure>
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<img alt="Pressley, Ocasio-Cortez, and Tlaib stand side by side wearing serious expressions. Part of the Capitol dome can be seen in the background." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/U8YoVxIbMRijspOwyBR5f6Detu8=/598x0:5385x3590/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72946866/1792203657.0.jpg"/>
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<figcaption>
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US Reps. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) listen during a news conference calling for a ceasefire in Gaza outside the US Capitol building on November 13, 2023, in Washington, DC. | Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
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</figcaption>
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</figure>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
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The party is fractured over President Joe Biden’s unequivocal support for Israel as it continues its military campaign in Gaza ahead of 2024.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="LjwwY3">
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Democratic divisions over the war in <a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/11/20/18080046/gaza-palestine-israel">Gaza</a> have spilled out into the open in recent weeks, raising questions about the potential electoral consequences ahead of 2024.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2fCpSy">
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On Tuesday, the House passed a resolution proposed by Republicans that equates anti-Zionism with antisemitism. Republicans said they intended to curb a <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-antisemitic-incidents-up-about-400-since-israel-hamas-war-began-report-says-2023-10-25/">very real outpouring of antisemitism</a> amid the war. But the actual outcome of the resolution — which advances a misleading <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/11/anti-zionism-not-anti-semitism/675888/">premise</a> that criticism of a diverse pro-<a href="https://www.vox.com/israel">Israel</a> political movement is equivalent to hatred of Jews — merely put Democratic discord on display.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="a8BXEa">
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Some 95 Democrats voted for the <a href="https://www.congress.gov/118/bills/hres894/BILLS-118hres894ih.pdf">resolution</a> to show their support for Israel following the <a href="https://www.vox.com/2023/10/7/23907683/israel-hamas-war-news-updates-october-2023">October 7 attack</a> by <a href="https://www.vox.com/politics/2023/10/10/23911661/hamas-israel-war-gaza-palestine-explainer">Hamas</a>, a <a href="https://www.vox.com/palestine">Palestinian</a> militant group designated a terrorist organization by many countries. Another 92 Democrats, including <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/house/4343220-gop-antisemitism-resolution-passes-house-fractures-democrats/">several Jewish Democrats</a>, voted “present,” neither supporting nor opposing the resolution. The remaining 13 Democrats, mostly progressives who have <a href="https://connolly.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=4303">called for a ceasefire</a> as the death toll in Gaza <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/live-blog/israel-hamas-war-live-updates-rcna128682">surpasses 17,000,</a> voted against the resolution.
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The divisions go beyond the resolution, however. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) has also recently <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4345978-democratic-divisions-deepen-over-hamas-sexual-violence-response/">faced backlash</a> from her colleagues for what they perceive as her not being forceful enough in condemning <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/04/world/middleeast/oct-7-attacks-israel-hamas-sexual-violence.html">widespread sexual violence</a> that Israel claims Hamas committed on October 7. The criticism came after Jayapal said in an <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4345978-democratic-divisions-deepen-over-hamas-sexual-violence-response/">interview with CNN</a> last weekend that while using rape as a tool of war is “horrific,” “we have to be balanced about bringing in the outrages against Palestinians.” Several Democrats have since <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4345978-democratic-divisions-deepen-over-hamas-sexual-violence-response/">started drafting</a> a resolution condemning the alleged sexual violence, which Hamas has denied despite witness testimony, crime scene photos, and videos posted by Hamas fighters themselves.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="OI7zns">
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|||
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|
And progressives have sought to place conditions on any military aid sent to Israel, which <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/4348381-senate-democrats-amendment-conditions-israel-aid/">President Joe Biden</a> and <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/11/18/democrats-in-senate-house-discuss-conditioning-military-aid-to-israel-00127930">Vice President Kamala Harris</a> have rejected as the administration maintains its unequivocal support for the war. More than a dozen Democratic senators have called for an amendment to a pending $111 billion foreign-aid package — around $10 billion of which would go to Israel — requiring that Israel “abide by US and international law, prioritize the protection of civilians, assure the provision of desperately needed humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza, and align with a long-term vision for peace, security, and two-state diplomatic solution,” as Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) described it in a statement. Moderate Democrats have not joined those calls, and the <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/amp/politics/democratic-senators-demand-israel-reduce-civilian-casualties-in-gaza-as-part-of-aid-package">AP reported</a> that some believe the amendment is unnecessary given that US law already requires that recipients of US military aid respect human rights.
|
|||
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|
</p>
|
|||
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|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Egbxww">
|
|||
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|
Democrats have prided themselves for years on staying unified around core issues in contrast to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/oct/21/jim-jordan-house-speaker-republicans-dysfunction">Republican disarray</a>, but are now facing bitter disagreement about the US’s relationship with Israel.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
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|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="cj7eiB">
|
|||
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|
“There’s a huge cleave in their coalition right now,” said Jason Cabel Roe, a GOP strategist based in Michigan. The state has a large <a href="https://apnews.com/article/muslim-swing-state-biden-vote-fb3b93f465ed6fd34a901c269a084a90">Muslim-American community frustrated with Biden’s handling of the war</a>, and some political strategists believe that could cost him the critical swing state where a recent poll <a href="https://www.freep.com/restricted/?return=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.freep.com%2Fstory%2Fnews%2Fpolitics%2Felections%2F2023%2F11%2F18%2Felection-2024-biden-trump-poll-michigan%2F71619518007%2F">showed him trailing</a> former <a href="https://www.vox.com/donald-trump">President Donald Trump</a>. “How forceful Biden has been in his support of Israel creates a real problem and forces every Democrat to now pick a side within their coalition,” said Roe.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<h3 id="Lldmoj">
|
|||
|
|
Will Democrats’ disagreements actually matter in 2024?
|
|||
|
|
</h3>
|
|||
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|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="NV5w2X">
|
|||
|
|
The division within the Democratic caucus reflects a national debate Republicans believe they can use to their advantage in next year’s elections.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
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|
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ZBWpKc">
|
|||
|
|
GOP pollster Robert Cahaly said that, based on what he’s hearing from voters, US policy on Israel may well become a determinative issue for voters in 2024 akin to <a href="https://www.vox.com/abortion">abortion</a> or guns. Biden’s almost unconditional support for Israel as it continues its indiscriminate bombing campaign in Gaza has been met with outrage among many <a href="https://poll.qu.edu/poll-release?releaseid=3882">young voters</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/dec/03/muslim-leaders-swing-states-abandon-biden-campaign">Muslim Americans</a>, a number of whom are consequently <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/12/3/us-muslims-pledge-to-ditch-biden-in-2024-over-his-stance-on-israel-gaza-war">threatening to ditch Biden</a> in 2024. And conversely, there are also some Democrats <a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-apnorc-poll-biden-democrats-42b195c5a577a40ff981d26afbff9997">who don’t think that their party’s support for Israel has been strong enough</a>. In the last month, Biden has taken a slightly more critical stance, pressuring Israel to take more care to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/30/us/politics/biden-israel.html">avoid civilian suffering</a> and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/05/us/politics/us-visas-israelis-palestinians.html">rein in Israeli settlers</a> in the <a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/11/20/18080034/west-bank-israel-palestinians">West Bank</a>, apparently to little avail.
|
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|
|
</p>
|
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|
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="oEUlaQ">
|
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|
|
“People are angry about this,” Cahaly said.
|
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</p>
|
|||
|
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="CII7Sh">
|
|||
|
|
But Simon Rosenberg, a Democratic strategist who correctly predicted Democrats’ <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2022/11/27/23475262/midterm-elections-2022-results-red-wave-democrats">strong performance in the midterms</a>, said that Republicans shouldn’t be licking their chops yet. Polls have repeatedly shown that most Democrats approve of Biden’s approach to the war. There is a sizable share of Democrats who don’t approve — <a href="https://apnorc.org/projects/hostage-recovery-tops-publics-priorities-for-israel-hamas-conflict/">39 percent</a> in a December AP-NORC Center survey, which is consistent with other recent polls by <a href="https://t.co/9ngQREEFl3">Quinnipiac</a>, <a href="https://t.co/Dnnv5G387Y">Marist</a>, and <a href="https://t.co/VBZATgq5GI">YouGov</a>. But the question is whether their disagreement with the president will matter when it comes time to vote.
|
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|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="lCxrXg">
|
|||
|
|
“It’s highly unlikely that for other than a small number of people this will be a determinative voting issue for them 11 months from now,” Rosenberg said. “Based on history, where foreign policy issues often are not determinative for many voters, it’s unlikely that this is going to become something that creates a major fissure in the Democratic Party.”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="6eOwyM">
|
|||
|
|
So far, it doesn’t seem like the war has meaningfully hurt Biden in head-to-head matchups with Trump. There have been <a href="https://www.hopiumchronicles.com/p/more-notes-on-polling-and-why-i-am?utm_source=profile&utm_medium=reader2">six such polls</a> released in the last week in which Biden was ahead or tied with Trump, and in several, he had improved his standing since November. And in a Harvard Institute of Politics poll released earlier this week, Biden was beating Trump among 18- to 29-year-olds by <a href="https://iop.harvard.edu/youth-poll/46th-edition-fall-2023">24 percentage points</a> — the same margin he won by in 2020, according to exit polls.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="upl3BC">
|
|||
|
|
“There is an important debate happening inside the Democratic Party right now,” Rosenberg said. “Is it going to be corrosive and divisive? Of course, it could be. There isn’t a lot of evidence that it is right now.”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="R5aRDw">
|
|||
|
|
Democrats still need to be careful about how they manage the war, both in terms of communicating with the American people and in terms of ensuring that the war is “conducted in a way that’s consistent with our values and policies,” Rosenberg said. So far, he added, Biden has been effective in responding to his more progressive critics’ calls for a ceasefire while ultimately preserving his pro-Israel stance. The ceasefire, brokered by Qatar and Egypt, was welcomed by Biden, but was only temporary, lifting on December 1 after <a href="https://time.com/6341993/israel-hamas-ceasefire-war/">negotiations between Israel and Hamas deteriorated</a> with each side blaming the other.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="V1iVXD">
|
|||
|
|
Still, Republicans perceive opportunities to pick up voters who might be alienated by Biden’s support for Israel.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ZNc1n8">
|
|||
|
|
That might include Jews who feel Democrats haven’t been full-throated enough in their support for the war, Roe said. While any gains with that group might have limited impact in terms of winning elections given that Jewish voters are concentrated in large, mostly Democratic cities, it could be a boon for fundraising, he added.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="jNkvCB">
|
|||
|
|
“When it comes to defending Jews in America today, Republicans are out there forcefully and aggressively, and obviously, there’s political opportunity there,” Roe said. “How are these voters still lined up with Democrats?”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="BOOwbw">
|
|||
|
|
Cahaly said that the war may help Republicans reframe the narrative around extremism in their camp, allowing them to point the finger at Democrats for espousing what they perceive as antisemitism. It’s worth noting, however, that some Republicans who have recently taken up the argument that Democrats belong to an extreme, antisemitic party, including <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/haaretz-today/2023-12-06/ty-article/.highlight/looking-for-a-congressional-champion-to-fight-antisemitism-forget-stefanik/0000018c-3feb-d062-a9ee-ffeb4d050000">Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY</a>) and <a href="https://www.aa.com.tr/en/americas/us-rep-rashida-tlaib-hits-back-at-marjorie-taylor-greenes-efforts-to-censure-her-for-anti-semitism/3034019">Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA)</a>, are notorious peddlers of <a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/05/25/1000129271/marjorie-taylor-greenes-holocaust-remarks-blasted-by-republicans-leaders">antisemitic conspiracy theories</a> themselves.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="oBSrmx">
|
|||
|
|
Cahaly also sees an opportunity for Republicans to win over disaffected Democrats and independents and energize members of their base who see the pro-Palestinian views of young people as the product of left-wing ideas run amok at institutions like <a href="https://www.vox.com/2023/11/5/23944007/free-speech-israel-palestine-college-universities-campus-protests">universities</a>. “There is a price for having the next generation taught a bunch of nonsense,” he said.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="a1dtX8">
|
|||
|
|
Otherwise, all Republicans really need to do is “sit back and watch [Democrats] burn their house down,” Cahaly said. In his view, that’s especially the case given the swath of potential independent and third-party candidates <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2023/12/05/liz-cheney-third-party-trump-threat/71750947007/">angling to enter the race for president</a>, and primary challenges that pro-Israel groups like AIPAC have <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/nov/11/israel-ads-attack-rashida-tlaib-us-politicians">threatened</a> against Democrats who don’t support the war.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="dpXUwh">
|
|||
|
|
“There are going to be a lot of alternatives for people to vote for and make known their displeasure with Biden without having to vote for Trump,” Cahaly said.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ZFW7WK">
|
|||
|
|
But while votes like the one on Tuesday create an opportunity for Republicans to keep Democratic divisions in the news and on the minds of voters, Rosenberg argues the Democratic coalition has shown no signs of fraying in actual elections over the last year. The party has notched critical victories in the Virginia legislature, a Wisconsin <a href="https://www.vox.com/scotus">Supreme Court</a> race, and in preserving abortion rights in Ohio.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="vG0OZ1">
|
|||
|
|
“[Republicans] are the ones that are getting their ass kicked all over the country,” Rosenberg said.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="bzeh10">
|
|||
|
|
</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li><strong>The many layers of May December</strong> -
|
|||
|
|
<figure>
|
|||
|
|
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Q3lJaEk_CkK2oRSNtle_9XW2XlQ=/1036x0:6227x3893/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72946835/May_December_n_00_59_53_22_R.0.jpeg"/>
|
|||
|
|
<figcaption>
|
|||
|
|
Natalie Portman and Charles Melton in <em>May December.</em> | Courtesy of Netflix
|
|||
|
|
</figcaption>
|
|||
|
|
</figure>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
|
|
May December isn’t camp. So what is it?
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="0OEd9W">
|
|||
|
|
In the opening moments of Todd Haynes’s <em>May December</em>, scandalous tabloid subject-turned-homemaker Gracie (Julianne Moore) opens a refrigerator, dramatically accompanied by a sudden piano sting and an ominous camera zoom.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="U0QrBb">
|
|||
|
|
The twist? They might not have enough hot dogs for their upcoming cookout.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="0If0tG">
|
|||
|
|
If that strikes you as funny, you’re not alone. This is a film that reportedly had audiences laughing out loud during its debut, a story the New York Times called “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/26/movies/may-december-cannes-todd-haynes.html">the most fun film</a>” at Cannes 2023. And yet, it’s also a film based on the <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/23973193/mary-kay-letourneau-is-may-december-real-what-happened-where-is-vili-fualaau-today">horrifying real-life story</a> of a sexual predator and her child victim.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="B91kSp">
|
|||
|
|
Viewers have been debating since its December 1 platform release. <a href="https://www.indiewire.com/awards/consider-this/todd-haynes-may-december-camp-interview-1234926492/">Is it camp</a>? Is it supposed to be funny? Is Natalie Portman a bad actor or is she just <a href="https://slate.com/culture/2023/12/natalie-portman-may-december-movie-netflix-black-swan-jackie.html">very good at playing a bad one</a>?
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Rq3YSx">
|
|||
|
|
These are all interesting questions to consider, but they arguably obscure the biggest question of all: What does it mean that audiences are laughing at a story as dark as this one — and does that say more about the film or its viewers? Is <em>May December</em> critiquing the exploitative nature of media, or is it an example of the very thing it seeks to deconstruct?
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="RLEoC8">
|
|||
|
|
<strong>[</strong><em><strong>Note</strong></em><strong>: This review contains spoilers.]</strong>
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<h3 id="swzUx3">
|
|||
|
|
<em>May December</em> adapts a real-life tabloid scandal
|
|||
|
|
</h3>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="EQiyLF">
|
|||
|
|
<em>May December</em> fictionalizes the story of<a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/23973193/mary-kay-letourneau-is-may-december-real-what-happened-where-is-vili-fualaau-today"> Mary Kay Letourneau and Vili Fualaau</a>. The pair met when she was a teacher and he was in second grade. After years of plying Fualaau with gifts and special attention, Letourneau became pregnant by Fualaau when he was just 13. Convicted of rape, she was released after just three months but immediately violated parole to become pregnant with Fualaau’s second child. In 2005, after serving a seven-year sentence during which she continued her relationship with Fualaau, Letourneau married him. The couple separated in 2019, shortly before Letourneau’s death from cancer.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="FzzcHn">
|
|||
|
|
This crime would be properly viewed today as that of a child predator who successfully spent years grooming her target. In the ’90s, however, <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/mary-kay-letourneau-vili-fualauu-relationship-media-child-rape-tryst-1025466/">the media framed it</a> as a star-crossed love story, allowing Letourneau to direct the narrative, so much so that even Fualaau’s own family defended her, insisting the pair were in love and that Fualaau was “extremely mature” for his age.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="jBVWqU">
|
|||
|
|
The film picks up where our cultural memory leaves off. The fictional Gracie and her victim, Joe Yoo (Charles Melton), have been together 24 years. Still living in Savannah, Georgia, where the scandal occurred, they’re preparing for the graduation day of their younger daughter and son. Into this dynamic saunters a fictional celebrity, Elizabeth (Natalie Portman). But Elizabeth, who’s trying to get to know Gracie in order to play her for an upcoming film adaptation, isn’t an objective observer.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="edyieC">
|
|||
|
|
Haynes’s directorial choices make it extremely clear that this relationship was far from rosy, indicting not just Letourneau but the onlookers, too — the tabloid media who hyped the story as a romance, the Hollywood machine that made it the stuff of Lifetime movie lore, and the real-life audiences who ate it up. To do that, he utilizes a tonal approach that suggests his three main characters are in three different <a href="https://www.vox.com/movies">movies</a> within the movie, each one clashing with the other.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<h3 id="yAGNYT">
|
|||
|
|
<em>May December</em> utilizes clashing perspectives to keep us discomfited
|
|||
|
|
</h3>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="1GpLFA">
|
|||
|
|
Gracie is inside a movie about star-crossed soulmates who find each other against all odds — a movie where she is the hero and the whole world is rooting for her. The hot dog scene is our first tell that Gracie’s world is a delusion. It’s the kind of overly dramatic stinger we might find in a ’90s made-for-TV movie, applied to something vapid. In Gracie’s narcissistic point of view, however, little things become magnified. Today, her tightly controlled world could be disrupted by missing hot dogs; tomorrow, it could be something much worse.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="tBYipb">
|
|||
|
|
Her lawyer reveals to Elizabeth at one point that Gracie’s friends are all Norma Desmonding her — humoring her attempts to set herself up as a baker by ordering cakes they don’t eat, just to give her something to do. Gracie clings to this vision of herself; the smallest disturbance leaves her sobbing, desperate for comfort from Joe. She relies on him for everything, and he shoulders everything from emotional support to parenting duties.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="mhXSPt">
|
|||
|
|
Yet Joe, much like Fualaau toward the end of his relationship with Letourneau, undergoes an awakening during the film. Over a series of heartbreaking moments beautifully acted by Melton, we see him slowly come to know what the rest of us already do: He was a victim, not a willing participant, in the “love story” planned out for him by Letourneau. In one devastating scene, he watches his son smoke a joint with a look of palpable yearning, reminding viewers that he never got the chance to do something so mundane as a teen because he was robbed of a normal adolescence.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<figure class="e-image">
|
|||
|
|
<img alt="Melton and Portman walk outside with two dogs." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/NbUBdYmRqQLGUef-panKSffIs5A=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25141336/MAYDEC_11_04.2022_FD_0078_R.JPG"/> <cite>François Duhamel/Courtesy of Netflix</cite>
|
|||
|
|
<figcaption>
|
|||
|
|
Charles Melton and Natalie Portman in <em>May December</em>.
|
|||
|
|
</figcaption>
|
|||
|
|
</figure>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="XIb5bf">
|
|||
|
|
Of our three different narratives, only Joe’s is an accurate reflection of reality. That reality is full of troubling conflict; Joe’s devastation at his lost childhood mixes with pride in and love for his kids. He moves through the film with quiet care for his children, for Gracie, for the butterflies he’s been nursing, helping protect them until they, like his own children, can leave their cocoons and fly away.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="dakXoF">
|
|||
|
|
As he begins to understand his situation, Joe seeks help and understanding from Elizabeth; later, he unsuccessfully pleads for help from Gracie herself. But any hope that Elizabeth can be a moral arbiter here quickly dies. Instead, within the tableau of perspectives on Gracie’s crime, she represents the tabloid view, one that sees the “May-December romance” as not only shocking but titillating — ultimately erotic rather than dangerous. She reminds us throughout that in reality, Vili Fualaau was a victim, not just of Letourneau, but of a media machine and a society that was quick to sexualize him.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="P1QvfA">
|
|||
|
|
Once we understand this, Portman’s performance becomes anything but phoned-in. She becomes the key to unlocking the whole movie.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<h3 id="sgRYAs">
|
|||
|
|
Portman’s performance is crucial to understanding Haynes’s project
|
|||
|
|
</h3>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Ma4rzo">
|
|||
|
|
If this were a typical cautionary tale, Portman’s character would be the vehicle for the audience’s moral outrage — the character we’re allowed to relate to and empathize with who serves as our tour guide through the distorted landscape of Gracie and Joe’s relationship.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="XicwVo">
|
|||
|
|
But Elizabeth winds up aiding and abetting the distortion. Portman plays her like an ingenue, a starlet who’s still in her starlet mode, even though in the world of the film, she’s an industry veteran of 36 — the same age Gracie was when her relationship with Joe came to light.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="00wXbt">
|
|||
|
|
Over the course of the film, she falls for the fantasy of becoming Gracie. She smiles flirtatiously at teen boys. She gets lost in a wildly inappropriate description of filming sex to a group of high schoolers. Later, she pantomimes sex at the literal scene of the crime — in the pet shop stockroom where Gracie and Joe were ultimately caught.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="9UBUDj">
|
|||
|
|
In one charged scene, she allows Gracie to do her makeup and reacts to their intimacy with a homoerotic mix of repulsion and elation. Ultimately, she has sex with Joe — then, finally, fully transforms into the older seductress by performing one of Gracie’s love letters as a monologue.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<figure class="e-image">
|
|||
|
|
<img alt="Moore helps Portman stir while they are baking in the kitchen." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/LXrkvFL7NkgPscTDB-4T45s3SD8=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25141341/May_December_n_01_13_08_05_R.JPG"/> <cite>Courtesy of Netflix</cite>
|
|||
|
|
<figcaption>
|
|||
|
|
Julianne Moore and Natalie Portman serving homoerotic vibes (but don’t call it camp!).
|
|||
|
|
</figcaption>
|
|||
|
|
</figure>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="UgiG1k">
|
|||
|
|
The more she is drawn into this version of the story, the more callous Elizabeth becomes. After viewing footage of 13-year-olds auditioning for the role of Joe in the movie she’s in, she complains to the director that they aren’t “sexy enough.” When Joe angrily insists to her that his life isn’t a story, she says calmly, “There’s no need to get so worked up about it” — exactly the kind of thing Gracie herself might say. She becomes fully swept up in a story that’s all about her and her repressed sexual desires coming to the fore.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="bZce3G">
|
|||
|
|
The difficulty audiences have had in parsing what Portman is doing reveals just how smart her performance is: She’s so believable that not everyone believes she’s acting. (Portman <a href="https://www.indiewire.com/awards/consider-this/todd-haynes-may-december-camp-interview-1234926492/">first championed the script to Haynes</a>, so it’s likely that she was thinking about the layered dynamics at play here long before anyone else.)
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="1IVdh0">
|
|||
|
|
Our frustrated expectations of Portman’s role are also tied to confusion over the film itself. With two divas each getting carried away with the idea of themselves as the hero of a fantastical (but in fact disintegrating) love story, it’s easy to see how <a href="https://filmspeak.net/movie-reviews/2023/12/1/may-december-review-charles-melton-is-sensational-in-todd-haynes-latest">claims have arisen</a> that <em>May December</em> is a work of camp. It doesn’t help that Haynes has a penchant for lush, indulgent dramas (<em>Velvet Goldmine</em>, <em>Carol</em>) that sometimes nudge the campy line between melodrama and farce.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="JfIKDh">
|
|||
|
|
So, to really understand <em>May December</em>, we have to understand the ways in which it could be camp — but ultimately isn’t.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<h3 id="fyO5S0">
|
|||
|
|
May December isn’t camp, but thinking about it through the lens of camp is useful
|
|||
|
|
</h3>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="vMqVO4">
|
|||
|
|
<a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/2019/5/3/18514408/what-is-camp-explained-met-gala-susan-sontag">Camp is what happens</a> when societal expectations collide with a character or a persona who can’t perform those expectations convincingly. Instead, their attempt at performance unwittingly reveals and magnifies the artifice of those expectations. Camp is closely related to queer identity and performance, which expose the artifice of heteronormativity. Gender and sexual deviance of all kinds are likewise camp-adjacent because they often reveal how absurd the mechanics of repression can be.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="NKtJCk">
|
|||
|
|
In Gracie’s case, she is a true sexual deviant who’s deeply invested in adhering to societal rules. They help validate her version of the narrative. But because she’s a true deviant, ultimately unable to perform normative social behavior, she breaks the illusion of normalcy in ways that border on hysterical.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="sgbACF">
|
|||
|
|
A perfect example of this is the moment Gracie gushes to Elizabeth about a card Joe gave her years earlier, featuring a banal love note. Then she casually adds that the card was a classroom assignment, reminding Elizabeth and the audience that Joe was a seventh grader. It’s a hilarious, deeply disturbing moment. These two emotions converging is the essence of camp.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Bo8RXY">
|
|||
|
|
For something to truly be camp, however, its presentation has to align with the destabilizing worldview. If the subject, the camera, or the direction is too knowing, the effect can become satirical, and in some cases <a href="https://www.vox.com/the-highlight/23466389/millennials-cringe-epic-bacon">cringe</a>. (This is also, incidentally, why the <a href="https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2019/5/6/18534583/met-museum-camp-fashion-exhibit">Met Gala “camp” theme</a> was a disaster; you can’t plan camp.) But Haynes never allows the artificial, fantasist narratives of Gracie and Elizabeth to overshadow the anguish Melton conveys. As Elizabeth becomes more entranced by Gracie’s story, her performance as Gracie becomes more campy and less effective. Meanwhile, Gracie’s performance of the role of perfect housewife fails to convince anyone but herself.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="hllvcD">
|
|||
|
|
When Joe finally confronts Gracie about the truth of their lives together, the scene is anything but camp. It’s a deeply troubling reminder that society gave its stamp of approval to a relationship that left him with lifelong trauma. Adding to the discomfort of this moment is that screenwriter Samy Burch uses dialogue from a jaw-dropping<a href="https://au.news.yahoo.com/infamous-matt-doran-interview-goes-viral-after-netflix-film-release-005355605.html"> real-life 2018 interview</a> with Australian journalist Matt Doran. In the segment, the adult Letourneau and Fualaau have a tense exchange in which she tells him repeatedly, in front of a shocked Doran, that he was “the boss” in their relationship.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<div id="GSuPvX">
|
|||
|
|
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" dir="ltr" lang="en">
|
|||
|
|
So many contemporary movies and shows based on real events traffic in imitation, with uncanny impressions seen as the highest achievement. What May December does to incorporate this moment is 1000x more interesting. <a href="https://t.co/hNQIlQtzZQ">pic.twitter.com/hNQIlQtzZQ</a>
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
— Louis Peitzman (<span class="citation" data-cites="LouisPeitzman">@LouisPeitzman</span>) <a href="https://twitter.com/LouisPeitzman/status/1730959465887768853?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 2, 2023</a>
|
|||
|
|
</blockquote></div></li>
|
|||
|
|
</ul>
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="bCuj49">
|
|||
|
|
Outside of the film, it’s easy to be aghast by this clip. Inside of the film, this moment shatters the idea of “younger boy pursuing an older woman” as a legitimate narrative. “You seduced me,” Gracie tells Joe with complete confidence. It’s terrifying how effortless Moore makes playing a fictional Letourneau seem.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="7zonDw">
|
|||
|
|
But the film isn’t really that interested in condemning Gracie — what would be the point? Instead, its sharpest castigation rests with Elizabeth. In a single role, she is able to embody the amoral self-interest of the tabloids, Hollywood, the public who consumed the story as entertainment, and everyone around Fualaau who left him to his fate.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="rbQLUV">
|
|||
|
|
We might ask whether Haynes himself is part of that web of exploitation — after all, isn’t <em>May December</em> a coy treatment of a scandal?
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="AIX3zB">
|
|||
|
|
Yes and no. One function of the film’s funnier moments is to allow the audience its share of nervous laughter, an exhalation amid our escalating discomfort. If <em>May December</em> were less self-aware, it might belong in the category of camp or failed melodrama; if it were less earnest, it might earn the title of tongue-in-cheek satire. But ultimately, the movie’s discordant aesthetic isn’t coy. It’s about revealing the nightmarish circus that Joe has survived with quiet resilience.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ozPYIc">
|
|||
|
|
And it’s about us: The circus attendees, arriving with popcorn — prepared to laugh, when perhaps we should be in mourning.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-the-hindu-sports">From The Hindu: Sports</h1>
|
|||
|
|
<ul>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Judy Blue Eyes and Reminiscence catch the eye</strong> -</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Ashwini Ponnappa-Tanisha Crasto win Guwahati Masters Super 100 title</strong> - The second-seeded Indian combination, which finished runners-up at the Syed Modi International Super 300 tournament last week in Lucknow, beat the world no. 81 combination in a 40-minute final.</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>India beats USA 3-2 to finish ninth at Junior Women’s hockey World Cup</strong> - The tense penalty shootout witnessed Mumtaz Khan and Rutaja Dadaso Pisal successfully converting their chances for India, while the latter also scored in sudden death to secure the win for India</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Pakistan cricket team in Australia without a doctor</strong> - Sohail Saleem, who was named as the official team doctor for the series in Australia and New Zealand, is yet to join the team</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Pitch was tricky but not as challenging as we made it appear: Deepti Sharma</strong> - The hosts, who lost the opening T20I by 38 runs, were shot out for a mere 80 in 16.2 overs on Saturday night</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
</ul>
|
|||
|
|
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-the-hindu-national-news">From The Hindu: National News</h1>
|
|||
|
|
<ul>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>New land allotment policy brings cheer to industries</strong> -</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Consumer protection association wants clampdown against ‘unauthorised’ fees for LPG delivery persons</strong> -</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Durham University: A U.K. collegiate system with a difference</strong> - Durham is the only collegiate university in the U.K. apart from Oxford and Cambridge, but its colleges are communities providing personal development and growth, while departments provide teaching</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Ballia man booked for morphing U.P. CM Adityanath’s picture</strong> -</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>SIT on the money trail in bitcoin scam: were ‘diverted’ bitcoins cashed out in local banks?</strong> - Investigation has reportedly given SIT officials leads that bitcoins, “diverted” from hacker Srikrishna Ramesh alias Sriki, may have been encashed in local Indian banks, through a web of transactions.</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
</ul>
|
|||
|
|
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-bbc-europe">From BBC: Europe</h1>
|
|||
|
|
<ul>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Poland’s popcorn moment as pro-EU leader Tusk returns to power</strong> - Judges, journalists and women’s groups watch as Poland’s Donald Tusk inches closer to power.</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Aleksandar Vucic: The man who remade Serbia</strong> - Aleksandar Vucic has dominated Serbian politics but rivals see elections as a first step in removing him.</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Laura Kuenssberg: Ukraine in ‘mortal danger’ without aid, Olena Zelenska warns</strong> - Ukraine’s first lady tells Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg that continued Western support is life or death.</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>AI: EU agrees landmark deal on regulation of artificial intelligence</strong> - The proposed rules cover the use of AI in systems like ChatGPT and by law enforcement.</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>France’s Emmanuel Macron buffeted from all sides in row over secularism</strong> - France’s president is denounced by all sides after lighting a Hanukkah candle at the Elysée Palace.</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
</ul>
|
|||
|
|
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-ars-technica">From Ars Technica</h1>
|
|||
|
|
<ul>
|
|||
|
|
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A locally grown solution for period poverty</strong> - A Kenyan tinkerer and Stanford engineer team up to make maxi pads from agave fibers. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1989671">link</a></p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The quest to turn basalt dust into a viable climate solution</strong> - Sprinkling rock dust on farmland to soak up atmospheric carbon will be tested at large scale. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1989752">link</a></p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Hubble back in service after gyro scare—NASA still studying reboost options</strong> - NASA is still evaluating Hubble servicing studies from SpaceX and other companies. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1989867">link</a></p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>EU agrees to landmark rules on artificial intelligence</strong> - Legislation lays out restrictive regime for emerging technology. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1989869">link</a></p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Revisiting the Ford Mustang Mach-E—how’s the pony EV doing 3 years later?</strong> - This midsize crossover EV has a lot more competition than when it debuted in 2021. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1989783">link</a></p></li>
|
|||
|
|
</ul>
|
|||
|
|
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-jokes-subreddit">From Jokes Subreddit</h1>
|
|||
|
|
<ul>
|
|||
|
|
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A little girl wakes up and is hungry. Her mom normally makes her breakfast, but she is in the shower</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
|
|||
|
|
<div class="md">
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
|
|
The girl tells her dad she is really hungry. Dad makes her toast with butter, and squirts some honey on top
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
|
|
The girl hasn’t had that before, and she really likes it. She says “Daddy, what did you put on top of the bread?”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
|
|
The dad says, “It’s a name your mom always calls me!”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
|
|
Mom comes out of the shower and sees her daughter eating and really happy. She asks the girl, “What did your dad make you for breakfast?”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
|
|
The girl said, “Daddy made me toast with asshole!”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
</div>
|
|||
|
|
<!-- SC_ON -->
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/edfitz83"> /u/edfitz83 </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/18eth99/a_little_girl_wakes_up_and_is_hungry_her_mom/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/18eth99/a_little_girl_wakes_up_and_is_hungry_her_mom/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>How much cocaine can Charlie Sheen do?</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
|
|||
|
|
<div class="md">
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
|
|
Enough to kill Two and a Half Men.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
</div>
|
|||
|
|
<!-- SC_ON -->
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/LilShaver"> /u/LilShaver </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/18etd2b/how_much_cocaine_can_charlie_sheen_do/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/18etd2b/how_much_cocaine_can_charlie_sheen_do/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A person in a wheelchair walks into a bar</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
|
|||
|
|
<div class="md">
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
|
|
The bartender says: “What the fuck.”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
</div>
|
|||
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/kurianandgeorge_007"> /u/kurianandgeorge_007 </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/18eyxs7/a_person_in_a_wheelchair_walks_into_a_bar/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/18eyxs7/a_person_in_a_wheelchair_walks_into_a_bar/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>What do you call a terrorist organization made up of math teachers?</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
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<div class="md">
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
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Al-gebra
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</p>
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</div>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/hoosyourdaddyo"> /u/hoosyourdaddyo </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/18etxyq/what_do_you_call_a_terrorist_organization_made_up/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/18etxyq/what_do_you_call_a_terrorist_organization_made_up/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>I will never forget my grandpa’s last words</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
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“Hold the ladder you little shit”
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</p>
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</div>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/BillGet"> /u/BillGet </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/18edh6o/i_will_never_forget_my_grandpas_last_words/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/18edh6o/i_will_never_forget_my_grandpas_last_words/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
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</ul>
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