Slate Culture Gabfest: Sinners, Happy Family USA, and Amy Poehler's Good Hang

Sinners: A Vampire Allegory

• 🎬 Sinners, directed by Ryan Coogler and starring Michael B. Jordan, is a vampire thriller with a complex racial allegory.
• 💡 The film explores themes of white supremacy, Jim Crow laws, and the birth of the blues, suggesting that systemic structures are the true villains.
• 🎭 Michael B. Jordan plays twins Smoke and Stack, who aim to open a juke joint in Mississippi, facing supernatural and societal threats.
• 🎶 Music plays a crucial role, with the film being described as a stealth musical, weaving themes through its narrative and performances.
• 🧛 The vampires' Irish folk song is noted as a particularly bewitching element, complicating the racial allegory by connecting to a history of forced religion and colonization.

#1 Happy Family USA: Animated Comedy

• 📺 #1 Happy Family USA is a new animated comedy co-created by and starring Ramy Youssef, focusing on an Egyptian-American family in New Jersey.
• 9/11 The series navigates the family's lives and community in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, exploring themes of xenophobia, racism, and adolescence.
• 🎭 Youssef voices both his 12-year-old self and his father, Hussein, with the show drawing parallels to Youssef's previous work, Ramy.
• 🤔 While initially finding the humor and poignancy unbalanced, the panelists noted the show finds its footing as characters develop more dimensional relationships.
• 💡 The show's dark humor, including a suicidal talking lamb and a character with illegal surveillance cameras, is compared to the DNA of South Park.

Good Hang with Amy Poehler: Celebrity Podcast

• 🎙️ Good Hang is a new podcast hosted by Amy Poehler, featuring conversations with friends and collaborators from the comedy world.
• 🌟 The podcast aims to be a relaxed, informal chat, with Poehler joking about giving "25%" effort, though the panel noted her thoughtfulness in preparation.
• 💬 Conversations vary in quality, with some feeling like private catch-ups, while others, like the one with Rashida Jones, are more accessible to listeners.
• 🧐 The panel discussed the trend of celebrity podcasts, comparing Poehler's show to others like Conan O'Brien's and Smartless, and debating the balance between informality and substance.
• 💡 The show's premise and Poehler's charm are acknowledged, but the panel suggests the podcast might benefit from tighter editing and a clearer focus.

Endorsements

• 🎶 Steve recommends the music of indie singer-songwriter Bill Fox, particularly his new album "Resonance," and a 2007 profile by Joe Hogan.
• 🖼️ Julia endorses the Gustav Caillbotte exhibition "Painting Men" at the Getty, highlighting "The Floor Scrapers" and Caillbotte's interest in depicting male bodies.
• ✍️ Dana recommends Rebecca Solnit's newsletter "Meditations in an Emergency," specifically an essay titled "When Hope and History Rhyme," for its insights on hope and current events.