Movie of the Year: 1984 – Once Upon a Time in America (with Keith Phipps)
Movie of the Year: 1984
Once Upon a Time in America (with Keith Phipps)
Can Once Upon in America take the title of our 1984 Movie of the Year?
Once Upon a Time in America is a movie of epic scope even though it is the tale of small-time crooks trying to screw each other over to make it out of the gutter. (And one guy lives in Buffalo for like decades.) This contrast is just one of many artfully nestled into one of the harder watching experiences we’ve had on this show. And we’ve seen American Beauty. Multiple times. Ugh.
Joining us will be very special guest Keith Phipps, an actual writer with actual opinions on movies, unlike normal panelists Greg and Mike, dullards of the highest order. Keith has contributed to Rolling Stone, Slate, The Daily Beast, GQ, and The Verge, which c’mon that’s cool. He is here to help us get into how this movie fits into the canon of great gangster movies. We will also discuss the special relationship between Noodles and Maxie before covering the often-upsetting, and very confusing, portrayal of romance and sexuality in the movie.
Be sure to check out Keith’s upcoming book, The Age of Cage, a look at Hollywood through the singular cinematic experience that is Nicolas Cage. And check out Keith’s podcast, The Next Picture Show!
Abortion is healthcare
While Americans overwhelmingly support the right of an individual to make their own decisions about abortion, unfortunately, that right is no longer protected everywhere in the U.S.
The Supreme Court overturned Roe versus Wade on June 24th.
Abortion is a basic healthcare need for the millions of people who can become pregnant. Everyone should have the freedom to decide what’s best for themselves and their families, including when it comes to ending a pregnancy. This decision has dire consequences for individual health and safety, and could have harsh repercussions for other landmark decisions.
Restricting access to comprehensive reproductive care, including abortion, threatens the health and independence of all Americans. Even if you live in a state where abortion rights are upheld, access to safe medical procedures shouldn’t be determined by location, and it shouldn’t be the privilege of a small few.
You can help by donating to local abortion funds. To find out where to donate for each state, visit donations4abortion.com.
If you or someone you know needs help, or if you want to get more involved, here are 5 resources:
1. Shout Your Abortion is a campaign to normalize abortion.
2. Don’t Ban Equality is a campaign for companies to take a stand against abortion restrictions.
3. Abortion.cafe has information about where to find clinics.
4. PlanCPills.org provides early at-home abortion pills that you can keep in your medicine cabinet. And five.
5. Choice.crd.co has a collection of these resources and more.
You can also find links to all of these resources and more info at podvoices.help