Flight of fancy
One of the better acts of satire, in cinema, came out about four decades ago. Airplane. Good enough that the majority of the jokes have not gone rancid (they were already stale, but that’s a conversation about taste best left for another moment). I’m not going to quote here.
Rather, I’m thinking about a video I found on YouTube, which carefully parallels the script to its own inspirational source. You see, Arthur Hailey wrote the core of the movie. He had a knack for poking holes in the structures we considered important; hotels, hospitals, airports. And he avoided the sin of self-importance, which is why most of his efforts have escaped the test of satirical treatment.
Not Airplane. I learned that it was based on the original Hailey work called Zero Hour (and that was based on yet another story… this is deeper than expected.) Watching scene after scene put to the test, I realize that Airplane was actually a work of art. Milking the giggles from the quasi-tragic. I invite you to watch the YouTube piece first. If your interest hasn’t waned, then seek out the two original movies.
On another tack, I sat outside this afternoon, with a fresh coffee, at ease in my world. The hummingbirds paid little notice (I wasn’t on their flight path, exactly). The wind stayed as a breeze. The sun shone. The sea glistened. Maybe there will be a summer, after all.
Not much else to add. I have a busy week ahead, so I’m saving my strength for social moments.
