We’ve made it past Election Day, folks! Thanks to all who might have noticed I mislabeled last night’s newsletter with today’s date but didn’t correct me. It was actually intentional given how much the days were just going to run together (just kidding, it was a mistake…)
Passing along the most unabashedly pleasant 15 minutes of my day that was sent to me by a reader. Consider continuing the chain, like the Icebucket Challenge but not annoying:
A frequently updated link that you might want to keep handy, especially if things get messy: The New York Times is keeping track of viral misinformation around the election.
Two previous Distancer recommendations I’ve felt myself wanting to watch today and why: The Big Short (a lot of the data we rely on to govern seemingly rational activities in our lives is absolute crap) and David Byrne’s American Utopia (a balm for a world plagued by division).
Now, what you came for…
DAY 237: Knocked Up (available on Hulu)
I mean this sincerely: Knocked Up is a movie that will be studied by future generations to understand millennials. This rom-com (yes, it’s a rom-com, debate me cowards if you disagree) is essentially a generational ur text, setting up one of the chief dynamics of the last 15 years in film. This is really ground zero for the dominance of “prolonged adolescence,” particularly for twentysomething bros, as a key driver of narrative tension.
Seth Rogen’s layabout stoner Ben Stone is more than just the natural evolution of the Gen X “slacker” archetype. He’s representative of larger sociological forces that shaped the lives of people born between roughly 1980-1995. With the economy forcing many young people to assume large amounts of student debt to even have a fighting shot in the job market, millennials started delaying major life decisions like marriage, home ownership and starting families. (Or maybe we just love our avocado toast.) More than any previous generation, a strange and distinct chasm grew between the period of being someone else’s child and becoming someone else’s parent. Rather than bemoan falling behind on hitting what would be considered major milestones, people — predominantly men — began to relish in a period that requires little responsibility from them.
Of course, the joy of Knocked Up is watching Ben’s lackadaisical nature collide head-on with accountability after a night of unprotected sex with one-night stand Alison Scott (Katherine Heigl) results in an unplanned pregnancy. This career woman trying to rise in the on-camera ranks at E! is in for quite for the surprise as she has to bring her baby to term at the same time she has to bring its father to some semblance of maturity. I think there’s plenty of unpacking to do on the gender politics of writer/director Judd Apatow, both here and across his movies, but I do find something genuinely charming and disarming about his faith in the ability of incorrigible individuals to rise to the occasion with the help of a caring community.
Anyways, that’s my intellectual blabbering about why I love Knocked Up. That’s not why I’ve seen it more times than I can count, of course. It’s the humor, which still has me busting a gut over a decade later. Seriously, I just gave myself the joy of watching Leslie Mann’s Debbie blow up at the doorman … and still audibly laughed out loud.
Be good to yourselves and to each other,
Marshall