Arts
HBO is starting to air a subtly powerful film that’s even more relevant now than when it was first released earlier this year.
Never Rarely Sometimes Always is the story of Autumn (Sidney Flanigan), a 17-year-old Pennsylvania girl with a nightmarish problem. She’s pregnant, but she can’t tell either her mom or the baby’s father for reasons that are suggested but never spelled out.
Enter her cousin Skylar (Talia Ryder), who is maternally protective toward Autumn even though they’re about the same age. Uncovering Autumn’s dilemma despite her stubborn silence, Skylar volunteers to help her solve it the only way they know how: by sneaking away to New York, a state that, unlike Pennsylvania, will allow her to obtain an abortion without parental consent.
That, in a nutshell, is the plot. The bulk of the film’s 101 minutes are spent simply following the girls as they catch a bus to NYC, learn to navigate the unfamiliar city and, in general, attempt to complete their somber mission despite unexpected complications and severely limited funds.
Things you can do to help me, world peace, and your friends:
Encourage people to sign up for one of these lists:
Articles. (That's this one.)
Last year, I had a conversation about forgiveness with a friend who grew up in Jim Crow Nashville. He opined that black people forgive white people too much and too soon. (I rather doubt he’s forgiven racist whites or their repressive Jim Crow system.) As is often seen after an unspeakable tragedy afflicted on African Americans by whites, the former has routinely been quick to step forward and absolve the white community and the perpetrator with the healing balm of forgiveness. We should stop doing that, he said, because time and time again they have shown us that they are not deserving of it.
I grew up in the Black church–as did my friend–and I know that Black Christianity sees forgiveness as a commandment and something that helps bring us closer to salvation. It also seeks to ensure that blacks are not captives of or wiped out by white supremacy and terrorism; that we not only survive, but thrive in this racist country; that we are not defeated by anything whites inflict on us. Martin Luther King, Jr., frequently reminded us that suffering is redemptive.
I’ll never forget the first time I was warned that COVID-19 might disrupt our lives. It was early March, and I was meeting with other board members of a local social-dance group. On the agenda was the question of whether we would soon need to cancel our events to keep our dancers safe.
Naively, I doubted it would come to that, reasoning that U.S. health authorities would be able to control the outbreak since they could learn from China’s experiences. That, of course, turned out to be disastrously wrong. Instead, President Donald J. Trump and the rest of the government totally botched the country’s pandemic response.
If you still have any doubts about that, you might want to set aside an hour to watch The Curve. Written and directed by Adam Benzine and bankrolled through crowdfunding, the documentary is a step-by-step explanation of just what went wrong.
Through October 31
Sean Christopher Gallery Ohio, 815 N. High St. Suite H & N, Columbus, Ohio
Columbus-based photographer and videographer Adam Berta welcomes you to his extended exhibition, “Adam Berta’s Protest Photography ends October 31 ” at Sean Christopher Gallery, Columbus Ohio during Regular Gallery Hours, by Appointment or choose a Virtual Option. Partial proceeds from all sales of artworks from the exhibit will benefit the Equal Justice Initiative @eji_org
Gallery Visits
Thursday Oct 29, Open Gallery Hours 3:30-530pm or by appointment
Friday Oct 30, Open Gallery Hours 3:30-530pm or by appointment
Saturday Oct 31, Open Gallery Hours 1:30-4:00pm
For all off-hours by appointment visits schedule in advance by calling (614) 327-1344
Released in time for the election, Fish in a Barrel is an exposé of how the NRA’s history of alleged campaign violations have stymied popular efforts to make even modest reforms on access to firearms, despite hundreds of mass shootings in the United States over the past two decades. The NRA’s electoral enterprise ended up being gamed by Russian agents of influence in the 2016 election, as detailed in the 2019 U.S. Senate Finance Committee report: The NRA & Russia: How a Tax-Exempt Organization Became a Foreign Asset.
“As mass shootings have continued, the NRA obstructs any effort at reform to prevent future massacres. It’s angering watching politicians tweet ‘Thoughts and prayers,’ then do nothing to stop it from happening again,” says director John Wellington Ennis. “But when I learned that the NRA had become a Russian asset while working to elect Trump, I knew I had to do something.”
Backstage at the Lincoln, the Lincoln Theatre’s local artist showcase series, offers audiences the extraordinary opportunity to be seated on stage for a uniquely intimate performance experience set against the hand-painted grandeur of the Lincoln’s rare, Egyptian Revival-style interior design. Per the Governor’s order, capacities will be limited to 15% of capacity and patrons will be asked to follow safety protocols including socially distanced seating and mandatory face coverings. Patrons can also choose to purchase a virtual ticket which will enable them to watch the performance online.
All performances begin at 7pm at the Lincoln Theatre (769 E. Long St.). The schedule is as follows:
October 22 – KaTanya Ingram
A self-professed street performer, KaTanya Ingram has been serenading the streets of Columbus for more than 11 years. She will share her personal journey through a set of select songs from some of her favorite musical influences including Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Etta James, and more.
November 12 – Sydney McSweeney
As Election Day creeps ever nearer, we’ve been inundated with nonfiction books and films telling us just how dangerous and inept the current occupant of the Oval Office is. In the last month or so alone, I’ve seen and reviewed documentaries persuasively arguing that Donald J. Trump is psychologically handicapped (#Unfit) and environmentally hostile (Public Trust).
Combine these with the almost daily threats to our democracy that emanate from 45’s own lips, and you have a situation that leaves our nerves frayed and longing for a break. Fortunately, I found one in the form of a satirical novel that is as politically astute as it is viciously funny.
Released at the end of August, Carl Hiaasen’s Squeeze Me takes place roughly now in the part of north Florida that serves as Trump’s second home. After pulling us in the mysterious disappearance of a wealthy society matron, Hiaasen keeps us turning pages with a plot that involves giant reptiles, jingoistic attacks and one woman’s stubborn search for the truth.
In response to the impact COVID-19 has taken on local performing artists, the Lincoln Theatre Association will launch the Lincoln Living Room Concert Series. For three consecutive Fridays beginning September 11, this free video series will livestream 30-minute sets from select graduates of the Lincoln’s Expand Your Horizon Incubation Program for emerging artists. The concerts will air on the Lincoln Theatre Facebook page at 7pm each Friday, offering viewers the chance to experience the wealth of local artists honing their craft at the Lincoln.
Designed to provide performers the opportunity to earn an income while venues are closed, the Lincoln Theatre Association will pay each performer a fee, and during each concert, also provide links for viewers to “tip” artists directly.
The Lincoln Living Room Concert Series schedule is as follows:
On September 15th, Columbus community will join Julius Tate’s family for an evening of poetry with local artists. This evening will honor Tate’s life through celebrating him and all lost from police murder. The march gathers at 5:30 PM at Mayme Moore Park and the poetry readings followed by the march will begin at 6:00 PM.
This evening will be the fourteenth of sixteen consecutive days of marching for justice to commemorate the life Julius Tate. For the past two weeks, hundreds of community members have come out to voice their support for Julius’s family, and their outrage at Columbus Police Department.
“The same use of excessive force that resulted in police murder of George Flloyd, Aubrey Ahmed, and Breonna Taylor is the same policing that exists here in Columbus,” says an anonymous community member who has come to every evening of the march. “We still do not have justice for Julius Tate.”
Tate was sixteen years old when he was shot eleven times, handcuffed, and killed, according to the official autoposy. His arm was broken in the process.