The MezzaDigesta Volume 46
The MezzaDigesta Volume 46
April 7th, 2020: Here, Kitty Kitty
Hey all you cool cats and kittens,
Ain’t no time for preambles! Tiger King at the top, COVID content and some lighthearted stuff at the bottom. Let’s roll.
Digging the Digesta? I sure hope you are, and I sure like to think a pal or two of yours would too. Hit that share button if someone comes to mind. <3
I, like nearly every peer of mine over the last 14 days, watched Tiger King.
(*SPOILER ALERT from this point on for those who have yet to watch and plan on doing so*)
Tiger King has everything you could possibly look for in can’t-look-away sensationalized TV content. It has massive tigers and cute little cubs. It’s got crazy haircuts and flower crowns. It has a potential murder committed by one of the show’s subjects along with a murder plot against that same subject. It has meth, lots of meth. It’s got lip-synched country music bangers. And of course, it features the most unnecessary “Dude Riding a Jet Ski” scene in television history.
Yeah, I watched Tiger King. And I’m not gonna lie, I loved it. I banged it out in only three nights. I’ve gotten immense joy from the memes the show has inspired. I even called an emergency meeting of my book club group to discuss the show, as this felt like an appropriate measure to take. And, unlike my book club meetings for actual books, every member of my group had actually watched the show.
And yet, in the days since I’ve finished the show, I’ve found myself nagged more by skeptical questions about the docuseries than by hilarious memories of the show’s insane contents. The questions swirling in my brain go something like this: Do documentaries have a moral imperative to inform their audiences of something educational? And if so, do they have the obligation to inform their subjects of all of their intentions?
Ostensibly, Tiger King’s creators, Rebecca Chaiklin and Eric Goode, chose to hone in on the utterly ridiculous characters who run the Big Cat industry in America. And it’s easy to see why. In Joe Exotic, you have a crass, homosexual zoo chief who crafts his own country music hits, starts his own reality TV series, and even decides to run for President. In Carole Baskin, you’ve got the flower-crown wearing, bike riding, moral-high-road-taking industry titan who also potentially killed her first husband. In Doc Antle, you’re presented with a big cat shaman who rides elephants around his kingdom, takes multiple wives, and woos young women to join him in cult-echoing ways. In Jeff Lowe, you’re introduced to the ultimate villain. The cast has it all. They’re literally stranger than fiction - if you tried to sell these characters to a studio for a fictional series, you’d probably be laughed out of the meeting.
Despite the focus on the cast behind big cats in America, it doesn’t appear as if the documentary’s directors were honest about their intentions while compiling the footage needed. The directors camp out at Joe Exotic’s Oklahoma zoo over the course of a few years to stockpile footage; as a result, the show seems to present a pro-Joe bias despite his repeated instance of poor judgment. Joe repeatedly acts in his own self-interest at the expense of others. He is caught breaking the law on a few occasions, and it’s implied that he’s done it a couple other times as well. Nevertheless, the show almost makes him out as a martyr, someone who has taken the fall in an industry where corruption runs rampant.
I highly doubt that Carole Baskin would have agreed to hours of interviews with Netflix’s contingent if she had known that they would spend AN ENTIRE EPISODE presenting the case that she may have killed her first husband. Unsurprisingly, she does not seem all that stoked about her portrayal in the series. Likewise, I’m skeptical that Chaiklin and Goode approached Antle in South Carolina like so: “Hey man, we’re doing a documentary about big cat enthusiasts in America. Hope you’re down to participate. And also, hope you’re chill with us insinuating that you indoctrinate and prey on young women to work for you in a cult-like way.” For some reason, I doubt that’s how the approach went. I’m sure Doc remembers it differently as well.
In choosing to focus on the characters behind the Big Cat industry, Tiger King’s show-runners clearly made the decision to entertain. And entertain they did! But one can’t help but feel like the creators missed the opportunity to dig deeper on some crucial issues at hand in the industry they chose to depict. Issues like whether tigers should be bred at all or what constitutes humane captivity of such animals are brought up briefly, glossed over before moving on to the next salacious exploit of Joe Exotic or his peers. These real concerns - should tigers even be kept in the USA at all? - do not directly confront viewers; instead, they must research the topic on their own if they’d like answers to the hard questions.
Now, I’m not saying that Tiger King shouldn’t have tried to entertain its audience in the manner it did. I’m merely wondering whether documentaries like it have a responsibility to inform to a greater extent than it did.
While I may wonder about the moral responsibilities that documentaries have, there’s one thing that I’m 100% confident in: and that’s that Netflix sure isn’t complaining right now. Tiger King has been an undisputed hit, and the show has kept the national conversation focused on Netflix to an impressive extent. However, it’s hard not to see parallels between Tiger King and another Netflix-produced hit documentary from last year: FYRE. That film had buzzworthy controversy of its own, as it was produced in part by Jerry Media, the same group that spearheaded advertising for the fraudulent Fyre Festival in the first place.
Both of these documentaries were inarguable smashes for Netflix, but their decisions to produce both have consequences. It’s important to remember that Netflix, while competing for consumers’ eyeballs with Hulu, Amazon, Apple, and the like (and yo, let’s not forget Quibi!), is also trying to upend an entire industry and become a major player at the Oscars. Notably, many power brokers in Hollywood are not too keen on Netflix crashing the party. They are trying to hold Netflix back; and despite many highly touted projects in recent years, Netflix has yet to break through with a Best Picture win. With this scene as it is and Netflix’s decision to green-light salacious material like Tiger King, it’ll be fascinating to watch if Netflix can in fact have its cake and eat it too.
Alright y’all. Let’s get into some more fun stuff. It’s time for another visit to everyone’s favorite section during lockdown!
What’s Hot During the COVID-19 Lockdown
To quickly recap our first COVID-19 lockdown section from two weeks ago, here’s what we’ve touched on thus far:
1) Balconies
2) Instagram Live
3) Posting screenshots of your FaceTime/Zoom conference calls
4) Toilet paper memes
5) Posting pictures of your Peloton, or other at-home workout
It’s about time we add to the list. Here’s what else is hot.
6) Baking loaves of sourdough bread
I simply had no idea that we had so many aspiring Great British Bake Off contestants out there! Baking loaves of bread is so hot these days. It’s wild, and truly a phenomenon I did not see coming. One day I was minding my own business and scrolling through the Instagram feed as I normally do; the next, BAM. A loaf here, and a loaf there. A loaf of bread everywhere!
I’ve never had the pleasure of concocting my own loaf, but I imagine the process to be quite therapeutic. Come to think of it, I feel like kneading the shit out of some dough is just what I might need in these times. I’m with it.
7) TikTok
The Blinding Lights dance. The Savage Challenge. The Box. The new Bieber joint. Countless others that I’m not hip enough to know.
People have nothing better to do than learn some catchy-ass dances. It’s TikTok’s time. TikTok’s time is now.
8) The Cuomo Bros
The Cuomo Bros are Zoolander-certified *so hot right now.* They are the modern day Mario and Luigi we never knew we needed. They are killing the brotherly dynamic on TV at a time when everyone needs some good wholesome humor.
What’s your favorite Cuomo Bros moment? Mine is when Andrew tells Chris that he is the “meatball” of the family - a very Italian and very brotherly insult to throw one’s way. @Mike Mezz - Dad has always told me that you’re the meatball of the family, dude.
I for one am here for the Cuomo Bros. If they decide that they want to go this direction, I’m sure reality TV would welcome them with open arms.
ps - Hope you make a quick and full recovery, Chris!
What’s Definitely Not Hot
To recap, we only had one entry thus far:
1) Vanessa Hudgens
Poor Vanessa. Let’s get you some company in this section, shall we?
2) Cruise ships
What an absolutely horrific few months for cruise ships. I’m not sure any form of transportation and tourism has ever suffered so significantly in such a constricted time period.
And yet - people are still somehow getting on cruise ships?!?? How are people doing this??? WHY are people doing this???
Ban cruise ships!!!!
3) Rich dudes on yachts
Tough look for Mr. Geffen here. If you have a slick-ass yacht to retreat to while the world is burning, that’s super awesome and enviable, dude. Just, like…..keep that one to yourself in these times! It’s not that hard!
Shout-Out Section
Let’s hit some shout-outs for people doing good and cool things during this wild time.
1) Good friend Nick DeWilde - feeling some angst and powerlessness in the face of the burgeoning coronavirus pandemic, Nick took steps that many others would not: he joined an organization called Stop the Spread committed to bolstering the public response to COVID-19 and jumped on a plane to Washington D.C. to contribute more fully. You can read about the experience on his own (and very informative career-focused) newsletter, The Jungle Gym.
2) Musician Fantastic Negrito - I’m not super familiar with the Bay Area’s own Fantastic Negrito, but he forced his way into my consciousness with an awesome music video release. As he was preparing to release a video for his new single, he crowdsourced his fans for videos of how they are coping with living in isolation. The result: an awesome look at how people are staying positive in these wild times. Bonus: the song is kind of a bop!
3) Actor John Krasinski - perhaps better known as “Jim” from The Office, Krasinski has done his part to deliver good tidings to fans around the world. After taking to Twitter to ask for good news and things that made people smile, Krasinki launched a YouTube show titled “Some Good News” that aims to bring joy to people in these harrowing days. The show already has 1.4 million subscribers, and the first few videos have featured Steve Carrell, the cast of Hamilton, Robert DeNiro, and more. Krasinki is most definitely doing his part to deliver that good good.
3 Song Recommendations from your Dear Pal
1) Bill Withers - Lean on Me
RIP to a true legend. And what a song for these times.
2) Caribou - Home
Caribou really burst onto the (well, my) scene five years ago with his hit single “Can’t Do Without You.” The reality is that he’s been putting out quality music for years now, and his new album just dropped. Here’s a highlight track from the new release. It’s got an upbeat vibe and positive lyrics, making it a nice breezy track for the moment.
3) Harry Styles - Adore You
I can’t deny it - I never thought I’d like Harry Styles. One Direction, the Jonas Brothers, and music of that ilk just ain’t my cup of tea, and I figured that the Styles solo stuff would fit nicely in the same box. But here I am - an unabashed fan of a Harry Styles track. I think this song is pretty undeniable. You go, Styles.
Love y’all. Stay strong. Over and out.
Joey