‘Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it,’ wrote Spanish-American author George Santayana, and this famous phrase is certainly true when it comes to the history of Gaza, which is the subject of a three-part series on Kan 11, The Gaza Syndrome.
The first part aired last weekend and is available now on kan.org.il and the remaining parts will be shown on Saturdays, after the news.
The series details the history of the region through interviews with historians, retired military personnel, and residents of both sides of the border. The Santayana quote is tragically apt, as the series shows how the same issues and solutions have come up over and over, as well as how the same border communities, such as Nir Oz and Nahal Oz have been terror targets going back decades.
The first episode concentrates on the history of Gaza from the beginning of the 20th century to the early 1970s and shows how about 200,000 Arabs moved there during the War of Independence, many of them thinking they could return to their homes in a few days.
After Israel gained control of Gaza from Egypt following the Six-Day War in 1967, the problems in the region intensified. In the early 70s, then-Southern Command head Ariel Sharon and former Mossad chief Meir Dagan led a push to end terrorism in the area through methods later criticized for their brutality.
One of the commentators, Yitzhak Eini Abadi, a former Mossad agent who was the governor of the Gaza Strip for a couple of years in the early 70s, details actions meant to root out terror, which he says harmed many civilians and admits that he regrets now what he did there 50 years ago.
While at one time, Sharon encouraged Jewish settlement in Gaza, he later switched gears and led the Israeli disengagement from Gaza in 2005, which will be the subject of an upcoming episode.
It’s fascinating if often discouraging, series to watch because it shows how no one has been able to solve the basic issues to do with Gaza. Even the idea of getting Gazans to emigrate is nothing new, as this series shows.
SNL documentary
HARDCORE SATURDAY Night Live fans will want to see the new documentary series, SNL 50: Beyond Saturday Day Night Live, a celebration of the show’s 50-year history, which debuts on Yes VOD and Sting+ on February 13.
The first episode looks at how the show picks its cast members: It gives them five minutes to audition and present their own material. Many of the show’s performers from over the years watch and comment on their own auditions, which is fun. Even more fun are the auditions by performers who didn’t make the cut, among them Jennifer Coolidge, Kevin Hart, Jordan Peele, Stephen Colbert, and, most surprisingly, Jim Carrey.
The second episode is about how the SNL writers’ room works and includes interviews with former writers, such as Tina Fey. But then it settles down and follows the current writers through a week, and since the show is deep in one of its periodic slumps, it’s not much fun to watch them.
Those who love the early iterations of the show would be better off watching the new movie about the first episode, Saturday Night, or just watching clips of the first seasons, which are still funny no matter how many times you’ve seen them.
Once upon a time, there were movies called “women’s pictures,” usually weepy stories about heroines facing heartbreak, which often starred older actresses whose careers lasted longer than many actresses do today, such as Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, and Barbara Stanwyck.
They were often formulaic, but fans loved them. Now, there is a new genre of women’s pictures – although I imagine it would be frowned on to call them that – some of which find their way to theaters, but most of which become popular on streaming.
Most mix comedy with pathos and show older women taking charge in various ways. Some, like Thelma, focus on a single character, but most tend to feature a group. Jane Fonda, now in her late 80s, is one of the queens of such movies as are Lily Tomlin, Diane Keaton, and a few others.
80 for Brady
Fonda and Tomlin, who were so good together in the Netflix series, Grace and Frankie, can now be seen in a movie just added to Netflix to capitalize on Superbowl fever, 80 for Brady.
80 for Brady is a fun movie whether you love football or are only aware of the Superbowl when you notice articles about the best commercials broadcast during the game.
It is loosely based on the story of four older friends who became entranced with the often brutal sport when they became aware of charismatic quarterback Tom Brady, who appears in the film. As is de rigueur for such films, each main character has one or two distinct traits or dilemmas, and as usual, an event brings them all together and takes them out of their comfort zone.
Lou (Lily Tomlin), is an independent woman who thought she had conquered cancer but now is afraid to open a letter from her doctor about whether the disease has returned.
Trish (Jane Fonda) is a fashion plate who changes wigs on an almost daily basis, still dates, and writes steamy fan fiction about football players. Betty (Sally Field) is a perpetually hungry retired math professor who is dragged down by her increasingly needy husband (Bob Balaban).
And Maura (EGOT winner Rita Moreno, 94 years old according to her bio, although this is hard to believe), still in mourning for her late, beloved husband, who turns out to be a great poker player. Billy Porter of Pose and celebrity chef Guy Fieri are on hand as well.
When they win a contest to get four free tickets to the 2017 Super Bowl, which was one of the most suspenseful games in the history of the sport (which you either know or will learn as you watch the movie), they head off to Houston to attend – and have adventures – and Brady appears as an apparition who counsels Lou when the chips are down. Is any of it believable or subtle? Not remotely. Is it fun, if you’re in the right mood? Yes.
These actresses have five Oscars among them, and Tomlin was nominated for an Academy Award once and has a truckload of Emmys.
It’s nice to see them all having fun together. 80 for Brady joins such movies as Poms (Diane Keaton leads a cheerleading squad at a retirement community); Summer Camp (Keaton organizes a sleepaway camp reunion); Book Club and Book Club: The Next Chapter, with Keaton, again, and Fonda about women who bond in a book club; and Moving On (Fonda and Tomlin team up to take revenge on a man who raped one of them decades ago).
Most of these are available on Netflix and Apple TV+ and also pop up on Hot and Yes, usually on the weekend.