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Weekend Butler: When politics and culture merge. Steven Spielberg watches “Lawrence of Arabia” with the director. A Mary Oliver poem. Steven Fry meets God. Seinfeld explains writing jokes. Apple and Butternut Squash Soup. And more.
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Published: Sep 28, 2022
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Weekend
WHAT’S HAPPENING IN IRAN ISN’T JUST POLITICS, IT’S CULTURE… AND ALSO MOVIES
Reading about oppression in a distant country requires focus, which everyone I know is having trouble with this week. I needed to write to my business partner of 25 years — I struggled to remember her name. I saw a play with a close friend — when she was telling someone about the difference between the first act and the second, the word “act” eluded her. My friend reports we’re not alone: in her circle, many say they’re experiencing brain fog. So while I encourage you to watch an Iranian film or three — whatever else, we remember movies — let me give you context: recent events in Iran.
Mahsa Amini (in the photo, above) traveled from her hometown in the province of Kurdistan to Tehran, the Iranian capital, this month. Emerging from the subway, she was arrested for failing to cover her hair modestly enough. Police said she had a heart attack at a station, fell on the floor, and died after two days in a coma. Eyewitnesses and women who were detained with Amini said she was severely beaten, which in addition to her leaked medical scans led independent observers to diagnose cerebral hemorrhage and stroke. She was 22 years old.
Protests began immediately, with women stripping off their head scarves — and even burning them. The Times called the protests “the most significant outpouring of dissent against the ruling system in more than a decade… The protests spread to as many as 80 cities, even as the authorities escalated a crackdown that has reportedly killed dozens of people and brought the arrests of prominent activists and journalists, according to rights groups and news media reports. Iranian state media said late Friday that at least 35 people had been killed in the unrest, but human rights groups said on Saturday that the number is likely to be much higher.
Deep resentments and anger have been building for months, analysts say, particularly among young Iranians, in response to a crackdown ordered by the country’s hardline president, Ebrahim Raisi, that has targeted women. Reuters: “For the Islamic Republic, the murder of Mahsa Amini is becoming a tipping point because compulsory hijab is not just a small piece of cloth. It’s like the Berlin Wall. And if Iranian women manage to tear this wall down, the Islamic Republic won’t exist.”
Asghar Farhadi is one of the world’s best directors, and he’s an absolute genius for making films that the Iranian censors allow to be exhibited. “A Separation” won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2012, the first Iranian film to win the award. (At the Berlin Film Festival, it won the Golden Bear.) The night I saw it, no one moved for 120 minutes. And when it was over and the credits were running — in Farsi — no one got up. How can this be? It’s just…a little movie. No. It’s not. It’s a lot more. [To rent the streaming video on Amazon Prime, click here.] If you love movies, you’ll want to read about and watch at least the previews of two more of his films. Click to read about them and stream them.
WEEKEND POEM: MARY OLIVER
“Song for Autumn”
In the deep fall
don’t you imagine the leaves think how
comfortable it will be to touch
the earth instead of the
nothingness of air and the endless
freshets of wind? And don’t you think
the trees themselves, especially those with mossy,
warm caves, begin to think
of the birds that will come — six, a dozen — to sleep
inside their bodies? And don’t you hear
the goldenrod whispering goodbye,
the everlasting being crowned with the first
tuffets of snow? The pond
vanishes, and the white field over which
the fox runs so quickly brings out
its blue shadows. And the wind pumps its
bellows. And at evening especially,
the piled firewood shifts a little,
longing to be on its way.
STEVEN SPIELBERG WATCHES “LAWRENCE OF ARABIA” SITTING NEXT TO DAVID LEAN…
… and Spielberg’s hero provides shot-by-shot commentary. So revealing!
Good from the start, but don’t miss starting from 4:40. Watch here.
A RACIST LEARNS A LESSON (FROM FACEBOOK)
On a Northwest Airways flight from Atlanta, a middle-aged, well-to-do woman found herself sitting next to a man wearing a kippa. She called the attendant over to complain about her seating.
“What seems to be the problem, Madam?” asked the attendant.
“You’ve sat me next to a Jew!! I can’t possibly sit next to this disgusting person. Find me another seat!”
“Please calm down, Madam,” the attendant replied. “The flight is very full today, but I’ll check to see if we have any seats available in club or first class.”
The woman shoots a snooty look at the Jewish man beside her.
A few minutes later the attendant returned.
“Madam, unfortunately economy class is full. I’ve spoken to the cabin services director, and club is also full. However, we do have one seat in first class….It is most extraordinary to make this kind of upgrade, however, and I had to get special permission from the captain. But, given the circumstances, the captain felt that it was outrageous that someone should be forced to sit next to such a person.”
The flight attendant then turns to the Jewish man sitting next to her, and says: “So if you’d like to get your things, sir, I have your seat in first class ready for you…”
The lady (indignant): “I think that The Captain must have made some kind of mistake.”
The flight attendant: “No, M’am, Captain Cohen never makes mistakes.”
JERRY SEINFELD EXPLAINS HOW TO WRITE A JOKE
It’s not just being “funny.” Watch here.
IF STEPHEN FRY DIED AND WENT TO HEAVEN, WHAT WOULD HE TELL GOD?
The interviewer didn’t get the answer he expected. Watch.
THE WEEKEND RECIPE: APPLE AND BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP
from A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table
If possible, make this soup a day or two ahead; its flavors meld and deepen after a day or so of sitting the fridge.
Serves 4-5
1/4 cup olive oil
1 2-lb butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 2-inch pieces (about 4 cups)
2 flavorful apples, preferably Gala, peeled, cored, and cut into 2-inch pieces (about 2 cups)
1 large onion, peeled and coarsely chopped (about 1 cup)
three-quarter tsp curry powder
three-quarter tsp ground mace
one half tsp ground cardamom
1 cup good-quality apple cider
1 quart chicken stock (vegetable works fine as well)
one half tsp salt
one-quarter tsp freshly ground pepper, preferably white
Heat oil in a large stockpot over medium-low heat. Add the squash, apples, and onion, and stir to coat with oil. Sauté uncovered, stirring occasionally, for ten to fifteen minutes, or until onion is transparent.
Stir in the mace, curry, and cardamom, and continue cooking until the onion begins to brown. Add the cider. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, and cook for three minutes. Add the stock, lower the heat to medium-low, and simmer the mixture, partially covered, for another 35 minutes, or until squash is tender.
Working in batches, blend mixture in a food processor or blender until smooth (be careful to not overfill, as hot liquid could expand when machine is switched on, making a huge, burning-hot mess). Return soup to the stockpot. Reduce the soup, uncovered, over medium-low heat, to about one-fourth. Stir occasionally. Stir in salt and pepper, and serve hot.
