To all of our American readers who are celebrating today,
Happy Thanksgiving!
And when having that Thanksgiving meal with your loved ones, please do not neglect the Kitty…
Tag Archives: Thanksgiving
Artwork of the Day: Flag With Legs
(Andy Warhol, 1985)
Originally, when I was thinking about what I wanted to say in this post, I was going to open by saying that, right after the 4th of July, Thanksgiving is the most American of all holidays.
But, actually, that’s not totally true. Though Thanksgiving may have been first been celebrated in the States, many nations have days specifically set aside for giving thanks. Canadian Thanksgiving has been celebrated since 1879. Some people in The Netherlands, from which many of the pilgrims originally came, celebrate the holiday. Liberia observes Thanksgiving on the first Thursday of November. In Grenada, a Thanksgiving holiday is observed on October 25th.
That said, Thanksgiving always makes me think of America. Later today, I’ll be at my uncle’s, having a huge meal. Because the weather’s getting cold, we’ll probably eat inside. If we did happen to go outside to eat, we’d be eating in the shadow of an American flag, one that’s much larger than the one in this picture. That’s right — on Thanksgiving, my uncle actually lowers his Texas flag and replaces it with an American flag. That’s the power of this holiday.
(Rest assured, at midnight exactly, the Texas flag will go back up.)
As for today’s artwork of the day, this picture was taken by Andy Warhol in 1985, two years before he passed away. As with much of Warhol’s work, it somehow manages to be both earnest and satiric at the same time. It was this combination that made Warhol such a uniquely American artist.
Enjoy this uniquely but not solely American holiday!
Music Video Of The Day: God Only Knows by The Beach Boys (1966, dir by ????)
Apparently, the most difficult thing in the world is to try to find a good music video for Thanksgiving!
Seriously.
First off, there really aren’t that many Thanksgiving songs and those that do exist don’t have music videos. If there had been an official music video for Arlo Guthrie’s Alice’s Restaurant (which Gary wrote about yesterday), I would have shared it. But, as far as I can tell, there isn’t.
I nearly went with Alanis Morrisette’s Thank U but then I realized how much that song annoys me so I decided not to. If Natalie Merchant’s song, Kind and Generous, had been called Thank You, I would have used it but, unfortunately, it’s not.
I eventually went with God Only Knows because it’s the type of song that can bring tears to your eyes and I recently rewatched Boogie Nights and I love how the song is used in the film. And, to be honest, it’s a song that captures the feeling of Thanksgiving, even if it’s not really a Thanksgiving song.
So, I used it. I can’t really tell you much about this video, other than music videos in the 60s and 70s were considerably more straight-forward and less flashy than what we’re used to today. It’s a simple video but it works for the song, I think.
Enjoy and happy Thanksgiving!
Thanksgiving Tradition: ALICE’S RESTAURANT (United Artists 1969)
There’s another Thanksgiving tradition besides gorging on turkey’n’trimmings and watching football (which usually ends up with me crashed on the couch!), and that’s listening to Arlo Guthrie’s 1967 story/song “The Alice’s Restaurant Massacree”. Here in chilly Southern New England, I catch the annual broadcast on 94-HJY (Providence’s Home of Rock’N’Roll) at noontime, just before the yearly chow down. Arlo’s one of our own, though born in Brooklyn a long-time Massachusetts resident, and still frequently plays concerts around the state (catch him if he’s in your neck of the woods, he always puts on a good show).
Director Arthur Penn stretched Arlo’s 18-plus minute autobiographical tune into a 111 minute film back in 1969. ALICE’S RESTAURANT is not a great film, but it is a good one, with Penn and coscenarist Venable Herndon hitting all the touchstones of the counterculture movement: free love (read: sex), drug use, the Vietnam War, long-haired…
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Have A Happy Thanksgiving with BLOOD FREAK (Full Movie from 1972 )
Lisa gave you the poster, now here’s the movie! Happy Turkey Day!
Before you eat all that Thanksgiving turkey, save some room for a real MOVIE turkey about a man who becomes a hopeless pothead, eats some tainted turkey, and winds up turning into a giant turkey craving the blood of stoners! Sound bizarre? You bet your giblets it is! Hosted by YouTube’s “Al Omega”, here’s 1972’s BLOOD FREAK! Gobble, gobble!:
Artwork of the Day: Blood Freak
Today’s artwork of the day has a Thanksgiving theme!
Now, it may not be obvious from looking at the poster above but 1972’s Blood Freak is a film that is uniquely suited for today’s holiday. What’s the film about? Well, in short, it’s about a kinda beefy dumb guy who gets a job working at a turkey farm. He spends all of his time surrounded by turkeys. Well, except for the time that he spends smoking dope!
That’s right — marijuana! The weed with roots in Hell!
He takes a few hits off a joint and, when next he awakes, he discovers that he has been transformed into a blood-thirsty monster that has the body of a man and the head of a turkey!
No, this movie is not a comedy. At least not intentionally. However, it is a classic. And so is the poster! Needless to say, the woman on the poster never appears in the film but the artist, whoever he was, did an excellent job of capturing the essence of the turkey monster.
The only unfortunate thing about the poster is that it doesn’t include a picture of the narrator. That’s right, Blood Freak has a narrator. He pops up randomly through the film, sitting behind a desk and smoking a cigarette. At one point, his narration is interrupted by a sudden coughing fit.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Happy birthday, Erin Nicole!
(And if you want to read more about Blood Freak, check out my review here!)
Cleaning Out The DVR: Turkey Hollow (dir by Kirk Thatcher)
Turkey Hollow was the final Lifetime film on my DVR. I watched it when it originally premiered on November 21st and I was actually surprised to discover that I enjoyed it. I’m not sure why it take me so long to get around to writing a review. It probably had something to do with the holidays…
And speaking of holidays, Turkey Hollow is a Thanksgiving film! There’s a surprising lack of Thanksgiving films. There’s a countless number of horror-themed Halloween films and there are millions of Christmas movies but, with the exception of Turkey Hollow and that slasher film that Eli Roth said he might make some day, Thanksgiving has always been curiously underrepresented. So, let’s start this review by thanking the makers of Turkey Hollow for paying some respect to Thanksgiving…
As for the film itself, it takes place in a town called Turkey Hollow. The economy of Turkey Hollow is entirely built around raising turkeys to be killed for Thanksgiving. The most powerful man in town is evil old Eldridge Sump (Linden Banks), who pumps his turkeys full of dangerous drugs and chemicals.
One of the few people willing to stand up to Eldridge is a hippie vegan named Cly (Mary Steenburgen). As the film begins, Cly is being visited by brother (Joey Harrington) and his two children. At first, Annie (Genevieve Buechner) and her younger brother, Tim (Graham Verchere) struggle to get used to life Aunt Cly’s house. Not only does Cly not eat meat but she doesn’t have wi-fi either! Seriously, it’s crazy…
Tim becomes fascinated by the legend of the Hoodoo, a creature that is said to live in the wilderness around Turkey Hollow. One day, while at searching for it, he accidentally releases all of Eldridge’s turkeys. Now, under the bizarre bylaws of Turkey Hollow, Clay will automatically lose her property unless she comes up with $10,000.
However, Tim and Annie have a plan! They’re going to track down the Hoodoo, take a picture, and sell it to a tabloid. However, while out searching, they don’t come across the Hoodoo. Instead, they discover four other bizarre creatures.
The monsters — which were created by the same people who created the Muppets — are obviously Turkey Hollow‘s main attraction. They were also the main reason why I felt some trepidation about watching the film. From the commercials, they looked like they might be a little bit too cutesy. I was terrified that they would spend the entire movie breaking out into song. But, when I watched the movie, the creatures actually turned out to be so ugly that they were adorable. They were cute but they were never cutesy and I appreciated that.
Anyway, Turkey Hollow turned out to be a lot better than I thought it would. It’s a film for kids but, at the same time, there’s a few jokes for the adults (mostly dealing with Cly’s use of marijuana) and, in the role of narrator, Ludacris is often quick to point out the film’s more … well, ludicrous moments. At its best, his narration is reminiscent of Aubrey Plaza’s voice over as Grumpy Cat in Grumpy Cat’s Worst Christmas Ever.
We definitely need more Thanksgiving movies and Turkey Hollow is a good enough start.
Lisa’s Editorial Corner: Thank You
Hi, everyone! It’s Thanksgiving! Well, actually, it’s the final hours of Thanksgiving. In fact, it’s 10:03 as I start this and it’s totally possible that I won’t be ready to post it until midnight so, by the time you read this, Thanksgiving will probably be over and you’ll be in a Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/None of the Above type of mood. Well, no matter…
So, every year, I make out a list of what I’m thankful for and I post it on this site. Today, as I relaxed at my uncle’s house and I listened to all my cousins talking about football, I realized that I wasn’t really quite sure what I was specifically going to mention.
Don’t get me wrong. There’s a lot that I am thankful for. I’m thankful to be alive. I’m thankful that I have people in my life who love me and I’m thankful that there are people who I love. I’m thankful that my sprained foot is much, much better. I’m thankful that it rained today so I would have an excuse not to lay out in the sun and pretend like I’m actually capable of getting a tan. Seriously, I’m a redhead. We don’t tan, we just burn.
And, because this is an entertainment-related site, this would be a good time to mention that I’m thankful that 2015 has been a pretty good year for film. Mad Max, Ex Machina, Sicario, 88, Inside Out…I’m not even beginning to scratch the surface of how many good films have been released this year. As for the bad films — well, The Fantastic Four, Ted 2, and Vacation were all terrible but you know what? None of them did a bit of good at the box office so at least the movie going public is not adding insult to injury.
It’s been a good year and, as a lover of the Oscars, I’m especially excited by the fact that there is no clear front runner. Oscar season is going to be exciting! Sure, it would appear that The Martian and Spotlight appear to be early favorites but neither has dominated. Seriously, this is going to be fun.
So, there’s a lot that I am thankful for but you know what I’m really thankful for? I’m thankful that I have thoughts to share and I am even more thankful that are people out there who are actually interested in learning them. There is nothing more wonderful than the freedom to say whatever the Hell you want. That, along with so many other things, is what I’m thankful for in 2015.
So, instead of coming up with a big list and trying to show off how witty I am, I’m just going to use this holiday to say “Thank you.” Thank you to all of the writers and reviewers at the Shattered Lens. Thank you to Arleigh Sandoc for asking me, 5 years ago, if I would be interested in contributing to an entertainment blog that he had just started. Thank you to all of the writers who were here before me and thank you to everyone who joined after me. Thank you for keeping this site alive. Thank you for keeping this site interesting. Thank you for keeping things lively. Thank you to all of you. Thank you for everything.
Even more importantly, thank you to all of our readers. They you to everyone who subscribes to this site. Thank you to everyone who has ever left a comment. Thank you to everyone who has ever clicked the like button. Whether you’re a regular reader or if you just found us through a google search, thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Whether today was Thanksgiving or just another Thursday, I hope it was a wonderful one for you!
All my love — Lisa.
P.S. Wow, it’s 10:26 and I’m already ready to post. Happy Thanksgiving!
P.P.S. By the way, since it’s Thanksgiving, here’s the NSFW trailer for Eli Roth’s Thanksgiving. Hurry up and get this movie done, Eli!
P.P.P.S. Finally, since it is Thanksgiving, why not read my review of the classic killer turkey film, Blood Freak?
“As God as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly”: Thanksgiving Memories From WKRP in Cincinatti
“As God as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly.”
With those words, the Turkeys Away episode of WKRP in Cincinnati takes it place as a holiday classic. In this episode, Arthur Carlson — the station manager of the perpetually low-rated and eponymous radio station — attempts to pull off the greatest Thanksgiving promotion of all time. However, after Mr. Carlson incorrectly assumes that turkeys can fly, things go terribly wrong.
Believe it or not, this episode is based on a true story. A radio station in Atlanta tried a similar promotion, the main difference being that the station manager tossed the turkeys out of the back of a moving truck.
While enjoying the holiday, take a moment to remember this classic TV moment. Happy Thanksgiving!
Happy Thanksgiving!
To all of our readers in the U.S., Happy Thanksgiving!
Through the Shattered Lens 