Douglas Howe: January 2009 Archives

Yes, the Super Bowl is here! That also means that the Super Bowl Ads are here, the Super Bowl halftime show is here, the extended Super Bowl pre-game and post-game shows are here and, thankfully, the Athletes in Action Super Bowl Breakfast is here. More on that in a minute.

Our Cultural National Holiday is on for Sunday, although--as with our last big holiday--economic nervousness is bringing a reductionist feel to it all. From "The Today Show" and "Good Morning America" to CNN and Fox News, just about every news outlet has featured stories about what NBC's Bob Costas has called "the secondary market," noting that parties are being cancelled, scalpers are reducing prices, and more people are "flying commercial or even driving in," according to one resort owner.

I've only been to one Super Bowl (and loved it) but I really think the day is more fun--and potentially inspiring--in television-nation. And it's less expensive. Here's my list of the best ways to enjoy Super Sunday.

This year's Best Picture Oscar is a competitive field. The media likes to paint it as a two-person or two-film race in many categories, but it may be one of those years in which many films have a chance.

Some years this happens because of an over-abundance of great films. 1939 was the probably the most amazing example, when the Best Picture list included "Gone With the Wind," "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," "The Wizard of Oz," "Wuthering Heights", "Stagecoach," and "Goodbye Mr. Chips."

Other years the movies may not be historically outstanding but they're in league with each other (such as 2002 with "A Beautiful Mind," "Gosford Park," "In the Bedroom," "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" and "Moulin Rouge.")

Here are the years from my lifetime which have been the most competitive and where this year's field rates:

Two wonders of literature passed away today and they will be missed. The first was John Updike, who succumbed to a long battle with lung cancer at 76. The second is the time in our history when authors represented the strongest voice in our culture; when what they had to say influenced the national discussion; when their insight, wit, relevance, craft and sublime touch on society's pulse was both a work of art as well as work of leadership.

I first studied John Updike in college, having never heard of him. It wasn't that I wasn't well read, but I wasn't from New York, where his work has appeared in The New Yorker since 1954 and where he also wrote frequently for the New York Review of Books.

He was most known for his "Rabbit" series, including "Rabbit, Run," "Rabbit Redux," "Rabbit Is Rich," "Rabbit at Rest," and "Rabbit Remembered." One of the reasons he was so popular was that his primary subject was the typical small town, Protestant, middle class American. "Rabbit is Rich" and "Rabbit at Rest" were Pulitzer Prize winners.

Suburban sexuality was at the center of many of his writings, so much so that I'm surprised the likes of Joe Eszterhas or Paul Verhoeven haven't turned more of his novels into films. Some of his dryer lines about faith, life and the intersection of the two include:

Next week's Super Bowl marks what has become something of a national holiday. New TV sales go through the roof, parties are found on every other block and open seats are available on flights! Bruce Springsteen will perform. Alicia Keys will perform. Jordin Sparks will sing the national anthem. Oh, and yes, also there is also a football game between the favored Pittsburgh Steelers and underdog Arizona Cardinals. The Super Bowl has brought its share of inspirational moments through the years; here are several of those most memorable to me:

1. Dungy and Lovie!: On Feb. 6, 2007, Tony Dungy and Lovie Smith made history as the first two African-American coaches to face each other in the Super Bowl. They took the occasion to also proclaim their faith in Christ at official Super Bowl events, USA Today advertising, and in interviews. "The Lord set this up in a way that no one would believe it," Dungy said following the Colts and Bears conference championship wins. "The Lord tested us a lot this year, but He set this up to get all the glory." He later said "I'm so happy for Lovie who does things the right way, without cursing and shows things can be done differently...we give God all the credit."

2. The Helmet Catch: In last year's game, the New York Giants defense kept the game close against the 18-0 New England Patriots, and when Eli Manning hit Plaxico Burress with 35 seconds left, the Giants had a 17-14 win that no one really saw coming. The play would never have happened if not for David Tyree's one hand "helmet catch" which preserved the drive and will be remembered as one of the finest individual efforts in Super Bowl History.

3. 1975, My First: Jack Ham, Jack Lambert, Ernie Holmes and Dwight White held the Vikings to six points as Pittsburgh won a grueller, 16-6. It seemed boring to my friends, but I could really appreciate the manly defense by the monstrous men...plus I was mad at the Vikings for beating my Rams! Pictures from it (as well as other Steeler highlights) can be found in the Sports Illustrated online vault.

The Screen Actors Guild Awards are not the most popular nor are they the highest rated award shows to be broadcast on TV. The Golden Globes kick off the season and the Academy Awards bring the conclusion, as well as the highest ratings. But as awards shows go, I like the S.A.G.'s best.

Sally Field, who's obviously come a long way from her "You really, really like me" moment of Oscar past, proclaimed the following about her field: "Actors: we inspire, we provoke, and we entertain and never ever has that been needed more in this country than it is right now." I'm not sure I'd go that far, but she was correct in naming part of why we so love movies and television when they're done well, and why we have such a connection to the actors.

Here are five reasons why I like the S.A.G.'s best among award shows:

1. The Ensemble awards. Most shows only focus on the main actor or perhaps a supporting role. The "ensemble cast" award for both TV and movies gives credit to all of the individuals involved as well as to the chemistry which makes a TV show or movie so likeable or compelling.

The most spiritually compelling moment of the Screen Actors Guild Awards came when the Guild paid tribute to those who'd lost their lives since the last gathering. Susan Sarandon shared a very nice tribute to the actors who've passed, and...

Oscar season has formally begun as the nominations were announced today by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The full line-up and more info can be found at at Oscars.com and commentary will be all over the Net....

The poor Grammys have a tough road. (If you don't know what the Grammys are, then that will prove my point even further!) January is a pop culture tour de force, complete with the Golden Globe Awards, the launch of...

If you've got some people together--or just have the TV on--and the Inauguration events are getting boring, check out "History in the Making Week" on The History Channel. If they'd have taught history like this in school, I'd have been...

President Obama is a rock star! He and his family have shown up at more parties, events, gatherings, celebrations, fundraisers and other pre-Inauguration activities than movie stars on Oscar night. And the cameras have been there. Therefore, this may be...

From a television--and pop culture-- point of view this has been one of the longest, dramatic, and most entertaining Presidential races of all time. And it comes to an end today with the swearing in of Barack H. Obama as...

If the Bible were being made into a movie, who would play the characters? Paul Asay has a piece on Beliefnet's current homepage which poses some possibilities. Who would De Niro play? How 'bout Denzel? Adam Sandler? Glenn Close? How...

"24's" new season starts with two full-speed car crashes, the scary kidnapping of a dad in front of his daughter, Keifer Sutherland's weathered but tan Jack Bauer on trial before Congress for his actions during the prior seasons, a heroic...

Fresh thoughts while my bride (of 23 years) and I watched the 65th Golden Globes, live from the same Beverly Hilton ballroom as our Senior Prom... The simple beauty of an awards show that sits friends with each other around...

Fresh thoughts while my family and I are watching these stars, fashions and Red Carpet interviews which have become the first part of the Golden Globe Awards' Doubleheader... The pre-show is really as much of a show as the show;...

On a faith-based site such as Beliefnet.com, one wouldn't expect to read much about the porn industry except perhaps for either a scandal plaguing some religious leader or some fire-and-brimstone preaching from perhaps even the same person. But some news...

One of the most raw and inspiring concert performers of our time is Bruce Springsteen, and one of the most recognizably tight bands of all time is his E Street Band. As such, tickets to the concerts are expensive...