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Friday, March 15, 2019



Is Beto the Democrat’s Great Hope? He Might Be
On Thursday, Robert Francis “Beto” O’Rourke made his 2020 Presidential ambitions official. His announcement coincided with a glossy Vanity Fair story complete with an Annie Liebovitz photographed cover. The puffy article doesn’t pressure the Democratic candidate into discussing any tough policy stances but does a magnificent job of framing him as someone trying way too hard to be cool. He sums up his political aspirations in the article like this:

“’This is the fight of our lives,’ he continues, ‘not the fight-of-my-political-life kind of crap.
But, like, this is the fight of our lives as Americans, and as humans, I’d argue.’
The more he talks, the more he likes the sound of what he’s saying. ‘I want to be in it,’ he says, now leaning forward. ‘Man, I’m just born to be in it, and want to do everything I humanly can for this country at this moment.’” (Vanity Fair)

Liz Wolfe sums up the Vanity Fair piece perfectly at The Federalist:
 
“Of course, perhaps his candor and coolness is a double-edged sword — a selling point that makes profiles of him oh-so-colorful that media ilk just can’t resist churning them out, and a cringey furtherance of limousine liberal stereotypes that make him far too mockable on Twitter.
 
Even Josh Voorhees doubts his qualifications:
 
From Slate

"O’Rourke would enter the race as a man without a clear political ideology, a signature legislative achievement, a major policy issue, or a concrete agenda for the country. Those in the know tell the Atlantic that Beto is planning to run as a candidate ‘offering hope that America can be better than its current partisan and hate-filled politics, and that the country can come together,’ but that—brace yourself—he hasn’t yet ‘landed on how he’ll propose to actually make that happen.’”
 
But his popularity should not be discounted. He fought a tough Senate race in a red state that launched him as a celebrity candidate. Don’t forget how Bill Clinton made voters swoon with his saxophone and charisma. Beto may not be holding political policy torches but he does have a guitar and a dog. 
 
The New York Times suggested in October that Beto may even have support of Evangelical white women in his bid against Ted Cruz. After his defeat, it seems that support may have been more mythological than fact, however will the hunger to defeat President Trump in 2020 spread to left-leaning Evangelicals? GetReligion suggests not.
 
Why Do We Look to Late Night Comedian’s for Politics?
On Wednesday, Al Roker interviewed Jay Leno about his time on “The Tonight Show” versus what late-night comedy shows are like today. Leno’s answers spurred quite a few blog posts and social media activity, including a signature Tweet from POTUS.
 
Emily Jashinsky points out Leno’s astute observations at The Federalist:
 
“In a less-circulated moment from Wednesday’s interview, Leno basically conceded that today’s late-night hosts are giving people—some people, at least—what they seem to want. ‘The theory when we did the show was, you just watched the news, we’ll make fun of the news, and get your mind off the news,’ he remembered. ‘Now, people just wanna be on the news all the time.’
 
That, of course, doesn’t mean the shows are funnier. It may actually mean viewers are watching them almost as more palatable, network versions of ‘The Daily Show.’ That is to say, outlets where they can get their laughs but also get their politics, even if makes for a different product. Appetites are different, as is the dramatically diversified television landscape.”
 
Friday Entertainment Corner
Amazon is serious about their new Lord of the Rings Series. Are we? The new series, as yet untitled, will be based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s novels, but it isn’t clear which ones. It will take place in the same universe, but the “when” is still a bit confusing. I am unconvinced by this concept. Rotten Tomatoes breaks down everything known about the upcoming Prime series
 
The Tribeca Film Festival gets underway next week. Here are some highlights, and here is the complete guide of what will be screened. 
 
The SXSW Film Festival will conclude at the end of this week with some very successful screenings. Here are some highlights. I am most excited for “Booksmart” and “Us”. 
 
Jimmy Carr guested on the “Pardon My Take” podcast on Monday to discuss telling controversial jokes and well…just listen.  

“Sopranos” Prequel, “Newark” will be released theatrically as a feature film on September 25th, 2020. Here are the details.
 
Upcoming TV That I Am Excited About
“Game of Thrones” Season 8 will be here in one month! Here’s everything you need to know.
 
Amazon’s “Catastrophe”: Underrated and Underappreciated! The final season is now available. As long as you are ok with plenty of crude humor, prepare to belly laugh
 
“The Crown” is looking for the perfect actress to play Princess Diana. In the meantime, get ready for Oscar Winner Olivia Colman to grace your small screen for Season 3. Release date has not yet been announced but the rumor is that it will be sooner rather than later.
 
Jeffrey Deaver’s “The Bone Collector” being made into a series called “Lincoln” starring Michael Imperioli.
 
New Julian Fellowes Drama “Belgravia” set in 1840’s London coming soon. Yes, please.
BRIGHT is brought to you by The Federalist.
Today's BRIGHT Editor

Ellie Bufkin is the co-host of the weekly movie podcast, Flix It and a senior contributor to The Federalist. Originally from northern Virginia, Ellie worked in the wine industry as a journalist and sommelier- having lived in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. Having been a fanatic for movies and TV shows since childhood, she currently reviews movies and writes about many aspects of popular culture for The Federalist. She is an avid home cook, cocktail enthusiast, and still quite happy to make wine recommendations. Ellie currently divides her time between Charleston, SC and Washington, D.C. You can follow her on Twitter @ellie_bufkin on Instagram @exsommellie.
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