California prepares for more rain, we ask what it means to be 'woke' in 2017, part one of this week's series featuring short film Oscar nominees
Reality check: Polarized politics make it hard for people to admit when they're wrong
Facebook has become a valuable tool for protest organizers. It's also become a common forum for political discussion.
News items posted there often generate yards and yards of comments, but, as often as not, someone posts something that's proven to be factually incorrect — they just won't admit it.
So why is it so hard for us to admit when we're wrong? And how does that affect our political conversations?
Take Two put that question to Ramani Durvasula. She's a licensed clinical psychologist and author of the book "Should I Stay or Should I Go: Surviving A Relationship With a Narcissist."
Press the blue play button above to hear the full interview.
The audacity of ‘woke’
The meaning of the word "woke" used to be so simple before modern culture co-opted it.
It was the past tense of wake: to become conscious after sleeping.
But in some circles "woke" has taken on a deeper meaning.
The new definition can be explained by Funmilola Fagbamila, an activist in residence at UCLA's Luskin Institute on Inequality and Democracy and an instructor in Pan-African Studies at Cal State LA.
You might think of "woke" as a three-parter, Fagbamila said. That's because the definition doesn't just end at knowledge. To achieve the "woke" label, you must be willing to analyze the conditions in your community. Lastly, you must act.
"It's essentially having your social justice ideologies be aligned with your daily practice," Fagbamila says.
Woke owes much of its popularity to neo-soul artist Erykah Badu, who, in 2008, released the song "Master Teacher," which features the repeated refrain, "I stay woke."
https://youtu.be/lJZq9rMzO2c?t=4m11s
Though "woke" originated in communities of color, Fagbamila says the term's meaning isn't about race, gender or income. However, "It is informed by all of those various forces within society and the world," she says.
A case for 'woke'
While some are quick to write-off "woke" as an urban fad, Fagbamila contends that it's a significant part of the American vernacular.
"It's important that we acknowledge that to be "woke" means that you don't turn away from what's happening politically; that you engage, that you stay informed, that you do your research and figure out why it's happening," she says.
How does one do that? Fagbamila recommends looking to the past.
"A lot of what's happening politically in this country now is not coming out of nowhere," Fagbamila says. "We have a lot of racial tension. There's a lot of gender tension. Religious freedom, academic freedom, gender justice — all of these issues are not just stemming out of nowhere," she says.
She adds that, while woke is used to define a civil response to political forces, it's not party specific.
"The way that largely being woke is defined is acknowledging the intricacies of systems of oppression, what they have meant historically and what they mean now," she says.
Press the blue play button above to hear why Funmilola Fagbamila says Donald Trump supporters aren't woke.
What to expect as California's series of storms continues
The rain doesn't seem to be stopping in California.
According to a KPCC article, we can count on showers Monday and Tuesday, with a 10 to 20 percent chance of wet weather until the end of the week. And that could mean mudslides and road closures at points across the state.
A Martinez spoke with Mike Kochasic of the the National Weather Service in Sacramento to see what we could expect from these storms.
Click the blue player above to hear the full interview.
Storm brings blanket of snow to delight of skiers and snowboarders
In some places, Los Angeles is still in recovery mode following the recent rain storm. But with rain, also comes snow. Lots and lots of snow.
It's heaven for skiers and snowboarders and it's looking like it could be heavenly well into the summer.
For a look at how the latest blanket of snow is treating a local L.A. ski resort, Take Two's A Martinez checked in with John McColly, Chief Marketing Officer for Mountain High.
"We got 16 to 24 inches of snow just the other day so there's plenty of snow up here," said McColly. "It's definitely a boon to local resorts... we're going to be open well into April and that's great news for skiers and snowboarders."
To hear the interview, click on the blue arrow above.
On The Lot: Oscar rehearsals, Paramount's Brad Grey may exit over green lighting
Our On the Lot guide, Vanity Fair's Rebecca Keegan gets an inside look at the Oscar telecast preparations this week. She's one of a very few reporters invited to sit in on the rehearsals.
She says while she has to agree not to reveal any surprises - or any of Jimmy Kimmel's jokes - the rehearsals provide a great opportunity to see the sausage-making of the Oscar show, and score some interesting interviews.
While Hollywood is obsessing over Sunday's awards, there's another big story brewing in the executive suites. Keegan reports that Paramount chief Brad Gray may be close to leaving his position over that classic Hollywood stumbling block - creative control. Grey, who's been the head of the studio for 12 years, and is a veteran producer, is one of the few execs in Hollywood who can still "green light" a picture all by himself.
Nowadays, that green lighting process is generally handled by a committee that represents the diverse studio interests. It might include people from marketing, merchandizing, overseas sales, even theme parks. Grey's corporate bosses are trying to institute a similar set-up at Paramount, and they appear to be ready to push Grey out as part of that process. Of course, as Keegan notes, Grey has presided over a bad run at the studio - Paramount now ranks dead last in market share among the majors.
Click on the blue bar to listen to the full interview with Vanity Fair's Rebecca Keegan.
‘La Femme et le TGV’ explores loneliness and human connections
The Oscars are Sunday February 26th, and while most of the movie loving world is looking forward to seeing what films and performers get the big prizes, A Martínez will be paying close attention to the short stuff.
The live action shorts.
It's a category we here at Take Two have been fascinated with for a long time. The big reason why the shorts are so enchanting is due to its restraints. They can not be longer than forty minutes, credits included.
This week, we'll be talking to all the live action short Oscar nominees. Monday, we start with the story of a woman and a train.
"La Femme et le TGV" or "The Railroad Lady" stars Brit Jane Birkin, who (fun fact) was the inspiration for the famous Hermes Birkin bag.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSRnal-xdjA
In the short film, she plays Elise, a lonely woman who, twice a day-everyday, waves to a fast-passing TGV train and develops a bond with someone on board.
Timo von Gunten wrote and directed the film, which had roots in reality:
"It was a newspaper article, because it's a true story and after I read the article I just found it so intriguing that I couldn't stop thinking about it. So, I googled the name of the woman and I eventually found her phone number. I called her up and I told her, 'Ma'am, I want to make a movie about your life, this is such an amazing story you've got here.' I managed to convince her to invite me to her place and she told me everything about it. About the letters flying out of the TGV, her writing back, throwing cheese out of the TGV, her sending back chocolates...
Most of it is real. There's a little bit of imagination too, as it needs for a fictional film but it is definitely inspired by these true events."
So why did she do this? Why was she waving at the train twice a day?
"It all started with her kids basically. Especially with her son because as a kid he was fascinated by these high speed trains passing by so, they began this ritual of getting up in the morning and waving at these trains with the Swiss flag. But then the son moved out and it just became a part of her life that she continued doing it..."
What do you think it is about this story that makes it so captivating?
"I think it is a story about connecting with people and her challenge of being slowly pushed aside in society. How to deal with loneliness as well and in this, I sometimes call it a romantic bubble she's creating. She finds herself integrated again with the connection she has with that train driver and I think its really about overcoming that loneliness and at the end even breaking out of that bubble she created herself when she realizes that this train driver is actually impossible to have a relationship with him because he already has a wife. Spoiler alert, sorry."