I’m moving slowly through “Get Back,” but I am enjoying it… just lots of other stuff to do, not to mention lots of other stuff to watch. Regarding the “Yoko broke up the Beatles” trope, what strikes me is that George, Paul, and Ringo had five decades to set the record straight, and they sort of talked about it without talking about it on the Anthology series that aired on ABC (was it 25 years ago?), but none of them ever seemed to say “we were four grown men who chose to go our separate ways… quit blaming Yoko.” In the first episode, people were more annoyed by George’s Hare Krishna friend just sitting alone in a corner than they seem to be with Yoko
On Sun, Dec 5, 2021 at 11:10 AM <[email protected]> wrote: > It was near impossible to get reliable information about the Beatles or > the individuals at the time of, or following their breakup. We knew them > mostly from the radio and a bit from TV. I don’t remember they did movies > until they aired on TV years later. Anything that appeared in newspapers or > magazines about them either related to marketing them or came from sources > too remote to be reliable. In those days the only people who would immerse > themselves in the breakup story were rabid fans and the stories that came > out were tailored to them. > > I heard repeatedly in the schoolyard that Yoko broke up the Beatles and I > didn’t care enough to form a critical opinion or to make the effort to find > out if it was true. It really took the internet with its instant access to > tons of materials to get a better sense of what happened. > > On Dec 4, 2021, at 8:37 AM, PGage <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > There is a great moment when Paul observes how stupid it will seem so in > 50 years that the Beatles broke up because Yoko sat on an amp. Of course > that’s not why they broke up, but like most good relationships that fail it > does later seem stupid. > > What’s magical about this particular moment in Beatle history (January > 1969) is that even though the Let It Be film kind of fixes this as a crisis > period, it really is more of an oasis between crises, when they were still > able to work together and make great music. Things had been worse in 1968, > and will soon get much worse. > > The financial and management issues that will soon add unbearable pressure > are hinted at in the documentary, but one of the biggest pressures that is > not mentioned at all is Lennon (and Ono’s) heroin addiction (though John’s > withdrawal and apathy in part one might easily be a result of this). They > had been fighting like, well, brothers, for more than a decade by this > point, but their conflicts became toxic because heroin addiction made John > uninterested, unpredictable and prone to irrational rages. It was not so > much that Paul couldn’t forgive him for this, but that because of it they > could no longer communicate and resolve their issues. > > On Sat, 4 Dec 2021 at 1:29 AM 'Dave Sikula' via TVorNotTV < > [email protected]> wrote: > >> We finished it tonight and my main reaction (other than thinking it's >> marvelous) was frustration and sadness that they weren't able to overcome >> their differences (which seem minuscule here, but who knows what was going >> on when the cameras were off?) and continue creating together. I'm not >> thinking they should have been "The Beatles" uninterruptedly until 1980, >> but who knows what occasional reunions might have achieved? >> >> And, yes, Yoko does seem like she's a one-trick pony, and that trick >> isn't very interesting. >> >> --Dave Sikula >> >> On Friday, December 3, 2021 at 8:57:42 PM UTC-8 PGage wrote: >> >>> I spent much of my TV-watching time this week binging “Get Back” (it’s >>> closer to 8 hours than 6), and it greatly exceeds my mildly optimistic >>> expectations. I have linked below my favorite review (which is to say, the >>> one I most agree with). >>> >>> It is a stunning achievement, often thrilling, sometimes heartbreaking. >>> It is not precious, and gives us plenty of warts for everyone (except maybe >>> Ringo). Despite the opening sentence of about 4 of the reviews I read, I >>> doubt anyone other than my ten-year old self really thought Yoko broke up >>> the Beatles in any simple way, so I don’t think absolving her of that blame >>> is a major accomplishment. What is a major accomplishment is that I came >>> away from this liking her a little (though still, not her screeching). >>> >>> One of the take homes from this is the possibilities afforded by >>> streaming. I think this was originally going to be a theatrical film, and >>> even a long one would have been little more than a third of what we have >>> here. Perhaps this could have played as a mini-series on HBO, but I doubt >>> it would have the same impact in 8 or even 4 weekly installments, and I >>> suspect most people who watch the whole thing now will see it in a week or >>> two at the most. >>> >>> >>> Sent from Gmail Mobile >>> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "TVorNotTV" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to [email protected]. >> To view this discussion on the web visit >> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/f302a399-c57d-4bdc-b871-715cbb91df1bn%40googlegroups.com >> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/f302a399-c57d-4bdc-b871-715cbb91df1bn%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >> . >> > -- > Sent from Gmail Mobile > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "TVorNotTV" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAKGtkYLH35otpmeFOYHt29JGncva92TqTMnEE7iJuVcbtGK9CA%40mail.gmail.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAKGtkYLH35otpmeFOYHt29JGncva92TqTMnEE7iJuVcbtGK9CA%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "TVorNotTV" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/50F0722F-2304-4FA1-840E-AAC554B8DFD8%40gmail.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/50F0722F-2304-4FA1-840E-AAC554B8DFD8%40gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- Kevin M. (RPCV) -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAKgmY4CHei6A2W7P5PY46KkJwvgsUDfmNp9%2BwsF9KydnxDs4Ew%40mail.gmail.com.
