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Message
TulaneLSU's review of Air and TulaneLSU's Top 10 Air Jordans of all-time
Posted on 4/9/23 at 10:48 pm
Posted on 4/9/23 at 10:48 pm
Dear Friends,
Happy Eastertide! Over the last week, we have all celebrated the great acclamation that gives this world meaning and redemption: Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again. Dying, Christ destroyed our death, rising Christ restored our life. Lord Jesus, come in glory. I pray that this message of amazing news finds you all well.
It has been more than three years since I last entered a movie theater. Besides church, few places in this world have been more of a home than the cinema. There was a time from 2009 through 2011 that I visited the theaters at least three times each week, and shared my thoughts on some of those movies with my Movie Board brethren: TulaneLSU's 2011-2012 Movie Review Thread.
The return to theaters was the last thing on my mind when today began. The entire family has been on the Outer Banks in North Carolina for Holy Week. Mother’s friend offered us his condo last year, so we made a trip of it. I was at first reluctant to go, instead hoping to join SuperSaint for a day of charity and round of golf at Tehama, but when she told me we would be staying in Kill Devil Hills, I thought what a perfectly named place to prepare ourselves for the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord. As most of you know, it was at Kill Devil Hills, not Kitty Hawk, that the Wright brothers first soared through the air.
We began the morning with a vigil followed by a stunning sunrise service on the sands. Lacking the solemnity of a service at St. John the Divine in Morningside or Fourth Church on Michigan Avenue, which isn’t quite the same since John Buchanan retired, the undisonant backdrop was beautiful in its simplicity. There was an ever brief pause in the brumal rain at the moment the minister proclaimed Christ rising from the pit of death. Fittingly, a petrichor emanated from the bulwark of sea oats atop the nearby dune. The downpour and service continued.
Impluvious, the family rushed from the service to the beach house, where Mother, Uncle and I began preparing for a feast. Mother’s spectacular crown roasts of lamb, reminders of the true Lamb who wore the crown of thorns for us, as usual, stole the show. Uncle blessed the food and the words flowed as liberally as the freshly squeezed orange juice spiked with Sprite Zero.
“What do you think about Air?” Cousin interrupted a discussion Uncle and I were sharing on the use of anástasis versus egegermenon in the different Gospel stories. l
“Cousin, have you been reading Jane Eyre again? Or is this another EPA debate? Or are you going on about the coastal Australian or Scottish towns?”
“No, TulaneLSU. Air. The movie about the birth of the Air Jordan brand.”
Not only have I not been to the theaters recently, I haven’t watched TV or listened to a radio in two years. “No, but tell me more.”
Cousin proceeded to tell me about it being a Damon-Affleck flick. “Remember, TulaneLSU, when we last saw them together. It was at that dollar theater on Vets by the upside down V shaped Bud’s Broiler.” I am told that Bud’s recently closed for renovation. There is debate about whether it will reopen as a Bud’s or whether it was sold to one of the nearby car dealerships. Apparently, Tom Benson tried unsuccessfully for decades to buy that land.
Cousin was referring to our trip to see Good Will Hunting in the summer of ‘98.
“Oh, I remember. You tried to sneak into He Got Game after it was over and got caught and you were banned forever from Joy’s Cinema 8. Those were your iniquitous years – you most certainly remember when you left me in the car while you entered Down’s Lounge to watch Miss Sophie, whom you called ‘the ballerina queen of burlesque.’”
Cousin’s kid was at the table, so he quickly changed gears, I suppose because those stories are tacenda now. “I’ve heard it’s great. I remember how big of an MJ fan you were, and it’s been decades since we saw a movie in the theater together. We should go see it today!”
Happy Eastertide! Over the last week, we have all celebrated the great acclamation that gives this world meaning and redemption: Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again. Dying, Christ destroyed our death, rising Christ restored our life. Lord Jesus, come in glory. I pray that this message of amazing news finds you all well.
It has been more than three years since I last entered a movie theater. Besides church, few places in this world have been more of a home than the cinema. There was a time from 2009 through 2011 that I visited the theaters at least three times each week, and shared my thoughts on some of those movies with my Movie Board brethren: TulaneLSU's 2011-2012 Movie Review Thread.
The return to theaters was the last thing on my mind when today began. The entire family has been on the Outer Banks in North Carolina for Holy Week. Mother’s friend offered us his condo last year, so we made a trip of it. I was at first reluctant to go, instead hoping to join SuperSaint for a day of charity and round of golf at Tehama, but when she told me we would be staying in Kill Devil Hills, I thought what a perfectly named place to prepare ourselves for the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord. As most of you know, it was at Kill Devil Hills, not Kitty Hawk, that the Wright brothers first soared through the air.
We began the morning with a vigil followed by a stunning sunrise service on the sands. Lacking the solemnity of a service at St. John the Divine in Morningside or Fourth Church on Michigan Avenue, which isn’t quite the same since John Buchanan retired, the undisonant backdrop was beautiful in its simplicity. There was an ever brief pause in the brumal rain at the moment the minister proclaimed Christ rising from the pit of death. Fittingly, a petrichor emanated from the bulwark of sea oats atop the nearby dune. The downpour and service continued.
Impluvious, the family rushed from the service to the beach house, where Mother, Uncle and I began preparing for a feast. Mother’s spectacular crown roasts of lamb, reminders of the true Lamb who wore the crown of thorns for us, as usual, stole the show. Uncle blessed the food and the words flowed as liberally as the freshly squeezed orange juice spiked with Sprite Zero.
“What do you think about Air?” Cousin interrupted a discussion Uncle and I were sharing on the use of anástasis versus egegermenon in the different Gospel stories. l
“Cousin, have you been reading Jane Eyre again? Or is this another EPA debate? Or are you going on about the coastal Australian or Scottish towns?”
“No, TulaneLSU. Air. The movie about the birth of the Air Jordan brand.”
Not only have I not been to the theaters recently, I haven’t watched TV or listened to a radio in two years. “No, but tell me more.”
Cousin proceeded to tell me about it being a Damon-Affleck flick. “Remember, TulaneLSU, when we last saw them together. It was at that dollar theater on Vets by the upside down V shaped Bud’s Broiler.” I am told that Bud’s recently closed for renovation. There is debate about whether it will reopen as a Bud’s or whether it was sold to one of the nearby car dealerships. Apparently, Tom Benson tried unsuccessfully for decades to buy that land.
Cousin was referring to our trip to see Good Will Hunting in the summer of ‘98.
“Oh, I remember. You tried to sneak into He Got Game after it was over and got caught and you were banned forever from Joy’s Cinema 8. Those were your iniquitous years – you most certainly remember when you left me in the car while you entered Down’s Lounge to watch Miss Sophie, whom you called ‘the ballerina queen of burlesque.’”
Cousin’s kid was at the table, so he quickly changed gears, I suppose because those stories are tacenda now. “I’ve heard it’s great. I remember how big of an MJ fan you were, and it’s been decades since we saw a movie in the theater together. We should go see it today!”
This post was edited on 4/9/23 at 10:50 pm
25
Posted on 4/9/23 at 10:48 pm to TulaneLSU
To cut to the chase, Cousin convinced me. We quickly finished our brunch and rushed to a theater in Morrisville, NC three hours away. We caught our evening flight from Raleigh and arrived at the family house east of Destin just a short while ago.
Some of you may find this hard to believe, but I was a Michael Jordan fan when I was a youngster. Jordan’s rise to supremacy coincided with America’s global supremacy. Rocky had defeated Drago. America was the undisputed champ of the world. Father was driving one of his famous emerald green Jaguars, which I think he bought from Stephen’s Imports on St. Charles. Our Prytania house was filled with love and laughter. Movies like Beverly Hills Cop and Karate Kid and shows like Fresh Prince gave the illusion of racial harmony. Times seemed pretty good in the Jordanian Era of America, at least for a rich kid.
One of the principle symbols of that golden era was the Nike Air Jordan. The shoe, however, plays a secondary part in the film. The film’s primary form consists of the relationship between Sonny and mother, Michael’s mother. Can the gambling salesman pitch mother and win her?
I have to hand it to director actor Ben Affleck. He does a masterful job telling the story in a quite surprising way. He paints Nike as a fledgling outsider, and at times, he fools the audience into cheering for Nike as the noble oppressed, the underdog. That in itself is quite an achievement. Even more, he was able to manipulate me into pulling for two less than savory characters: a compulsive gambler, Vacarro, who leached from the success of kids, and a vain Buddhist wannabe who got rich from the sweatshop labor, Knight. Turning questionable characters into underdog heroes is no easy task.
Their ultimate goal is not to help Michael Jordan but to make money off him. And their method is to deify Jordan. The shoe bearing his name is to be a modern day sacrament or relic, something that physically connects his adoring followers to him, something through which they can receive his greatness (or grace). “A shoe is just a shoe, until my son steps in it,” says Michael’s mother.
America’s slide into cultural atheism began in the 80s, so it was prescient of Nike to give the public a new deity in a gifted athlete like Jordan. Jesus never dunked or hit a buzzer winning shot in a championship game. But Jordan did. And for those whose lives are vested in sports, those trifling things mean more than salvation from sin. They mean salvation from the asthete’s worst enemy: boredom. So those who save us from that boredom, those entertainers, become our gods and saviors. Jordan succumbed to this praise and several years into his professional career, he was happy to push that narrative, telling opponents to whom he trash talked, “Call me black Jesus.”
The movie’s climatic scene is Sonny’s pitch to Michael and his mother. Sonny begins to speak off the cuff, just like MLK Jr. did in his “I Have a Dream” speech, according to what Marlon Wayan’s character told Sonny earlier in the movie. In that speech, Sonny appeals to Jordan’s vanity, saying something to the effect of “no one at this table will be remembered after we die. But you, Mike, will always be remembered because of your greatness.”
Once the goosebumps of the impassioned speech wore away, the absurdity of such a statement set in. We call athletes today transcendent, but how many athletes are truly transcendent? After all, who today remembers Donald Dinnie?
Worse yet, how dangerous it is to ascribe to creation that which belongs only to the Eternal. To follow a false and flawed light rather than the light of life is perdition. We are not meant to “be like Mike,” as another corporate giant told us. Neither Jordan nor any man is the prototype. His life is not beautiful, perfect, or pure. He may have moved gracefully through the air for a decade or two, but his heart is not one of pure grace. His life is not one of virtue, pure love, and self-sacrifice. Jesus, on the other hand, is our source of eternal salvation, as he was made perfect and showed us true transcendence and perfection.
Some of you may find this hard to believe, but I was a Michael Jordan fan when I was a youngster. Jordan’s rise to supremacy coincided with America’s global supremacy. Rocky had defeated Drago. America was the undisputed champ of the world. Father was driving one of his famous emerald green Jaguars, which I think he bought from Stephen’s Imports on St. Charles. Our Prytania house was filled with love and laughter. Movies like Beverly Hills Cop and Karate Kid and shows like Fresh Prince gave the illusion of racial harmony. Times seemed pretty good in the Jordanian Era of America, at least for a rich kid.
One of the principle symbols of that golden era was the Nike Air Jordan. The shoe, however, plays a secondary part in the film. The film’s primary form consists of the relationship between Sonny and mother, Michael’s mother. Can the gambling salesman pitch mother and win her?
I have to hand it to director actor Ben Affleck. He does a masterful job telling the story in a quite surprising way. He paints Nike as a fledgling outsider, and at times, he fools the audience into cheering for Nike as the noble oppressed, the underdog. That in itself is quite an achievement. Even more, he was able to manipulate me into pulling for two less than savory characters: a compulsive gambler, Vacarro, who leached from the success of kids, and a vain Buddhist wannabe who got rich from the sweatshop labor, Knight. Turning questionable characters into underdog heroes is no easy task.
Their ultimate goal is not to help Michael Jordan but to make money off him. And their method is to deify Jordan. The shoe bearing his name is to be a modern day sacrament or relic, something that physically connects his adoring followers to him, something through which they can receive his greatness (or grace). “A shoe is just a shoe, until my son steps in it,” says Michael’s mother.
America’s slide into cultural atheism began in the 80s, so it was prescient of Nike to give the public a new deity in a gifted athlete like Jordan. Jesus never dunked or hit a buzzer winning shot in a championship game. But Jordan did. And for those whose lives are vested in sports, those trifling things mean more than salvation from sin. They mean salvation from the asthete’s worst enemy: boredom. So those who save us from that boredom, those entertainers, become our gods and saviors. Jordan succumbed to this praise and several years into his professional career, he was happy to push that narrative, telling opponents to whom he trash talked, “Call me black Jesus.”
The movie’s climatic scene is Sonny’s pitch to Michael and his mother. Sonny begins to speak off the cuff, just like MLK Jr. did in his “I Have a Dream” speech, according to what Marlon Wayan’s character told Sonny earlier in the movie. In that speech, Sonny appeals to Jordan’s vanity, saying something to the effect of “no one at this table will be remembered after we die. But you, Mike, will always be remembered because of your greatness.”
Once the goosebumps of the impassioned speech wore away, the absurdity of such a statement set in. We call athletes today transcendent, but how many athletes are truly transcendent? After all, who today remembers Donald Dinnie?
Worse yet, how dangerous it is to ascribe to creation that which belongs only to the Eternal. To follow a false and flawed light rather than the light of life is perdition. We are not meant to “be like Mike,” as another corporate giant told us. Neither Jordan nor any man is the prototype. His life is not beautiful, perfect, or pure. He may have moved gracefully through the air for a decade or two, but his heart is not one of pure grace. His life is not one of virtue, pure love, and self-sacrifice. Jesus, on the other hand, is our source of eternal salvation, as he was made perfect and showed us true transcendence and perfection.
This post was edited on 4/9/23 at 10:51 pm
Posted on 4/9/23 at 10:49 pm to TulaneLSU
Air is a period piece chock full of 80s nostalgia, perhaps as much as any movie. It feels in many ways like another period biopic of the last decade, The Social Network. Air, however, lacks the criticism of the characters who used humanity’s vulnerability to profit. In that sense, I am surprised at how fan-like Affleck, who purports to be a social critic, approached Nike. Perhaps that was the only way he could get the goods to make the movie.
In the end, the biopic about a shoe and a multinational company is entrancing. Its nearly three hour length flies like Jordan dunking on Ewing in the ‘91 playoffs. For the 35 and up crowd, it is worth the stroll down memory lane in a theater. And if you’re watching near a mall, you might stop at a Foot Locker and get a pair to relive those days. As for me, I never was and doubtful ever will be allowed a pair. Mother knows best.
Air: 7/10.
Faith, Hope, and Love,
TulaneLSU
P.S. I really enjoyed the new AMC intro with Nicole Kidman where she says, “We come here to laugh, to cry, to care, because we need that, all of us. That indescribable feeling we get when the lights begin to dim and we go somewhere we've never been before. Not just entertained, reborn, together.” We have all suffered from a lack of community in recent years, whether from lockdowns or the simple disconnect people now have thanks to technology and nomophobia. AMC’s beautiful ad taps into this self-inflicted isolation and loneliness. Church and theaters are a great place where we can grow together!
In the end, the biopic about a shoe and a multinational company is entrancing. Its nearly three hour length flies like Jordan dunking on Ewing in the ‘91 playoffs. For the 35 and up crowd, it is worth the stroll down memory lane in a theater. And if you’re watching near a mall, you might stop at a Foot Locker and get a pair to relive those days. As for me, I never was and doubtful ever will be allowed a pair. Mother knows best.
Air: 7/10.
Faith, Hope, and Love,
TulaneLSU
P.S. I really enjoyed the new AMC intro with Nicole Kidman where she says, “We come here to laugh, to cry, to care, because we need that, all of us. That indescribable feeling we get when the lights begin to dim and we go somewhere we've never been before. Not just entertained, reborn, together.” We have all suffered from a lack of community in recent years, whether from lockdowns or the simple disconnect people now have thanks to technology and nomophobia. AMC’s beautiful ad taps into this self-inflicted isolation and loneliness. Church and theaters are a great place where we can grow together!
This post was edited on 4/9/23 at 10:52 pm
Posted on 4/9/23 at 10:49 pm to TulaneLSU
TulaneLSU’s Top 10 Air Jordans
10. Jordan I (1985)
Included for historical reasons. Stylistically, it is boring. Perhaps a necessary step to transition the shoe world from the mundane to individualism.
9. Jordan XXXVI (2021)
Is it the upside down Omega or angel wings? Either way, if I wore tennis shoes, I might wear a pair of these.
8. Jordan III (1987)
Notable for being architect Tinker Hatfield’s first Jordan and the first Jordan with visible air pockets. The Jordan III is arguably more important than the Jordan I, as it was well known Jordan did not particularly like the design of the first two Air Jordans and was considering leaving Nike before they showed him this shoe.
7. Jordan XXXII (2017)
The heel borrows and expands on the Jordan II ribbed heel. The clean look was quite the change from the previous two decades of gaudiness.
6. Jordan XII (1996)
Overshadowed by its predecessor in '95, its undulating flare it slick and sightly.
5. Jordan XXXVII (2022)
Not a popular style among the Jordan fans I know. They complain it is too plain. It has been a financial flop for Nike, and it is one of the few Jordans that has required a steep discount to get rid of inventory. Is this a sign that the Jordan line, at least newly designed Jordans, is falling out of favor? For the first time since 1985, a newly released Air Jordans is under $100.
4. Jordan VI (1991)
These were the shoes everyone in school wanted. To have them was to be cool. But Mother never let me wear Jordans.
3. Jordan IV (1989)
Spike Lee. Craig Ehlo. Captain Mike. These three figures cemented the IV in my mind. Mars Blackmon told us, “it’s gotta be the shoes” while pointing to these shoes. Craig Ehlo watched in defeat as Jordan jumped with joy in these. And Captain Mike in 2001 had an old pair of these hanging behind his house in Bucktown. Too bad he didn’t have them on when we caught that hardhead that pierced his foot.
2. Jordan V (1990)
This was number one on my Christmas list in 1990. Can anyone get me a pair?
1. Jordan XI (1995)
1995 was the pinnacle for Nike design. This version was Hatfield’s best work. It’s an embodiment of silkiness that is probably the most sold of all Jordans after the I. It’s also Jordan’s personal favorite.
10. Jordan I (1985)
Included for historical reasons. Stylistically, it is boring. Perhaps a necessary step to transition the shoe world from the mundane to individualism.
9. Jordan XXXVI (2021)
Is it the upside down Omega or angel wings? Either way, if I wore tennis shoes, I might wear a pair of these.
8. Jordan III (1987)
Notable for being architect Tinker Hatfield’s first Jordan and the first Jordan with visible air pockets. The Jordan III is arguably more important than the Jordan I, as it was well known Jordan did not particularly like the design of the first two Air Jordans and was considering leaving Nike before they showed him this shoe.
7. Jordan XXXII (2017)
The heel borrows and expands on the Jordan II ribbed heel. The clean look was quite the change from the previous two decades of gaudiness.
6. Jordan XII (1996)
Overshadowed by its predecessor in '95, its undulating flare it slick and sightly.
5. Jordan XXXVII (2022)
Not a popular style among the Jordan fans I know. They complain it is too plain. It has been a financial flop for Nike, and it is one of the few Jordans that has required a steep discount to get rid of inventory. Is this a sign that the Jordan line, at least newly designed Jordans, is falling out of favor? For the first time since 1985, a newly released Air Jordans is under $100.
4. Jordan VI (1991)
These were the shoes everyone in school wanted. To have them was to be cool. But Mother never let me wear Jordans.
3. Jordan IV (1989)
Spike Lee. Craig Ehlo. Captain Mike. These three figures cemented the IV in my mind. Mars Blackmon told us, “it’s gotta be the shoes” while pointing to these shoes. Craig Ehlo watched in defeat as Jordan jumped with joy in these. And Captain Mike in 2001 had an old pair of these hanging behind his house in Bucktown. Too bad he didn’t have them on when we caught that hardhead that pierced his foot.
2. Jordan V (1990)
This was number one on my Christmas list in 1990. Can anyone get me a pair?
1. Jordan XI (1995)
1995 was the pinnacle for Nike design. This version was Hatfield’s best work. It’s an embodiment of silkiness that is probably the most sold of all Jordans after the I. It’s also Jordan’s personal favorite.
This post was edited on 4/9/23 at 11:00 pm
Posted on 4/9/23 at 10:53 pm to TulaneLSU
quote:legit list
1. Jordan XI (1995)
Posted on 4/9/23 at 10:54 pm to TulaneLSU
used to vacation in Nags Head when I was a kid 
BTW, my favorite Jordans are...
BTW, my favorite Jordans are...
This post was edited on 4/9/23 at 11:00 pm
Posted on 4/9/23 at 10:59 pm to TulaneLSU
quote:
TulaneLSU
He has returned!
Posted on 4/9/23 at 11:01 pm to MikeD
What alternate universe is this?
Posted on 4/9/23 at 11:02 pm to TulaneLSU
Tulane...your writing is delectable. And what's more has me looking up words I do not know, which is all too rare a treat in this place. I know some will scold you for "twenty dollar words", but the truth is they are simply the perfect descriptions of what you convey in the most efficient package. And looking them up takes but an instant these days.
Please, (though I am not familiar enough to call you friend, I, with all due humility, consider myself at the least an unworthy peer), think about returning to the OT. Den of philistines though it is, you make it a better place.
Best regards...
-Fr33.
Please, (though I am not familiar enough to call you friend, I, with all due humility, consider myself at the least an unworthy peer), think about returning to the OT. Den of philistines though it is, you make it a better place.
Best regards...
-Fr33.
Posted on 4/9/23 at 11:13 pm to TulaneLSU
The Downs Lounge. Fine drinks served by cute fillies.
Posted on 4/9/23 at 11:16 pm to TulaneLSU
first page
Posted on 4/9/23 at 11:23 pm to TulaneLSU
HE IS RISEN
Posted on 4/9/23 at 11:24 pm to TulaneLSU
Solid post
Posted on 4/9/23 at 11:44 pm to TulaneLSU
This shoe is hideous and unflattering
This post was edited on 4/9/23 at 11:44 pm
Posted on 4/10/23 at 12:03 am to TulaneLSU
quote:
Air is a period piece chock full of 80s nostalgia, perhaps as much as any movie. It feels in many ways like another period biopic of the last decade, The Social Network. Air, however, lacks the criticism of the characters who used humanity’s vulnerability to profit. In that sense, I am surprised at how fan-like Affleck, who purports to be a social critic, approached Nike. Perhaps that was the only way he could get the goods to make the movie. In the end, the biopic about a shoe and a multinational company is entrancing. Its nearly three hour length flies like Jordan dunking on Ewing in the ‘91 playoffs. For the 35 and up crowd, it is worth the stroll down memory lane in a theater.
Great review, and welcome back.
Posted on 4/10/23 at 12:03 am to TulaneLSU
quote:
Fittingly, a petrichor emanated from the bulwark of sea oats atop the nearby dune.
damn dude, that is fricking beautiful
Posted on 4/10/23 at 12:08 am to vuvuzela
Right?
This whole piece
He paints such a picture
This whole piece
quote:
the undisonant backdrop was beautiful in its simplicity. There was an ever brief pause in the brumal rain at the moment the minister proclaimed Christ rising from the pit of death.
He paints such a picture
Posted on 4/10/23 at 12:10 am to ReauxlTide222
quote:tripping Brodie. Jordan 4’s are one of the best silhouettes and can be styled up or down.
ReauxlTide222
Posted on 4/10/23 at 12:18 am to TulaneLSU
quote:
instead hoping to join SuperSaint for a day of charity
goddammit It’s the little things with you, you son of a gun, you.
Posted on 4/10/23 at 12:19 am to 7thWardTo314
the Jordan V is my favorite
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