In the Dark Reviews

As we approach the close of 2024, the year in entertainment seems to be a story of emerging media gaining breakout successes, in the midst of existing media either treading water or stalling out, capped off by the loss of far too many familiar faces who'd been stalwart presences in the entertainment industry.

Musically, this was another banner year for Taylor Swift. She became the first artist to win album of the year four times from the Grammy awards, before releasing "The Tortured Poets Department" album, then dropping another 15 songs a few hours later, all while continuing the "Eras" concert tour she'd started in 2023.

But don't discount Charli XCX, whose "Brat" album proved so popular that the Collins Dictionary defined "brat," its word of the year, as "characterized by a confident, independent and hedonistic attitude."

This year's summer Olympics in France courted controversy, with an opening scene that was questionably accused of mocking Leonardo da Vinci's "The Last Supper," while also achieving admittedly dubious memetic success.

Pole-vaulter Anthony Ammirati lost his event by proving to be unexpectedly anatomically blessed, while Turkish shooter Yusuf Dikeç won a silver medal while looking so bored and under-dressed that online commenters jovially suggested he could be an undercover hitman.

Denis Villeneuve's "Dune: Part Two" scored critical plaudits, plus theatrical ticket sales that surpassed Christopher Nolan's "Oppenheimer" in 2023, but it also came in for some ribbing for its creepy, rubbery sandworm month-shaped popcorn bucket topper.

Although "Wicked" seems to have taken off like a rocket, showing the enduring appeal of fantasy fables, both Marvel and DC Comics adaptations fared poorly on the big screen.

The sequel "Joker: Folie à Deux" and the Sony Spider-Verse tie-in "Kraven the Hunter" both bombed hard, even as the high-quality acting and writing of "Agatha All Along" on Disney+ and "The Penguin" on Max blew the minds of reviewers and audiences alike.

And even as X (formerly Twitter) was temporarily suspended in Brazil, alternative media such as podcasters gained a more prominent level of influence. Donald Trump's interviews with folks including Joe Rogan and Theo Von appear to have helped him return to the presidency while he eschewed more traditional news outlets such as "60 Minutes."

Streaming services are arguably cresting the hill of becoming more established media, as they raise their fees (YouTube TV announced plans to do so by 14% a month), but seek to retain subscribers by bundling their services (Disney+ and Hulu launched a subscription package with rival Warner Bros. Discovery's Max for $17 a month, with ads).

IN MEMORIAM

The succession of celebrities we lost in 2024 includes some all-time greats, among them Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony-winning actor James Earl Jones, who died at 93 after serving as the voice of both Darth Vader and CNN, and Dame Maggie Smith, who died at 89 after playing Professor McGonagall in the Harry Potter film franchise and the Dowager Countess in the "Downton Abbey" TV series.

This year also marked the death of 62-year-old country singer Toby Keith, who was claimed by cancer, and 88-year-old Grammy-winner Kris Kristofferson, an absolute legend of a musician and an actor, who notably stood up for Irish singer Sinéad O'Connor after her 1992 protest of Pope John Paul II caused her to fall out of favor.

Rolling Stone published actor Ethan Hawke's account of a backstage altercation between Keith and Kristofferson at Willie Nelson's 70th birthday concert in 2003, and it is as hilarious as it is unprintable in this space.

Carl Weathers, who'd long since made a name for himself in the "Rocky" movie series, the first "Predator" film and "Happy Gilmore," got to go out on a high note at 76, after returning to fame in "The Mandalorian," while Shelly Duvall died at 75, still under-appreciated even after her roles in "The Shining," "Popeye" and "Faerie Tale Theatre."

If you were an '80s kid, you might have noticed the passing of sex therapist Dr. Ruth Westheimer (at 96) and exercise guru Richard Simmons (at 76), while '90s kids were likely to have spotted the passing of Shannen Doherty, who starred in "Heathers," "Beverly Hills, 90210" and "Charmed," before she died of cancer at a too-young 53.

Impeccably subtle standup and sitcom star Bob Newhart made it to 94 before moving on this year, while Teri Garr, who livened up Mel Brooks' "Young Frankenstein" and Steven Spielberg's "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," died from multiple sclerosis at 79.

Perhaps the single greatest standout loss of 2024 was 91-year-old

Quincy Jones, whose work with such talents as Count Basie, Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles and Michael Jackson over the decades earned him 28 Grammy awards.

Jones wrote the score for the film "In the Heat of the Night" and the theme music for "The Cosby Show," and he produced and conducted the 1985 multiartist "We Are the World" album, which raised money and awareness for those suffering from poverty and hunger.

Author Bio

Kirk Boxleitner, Reporter

Shelton-Mason County Journal & Belfair Herald
[email protected]