Dramarama

 My family, all aspiring screenwriters at one time or another, have a tendency to shout out tropes or obvious holes or when we see signs pointing out obvious act changes. Like a few nights ago when we were watching The Blues Brothers. At the moment when Elwood announces, "There are 106 miles to Chicago, we have a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark and we're wearing sunglasses," we all know that the chase is about to begin. And what a chase it was. Half of Chicago's police cars wrecked and a Pinto station wagon dropped from the sky later, we knew we had reached the denouement. Final song, roll credits. 

The next morning, I awoke to the observations of Jeffrey Wilson, a Shakespearean scholar at Harvard University. He suggested that the soon-to-be-ex-president was exhibiting "classic Act V behavior." Which had me scrambling back to my undergrad days of studying the plays of Bill Shakespeare. A five act structure allows for more of the aforementioned denouement. The wind out for King Lear and Richard III gives us plenty of time to appreciate the fate of all those involved. Professor Wilson says, "the forces are being picked off and the tyrant is holed up in his castle and he's growing increasingly anxious and he feels insecure and he starts blustering about his legitimate sovereignty and he starts accusing the opposition of treason." He makes a mild prediction of catastrophe: "If there are these analogies between classic literature and society as it's operating right now, then that should give us some big cause for concern this December."  Like Othello sending his Iago to Arizona to cough all over the state legislature. Or armed protesters showing up outside the castle of Michigan's Secretary of State. And then there's the palace intrigue of an Attorney General who refuses to take part in the traitorous schemes. All of this taking place while citizens die by the thousands each day from the plague. 

Shakespeare would have been proud. 

Me? I remain disgusted. 

I think this whole mess would have been much more entertaining if it had ended in a car chase. A very literary, high minded and artistic car chase. "There are forty days to the inauguration, we have a full tank of gas, half a roll of toilet paper, it's dark and we're wearing masks."

Hit it.