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Hallucinations Are in The Air
Glen Powell hosted SNL last weekend. It was one of the best episodes I’ve seen in awhile. (Beware, spoilers).
In Powell’s opening monologue, he tells the story of the first time he was supposed to host the venerated sketch comedy show. When he received the phone call inviting him to host back then, there happened to be a UPS delivery guy named mitch delivering a package just as the family was on the porch receiving the call. Mitch got wrapped up in the celebration and, no doubt, told his friends and family members that he met Glen Powell and that Powell would be hosting on such-and-such a date.
Well, that wasn’t to be. COVID delayed the opening of Top Gun: Maverick and SNL gave Powell’s slot to someone else.
When Powell got the word that he would finally be hosting the show for real, the Powell family did what any normal people would have done: They tracked down Mitch the UPS driver and invited him to be in the studio audience.
It was a very well done bit.
The quality of SNL waxes and wanes with time and I’m sure each fan has his or her favorite cast or favorite era of the show’s fifty year history. But we can probably all agree that SNL can act as a kind of barometer of cultural import. A pop culture reference has to rise above a certain threshold of common knowledge before we can expect to see it on SNL. Why does SNL prioritize impressions of Presidents, Vice Presidents, Presidential Candidates, and Speakers of the House? It’s because so many Americans know who those people are and know the circumstances under which those people appeared in the news that week.
So, here’s my thesis: If SNL highlights a topic, that topic is probably already pretty pervasive in our society.
In the very first sketch after Powell’s monologue, several cast members create a scene in which four young people introduce their aging grandmother to AI-enabled technology that brings old photos to life. ...
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chapainsights.substack.com/subscribe
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By Joseph ChapaGlen Powell hosted SNL last weekend. It was one of the best episodes I’ve seen in awhile. (Beware, spoilers).
In Powell’s opening monologue, he tells the story of the first time he was supposed to host the venerated sketch comedy show. When he received the phone call inviting him to host back then, there happened to be a UPS delivery guy named mitch delivering a package just as the family was on the porch receiving the call. Mitch got wrapped up in the celebration and, no doubt, told his friends and family members that he met Glen Powell and that Powell would be hosting on such-and-such a date.
Well, that wasn’t to be. COVID delayed the opening of Top Gun: Maverick and SNL gave Powell’s slot to someone else.
When Powell got the word that he would finally be hosting the show for real, the Powell family did what any normal people would have done: They tracked down Mitch the UPS driver and invited him to be in the studio audience.
It was a very well done bit.
The quality of SNL waxes and wanes with time and I’m sure each fan has his or her favorite cast or favorite era of the show’s fifty year history. But we can probably all agree that SNL can act as a kind of barometer of cultural import. A pop culture reference has to rise above a certain threshold of common knowledge before we can expect to see it on SNL. Why does SNL prioritize impressions of Presidents, Vice Presidents, Presidential Candidates, and Speakers of the House? It’s because so many Americans know who those people are and know the circumstances under which those people appeared in the news that week.
So, here’s my thesis: If SNL highlights a topic, that topic is probably already pretty pervasive in our society.
In the very first sketch after Powell’s monologue, several cast members create a scene in which four young people introduce their aging grandmother to AI-enabled technology that brings old photos to life. ...
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chapainsights.substack.com/subscribe