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John Singh

John Singh is a writer and entertainment-industry veteran who began his career as a newspaper journalist and has also worked at Disney, Lucasfilm Ltd., DreamWorks Animation and on a variety of films and TV series.

Culture

Disney's grand vision of the 21st Century is a reminder of the world that can still await us

The 21st century began on Jan. 1, 2001, but for Disney fans it had been in full swing for more than 18 years, since the opening day of EPCOT Center on Oct. 1, 1982, when a sleek and optimistic vision of the future debuted in a theme park unlike any other built before or since.

Late last year, Disney started a massive overhaul of EPCOT, which will see more Disney characters and brands added to the park, and update many of its attractions for the actual 21st century – which has arguably proved a fair deal bleaker and less promising than the happy visions Disney conceived for EPCOT.

Disney's version contained daily flights to space, boundless energy, harmony with the earth and its oceans, pollution-free transportation, and a unifying message of peace and unity among people from every nation. The future didn't quite turn out that way.

But even back in 1982, it was something of a fiction. Grounded in the harsh reality of the time, it was a quintessential Disney wish that got its start in the 1950s, as Walt Disney was readying Disneyland. Even the most devoted Disney enthusiast rarely sees past the rides, shows, restaurants and shops when they go to Disneyland, but Walt Disney and his engineers (long before they were "Imagineers") saw something far different: urban planning. So impressive was Disney's ability to make something out of nothing that James Rouse, designer of the first enclosed shopping center in America said in 1963, "the greatest piece of urban design in the United States today is Disneyland."

An avid traveler, Walt Disney had also spent much time visiting cities around the world – and around the country – and by the early 1960s he was growing concerned about the state of American cities, but eager to explore solutions he saw internationally. His interest became an obsession, and by the mid-1960s he was wholeheartedly turning his company from a film studio into a think-tank devoted to creating a prototype community filled with experimental technology from around the world.

He called the city EPCOT – the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow. To help fund it, and to draw even more attention to it, he placed it within the confines of "Disney World," the gigantic project his company was building in Central Florida. Building the theme park proved relatively easy; but when it come to the "city of tomorrow," even his closest aides were confounded by the visions and ideas Walt Disney had proposed. "He had come to fear that EPCOT would not be built if anything happened to him," biographer Neil Gabler wrote in Walt Disney: Triumph of the American Imagination. On Dec. 15, 1966, Walt Disney died.

So, for a time, EPCOT died. Its vision of a future created by corporations and big industries, supported by governments and social unity, was undone by the violence, unrest and distrust of the 1960s. Yet, a decade after Walt Disney died, EPCOT began moving ahead.

The idea of a "real" city that housed research-and-development arms of major corporations, staffed by people from around the world, fell away quickly, but at EPCOT's core was the belief that the ideas and innovations of companies, and the imagination of the people who worked for them around the globe, could serve to inspire the future. These two competing notions of technological innovation and of cultural cooperation were initially proposed as two parks, until, inspiration struck.

"We found that we couldn't get enough sponsorship for both," remembered Marty Sklar, who went on to head Walt Disney Imagineering, "so we pushed the two of them together, basically, and that became EPCOT Center." The building, transportation and management codes that had been created for development of the city formed the backbone of the entire Walt Disney World resort development, so the 43-square-mile complex became known as "EPCOT," while the theme park would be at its geographical heart – it would be, literally, the EPCOT Center.

Those two sections that were initially separate parks were joined and became Future World and World Showcase. A massive marketing campaign supported what was then the single largest construction project in the world – no small feat, considering a global recession that gripped the world in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

As a company, Disney was undaunted. "EPCOT Center is a celebration of ingenuity, innovation, imagination … and most of all … hope for the future," the company wrote in its 1982 annual report. "We believe we need optimism in our world because a society just can't progress without the belief that life will be good, that individual enterprise will bring its own rewards and that the great nations of the world will be guided on the right course with a better informed public." Disney called EPCOT "the dawn of a new Disney era."

Instead of single rides, massive pavilions contained long, elaborate attractions that explored key concepts vital to the future: communication (in Spaceship Earth), energy (Universe of Energy), the environment (The Land), transportation (World of Motion), imagination (Journey Into Imagination) and, after EPCOT's first expansion, the oceans (The Living Seas) and future technology (Horizons). The Wonders of Life added a look at the human body, completing Future World in 1989.

World Showcase opened with nine countries – Mexico, China, Germany, Italy, Japan, France, the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States – with Morocco joining in 1984 and Norway in 1988. Country pavilions were initially sponsored by private companies, except Morocco, which has always been sponsored by its government. Curious what EPCOT looked like in 1982? Here's a carefully restored 16 mm film taken not long after opening.

The hopeful vision of the future presented by EPCOT officially became outmoded when the 21st century really did dawn. An enormous overhaul of EPCOT was announced last summer, but construction has been stalled by the outbreak of coronavirus – an outbreak that may best be solved by cooperation among people, innovation led by private industry, and an understanding that our future is shared by everyone. One of humanity's greatest crises may find its ultimate solution in the ideas, spirit and innovation that Walt Disney left behind, and that led to a theme park – and a vision – unlike any other.

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35 years later, we can still thank 'The Golden Girls' for being a friend

Maybe age really is just a number. When The Golden Girls debuted in September 1985, its four stars were, on average, not quite 60 years old, but they were considered "senior citizens."

Thirty-five years later, the fashions, the technology (or lack of it) and some of the attitudes may seem outdated, but in the most important ways The Golden Girls has hardly aged a day.

Thanks to syndication, cable and now streaming, there has hardly been a day when TV viewers couldn't visit Dorothy Zbornak, Rose Nylund, Blanche Devereaux and Sophia Petrillo at 6151 Richmond Street in Miami (don't Google Map it – it's a made-up address). From 1985 to 1992, The Golden Girls was a Saturday-night fixture on NBC, so much so that it never budged from its 9 p.m. time slot throughout its seven seasons on the air.

The bawdy, sassy, unabashedly straightforward – and frequently silly – quartet of past-middle-aged women never lacked an audience, but their popularity seems to have only increased in last decade. The series was always a staple of basic cable, first on Lifetime and then on the Hallmark Channel, but became a GIF-tastic, memetic pop-culture phenomenon thanks to streaming; today, you can watch any episode of The Golden Girls anytime you want on Hulu.

The perpetual appeal of The Golden Girls isn't hard to fathom: The women are aware that they're societal cast-offs, unwanted in a culture that demands conformity and propriety, and they've come to realize that it gives them an advantage – they don't need to worry about what the rest of the world thinks, either.

We dare you not to sing along. #GoldenGirls https://t.co/muq7hPjwOc
— TV Land (@TV Land) 1587755100.0

Their tropes are equally perfect. Dorothy is intelligent, irritable and world-weary; Rose is open-hearted, optimistic and daft; Blanche is self-centered, sexual but kind; Dorothy's mother Sophia is wise and wise-cracking. And while they might not matter to the world that turned its back on them, they mean the world to each other – an attitude that has long appealed to middle-aged gay men, who took solace in the silliness during the AIDS crisis and now often see themselves reflected in the "girls," who found a way to create their own safe community, filled with friendship.

Hands up if you’re gay and watching #GoldenGirls while WFH https://t.co/JDjcSgUilE
— Rob (@Rob) 1587989222.0

But gay men were just the start – The Golden Girls has fans of every demographic type, and is constantly being discovered. For those looking to binge through the distinctively delightful series during these stay-at-home days, it's possible to watch it from the start, including the weirdly awkward series pilot. Then again, The Golden Girls was of a different era of television, when each season had nearly two dozen episodes. To help you break through the pastel-hued, wicker-filled clutter, here's a look at five of the very best episodes of this inimitable, groundbreaking series, all of which are available to watch on Hulu:

"Big Daddy's Little Lady"

(Season 2, Episode 6)

One of the funniest of all Golden Girls episodes finds Blanche surprised by genteel Southern "Big Daddy," who announces he's getting married to a much younger woman. McClanahan's reactions are priceless, but the episode's secondary story is what makes the episode. Dorothy and Rose enter a song-writing contest, and find that they aren't quite Rodgers and Hammerstein – though their lyrics are certainly unforgettable.

"In a Bed of Rose's"

(Season 1, Episode 15)

Sex is one of The Golden Girls' favorite subjects, and here it's the setup for a story that takes some surprising twists in 23 minutes. Unusually, this episode doesn't have a "B"-story – Rose's predicament is the focus, and Betty White received one of her three Emmys (in addition to two she won for "Mary Tyler Moore") for this episode, which manages to balance perfectly timed comedy with some genuine pathos, courtesy of character actress Patricia Morrill.

"Isn't it Romantic"

(Season 2, Episode 5)

Never seen The Golden Girls and looking for the best place to start? Here it is: Everything you need to know about each of the characters is perfectly encapsulated in this sweet and wildly funny story about Dorothy's friend Jean (Lois Nettleton) coming to visit. The catch? Jean is lesbian, and she develops a crush on Rose. When it originally aired in 1986, it may have seemed a little daring. Today, it's just hilarious.

"An Illegitimate Concern"

(Season 5, Episode 18)

Merely by virtue of having one of the best Dorothy-Rose "newspaper gags" alone (preceded by a perfectly delivered joke about the Seven Dwarfs), this one makes the cut as one of the best episodes. It's a Blanche-centric story – her mysterious admirer turns out to have a much more unexpected motive – but every one of the actresses gets a chance to shine in this consistently funny episode, the first written by prolific TV writer-producer Marc Cherry.

"The Case of the Libertine Belle"

(Season 7, Episode 2)

This lark of an episode finds the girls taking part in a murder-mystery weekend as part of a scheme of Blanche's to land a job she covets. The episode is fun on its own, with some great one-liners, but it's doubly fun to watch such well-honed characters playing roles in a different kind of story. It points to the beauty of The Golden Girls as a whole – by the show's seventh season, each character was so perfectly defined that they could be put into almost any situation and still keep viewers gloriously entertained … for more than three decades.

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Going to the movies is a vital part of our culture and it will survive the coronavirus

Photo by Edwin Hooper on Unsplash

My mother went to the hospital when I was 14, and it was the first (but certainly not last) time she talked about what my sister and I should do if she died: "Don't be sad. Say goodbye, and then go to a movie."

She was released the next day, but her guidance has always stayed with me. When times are tough, movies are an escape into a different world, one we enter for a couple of hours and then leave, emboldened, entertained, moved and sometimes even changed. Things don't have to be bad for movies to work their magic; they are equally transformative when life is grand.

Coronavirus has wreaked havoc upon movies and movie theaters around the country. For the first and only time since movies were invented, cinemas across the globe have shut down. World War II couldn't do that. The Great Depression couldn't do that. The Cuban Missile Crisis and the Kennedy assassination couldn't do that. Nothing has ever gotten in the way of the movies, until now.

Recent news that AMC Theatres, the biggest cinema chain in the U.S., could be facing bankruptcy, combined with reports that streaming services like Disney+ are seeing record growth during the unprecedented stay-at-home period, have led some to speculate that once the coronavirus threat has passed, moviegoing won't recover.

Moviegoing will survive.

To be sure, there's reason to worry. The number of tickets sold each year has eroded – 14 percent fewer people went to the movies in 2019 than 20 years earlier. Ticket prices, meanwhile, have risen steadily to offset that decline (it cost an average of $9.11 to see a movie last year, while in 1998, the year Titanic was released, the average ticket cost $4.69). Complaints about rude, talkative, device-addicted audiences are common, and long before the virus there was growing concern in Hollywood that people just wanted to stream at home. Movie studios, streaming services and film exhibitors have been eyeing each other warily for years, battling over the right of cinemas to show movies before they appear on Netflix or Amazon.

Photo by Felix Mooneeram on

That movie "window" has been in contention for decades, ever since studios discovered in the late 1980s that they could sell movies directly to consumers. Then, it took nearly a year for a huge hit like Top Gun to come to VHS tape, which was just one of the "ancillary revenue" streams studios could use to ensure a movie earned money long after its box-office run. Home video was at the top of that secondary revenue stream, but there were also sales to cable and network TV, to airlines and hotel chains, even theatrical re-releases.

On its own, chasing after the dream of a pure "direct-to-consumer" business, Hollywood drained that revenue stream. VHS gave way to DVD, which was subsumed almost entirely by streaming – and the ubiquity of streaming services meant travelers didn't need to pay to watch movies in hotels or airplanes.

And yet … none of that killed movie theaters. If fewer people, on average, saw movies in cinemas each year, about 3 million peoplewere still going to movie theaters every day, and despite the fluctuations, that number had remained fairly constant.

Photo by Krists Luhaers on

It may be nothing compared with pre-television moviegoing; in 1946, 90 million people went to the movies once a week, but by 1960 that had plummeted to 40 million. Naysayers predicted the death of movie theaters then, but larger-than-life gimmicks like CinemaScope, Cinerama, the first wave of 3-D and even Smell-O-Vision cropped up, and movie lovers proved that they could be passionate about movies and TV, that one didn't have to usurp the other.

Likewise, those 15 to 20 million people who go to the movies each week despite the advent of streaming prove that sitting in the dark is a habit moviegoers don't want to break.

There's no doubt movie exhibitors have a difficult task ahead. They're going to need to reassure audiences – quickly and constantly – that moviegoing is safe. To begin, they might need to limit the number of tickets sold, and to show movies less frequently, with vigilant and high-profile cleaning in between screenings.

They're going to need to be scrupulous about cleanliness – more scrupulous than they have been, for sure. Snack bars, restrooms and auditoriums will need to be equally spotless, and movie theaters will need to offer many options for audiences to clean their own seats and spaces. It's not going to be easy. The most important innovations won't be on screen, they'll be in the auditoriums themselves.

But all those wonderful people out there in the dark are going to return. It's in their nature. And "their" means "our." We need movies. We need the reassurance, hope, excitement, belief, happiness and promise that they bring. We have always craved stories in the dark. The brilliant light of the projector is our fire, and just as we have for eons we will gather around it to be told stories that help us make sense of our terrifying, glorious, overwhelming world.

That will never be more true than after this collective trauma, when we finally all begin to stagger out of our houses to see how the world has changed. That time will come, and like the victims of any disaster, we will take stock and find that some have fared better than others. We will assess what we have retained, mourned what we have lost, and we will all follow my mother's words: "Don't be sad. Say goodbye, and then go to a movie."

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What a disaster! In troubled times, movies about calamities can be an unexpected comfort

In the 1960s and 1970s, the world seemed to be falling apart – cultural, social, economic and political upheavals imparted a general sense of gloom that pervaded everything, and the movies reflected that. In part, that was through gritty, independent films that presented a bleak view of the American landscape.

There was another side of Hollywood, though, which found a way to capture the discomfort and fear of the time and turn it into something spectacular: the disaster film. Starting with the huge success of the all-star Airport in 1970, movie producers discovered that putting movie stars in peril was big business.

Airport Trailerwww.youtube.com

Audiences couldn't get enough, which in part might be because by portraying the most terrifying and seemingly impossible concepts, then thrusting big movie stars into the roles of victims and survivors, the disaster films showed moviegoers that anything, even the end of the world, was theoretically survivable.

It's one of the reasons that in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, disaster movies seem oddly, unexpectedly comforting. "We like to find hope, and these movies do find hope," says Los Angeles-based psychotherapist Louise Bale, who specializes in helping clients work through trauma. "The hope is always in human resilience and in humanity coming together." Adding in big-name stars and big-budget productions actually helps audiences connect. "They start out glamorous, but the glamour gets stripped down and they become more like us. We can relate to that person, who looks a little more haggard than they did at the beginning of the movie."

Whether finding an impossible path through an overturned luxury liner or looking for the way out of a 138-story building, "On a psychological level, the stories help us know that that's what surviving looks like, and we root for these people because we know they are not helpless or hopeless."

Of course, coping with crisis isn't as simple as watching a disaster movie. But for many people, seeing movie stars beat impossible odds can be wonderfully cathartic. Whether you're unfamiliar with the disaster-movie genre, or you've always longed to board the S.S. Poseidon, here are four can't-miss disaster movies that will make you think, "Hey, if they can get through that horrible thing, so can I" – and that's a message we all could hear these days. Plus, as Bale notes, what we're experiencing is hard, unprecedented and downright scary at times, but not everyone wants to express those fears. "Maybe we're trying really hard right now not to look as scared as we feel, but if we watch something that's scary or very thrilling, we can say, 'Ah, I'm only feeling this way because the movie is so intense.' And that helps us work through our own emotions."

Whatever the reason for watching them, you cannot go wrong with these four disaster films!

The Poseidon Adventure (1972)

The Poseidon Adventure (1972) Trailerwww.youtube.com

Get past the dated, hokey (but often funny) first 20 minutes and as soon as a giant tidal wave smacks into the grand luxury ship S.S. Poseidon this super-blockbuster, which grossed the adjusted-dollar equivalent of $515 million, holds up as one of the most riveting adventures ever put on film. Led by Gene Hackman as a disillusioned preacher and Ernest Borgnine as a gruff cop, a group of survivors have to find a way out of the ship, which has completely turned over. They've got just hours to do it, and The Poseidon Adventure consistently finds ways to capture the humanity of these scared, shell-shocked people even while the sets explode and fill with water all around them. Between they explosions, they create compelling, affecting characters, plus an undercurrent of real moral consequence; as they move deeper into the fiery ship that resembles hell, even the preacher isn't sure God is on their side. (Available on all streaming services for $4 to $5 rental.)

The Towering Inferno (1974)

The Towering Inferno Trailerwww.youtube.com

Paul Newman, Steve McQueen, Faye Dunaway and William Holden were all huge stars, but the movie's real star is the 138-story glass tower that's getting ready for its grand opening. If The Poseidon Adventure found some humanity in its giant cast of characters, The Towering Inferno seems more focused on the thrills themselves. It takes all those pretty people, locks them in a room 138 stories over San Francisco, and then lights the whole thing on fire. How they get down is the film's primary story, but why you'll watch is to see what happens when rich and powerful people find out they're in the same boat as everyone else. (Available on streaming services from $3.99 to $14 to own)

Earthquake (1974)

Earthquake (1974) Official Trailer #1 - Charlton Heston Movie HDwww.youtube.com

Also released in 1974, leading some to suggest a double-feature of this and Towering Inferno could be called "Shake and Bake," Earthquake plays a surprising amount of its story for laughs. It knows its campy and over-the-top, that it's an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink approach that's just a half-step above parody. It also looks at times like a made-for-TV movie. But none of that can diminish its success. Charlton Heston, Ava Gardner, Genevieve Bujold, George Kennedy, Lorne Greene and Victoria Principal are the human stars, but you're here to see them crawl their way through a shattered Los Angeles, and on that the movie delivers. (Available on major streaming services for $3.99 to $4.99)

Deep Impact (1998)

Deep Impact - Trailerwww.youtube.com

Disaster movies lost their appeal for a while, but in 1998 came two end-of-the-world movies just around the time that some were predicting the new millennium would be the end of the world for everyone. Between Armageddon and Deep Impact, only one cares about the human element of its story, and director Mimi Leder's more gentle (yet still plenty crash-and-burn) approach to Deep Impact makes it the most lasting and affecting of the two films. It's about a comet that's hurtling toward Earth, and what happens when science discovers that the world really might end. The epic story never forgets the human scale – it's fascinating to watch these characters try to grasp the magnitude of what is happening. There's also Morgan Freeman as history's most pragmatic, kind-hearted and well-spoken president. (Available on all major streaming services for $4 to $5)

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After the divisive 'Star Wars' sequels, a former Lucasfilm insider re-evaluates The Phantom Menace

Everyone's life has a "Luke Skywalker moment" – when something completely unexpected happens that hurls you from the life you knew into one you didn't think was possible, and you take your first step into a larger world.

For me, it came in December 2002, when a friend told me about a job he had been interviewing for, but which he decided he couldn't take. He and his wife were moving back to their hometown, and he thought I would be perfect for the role. He submitted my resume; I got a call the next day, a week after that I was interviewing, and five days later I got an offer to join Lucasfilm Ltd., initially to manage international publicity and ultimately to work as director of entertainment publicity.

Star Wars had already been one of the defining moments of my childhood (including my own 10-minute-long, Super 8 "remake"), now it was going to change my adult life. For six years, I made my professional home at Lucasfilm, and had the enormously good fortune to spend time with George Lucas, who entertained questions from journalists, fans, researchers and employees with unmatched patience and genuine interest.

As we all worked on the production and release of what we assumed was the final Star Wars film – Episode III Revenge of the Sith – I listened to many discussions of the origins and ideas behind Star Wars. Eventually, I came to think of Star Wars movies less as entertainment and more as work, and I spent a not-insignificant amount of time defending the Star Wars prequels. On the day I left Lucasfilm, a TV producer I know joked, "Now you don't have to keep insisting that those movies are good anymore."

I never really had to insist on that, and always did believe it. But once I left Lucasfilm in 2009, I never watched any of the first six Star Wars films from start to finish. The stay-at-home world of coronavirus changed that, and I allowed myself to watch Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace … and discovered that I appreciated it more than I ever thought possible.

Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace - Trailerwww.youtube.com

When it was released in 1999, I saw The Phantom Menace a half-dozen times in theaters and was bemused by each screening. Since 1977, I had only occasionally wondered what the "war" in Star Wars was all about, and why an intergalactic civil war had raged. The Phantom Menace promised an explanation, and gave one – but it wasn't at all what anyone expected: Princess Leia had stolen secret plans, Darth Vader had killed Obi-Wan Kenobi, Luke Skywalker had blown up the Death Star, Yoda had trained Luke, Han had been frozen in carbonite, all because trade routes were unfairly taxed?

That sense of disbelief was long-lasting, and by the time I started working at Lucasfilm four years after The Phantom Menace was released, it hadn't abated. The questions of Episode I loomed over everything we did, and were still on my mind when I re-watched The Phantom Menace through different eyes.

It was impossible not to hear the mildly exasperated chuckle in George Lucas's voice whenever he answered questions about what it all meant. He always maintained a patient insistence that it had not been a mistake to tell the world that the roots of Star Wars were indeed in political bureaucracy and microscopic organisms.

To watch Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace again is to realize a truth: George Lucas was absolutely right to do it the way he did. When given complete artistic freedom (he was spending his own money, after all) to tell the Star Wars story he wanted to tell, he remained true to his extraordinary vision of a mythology rooted in the foibles and imperfections of our own world.

Director Jim Henson (left) and Lucas working on Labyrinth in 1986

The Phantom Menace is a film stuffed – perhaps overstuffed – with ideas, so many that it is hard to keep up with them. Though it is far from a perfect film, with stilted dialogue and sometimes uncomfortable acting, it is never a dull or boring movie. And as arcane as "the taxation of trade routes to outlying star systems" may seem, so are the origins of all wars – even the unbelievable one we're in now, which began not with a bat or pangolin, but with bureaucratic, political decisions that stretch back years.

Mundane actions have massive consequences, and The Phantom Menace still surprises by looking at some of those actions closely. Even the opening scene, with its discussion of blockades, negotiations, ambassadors and senators stands in opposition to the slam-bang openings of the first three Star Wars movies.

The first half of The Phantom Menace can seem drawn out and dry, yet Lucas's script is doing much more than simply setting up the action that will lead to the discovery of Anakin Skywalker. It's also establishing a complicated world view, one in which politics as a whole is not to be trusted, but is the only imperfect option for getting anything done. Sound familiar?

Bear in mind that within the first couple of minutes of the original Star Wars, we've already learned about a civil war, an Imperial senate, and, a bit later, an "Old Republic." While he could have chosen a more action-oriented, mindless backstory, George Lucas uses The Phantom Menace to begin showing how that republic became an empire, how a politician became a tyrant, and how the senate allowed it all to happen.

In that regard, The Phantom Menace is a more consequential and intriguing film than any of the most recent sequels. It's also pointedly, proudly a George Lucas film. Its sprawling story, which is always splitting its time between two or three different plot lines, bears much more resemblance to Lucas's earliest features – THX-1138 and American Graffiti – than any of the Star Wars films Lucas didn't direct. Watching The Phantom Menace, it's easy to see Lucas's love of the craft of moviemaking come to the fore.

DARTH MAUL - Complete Lightsaber Fight - Star Wars : The Phantom Menacewww.youtube.com

The Phantom Menace is equally a rumination on the cultural significance of mythology – when Anakin Skywalker's mother Shmi struggles to explain what she means about her son's conception and birth the film is also observing how the mythology of cultures around the globe share the same underpinnings. If Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope found inspiration in Joseph Campbell's ideas of comparative mythology, The Phantom Menace is a master's thesis in the teachings.

One of its most central ideas is one of the concepts most derided by fans: midichlorians. With the benefit of having heard George Lucas talk over and over about the concept of an underlying physical connection with the Force, I've come to think of midichlorians as the most intriguing aspect of the entire Star Wars saga. They are destiny made manifest, a bold attempt to explain why some people, given the same opportunities, passions and training, achieve more than others. They do not undermine the concept of the Force, but help explain why not everyone becomes a hero.

Star Wars: Phantom Menace - What Are Midichlorians (Movie Clip)www.youtube.com

Thy also speak to a concept that George Lucas would bring up over and over: the ubiquity of myths. For some reason, people around the world, separated by time and distance, have developed similar myths. Their stories and their religions bear remarkable resemblance to each other. Could it be something within us that motivates these beliefs?

Ultimately, The Phantom Menace becomes a rousing action film, though never a straightforward one. To get us to its final 45 minutes, Lucas concocted a story filled with switches and reverses, betrayals and false allies. It all leads to a grand finale in which at least four different battles are happening simultaneously. Lucas' skill as a filmmaker ensures we always know where we are throughout this massive conclusion, even if we aren't entirely sure of the ever-changing identity of one core character.

Though its midichlorian-induced hangover effect put fans on the defensive for years, a rewatch of The Phantom Menace proves the furor over the film may have been overdone. The more you watch The Phantom Menace, and the more you look at how it's put together, listen to its dialogue and even its music, the more you realize that it has a great deal to say – not just about Star Wars but about our endless need for stories that help us make sense of a non-sensical world.

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Virtual Disney tripping is even wilder with these 360°style theme park rides

You may already have spent some time exploring the exquisite, intricate video walkthroughs of Disney theme parks, but be sure you're sitting down for this bit of news – and that you keep your arms, hands, legs and feet inside the vehicle at all times.

Your mobile device, a set of ear buds for some extra you-are-there-ness and just a little bit of imagination make it possible to take 360-degree, immersive rides on some of your favorite attractions; if you've got a portable VR viewer for your device, you can even go on incredible virtual-reality rides. (Should you choose to remain seated at all times, you can even watch them on your laptop, using your mouse or trackpad to control the view.)

It's all possible thanks to YouTube channel Virtual Disney World – plus, of course, some Disney Imagineering. The creators of Virtual Disney World have been astonishingly thorough and up-to-date – not to mention bi-coastal – so even if you weren't able to get a boarding group for Rise of the Resistance before Disney theme parks worldwide were forced to close, or to ride Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway in the mere 11 days it operated before the shutdown, here's your chance.

360º Tour of Star Wars Galaxy's Edge at Disney's Hollywood Studioswww.youtube.com

Prefer something a little more classic? You can choose from The Haunted Mansion at Walt Disney World or Disneyland and compare the not-insignificant differences – or even check out the ever-controversial Haunted Mansion Holiday from Disneyland, which re-themes the dark ride to The Nightmare Before Christmas for four months each year. There are even some 360° walkthroughs of Disney resorts, and a couple of the most popular rides at Universal Orlando – if you didn't want to wait in line 10 hours for Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventures, here's your chance to see what all the fuss was about.

360º Ride on Haunted Mansion Holidaywww.youtube.com

Even better, if you've got back or neck problems, high blood pressure, are prone to motion sickness or you're an expectant mother … it's not a problem at all!

Here's a quick rundown of some of the best of the 360° videos from Disney theme parks.

* Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway – Few people have had a chance to experience this centerpiece attraction of the Disney Hollywood Studios: Disney's parks closed a week and a half after it debuted. Now you can see the frenetic, cartoon-themed wackiness for yourself. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jaf4Vbj4ClA)

* The Great Movie Ride – Here's the super-elaborate, Audio Animatronics-filled dark ride that called the Chinese Theater at Disney Hollywood Studios home from 1989 to 2017. Pay special attention to the Wicked Witch in the Wizard of Oz sequence; for years, she was the most advanced animatronics figure Disney ever created. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jaf4Vbj4ClA)

* Mad Tea Party – Here's an extra dose of 360° craziness: spin while you spin and get yourself extra dizzy on the Magic Kingdom version of the "tea cups." The original ride at Disneyland was one of the opening-day attractions on July 17, 1955. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ouofPAuSxI)

* Spaceship Earth – The iconic geodesic sphere of EPCOT houses this 15-minute ride (about 10 minutes are included in this ridethrough, not including the personalized, interactive descent). The slow-moving dark ride through human history and the evolution of communications has been reworked three times in EPCOT's 38-year history and is about to undergo another big, as-yet-unrevealed change. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSIs3cCdlhc)

But Virtual Disney World isn't the only 360° game in Disney's town. The YouTube channel ResortTV1 also offers 360 videos of attractions, including the incomparable Kilimanjaro Safari at Disney's Animal Kingdom. By far the largest single Disney attraction at more than 110 acres (35 acres more than Disneyland itself), it's also one of the most stunning.

Disneyland fans won't be left out, because Dream Disney 360 offers this wraparound ride on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, which opened in California in September 1979 (more than a year before the Walt Disney World version), so hang on to your hats and glasses, 'cause this here's the wildest ride on the Internet!

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Culture

5 perfect movies for addressing big moods people are feeling during the outbreak

The idea of "cinema therapy" might be as old as the movies themselves. When you need a good cry, laugh, escape or new perspective, movies can offer an emotional catharsis that even books, TV shows and music can't quite match (all right, a good sad song can do wonders, as Elton John noted).

Right about now, everyone needs some kind of good emotional release, and movies are a great place to turn – but there are just too many choices on too many streaming services. With that in mind, here are five films that can fit many of the complicated moods you may be feeling right about now.

FEELING SCARED?

Defending Your Life

Defending Your Life (1991) Official Trailer - Albert Brooks, Meryl Streep Movie HDwww.youtube.com

From writer-director Albert Brooks, Defending Your Life is about a man who suddenly finds himself isolated from everyone and everything he knows: He dies. But he's whisked away to Judgment City, a strangely comforting blend of theme park and office complex. His task is to sit in literal judgment of his life and defend himself against accusations he lived in too much fear. An perfectly winning cast led by Brooks, Meryl Streep, Rip Torn and Lee Grant make this romantic-comedy sparkle, but there's something deeper here, something that all of us can use right now: a reminder that we are all stronger than we think and that fear doesn't need to get the best of us.

(Available on multiple streaming services for about $4)

FEELING WORRIED?

Joe Versus the Volcano

Joe Versus The Volcano (1990) Official Trailer - Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan Comedy HDwww.youtube.com

In Joe Versus the Volcano, Joe Banks (played by Tom Hanks) lives in constant anxiety. He's stuck in a job he hates, and a visit to the doctor reveals a dread diagnosis. That's when he gets a most unusual job offer that propels him on a trans-Pacific voyage that turns into a grand adventure that makes him face his anxieties. This 1990 film is endlessly silly, sometimes downright weird, and certainly an oddity. It's also emotionally daring and honest: writer-director John Patrick Shanley wears his heart on his sleeve, and gladly. In a rare triple performance, Meg Ryan shines brightly – she has a monologue about being "soul sick" that will resonate with anyone in self-isolation or quarantine with another person. The visually magnificent moment in which Joe acknowledges a higher power is about as poetic as movies could possibly get.

(Available on multiple streaming services for about $4.)

FEELING DOUBTFUL?

OH, GOD!

Oh, God! (1977) Official Trailer - John Denver, George Burns Movie HDwww.youtube.com

We're living in a deeply fraught time that could understandably make someone doubt religion. But what if God showed up in the world with a message of faith? That's the setup of director Carl Reiner's 1977 comedy Oh, God!, written by Larry Gelbart ("MASH," Tootsie). God is played by the inimitable comedian George Burns (if you don't know him at all, this will be a special treat), and his modern-day prophet is played by a deeply doubtful John Denver (yes, the singer). Despite its subject matter, the movie is completely agnostic – God, it turns out, doesn't really go in for the religious stuff. Gently, sweetly, the movie takes on some huge issues: Does God even care? Why is there suffering? Does God make mistakes? It's also a great snapshot of the way suburbia looked in 1977 – yes, it really was that funky. But there's something undeniably reassuring about its ultimate message.

(Available on Amazon and Turner Classic Movies On Demand)

FEELING CURIOUS?

The Andromeda Strain

The Andromeda Strain (1971) Trailerwww.youtube.com

While fear and anxiety are understandable, sometimes it can help to take a more clinical approach and to examine the problem from a more dispassionate angle. That's what happens in director Robert Wise's 1971 film The Andromeda Strain, which is based on a novel by Michael Crichton, undisputed master of science-based fiction. But once you do, you'll not only marvel at the eerie familiarity of scientists alarmed by the appearance of a never-before-seen virus that causes some pretty awful symptoms and is always fatal … except to two people. You might also feel increasingly comforted by seeing the dedication that four scientists in particular have to learning about and defeating the microbe. Wise also directed Star Trek: The Motion Picture and The Day the Earth Stood Still, and he knows his way around intelligent sci-fi.

(Available on multiple streaming services for about $4.)

FEELING LIKE YOU NEED A GOOD CRY?

Terms of Endearment

Terms of Endearment - Trailerwww.youtube.com

The best thing we can do sometimes is just let it all out. But when we've been holding it in, we need something to help us break through the emotions, and cinematically speaking you can't do better than 1983's Terms of Endearment. Writer-director James L. Brooks puts screen legend Shirley MacLaine together with Debra Winger in a still-hilarious comedy about an over-protective mother and her rebellious daughter who have to maintain a long-distance relationship back when communication wasn't as speedy. A plot twist turns the story into a heartbreaking drama that is massively effective at getting the tears flowing and letting the emotions out, even when sly, salty Jack Nicholson is on screen.

(Available on multiple streaming platforms for about $3-4 – which will be well-spent for those who need to let it all loose)

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