Have you ever thought about world peace and universal tolerance when it comes to religious diversity? If you have, I’m sure it was nothing more than a far-fetched idea — a dream, really — that only beauty pageant contestants and little kids have taken seriously.
But I’m here to tell you there’s hope for the world — hope that has been vocalized through none other than the voice of God: Morgan Freeman. (Not to be blasphemous, of course. Just think: Bruce Almighty and its sequel, Evan Almighty).
The man who can make anything sound interesting and important worked with the National Geographic Channel on the long-awaited, six-part miniseries, The Story of God. It premiered on April 3 and continued on April 11. The program follows Freeman on an international voyage in which he attempts to answer questions such as,“How has God helped us answer the biggest questions about our place in the universe?” and “How do our beliefs connect us all?” in one epic story.
Subjects of science, afterlife, evil and the apocalypse are all examined. The show takes viewers to places like Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas; the Pasupathi Nath Temple in Varanasi, India; a mosque in Cairo, Egypt; the Western Wall in Jerusalem and a science lab in Geneva, Switzerland.
The premiere of the event series racked in about 3.5 million viewers, making The Story of God the fourth most-watched telecast of all time for Nat Geo and the network’s most watched program thus far in 2016.
The program I was flipping back and forth through while watching Morgan do his thang was one that also answered a worldly question: Why must Rebel Wilson expose her privates on national television? Also on Sunday night, and also bringing in around 3.5 million viewers, the outlandish MTV Movie “Awards” aired.
For the last 23 years, MTV has closed out the Hollywood award season by not just being a normal award show, but a cool award show. This is the program that is meant to consist of informal-attire only, young vibes, entertaining acts and some scandalous aspects that are too awkward to watch with your parents.
(Story continues below.)
I’m usually a fan of MTV award shows, but for me, it fell a bit short this year and not just because Kevin Hart was co-hosting. First, it all took place outdoors in the Warner Bros. production lot, so it had a different feel from past years. Then, there were way too many sci-fi-related things happening, and I just wasn’t having it.
I get it —The Avengers, Superman, Batman and Star Wars all hold great cultural significance in the world, but I could’ve done with a little less of those, and more Khaleesi or something. That was my favorite part of the night: when Khaleesi, aka Daenerys Targaryen, aka Emilia Clarke (IRL), was on stage for all of two minutes. She did a killer Borat accent and told Andy Samberg her father “hates” him — her words, not mine.
The other thing MTV got right was the list of winners for the night. J-Law won Best Hero for her (BA) performance in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2. Ryan Reynolds, or Mr. Lively, took home Best Fight and Best Comedic Performance for Deadpool. Adam Driver (you know, bae from Girls) won Best Villain for that one movie Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Amy Poehler got Best Virtual Performance for the (cutest) movie (ever) Inside Out, the Straight Out of Compton crew (deservingly) scored Best True Story and Will Smith got jiggy for the Generation Award.
Much pop. Very culture.
Even more underwhelming than the “entertainment” at the Movie Awards are the elections here on campus. Looks like Duck Squad is out and One Oregon and I’m with UO are about to throw down during week 3. There seems to be a little less drama surrounding campus politics this year with the exception of One Oregon’s wild tactics last week that gave them a fat slap on the wrist. Bribery is a no-no and stalking freshmen in the residence halls is too.
On April 11, ASUO banned the slate headed by Zach Rentschler from campaigning until 9 a.m. on April 13 because they gave out pizza in exchange for votes in the Global Scholars Hall and they tried to bribe some members of the fraternity, Lambda Chi Alpha, not with pizza. One Oregon’s mischievous behavior was kept very G-rated.