A lot has changed since Jan. 20, 2017.

A Muslim ban was placed on seven countries with no history of attacks in America. A law that helped save the economy after the 2008 stock market crash is being revoked, allowing Wall Street to resume the activities that caused the recession. America’s allies are distancing themselves.

More and more of President Donald Trump’s debatably unqualified and very conservative cabinet picks are being confirmed by slim margins.

For many Americans, the confirmations of Betsy DeVos as education secretary, Jeff Sessions as attorney general and Stephen Bannon as chief strategist have tested their faith in those whom President Trump appoints to influential positions.

Uniquely in the executive branch, Trump’s economic advisory council is filled with successful business leaders, many of whom have previously expressed more moderate or liberal views.

However, several of the members have faced backlash for their association with the controversial president, including Uber CEO Travis Kalanick and Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX and Tesla.

Movements such as #deleteUber have generated significant social media activity and active boycotts.

Although the hashtag originally stemmed from legitimate gripes with how Uber mishandled the immigration ban by capitalizing on the JFK taxi embargo, the hashtag has
since warped into primarily berating Kalanick for being a member of Trump’s economic advisory council.

The increasing disapproval of the CEO both within and outside the company and protests at Uber headquarters have cumulated in Kalanick announcing that he had stepped down from his presidential advisory role.

Musk has also faced criticism for also being on the president’s council, with many people announcing the cancellations of their Tesla orders. Both have been widely accused of
“working for Trump.”

However, being on the advisory council does not mean that its members are enabling or working for the president. It simply suggests that they are advising him in areas in which he is not well versed. What the first 20 or so days have demonstrated thus far is that Trump strongly trusts and follows what his advisors say.

In defense of not stepping down from the board, Musk himself has noted that he is simply “trying to provide advice that helps take things in a more positive direction.”

The opposition and fury directed at Kalanick and Musk, while understandable, is misguided and misses what is an important opportunity for notable companies and competent businesspeople to hold an audience with the president.

It is vital now more than ever that Trump’s alt-right-oriented inner circle have a few moderating voices focused less on politics and more on science, technology and innovation.

Demanding that those voices step down not only robs the president — and by extension, the American people — of diverse perspectives in the White House but also nudges our national leadership farther from the center.

Filling an economic advisory board with prominent leaders from a wide range of businesses, from startups like Uber to established companies like Pepsi, shows the emphasis Trump places on the success of businesses in the U.S. Rather than admonishing Musk, we should encourage tech leaders to communicate with the president and express their pro-science, more moderate viewpoints.

Ride-sharing policies aside, it is fairly hypocritical for the progressive left to direct their anger solely at the mid-sized tech companies who  have expressed more liberal viewpoints than many of the other companies who are tied to the advisory council.

Although it is debatable that it is much more difficult to avoid  or threaten industry titans such as the Walt Disney Company, General Electric or Boeing, any movements against them have not gained much traction. Most of these companies have also been noticeably silent on the president’s recent policies.

On the other hand, both SpaceX and Uber are part of 130 tech companies who have signed the amici curiae (friends of the court) brief that argues that  Trump’s immigration order is unconstitutional.

Both Musk and Kalanick have also previously questioned Trump’s qualifications to serve as commander in chief and are good foils to older, more conservative companies. Musk has already made waves by requesting that the travel ban and climate be put on the council’s meeting agenda to be discussed first and foremost.

If the past election cycle has taught the American people anything, the walls of our echo chambers have been built too high, and we are no longer listening to opposing views. We are so sealed off that contradicting viewpoints are
completely unfathomable.

Activists should not be berating those who are actively reaching across the aisle by calling them enablers but rather encouraging those with more opposing views to advise
the president.

As Musk tweeted, “how could having only extremists advise him possibly be good?”

The No. 22 ranked men’s tennis team has high expectations for the season. Among those leading the way is senior Carlos Benito. He was recruited to Tech from Madrid, Spain, and his leadership this season will no doubt be a factor in the Jackets’ success.

Last weekend at Auburn, each team had 3 points going into the final match. Benito dropped the first set 6-7, but he stormed back and won the next two sets 6-0, 6-3. A victory in his match clinched a 4-3 victory for Tech. Throughout his career at Tech, Benito has established himself as a formidable player in both the singles and doubles formats. As a freshman and as a sophomore, he played doubles alongside Eduardo Segura. Segura graduated from Tech two years ago, but he is one of the reasons Benito is on the team right now. Both hail from Madrid, Spain, and both graduated high school from les Ortega y Gasset. The two formed one of the top doubles teams in the nation, ranking No. 15 at their peak.

His junior year, Benito and No. 4 ranked Christopher Eubanks earned a ranking of No. 36 together. As an individual, Benito ended last season as No. 110 in the ITA national mens’ singles rankings. Overall, Benito has 61 career singles wins and 52 career wins in doubles.

This season, Benito has nine singles wins and nine doubles wins. As an individual, he is No. 73 in the ITA national rankings and the partnership of Benito and Eubanks rank No. 14 in doubles. Tech is currently ranked No. 22, but sustained success from players like Bonito will keep the arrow pointing upward.

Benito talked to the Technique this week about clinching match at Auburn last weekend, his inspiration to play tennis, what drew him to Tech and his goals for the season.

Technique: First of all, congratulations on the win at Auburn. How do you deal with the pressure of playing in the deciding match?

Benito: I like that kind of pressure. I’m kind of used to it by now, and I like it.

Technique: What’s the mindset you were in after you lost the first set?

Benito: Well that day, I thought I lost that set because of my form. I didn’t think the other player was better than me during that set, so I knew that in the second set I just needed to fix a few things and I would be fine. That’s what happened and I won 6-0 the next set. Then he started playing a little bit better in the third.

Technique: How long have you been playing tennis and what makes you enjoy it so much?

Benito: I’ve been playing tennis since I was 12 years old, and that’s what I’ve been doing basically all my life.

Technique: Do you have any professional tennis players that you admire and try to pattern your game after?

Benito: Well my favorite tennis players are Rafael Nadal, Federer and [Novak] Djokovic. I try to pick something from each of them.

Technique: What do you view as the greatest strength in your game?

Benito: My forehand.

Technique: How did you hear about Georgia Tech, and what drew you to the school?

Benito: Well there used to be a former player. He’s was my friend from Spain, Eduardo Segura. He used to talk to me and tell me about the program and Georgia Tech in general.

Technique: What do you think of Atlanta?

Benito: I love it.

Technique: How do you balance Tech’s academics with your tennis obligations?

Benito: I think there is time to do everything. You just need to manage your time well, and I think that’s something I’m good at. I haven’t had a lot of problems with that.

Technique: What has been your favorite moment at Tech so far in your tennis career?

Benito: I clinched a few matches that were really good. In my sophomore year against No. 8 Duke, that was the biggest one for me. And then in the ACC Tournament that same year I clinched again against Virginia Tech in the quarters.

Technique: What are your goals for yourself and the team for the season?

Benito: For myself, I aim to try to play my best at all times and just help my team. It’s not about me; the main goal is for the team to continue to get as many victories as possible. And for the team, making it to the top 16 will be important for the future.

Last semester, I wrote a Timeout that was, to say the least, critical of the Tech student body.

I was frustrated by our apparent lack of interest in Tech athletics. Perhaps I would have understood if the Jackets were a bottom-feeder, but our football team was highly regarded, our volleyball team was on its way to unprecedented success and our basketball team had a new, exciting head coach.

Perhaps it wasn’t as a direct result of that piece, but our student body has at least somewhat answered the call. And I’m thankful for that.

I was at home a few weekends ago and found myself watching the Tech-Notre Dame basketball game. I knew that we realistically had a relatively small chance of winning. I was shocked to see the line of fans waiting outside of McCamish Pavilion before the game. (Yes, the free replica Jarrett Jack Jerseys were no doubt an incentive, but it was nonetheless an impressive feat.)

That energy continued over into the game, as commentators repeatedly noted the intensity of the Jackets’ crowd, a group that supported its team with more fervor than President Donald Trump’s aides during his recent speech to the CIA.

The crowd made a difference. It rattled a Notre Dame team that found itself in an unexpected fight with the Jackets, and it erupted when Josh Okogie scored the game-winning layup as the buzzer sounded. It was an asset, a weapon, a force.

Yes, McCamish has a long, long way to go before any reasonable viewer starts making Cameron Crazies comparisons, but this is a good start. Last year, Tech ranked behind colleges such as Bradley, Siena and Texas El-Paso in attendance. At least per the eye test, that may have changed.

At home, the Jackets have beaten the Tar Heels, the Seminoles and the Fighting Irish among others. Those statements will be the crux of the Jackets’ case when it comes to the NCAA Tournament (discussed elsewhere in this section.) My hope is that an accomplish like that would only further motivate Tech fans to attend sporting events.

I’ve always believed that one key tenet of the Tech experience is never resting on your laurels. There is always another mark to beaten, another precedent to be set. (Much to my chagrin, there is virtually always another WebAssign to be completed, too.)

Our participation in Tech’s athletic culture should be no exception to this rule. With baseball season looming, spring intramurals in full swing and the swimming and diving team preparing to host the ACC Championships, it is crucial now as much as ever that Tech fans support their Jackets. No, our apparel deal isn’t the best. No, the Jackets will probably never have the non-alumni fan base of their in-state rivals. But that’s all the more reason to cheer a little louder, chant the praises of your team, and perhaps hoist Josh Pastner on your shoulders when Tech defies the odds and wins the NCAA Tournament.

Tech softball’s 2017 schedule was announced in December and the 55 game season begins this week with the Puerto Rico Tournament. The Puerto Rico Tournament will be the first time the Jackets have competed outside of the United States. They will have their first conference competition against North Carolina, ranked fifth in the ACC, at the tournament. With a 7-16 conference record last year, the jackets are hoping to start the season off on a higher note.

The fact that Tech had a difficult time competing far away from home last season leaves good reason to be concerned that the Jackets will not fare well in similar situations this season. However, Tech has more games at home this season than they did last year and has welcomed lots of new talent to the lineup. With 10 incoming freshmen ready to take the field and only three seniors lost to graduation, a talented lineup that supports each other on the field could quickly erase any jitters in unfriendly confines.

The loss of Courtney Ziese to graduation will be a big one. Ziese led the team in average hits, home runs, and runs batted in last year. However, there is enough new talent this year that any empty niches should be filled. Seven of the ten incoming freshmen were four-year letter winners during their high school careers and are looking forward to carrying on their success at the collegiate level.

Freshman Crosby Huckabay is bound to make consistent appearances on the field this season. Huckabay’s four-year starting role during her high school softball career offers hope that she will be an asset on the field from the first game onwards. During her senior season, she was named to all-region and all-state teams. Her 74 RBI senior season record eclipses Ziese’s 33 RBI record last season, albeit at a lower level of competition. With 11 doubles, 46 runs, and a record breaking 19 home runs on top of an amazing RBI record; Huckabay seems well on her way to being an offensive superstar at Tech.

Another all-region and all-state athlete, Grason Gasser will be an athlete for fans to keep an eye on this season. During her high school career, Gasser helped her team to four district championships in a row. A valedictorian on top of her athletic career, Gasser is an athlete that seems to live up to the Tech mold of excellence.

Witnessing freshmen debut seasons is not the end of the excitement for Tech fans. Returning talent has just as much in store this season. If senior Samantha Pierannunzi improves this season at the same rate as last year, she will be invaluable on the field. Since her freshman year at Tech, Pierannunzi has made progress every season and consequently seen increasing time on the field. While starting in all 55 games of the season, she led the team for the second season in a row with 29 runs. Pierannunzi also led the team with 29 walks and 15 stolen bases last season.

Pierannunzi is not the only senior that proved herself capable of being a team leader early on in her collegiate careers. Fellow senior Jessica Kowalewicz has also illustrated similar abilities throughout her first three years for the Jackets. Also starting in every match-up last season, Kowalewicz recorded season highs in runs, hits, doubles, home runs, and RBI. She ended the season with a three-game hitting streak and has left fans excited to see what is in store for next season.

Colleen Darragh is another senior that has improved over her career on the field for Tech softball. Each season has seen improvements from Darragh. Last season she played in 49 games and recorded career and season
bests in hits.

A well-mixed line up of experienced and new talent, could make all the difference this season. It has been five years since the Jackets ended a season with a successful overall record. Although the team will play more than half of their slate at home this season, it is going to take more than a home advantage for Tech to earn a spot at the ACC Championship at Chapel Hill in May.

Tech ended last season at No. 10 in the ACC, only better than the NC State Wolfpack. They faced issues with consistency and road games, but Head Coach Shelly Hoerner has enough talent for that to change in the Jackets’ 2017 campaign.

Coach Hoerner also welcomed two new coaches in the offseason. Sage Woodham and Rodney DeLong were added to the staff as assistants, the former finishing a stint at Southern Arkansas and the latter the head coach Cameron University (Okla.).

Woodham and DeLong, in combination with new talent and improvement from returning starters, could push the Jackets back into the NCAA Regionals and national stage for the first time since the team’s excellent 2011-2012 campaign.

Under Paul Johnson, Tech football has not been a recruiting powerhouse. There is not a long line of five-star recruits waiting to don the white and gold, and even the four star recruits are few and far between. However, Tech football is the perfect example of making the most of what one has in terms of talent. Paul Johnson has turned recruiting classes annually ranked in the 50s into top 25 teams.

For most college teams that look to field a highly competitive roster, Tech’s No. 46 nationally ranked recruiting class might come as a disappointment. However, for Tech, this 13 spot bump up from last year’s recruiting class is seen as a huge step for Tech recruiting. The biggest surprise this year would have to be the quality and quantity of the defensive recruits Tech signed.

Tech’s highest rated recruit, four-star linebacker Bruce Jordan-Swilling, is the first four-star recruit Tech has had commit since redshirt senior offensive lineman Shamire Devine committed back in 2013.

Joined by brother and defensive back Tre, Jordan-Swilling is looking to lead an incredibly defense loaded class; Tech’s top eight recruits are all listed as defensive players in 247Sports’ database.

Of those defensive players, four are listed as defensive backs, a position that is now occupied by 20 players on the roster. While the volume is good, only time will tell if the increased numbers will foster competition and lead to playing time for the best players regardless of class.

Tech also received reeled in three defensive lineman recruits, another position that Tech is not lacking numbers for. However, stalwarts Patrick Gamble and Francis Kallon have graduated, opening up two spots for newer players to fill. The final defensive position, linebacker, saw three recruits, including Jordan-Swilling and defensive coordinator Ted Roof’s son, T.D. Roof.

While the defense saw the most recruits, the individual position that Tech recruited the most was offensive line. This year saw the rise of two freshmen on the offensive line, Parker Braun and Jahaziel Lee, and with Freddie Burden and Eason Fromayan both leaving two more spots open for the line to grow even younger. The offensive line is perhaps the most important cog in the machine that is the Tech offense, and while the influx of young, talented linemen bodes well two or three years down the line, it will most likely be a tough season for the young group.

Another two important additions for the Tech offense are B-back Jerry Howard and hybrid back Jordan Ponchez-Mason. This past season saw the transfer announcement of B-back Marcus Marshall leaving Dedrick Mills as the sole returning B-back that saw consistent playing time last year. Despite some suspensions, Mills had a breakout year in terms of numbers and will look to improve upon already stellar offensive numbers posted this season.

The cherry on top of the proverbial recruiting sundae this year was the signing of two special team’s players: punter Pressley Harvin III and kicker Brenton King. Harvin is ranked the number four punting recruit in the nation while King is ranked at number 15 according to 247Sports.com. He averaged 42.5 yards per punt as a senior this past year, just 0.6 yards shy of what Rodwell averaged this past year.

Hoping to follow in Harrison Butker’s shoes, Brenton King will have competition with redshirt sophomore Shawn Davis and redshirt freshman Shea Underwood. The spot is entirely up for grabs this coming season and the freshman will look to continue the legacy of quality Tech kicking.

These investments in Tech football’s future could pay dividends as early as the spring game.

Can Tech basketball make it to March Madness?

As the ACC and NCAA Tournaments draw closer, one question remains for the Tech men’s basketball team: will they compete in March Madness? While the last few games have been tough on the Jackets, their résumé is hardly anything to scoff at. Following their win against D-II Tusculum College Tuesday, Tech is now at a respectable 14-10.

In Joe Lunardi’s Bracketology post on Feb. 6, his main reason lies in the Jackets’ last two road games, two big losses to Clemson and Wake Forest, respectively. Both teams were behind Tech in the ACC standings heading into those games; losing to teams like those does little to boost a team’s chances.

To really understand Tech’s odds of making the big dance, one must consider their strength of schedule (SOS), rating percentage index (RPI), and quality wins versus bad losses. RPI is the ranking of a team’s performance, with reference to their SOS. The stats are intertwined and easy to look at, since both are simply rankings. Currently, Tech sits at No. 42 in the country in SOS and No. 75 in RPI.

The SOS ranking for Tech is a good indication of their chances of making the tournament; their RPI, however, must be examined more closely to see if they truly fit. It is where quality wins and bad losses comes into play.

When taking into account opponent RPI, one can determine if a win or loss was an expected or unexpected result, based on rankings alone.

Tech’s quality wins come against teams that are in the top 50 in the nation in terms of RPI: these wins are against VCU, UNC, Clemson, Florida State and Notre Dame. On the other hand, Tech’s worst loss is against RPI No. 118 Ohio in an early season home loss, but a positive recency bias could mitigate the sting of that result.

Considering those factors, Tech should make the tournament. However, the season is not over yet. Tech’s remaining seven games include five match ups with better RPI ranked opponents. Furthermore, three of those seven games are on the road, a place where Tech has struggled this season. The Jackets’ record, on the road, this season is 2-7 with their only road wins against NC State and VCU. If Tech wants to have a shot at getting into the tournament, regardless of their results in the ACC tournament, they would most likely have to win five to six of their next seven games, with must-wins against Boston College and NC State.

If Tech doesn’t manage that, they will have to rely on a strong ACC tournament performance. Based on last year’s bracket, if Tech can enter the tournament with a 10-8 ACC record, they will most likely end up with a six or seven seed, placing them immediately into the second round. A 10-8 ACC record would require a 5-2 record to finish off the season. If Tech finished the season with a 4-3 record, resulting in a 9-9 ACC record, they would still enter the second round immediately. However, if they were to win the 8-seed versus 9-seed matchup that they would most likely be placed in, they would have to face the No. 1 seed in the quarterfinal round. Right now that spot is up for grabs between UNC, Florida State and the University of Virginia.

While Tech has beaten two of those three teams, it was with the Thrillerdome behind them. This year’s ACC basketball tournament takes place in New York and knowing Tech’s experiences away from the energy of McCamish
Pavilion, the matchup will be quite different than the regular season games.

Finally, perhaps the best look at whether Tech will make the tournament is comparing them to Power 5 (ACC, SEC, Big 10, Big 12) conference teams from the past few years with similar records. Three of those teams come from the 2015-2016 season: Pittsburgh, USC and Michigan.

The three teams respectively finished with 20-10, 20-11 and 20-10 regular season win-loss totals. Pittsburgh and USC finished the season with 9-9 conference records and Michigan finished with a 10-8 conference record. The teams combined for five wins against Top 25 teams with no team having more than two; Tech currently has wins against three Top 25 teams. The most important thing for these teams was that each made it at least to the quarterfinals of their respective conference tournament.

Unfortunately for Tech, there is one thing that differs between these three teams and the Jackets: their records entering the end of the season. Entering their final seven games, each team had a least 17 wins and no more than 7 losses. Tech enters its final seven games with a 14-10 record and is projected to most likely finish with a 17-13 or 18-12 record.

The main factor currently dictating whether or not Tech makes the tournament is whether their quality wins can carry their record. But these last seven games hold considerable potential to push the team’s case for tournament inclusion one way or
another.

Running the table virtually guarantees a spot in the NCAA Tournament. Much less will force college basketball intelligentsia to make difficult decisions leading up to the fateful Selection Sunday.

Last week was a busy one for Mike Flynn, the Georgia Tech Athletic Association (GTAA)’s assistant athletic director for public relations and communications. National Signing Day meant unveiling the football team’s latest set of prospects, there was work to be done on the recruiting trail and like the rest of the Association’s staff, he is learning to meet the vision of his new boss: athletic director Todd Stansbury.

But for a man who decided in high school that his future lay in sports public relations, the job description couldn’t be more apt.

“I didn’t exactly know what it entailed [in high school], but I knew I wanted to work in public relations. I played sports growing up; I knew that I wasn’t going to play sports in college, so I chose to be a public relations major right off the bat. I just sought out ways I could get involved,” Flynn said.

That involvement took Flynn up the ranks from covering intramural sports to playing a major role at an ACC institution. In between, Flynn logged 13 years at FCS football power Appalachian State. The Mountaineers won three national championships under Flynn’s watch and in 2007 played the David to then-No. 5 Michigan’s Goliath in what many consider to be the greatest upset in the history of college football.

For Flynn, directing public relations for the Mountaineers in the wake of their shocking 34-32 victory was a formative, ultimately unforgettable experience.

“We worked a lot that week, to be honest with you,” Flynn said with a laugh. “Our coach at the time, Jerry Moore, … said, ‘We’re going to talk to every single person who wants to talk to us.’”

Between live shots of the campus on ESPN’s SportsCenter, coordinating interviews and fulfilling his day-to-day responsibilities, it was one of the most strenuous weeks of Flynn’s professional career. But it prepared him for the bustling environment of Tech’s athletic and communications departments, which have been shaped in recent years by technological trends such as the rise of social media.

“Obviously, student-athletes are going to look at our website and social media, so we want to put our best foot forward,” he says of the Athletic Association’s online presence. “Not only are we communicating with alumni and the media and fans, you always have to have in the back of your mind that everything that you’re doing can be seen by recruits.”

While many of the identifying of the Athletic Association’s public relations have stayed the same during the transition from former athletic director Mike Bobinski to new athletic director Todd Stansbury, Flynn says the latter has brought with him an increasing focus on the university’s image.

“When you have a change of leadership at the top, there’s going to be a re-prioritization of what your focuses on and what your brand is. Todd’s vision for our brand is twofold. It’s what athletics here at Georgia Tech do and the experience of a student athlete does to set up a student-athlete for success beyond graduation. What our alumni are doing after graduation is without peer.

“The other thing that we’re going to focus on is that Georgia Tech has a history of being the most innovative athletics department in the country. Things like the Total Person Program, sports nutrition and the Performance Center all have their roots here at Georgia Tech,” Flynn said.

Along with Tech’s on-field success, Flynn believes that the school’s creative streak will define participation in and support of Tech athletics.

“That is absolutely something we will focus on, how Tech finds innovative ways to support our student athletes,” Flynn said.

Americans tuning into Super Bowl LI for an evening of good football, bombastic halftime entertainment and subversive advertisement were treated to all three.

Though controversy was somewhat expected given the politically-charged nature of the American zeitgeist and the fashionability of making liberal, anti-Trump stands as a marketing method, one commercial stood alone in ruffling some feathers: Mr. Clean.

Mr. Clean burst onto the advertising scene in 1958, initially played by a live actor but transitioning to a burly two-dimensional man with a single earring and a comically large torso narrowing to a lithe waist.

He was typically depicted in this incarnation as a domestic god of sorts, ringing the doorbell when an individual was distressed by the amount of household cleaning he needed accomplished.

Sometimes it is a married couple in which the wife is an expert testifying to the power of Mr. Clean’s cleaning prowess; other times, it is a single woman, living in a suspiciously filthy home.

Is she truly alone? Does she live with roommates? Is she a housewife, lounging and lamenting while her husband and pack of children are away for the day? It is a mystery, but Mr. Clean does not seem to care.

He is there to help, to soothe the pain of washing the floors and the clothes and the windows by simply accomplishing it all himself.

“You can wash the dog, laundry too! Mr. Clean, I love you,” croons one such woman in a 1958 advertisement. Mr. Clean does not seem to reciprocate her romantic advances but instead departs when his job is done. Everyone is happy.

The Mr. Clean of 2017 appears to have a more perverse agenda. In his Super Bowl spot, which Elle Magazine is calling “brilliant” and “sexy,” Mr. Clean arrives to the home of a lone woman lamenting a stove stain and begins both cleaning up and getting dirty.

First his groin is visible in a shot that pans up to his still-bald and still-earring adorned face quickly, but not quickly enough.

He wrings out a sponge — ostensibly his titular Magic Eraser — in one large hand, sending a gush of liquid to the ground.

He stands intimately close to the woman before whirling around in a bizarre and yet hygienic mating dance; he gyrates to the rhythm of the mop firmly stroking the floor from his hands.

Whereas Mr. Clean is animated to be almost lifelike save for the cartoonish glint in his eye, the woman is a live-action, definitely real human being.

It is unclear how much money Proctor and Gamble spent animating all thirty seconds of the ad or if they used motion capture.

One has to wonder how and if the tone would change should Mr. Clean have been replaced by a real human — animation seems to lend an aura of innocence
and harmlessness to the commercial’s premise.

If Mr. Clean were a real man, ripped in all capacities and obviously older judging by the white brows, entering a woman’s home and swaying his hips, would this commercial even have aired?

Would the sexuality have become overt to the point of being inappropriate for young eyes?

The sexualization of Mr. Clean ends up being comical when it is revealed that he is nothing more than a specter, imagined by the woman to represent her decidedly un-sexy husband who is trying to clean.

Herein lies the secret to the runaway success of this advertisement, the origin of the memes and hundreds of middle-aged women swooning on Facebook, that yes, this definitely was the best Super Bowl commercial this year.

As far as advertising executives can tell, women are so exhausted by the notion of housework and cleaning that the thought of not doing those things is arousing. The sheer value of not being confined to gendered conceptions of housekeeping is an aphrodisiac, liberating and exciting and bolstering to the ego. In fact, this sensual reincarnation of a classic cleaning product persona may have been foreshadowed by Mr. Clean winning one of People Magazine’s Sexiest Men Alive in 1998. Even 20 years ago, women found his cleanliness attractive.

Women have better things to do than mop and scrub the stove, and being trapped in the predicament of choosing between the two spheres has been present since and before the 1950s.

A man who offers to take away such menial tasks, foregoing whatever manly work he has to do, might as well be built like Idris Elba and have the moves of Patrick Swazye in
“Dirty Dancing.”

Get you a man who can do both, as one might say in internet parlance.

This Super Bowl was rife with high-budget advertisements competing to make the sneakiest political statement.

84 Lumber, for example, aired a short of a mother and daughter’s immigration journey from Mexico to the U.S., and their website soon crashed.

But among the drama of politically charged commercials and the spectacle of Lady Gaga’s half time show was one commercial with no agenda but to be provocative and silly.

Similar in a way to the “Fifty Shades of Grey” phenomenon, Sexy Mr. Clean borders on ridiculous pandering but is just self-aware enough to be interesting.

Maybe his antics will boost bleach and Magic Eraser sales, or perhaps his new image will damage sales irrevocably because no one can bear to look Mr. Clean in the eyes. Regardless of the financial effect on the Procter & Gamble Company, an impact was made that still ripples through the streams of the internet almost a week later.

When the budget for Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May’s new car show “The Grand Tour” was announced as $160 million, fans of the trio’s old show “Top Gear” expressed mixed reactions. Most were excited about the possibilities that the enormous budget would unlock, but there was a pervading fear among fans that all the money might corrupt the trio.

One of the characteristics of “Top Gear” that fans appreciated was its humble honesty. No matter how successful the show became, its three presenters remained conscious of the fact that they were simply filming, in the words of James May, “a plucky British motoring show.”

Now that the first season of the series has been released, those fears have partially been realized. While the season is not overflowing with over-the-top spectacles included simply to use up the large budget, the writing and production style of the series has been corrupted by the presenters’ greater flexibility.

The three entertainers, who previously worked under significant oversight from the BBC, take full advantage of the incredible independence that their new bosses at Amazon afford them.

The production of the new season was actually more constrained by the BBC than by Amazon. The presenters had to drop several of the gags and lines for which they are famous from the new series due to legal threats from their old network.

In most cases, this change was not a significant issue. The new show was not hurt by the noteworthy absence of the “Star in a Reasonably Priced Car” segment that was a part of every episode of “Top Gear.” This bit, which many fans of the old show found to be boring and unnecessary, will not be missed.

Still, many of the weakest features of the series originate from the omnipresent legal ghost of the BBC. The most obvious example of this is Mike Skinner, the test driver for the show. Skinner has massive shoes to fill, as he is meant to replace the beloved Stig, the silent, mysterious helmeted driver from “Top Gear.”

Due to legal threats from their old network, the presenters could not replace the Stig with another helmeted and silent driver; the new character needed to speak. The presenters used this opportunity to take clichéd jabs at Americans, using Skinner’s southern accent and NASCAR experience to make cringe-worthy jokes about America and its car culture.

While some of the show’s gags fall flat in every regard, most are funny but get ruined by poor execution. The subpar execution stems from the unmistakable sense that every aspect of the show is scripted, down to the most minute details.

The season’s first episode provides an excellent example of this failure in execution. When Clarkson declares that the British Royal Air Force is the greatest air force in the world, he triggers an unnecessarily long nationalistic debate with his American audience.

The bit is funny at first, but as the producers drag it on it becomes dry and boring. To make matters worse, the artificial synchronization of the audience’s responses indicates that the bit was rehearsed to give it a sense of spontaneity.

In the old show the gag might have been performed without rehearsal or, better yet, the presenters might have joked about the fakeness of the act.

The bit far outlives its hilarity, worse yet it gives the viewer the impression that the producers and presenters are trying to make the bit seem spontaneous. This bit is the lowest point of the season, because in this moment the presenters seem to have lost the ability to laugh at themselves. The show is trying so hard to be real that it becomes fake.

In this sense, “The Grand Tour” fails to hold a candle to its predecessor. The funniest parts of “Top Gear” were when the presenters simply bantered with each other. The old series staged entire road trips simply to inspire this banter, whereas the new series all but abandons it.

“The Grand Tour” is, however, an excellent television show — it is as funny and as entertaining as any other series out there, and any viewer new to Clarkson, Hammond and May would love the new series. The problems with the show only arise when it is compared to its predecessor.

Fans of Clarkson, May and Hammond can only hope that their beloved triad of presenters will take this reality as a challenge to equal or even surpass the greatness of the old show in future seasons.

Though the first season of “The Grand Tour” was disappointing, viewers should give the show a chance. The season shows some promise in its final episodes, as the presenters seem to grow more comfortable and funnier in their new roles.

Andy Wilman, the producer of the show, will likely respond to the criticism from their fans and eventually adjust the show to be just as good if not better than “Top Gear.”

“I Am Not Your Negro,” a recent documentary by Raoul Peck (“Sometimes in April”), is an emotional journey through the Civil Rights Movement. Peck tells the story of the Movement through the perspective of James Baldwin, and this fresh perspective exposes the disturbing flaws of the time.

Baldwin was a gay writer who was heavily involved with the Civil Rights Movement. Unlike some films in its genre, “I Am Not Your Negro” is both fluid and entertaining. Narrated by Samuel L. Jackson (“Pulp Fiction”), the film successfully portrays the life and persona that was
James Baldwin.

The movie is based on a story originally drafted by Baldwin, but he was unable to see the novel to its end. Peck was able to obtain Baldwin’s records and complete the story, immortalizing Baldwin’s entrance into a highly volatile America. As the documentary progresses, the audience is shown how influential Baldwin’s interactions with the largest Civil Rights leaders of the time were on Baldwin’s view of the nation.

The efforts of leaders, such as Malcolm X, Medgar Evers and Martin Luther King, Jr., were among those that impacted Baldwin’s journey. The film splices together speeches from these individuals with footage of Baldwin and a large collection of photographs to accompany
Jackson’s narration.

Although the movie lacks a strong and coherent ending, it highlights the inherent problems that prompted the creation of the documentary. Peck uses Baldwin’s story to draw parallels to the current cultural and social issues, some preserved from the age of the Civil Rights Movement.

He finds space to add references to recent tragedies, such as the death of Trayvon Martin, and the mistreatment of African Americans in the 20th century.

The civil rights narrative in “I Am Not Your Negro” sets itself apart by connecting two time periods and  validates itself as a disturbingly relevant film. The documentary exposes the racism that permeated the twentieth century and is still alive today.

Peck combines past and present events to remind the audience that the struggle for black equality is not something to be forgotten: racial injustices are still
a reality.

Many of the effects of generations of inequality still manifest themselves now, and in this light, “I Am Not your Negro” establishes itself as more than simply another historical narrative. The film is able to coherently summarize the issues prompting the Civil Rights Movement.

Peck expertly leverages Baldwin’s call to action to stir pride in the viewers for the arduous endeavors of those involved with the Civil Rights Movement. The opening of the film begins with Baldwin admitting that he can no longer stay in Europe as America needs his help; the invocation is almost heroic. Additionally, the usage of footage of Baldwin’s speeches and the inclusion of accounts of his personal writing lends authenticity to
his characterization.

While the film has garnered critical acclaim, the documentary occasionally became too overloaded with information to appreciate its meaning. Since most of the content is derived from splicing historical footage and records, coherently creating a fluid film is a daunting task.

Although this is an inherent challenge in the method of the film, However, Peck is able deftly to balance both components — the information and story — successfully.