Monday Briefing | February 8 - Journal of Political Inquiry

Photo: Marjorie Taylor Greene. Credit: https://www.wsj.com/articles/marjorie-taylor-greene-says-she-regrets-qanon-comments-11612467411.

Stories to follow:

US House votes to remove GOP representative Marjorie Taylor Greene from committee assignments. This past Thursday night, 11 Republican House members joined with Democrats in voting to remove Greene from her committee assignments in response to recently unearthed controversial and violent statements from the congresswoman. The Republican congresswoman from Georgia has publicly sympathized with the QAnon conspiracy movement, endorsed the execution of Democrats, questioned the occurrence of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, and used her platform to spread racialized tropes and biased misinformation. The House vote to remove Ms. Greene was 230 to 199. She has since been active on social media in attacking the media for criticizing her and mocking Democrats who see her as a threat.

Academy award-winning actor Christopher Plummer has died. At age 91, the actor best known for his role as Georg von Trapp in “The Sound of Music” opposite Julie Andrews, died in his home in Connecticut. Plummer boasted of a long and successful career spanning over 60 years during which he moved across genres and mediums. His most recent involvements prior to his death were in the 2019 Harlan Trombey film “Knives Out” and the Frank Pitsenbarger film “The Last Full Measure.”

Ballet is coming back to NYC. Although they will do so without an audience for the time being, New York City Ballet’s dancers will return to the David H. Koch Theater beginning on February 22. The reopening marks the beginning of a return to the performing arts as venues slowly begin the comeback process after nearly a year of halted operations due to Covid-19. The upcoming digital season will start with three explorations of works by the company’s founding choreographer George Balanchine. The weekly experiences will include a performance stream, a podcast, and video conversation with dancers who have performed in the ballet.

Happening this week:

David Hockney exhibition at The Morgan Library & Museum. This ongoing exhibition, which runs through May 30, focuses on the author’s portraits on paper. Presenting hundreds of drawings and prints, the exhibit showcases his evolution as an artist from his early days through portraiture and intimate relationships. Through the depiction of significant figures in his life—from past lovers to his aging mother—the showcase provides an inside look into the artist’s creative process apart from his more well-known landscapes. A selection of his iPhone and iPad portraits of the early 2000s also provides an amusing look into Hockney’s more recent artistic endeavors.

A Drive-in Valentine’s Day. Skyline Drive-in Theater in Greenpoint, NY is offering a variety of films for the upcoming holiday weekend. When considering health and safety protocols, it is a great alternative for movie-lovers desiring a Covid-cautious option. Movie offerings for this upcoming weekend include family-friendly films as well as romantic picks. Some movies on the agenda include “Before Sunrise,” “Valentine’s Day,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “Madagascar” and “A Star Is Born.”

In your free time:

Cultural critic and writer Hanif Abdurraqib has been putting together a playlist project called SixtyEight2OhFive. A passion project of his, Abdurraqib has been creating playlists for every year between ’68 to ’05, highlighting his favorite live performances, top 5 albums, and magazine covers in addition to the playlists. He also publishes thought-provoking essays on some of the albums occasionally. If his writing and work is appealing, his essay collection “They Can’t Kill Us Until They Kill Us” is not something to miss.

This week’s Monday Briefing was brought to you by Angely Montilla.