Bill’s Dinner with Donald

“My Dinner with Andre” is a 1981 American drama film set at a restaurant in Manhattan.  It’s a dinner conversation between two old friends, Wallace Shawn and André Gregory. Shawn, a playwright and actor, reluctantly agrees to meet his former colleague Gregory, a theater director.

Gregory had abandoned his career to travel the world in search of enlightenment. They explore contrasting philosophical themes: Gregory’s spiritual journey and Shawn’s pragmatic worldview.

Over their dinner, Gregory recounts extraordinary experiences in his quest to break free from the mechanical habits of modern life. Shawn listens skeptically while defending the value of ordinary pleasures like coffee or an electric blanket. By the end of the evening, both men, though convinced of their positions, leave with much to ponder.

I still recall the movie even though I’d watched it over forty years ago. The entire movie was just a conversation between two friends over dinner. It had no romance, no explosions, no action and (would you believe it?) no CGI. It was just two guys talking. Which is what makes it so special.

That reminds me of another movie that I watch every so often: a 1957 movie, “12 Angry Men.” It’s set almost entirely in a single room. Twelve jurors deliberate themes like reasonable doubt, impartiality, and the moral responsibility of jurors in ensuring justice. They have to decide the fate of a teenage boy accused of murdering his father. It would mean capital punishment if the boy is found guilty.

Every juror has to vote either “guilty” or “not proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.” The jury must reach an unanimous verdict or else they would have a “hung jury” which automatically results in a mistrial.

Initially, eleven jurors at the beginning of their deliberations vote “guilty” but Juror 8 dissents, arguing that the evidence is circumstantial and there is reasonable doubt about the boy’s guilt. I won’t spoil the ending for you but I suppose you would have guessed how it all ends. The movie, featuring Henry Fonda, is brilliant. Put that on your ”Must watch movie list.”

Bill Maher recently had a dinner with Donald Trump. As you may know, Maher does not belong to the MAGA camp. He does not pull any punches in his criticism of Trump and his policies. He votes Democrat. But his ideological position does not blind him to the retarded leftist on his side of the political divide. He is thoughtful, mostly impartial and always funny — a combination as rare as hen’s teeth.

Recently Maher posted an account of his dinner with Trump at the White House. Maher met a different man at the White House than he had expected. In his report, he admitted that the Trump you see in public is not the man he met for dinner. He explains that to his millions of viewers thusly:

I enjoy Bill Maher’s show. I like his style: funny but not preachy. I think he is mostly fair. As an “old world classical liberal” (as one of my professors described me) I naturally disagree with his leftist political ideology. But a diversity of opinions aired freely and vigorously is the best way for us to inch closer to the truth and be less wrong about things.

Anyhow, this was a great watch. I hope you like it. Well, that’s it for now. More about this later — perhaps.

Thank you, good night and may your god go with you.

Author: Atanu Dey

Economist. View all posts by Atanu Dey