CITYLIST
Loyal City Paper readers know City Lights as their go-to section when they're trying to figure out what to do in D.C. However, with COVID-19 spreading, we can't encourage you to leave the house unless strictly necessary right now (and since so much is canceled, there's nowhere for you to go). But never fear: For the foreseeable future, City Lights will provide readers with fascinating D.C.-related things to view, read, do, and make that are all available from the comfort of home. Stay tuned for daily updates online and weekly updates in the paper telling you what's worth watching while working from home. We won't tell your boss. —Emma Sarappo
CITY LIGHTS
CITY LIGHTS
CITY LIGHTS
CITY LIGHTS
DICK
THE WASHINGTON FREE PRESS
FALLOUT 3
These days, it’s hard to imagine a fun presidential scandal, but the underrated 1999 comedy Dick cleverly skewers the Watergate scandal by reimagining it as the misadventures of two bubbly teens, Betsy and Arlene (Kirsten Dunst and Michelle Williams), dressed in full 1970s glory. The girls inadvertently witness the Watergate burglary the night before they take a White House tour; after noticing the same man in both places (Harry Shearer’s G. Gordon Liddy), President Richard Nixon tries to keep the girls from spilling the beans by flattering them with an offer to become “official” White House dog walkers. Hijinks ensue, and the girls end up becoming “Deep Throat” for Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein. Directed by Andrew Fleming (who also directed The Craft), Dick is blessed with an impressive comedic cast, including Dan Hedaya (as the titular president), Ana Gasteyer (as presidential secretary Rose Mary Woods), and Will Ferrell (as Woodward). The brilliance of the movie is how its meandering plot successfully weaves in far-flung tidbits from the Watergate universe in a way that seems almost… plausible? Perhaps that’s why Dick proved to be a darling among critics but not so much among audiences: It’s most fulfilling if you already possess a good knowledge of the scandal’s twists and turns. The film is available to rent or buy on Amazon Prime. $3.99–$12.99. —Louis Jacobson
Nothing enhances one’s understanding of another era like immersion in primary sources, so why not get to know D.C. in a new way by taking a surreal trip to the late ‘60s? With DigDC, a web portal for viewing materials archived by the D.C. Public Library, you can browse issues of the Washington Free Press from 1967-1969. WFP was a far-left, underground newspaper that frequently saw its offices raided by the FBI. (The paper’s successor, the Quicksilver Times, was infiltrated by the CIA.) Browsing the archives, you’ll find articles on radical politics, community organizing, and psychedelics. You’ll also read essays and travelogues (one journal by a student on a trip to Southeast Asia reads like it could be the inspiration for the Dead Kennedys’ “Holiday in Cambodia”), tips on how to qualify for unemployment insurance, the best ways to duck the cops, poetry, photography, original illustrations, and classified ads in which young couples invite singles to join them for group sex. References to familiar D.C. landmarks make reading WFP especially surreal, like peeking into an alternate universe. Archives from the newspaper can be found at digdc.dclibrary.org. Free. —Will Lennon
16 march 20, 2020 washingtoncitypaper.com
For those looking to exorcise their post-apocalyptic D.C.-area nightmares, what better way to conquer your fear than the classic Fallout 3? The third-person action RPG game takes place in the year 2277 in an America still recovering from a nuclear war that began 200 years earlier. Players control a customized character with different attributes, but events and decisions in the game can drastically affect the plot and the character’s abilities. Much of the game centers around managing resources and survival, as well as fighting and politicking between the many factions that have taken over “the Capital Wasteland,” a fully traversable zone that stretches from the National Mall to Harpers Ferry. While Fallout 3 set the standard for great open-world video games, its relevance to DMV-area players is even greater. Bethesda Studios took great pains to render the shattered husks of the Lincoln Memorial, the Jefferson Memorial, the Pentagon, and other notable landmarks. Players can walk past their own ruined houses as they ride out the pandemic! The area has been reduced to a sweltering desert/swamp mixture due to the environmental catastrophe, but we should all be used to that by now. Considering the mediocrity of 2018’s Fallout 76, perhaps it’s time to break out the classics as we socially distance ourselves. The game is available to purchase on Steam, and can be played on the Xbox 360, PS3, and Windows. $9.99– $19.99. —Tristan Jung
THE LEGEND OF COOL “DISCO” DAN
It only takes one person with a spray can to change the world. That’s the working thesis of The Legend of Cool “Disco” Dan, a 2013 documentary that delves into the story of Danny Hogg, D.C.’s best-known graffiti artist. Now more difficult to spot due to Hogg’s death in 2017, his tag once appeared all over D.C., with bold, legible block letters that convey a playful swagger. The tag forms an iconic image with deep roots in the legacy of go-go, and its gregarious ubiquity concealed the shy, reserved personality of the artist behind the spray can. The documentary precisely locates Cool “Disco” Dan’s biography within D.C.’s greater history. Despite celebrating Hogg’s eventual celebrity status, the film doesn’t shy away from tougher aspects of his life—or D.C.’s history. The result is a braided narrative, in which Hogg’s mental health issues and eventual homelessness echo the struggles D.C. faced during the crack epidemic. (Though, it’s important to note, Hogg himself never used or sold drugs.) As other taggers got caught up in the drugs and violence of the era, Cool “Disco” Dan continued steadily tagging, providing the city with a rare gleam of dependability during an uncertain time. The documentary itself is a testament to survival, with multiple interviewees admitting that they didn’t expect to survive the city’s worst years. Fortunately, extensive interviews with the famously shy Hogg fail to erode his enduring mystique. The film is available to rent or buy on Prime Video and to stream free on TubiTV. $3.99–$12.99. —Michelle Delgado