Aisha Harris’s Sweet 16
Sweet 16 is our rapid-fire Q&A series.
Aisha Harris is a critic, cohost of NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast, and author of the memoir Wannabe: Reckonings with the Pop Culture That Shapes Me. Aisha took time to answer our 16 questions about the movies and movie experiences that have made her life sweeter.
1. First movie you fell in love with
The Little Mermaid
2. Last movie you fell in love with
Hedda
3. A movie scene you’ll never shake
“The Man That Got Away” from A Star Is Born (1954)
4. A movie scene that never gets old
Channing Tatum + power tools + Ginuwine’s “Pony” in Magic Mike XXL
5. Favorite movie theater
The Stanford Theatre in Palo Alto, CA
6. Theater snack of choice
A nice, cold IPA
7. A performance that makes you LOL
Every single performer, from main cast to extras, in the cult classic Miami Connection
8. A performance that makes you cry
Cuba Gooding, Jr. in Boyz n the Hood
9. Favorite childhood movie memory
Spending a cousins weekend at our grandparents’ house when I was about 12 years old, going to Blockbuster, and renting Bye Bye Birdie and Some Like It Hot upon recommendation from my grandma. This kickstarted my love for old movies and, eventually, Turner Classic Movies.
10. Movie you’ll defend forevermore
The Wiz
11. Movie you watched way too young
Poltergeist I and II
12. Lesson you learned from a movie
That it’s possible to find a movie’s politics unambiguously odious and contemptible while also acknowledging its stylistic merits (i.e., Gone With the Wind)
13. A movie quote you use a lot
“Four for you, Glen Coco, YOU GO GLEN COCO!” from Mean Girls
14. Favorite movie GIF:
15. Movie you want played at your funeral
Singin’ in the Rain
16. Movie that pairs well with Pop Culture Happy Hour
Knives Out — witty, smart and occasionally cheeky, with a dash of (murder) mystery