Tripping with 2001 A Space Odyssey

The 15th Best Movie of All Time

One day in 8th grade, my teacher rolled in a boxy TV on a tall metal cart, dimmed the lights, and played my favorite Bugs Bunny cartoon of all time, Kill the Wabbit. When it was over, my teacher revealed that we’d just listened to one of the most famous opera writers ever, Richard Wagner, and the cartoon was actually called What’s Opera, Doc?

As a Minnesota farmer’s kid, I didn’t know anything about opera. Or parody. But I loved the way a masterpiece snuck up on me that way, in the midst of…