Columns
Strict Scrutiny For Libel
110th Show Theme A Product of Exacting Selection
At the heart of the University of Virginia Law School’s annual stage comedy event, the Libel Show, is a secretive conclave whose existence is known only to a select group of insiders. Each year, the theme that unites the show’s sketches is selected, in rigorous secrecy, by high-ranking members of the Libel organization, known to themselves as “the Junta.”
That process, which the Law Weekly has learned is known internally as the “theme party,” takes place every September 30 under conditions much like the in-group gatherings that produce Popes and U.S. presidential candidates. This year’s theme was no different—and it’s already generating surprise and anticipation around the Law School.
Not only was the Charlie’s Angels theme a surprising one in an age characterized more by idealized nostalgia for the Eighties than the Seventies, when young Millennial viewers, according to market research carried out this year by SurveyMonkey, are more likely to assume that “Farrah Fawcett” is a kind of avocado toast than a middling actress, it was also a bold choice in the era of #MeToo. Adapting a show well known even in its own time for coarse innuendo, lingering bath scenes, and plots less driven by sharply written repartee than by “jiggle-TV” slow-motion closeups of the bodies of its protagonists promises to be a challenge for Libel’s production team. How well the conceit of three women overqualified to follow the orders of a millionaire with a speakerphone plays to Generation #Twitter remains to be seen. But now, less than two weeks from the show’s opening night, the Law Weekly has exclusively obtained almost 300 of the themes rejected by this year’s Junta, revealing for the first time the rigor of the theme party selection procedure, and the length of the long odds Charlie’s Angels really ran to emerge as this year’s theme. “Just running your eyes down the column doesn’t really give you a real appreciation of how much effort goes into separating out a theme that really makes the grade,” commented one theme party attendee, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss internal matters. “You really have to read each one out loud, as we do, preferably in a group, to get the full effect.”
Rejected Themes:
Friday Night Libel
The Forty-Year Old Libel
Talladega Libels
Libelbusters
Dial "L" for Libel
Sympathy for Lady Libel
Throw Libel From the Train
Slander: Or the 120 Days of Libel
Libel, She Wrote
Libel the Bailiff
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Libel Show
My Fair Libel
McCabe and Mrs. Libel
An Inconvenient Libel
Libel: Redemption
My Dinner with Libel
All Libel on the Western Front
Do the Libel Thing
Dances With Libels
A Serbian Libel
Libel Rublev
Come and Libel
2001: A Space Libel
The Libels of Navarrone
Libelminer's Daughter
The Handmaid's Libel
Libel, the Beloved Country
Libel on the Roof
A Short Film About Libel
Smokey and the Libel
Libel of the Fireflies
When Libel Met Sally
The Umbrellas of Libel
Libel the Gallant Pig
The Luck of Barry Libel
Guess Who's Coming to Libel
Mad Libel Beyond Slanderdome
Breakfast at Libel's
The Heart Is A Lonely Libel
The Big Libelowski
Stand and Libel
Bill & Ted's Excellent Libel
A Clockwork Libel
Libel On A Hot Tin Roof
A Streetcar Named Libel
Zack And Miri Make A Libel
The Libel King
It's A Wonderful Libel
The Libels of Others
For A Few Libels More
Some Like It Libelous
Libeling in the Rain
Libel Runner
The Bridge On The River Libel
Libel, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
Tokyo Libel
Mr. Libel Goes to Washington
The Passion of Joan of Libel
Libel Without a Cause
No Country for Old Libel
Libel Me If You Can
Chitty-Chitty Libel-Libel
The Man Who Shot Libel Valance
Who's Afraid of Virginia Libel?
The Libel in Winter
It Libeled One Night
Touch of Libel
La Dolce Libel
The Libel Before Christmas
Libel in the Shell
This Is Libel Tap
In the Heat of the Libel
Stalag Libel 13
The Manchurian Libel
Libel is The Warmest Color
But I'm A Libeler
Libelers Don't Cry
Brokeback Libel
Libel Me by Your Name
Love And Pain And The Whole Libel Thing
Aguirre, the Wrath of Libel
Arsenic and Old Libel
Au Revoir Les Calomnies
Libel With Bashir
Straight Outta Libel
Libels from Iwo Jima
Let the Right One Libel
Back to the Libel Part II
O Libel, Where Art Thou?
Hedwig and the Angry Libel
Faster, Pussycat! Libel! Libel!
Invasion of the Libelsnatchers
A Few Good Libels
Who Framed Libel Rabbit?
Fear and Libel in Las Vegas
From Here to Libel
Libel of Arabia
The Last King of Libel
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Libel
A Hard Day's Libel
The Muppet Christmas Libel
Libel or High Water
What We Do In The Libels
West Side Libel
Libel’s 11
Dawn of the Libel of the Apes
The Libel For Red October
A Fish Called Libel
An American Libel in London
Snow White and the Seven Libels
Sixteen Libels
Libel Hard With a Vengeance
National Libel's Christmas Vacation
Last Libel of Christ
The Libel who Wasn't There
The Meaning of Libel
House of Flying Libels
Picnic At Libel Rock
The Libel of Drunken Master
And Now For Something Completely Libelous
Zatoichi: Blind Libeler
Women on the Verge of A Nervous Libel
Libel and Kumar Go to White Castle
The Man Who Libeled Too Much
The 36 Chambers of Shao-Libel
My Little Libel Show Can't Be This Cute!
Gochuumon wa Meiyokison Desu Ka?
Attack on Libel
The Opening of Misty Libel
Deep Libel
Debbie Does Libel
The Three Libels of Eve
The Devil in Ms. Libel
All About Libel
Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Libel (But Were Too Afraid to Ask)
Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Calomnie, 1080 Bruxelles
Last Libel in Paris
My Own Private Libel
The Double Libel of Véronique
Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Libels
The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Libeler
The Accidental Libellists
The Triumph of the Libel
Song of the Libel
Birth of a Libel
Gone With the Libel
The Libel Man (this is a twofer at least)
A Libel Runs Through It
They Call The Wind Libel
The Old Man and the Libel
Gilligan's Libel
Howl's Moving Libel
Trading Libels
The Libel Trap
Romancing the Libel
Libel 2: Electric Boogaloo
A Libel In The Sun
How I Libeled Your Mother
Libel Police
Bubblegum Libel: Tokyo 2040
Sex, Libels, and Videotape
Libelous in Seattle
The Prime of Ms. Jean Libel
The Libel of Apu
Three Billboards Outside Libel, Missouri
The Shape of Libel
Libel Out
Bang the Libel Slowly
Our Libel In Havana
The Pink Libel Strikes Again
Around the World in Eighty Libels
The Libel Potemkin
Why We Libel
30 Seconds Over Libel
Libeling Miss Daisy
The Color Libel
Cool Hand Libel
Libel Farm
Blazing Libels
The Man From L.I.B.E.L.
The Libel Always Rings Twice
Libel Indemnity
St. Elmo's Libel
The Man With the Libel Arm
You've Got Libel
Charlie and the Libel Factory
Honey, I Libeled the Kids
Stop! Or My Mom Will Libel
On the Libelfront
Libels Wide Shut
Libel Snowblood 2: Love Song of Vengeance
Violent Libel
Libel Royale
The Year of Libeling Dangerously
Merry Christmas, Mr. Libel
My Big Fat Greek Libel
How Green Was My Libel
Libel: the Professional
A Tree Grows in Libel
Libel At Bernie's
Daddy Longlibels
Edward Libelhands
Libeljuice
The Squid and the Libel
20,000 Libels Under The Sea
The Best Years of Our Libels
Django Unlibeled
Libel By Me
Into the Libel
There Will Be Libel
The Deer Libeler
The Libel of the Sierra Madre
Libel History X
My Side of the Libel
7ibel
3:10 to Libel
Shakespeare in Libel
Libel vs Libel
Sophie's Libel
Libel Day's Journey Into Night
The Libel of Emile Zola
Libel on the Bounty
Seven Libels for Seven Libelers
The Six Million Dollar Libel
Five Nights at Libel's
Four Libels and a Funeral
Three Libels in the Fountain
2 Libels 2 Libelous
One Flew Over the Libel's Nest
Zero Dark Libel
Chariots of Libel
Close Libels of the Third Kind
How to Succeed in Libel (Without Really Trying)
Libeling For Godot
Libel Came the Stranger
Citizen Libel
Philadelphia Libel
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Libel
In the Realm of the Libels
Of Mice and Libels
American Libeler
The Libels of Wrath
The Libels of Cherbourg
Libel, She-Wolf of the SS
Tuskegee Libelmen
Those Magnificent Men In Their Libel Machines
Field of Libels
Libel Doesn't Live Here Anymore
How To Lose a Libel in 10 Days
Butch Cassidy and the Libel Kid
Libel at the Museum
The Hitch-Hikers Guide to the Libel
Sweet Sweetback's Liibeeeeelous Song
Three the Libel Way
Cornbread, Libel and Me
Libelz ’n the Hood
Death Libels a Horse
Libel of the Flying Guillotine
The Texas Chainsaw Libel
Straw Libels
The Hurt Libel
Defamation: Libel on the Street
Libelshack
Libelface
Libelheart
Libelfinger
Libel on 34th Street
How the Grinch Stole Libel
It's the Great Libel, Charlie Brown
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David Ranzini '20
dwr7ed@virginia.edu