I managed to find two connections among the following three subjects featured in the latest Entertainment Weekly. Curious? You should be.

Elizabeth Banks:

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Hailing from the Berkshires, Banks graduated magna cum laude from UPenn. She plays Laura Bush in Oliver Stone’s W. and Miri in the upcoming Seth Rogan film Zach and Miri Make a Porno. Banks had roles in Seabiscuit, Heights, the Spider-Man films and the cult comedy Wet Hot American Summer. She quickly gained widespread exposure through movies like The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Slither.

Laura Bush/Elizabeth Banks

Ghengis Khan/Sarah Palin: Someone in Entertainment Weekly made this vague comparison in the final sentence of a brief paragraph. Plenty of people think each is a great leader, but when the cards are on the table, it becomes apparent that they have serious flaws. In Mongolia, Ghengis Khan is viewed as an excellent leader who promoted more rights for women, in spite of the fact that he probably is the most prolific man in the world’s history:

A recent study suggests Genghis Khan’s direct patrilineal descendants today constitute ~8% of men in a large area of Asia (~0.5% of the world population). With 16 million living men carrying his Y-chromosome, Genghis Khan had about 800,000 times the reproductive success of the average man of his age. What was his secret? “The greatest joy a man can know is to conquer his enemies and drive them before him. To ride their horses and take away their possessions. To see the faces of those who were dear to them bedewed with tears, and to clasp their wives and daughters in his arms”

Palin, a breath of fresh air and a ‘maverick’, was immensely popular in the month of September. Polls hint that Americans are beginning to feel otherwise a month or so later. Mongolians and Americans alike are blinded by their own patriotism.

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986): Apparently a new Star Trek film is to be released in May 2009, and EW did a recap of all Star Trek movies to date. The most bizarre: the fourth one. IMDb summarizes the one-of-a-kind plot: “To save Earth from an alien probe, Kirk and his crew go back in time to retrieve the only beings who can communicate with it, humpback whales.” It was nominated for 4 Oscars.

How do these relate? Two ways:

1. Elizabeth Banks plays Laura Bush, who is a political figure. Sarah Palin is also a political figure, one who may at first seem like a great leader, but on second glance appears less venerable, just like the Mongolian great, Ghengis Khan. The second Star Trek movie is titled Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Amazing.
2. Elizabeth Banks stars in a movie about making a porno. There is a porno based on the character of Sarah Palin. The plot of Star Trek IV could easily work for an adult film.