I have already figured out my favorite part about blogging, I can’t fail. There is no professor who can cross out my work with a red pen and tell me my APA citations are incorrect. No employer who can send me a poorly worded rejection letter 15 months after I’ve applied for the job. No road test instructor to tell me that “Shut Up And Drive” isn’t actually great for concentration. I can do whatever I want. I can put a
k
right in the middle of this paragraph for no reason. Couldn’t do that in college, LET ME TELL YOU.
Anyway, I decided to start off by sharing a few of my current favorites in media at the moment. This should give you more of a sense of who I am/what I’m into/whether or not you should keep reading. I completely believe that “you are what you watch.” I’ll never understand why people underestimate the power of media when everything we consume is laced with messages! There are people gathered in rooms right now carefully deciding how to encode a specific idea into all of our heads. I know because I’ve been fortunate enough to be in a few. Media influences the way we speak and what we speak about; the way we look at the world and the way we look at other people. If you still don’t believe me, I’ll forward you to this New York Times article right here that is basically saying the same thing. I’m not saying that I now DESERVE to work at The New York Times, but ya know, it’s kind of an uncanny coincidence. Granted the article was was written in 2007, when I was approximately 11 and hadn’t yet dived into the world of critical media theory, but STILLLLLLLLL.
Movies matter. As do books, music, shows, and anything else we spend half of every day engaged in. Here are a few suggestions if you’re looking for some really great ones:
LITerature: Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
It’s just the best historical fiction book ever written and everyone else, including myself, should give up. In 320 perfectly written and now worn out pages, Gyasi somehow manages to trace the lineages of a pair of African half-sisters throughout 250 years of history. That is about 15 MONTHS of artfully weaved history per page. I needed a calculator to do that math.
Film: Hannah Gadsby: Nanette on Netflix
Soooo, this is technically cheating because it is a standup comedy special and not a movie but, as previously stated, there are no rules here! And anyway, Australian-born Gadsby’s hour long special is filled with enough nuance, heart, passion, and pain to rival any feature released this year except for Black Panther and Paddington 2.
Television: Pose on FX
THE CATEGORY ISSSSS LIVE!!!! WEEEERKKK!!!!!! POSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Pose, penned by Bronx native and UCLA grad Steven Canals and Ryan Murphy, is the best show I never thought I would see. Bold, beautiful trans women and gay men of color showing the rest of us their heart, flaws, drive, and most importantly, that they are here to stay. I’m not sure if a show like this would have been greenlit five years ago, but it is here now and we are all better for it. There is so much more to say about this show, but I don’t want to assume that my cisgender, heterosexual voice should be the one to say it. Learn a lot more here! Additionally, I’ve read many articles saying that the show’s release date was too late for Emmy consideration. @Hollywood, if there was ever a time to break the rules, it would be right now.
Honorable mention: The Sense 8 series finale on Netflix. Because the people that deserved to get married did and the people that deserved to die also did.
Another honorable mention: Killing Eve on BBC America. Okay, I haven’t actually watched this show yet, but Sandra Oh is in it. And honestly, that’s enough for me.
Music: The Kids Are Alright by Chloe x Halle
Did I save their album or did their album save me? Lmk.
The only thing worse than a really talented person, is two really talented people who are related, and produce all of their own work, and cannot even legally drink in the United States. These angelic and talented girls PISS ME OFF!
TheaTUH: Sugar In Our Wounds by Donja R. Love
Slaves on stage are usually a hard pass for me. I’m 10000% tired of the fact that every play or musical that centers black people is set in the past. For some reason, Broadway loves us at our most traumatic! Love’s work, however, strikes a slightly different chord. The story is actually a romantic one, and the playwright wants to make sure we know that. The set alone, which is literally illuminated by a giant mystical tree of Avatar proportions, is worth the visit. The perfect cast also helps. Catch Sugar In Our Wounds at New York City Center – Stage II. If you’re under 30, you can sign up for MTC’s “30 Under 30” program and nab a pair of tickets for a discounted price. Yay, cheap art for broke young people!
Podcast: Thirst Aid Kit by Bim Adewunmi and Nichole Perkins
Okay, i’ll be honest. This will always be a biased category. 99.99% of the podcasts I listen to are hosted by women and delve into women-ly things. This one is from two Buzzfeed writers who talk about the sexiest men in Hollywood and the importance of females lusting out loud. (If you have any suggestions about great podcasts hosted by men who are not horrible, please comment and let me know. Really though, do a background check. Then do another one. Make sure they aren’t horrible).
If you made your way through this (aka if you’re my mom), let me know! Do we have any favorites in common? And, more importantly, what’s out there that I’m missing? No, really. Please, let me know. I work part-time now and am avoiding applying to grad school so it would be SUPER helpful. Mom, ignore that part.
BRITTANI WITH AN I 