culture porn 3/22
this week’s playlist
screenshot me:
shogun (fx/hulu)
in my college years, i worked at a restaurant in houston owned by the daughter of author james clavell. so watching this remake of the 17th century japanese saga reminded me of my personal connection to the much-lauded novel. i also can’t help thinking of the emmy-winning 1980 miniseries, where richard chamberlain played the white savior john blackthorne, whose ascendance as a samurai gets tangled up with forbidden love.
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irish wish (netflix)
this is basically EMILY IN IRELAND, swap lindsay lohan for lily collins. either way, it's a hallmark-ified version of ireland -- brilliantly timed to st. patty's day, ayo edebiri's irish-ness, and apparent "thirst for irish men." the movie itself? trope-filled, but i basically watched without audio and could still follow along, and that was exactly what i expected.
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the new look (apple tv+)
the fashionista inside me was excited as i started this series, anticipating a glossy retelling of the rise of french couturier christian dior. what i didn't expect was a grim recounting of life in paris during the german occupation. luckily, dior's tragic tale is counterpointed by a relatively buoyant coco chanel (juliette binoche, also excellent in THE TASTE OF THINGS). chanel's ability to play both sides in the war, and escape condemnation for her quasi-collab with the nazis, is both inspiring and troubling.
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poor things (hulu)
oh wow, so much sex! very, very creative though, and emma's speech pattern and hair-brow combo delight me.
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answered prayers (knopf)
watching FEUD: CAPOTE VS. SWANS (FX) got me obsessed with all things CAFÉ SOCIETY and its bard, truman capote. i picked up this unfinished novel when i couldn't find his juicy tell-all short "LA CÔTE BASQUE," originally published in ESQUIRE, and it did not disappoint. along with the dishy details of babe paley et al, the earlier stories offer a voyeuristic trip into the seedy underworld of midcentury manhattan. the raw and sometimes graphic stories are surprisingly gift-wrapped in delicate prose, making me appreciate both the art, and the artist, all the more.
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may december (netflix)
natalie portman and julianne moore are incredible actresses (in all that they do, including this). i found this a bit tough to watch - perhaps because of the subject matter, and perhaps because of how cringe their characters were. if you view their performances as camp, it helps.
insights & inspo
killer queens: why women antiheroes are winning viewers over
our founder, linda ong, spoke with michael malone about the emerging trend of female antiheroes and how these flawed and unlikeable female characters are being well received by audiences.
more insights here
surrealism is 100. the world’s still surreal.
surrealism turns 100 this year but even a century later, it remains a relevant force in contemporary art and culture. For artists like dalí, magritte, and kahlo rejecting realism was a means to shatter boundaries and defy convention and their mark in history certainly continues to inspire new generations to transform the world they live in and create dreamlike art and experiences.
more insights here