10/08/21
It all begins with an idea.
This week: TikTok conspiracies, thoughts on the new Bond movie, the countdown to the ONLY MURDERS finale, Afro artists making history, and a strong female lead who isn’t just a dude in a hot woman’s body!
TRENDS THIS WEEK
Youtube SQUID GAME Cast Reveals All
Letterboxd NO TIME TO DIE
TikTok #Meditation
Spotify STAY - The Kid LAROI
Netflix SQUID GAME
Twitter Venmo
Life & Culture
This week, pretty much everyone’s For You pages on TikTok have been inundated with “couch guy” videos. It all started with a college student who innocently posted a video in which she surprised her long distance boyfriend on TikTok. While she went in with the best intentions, many people are speculating about the circumstances of the surprise—from the boyfriend’s lukewarm response to his friends’ reactions, and a mysterious potential passing of his phone—and suggesting that something shady is going on with the boyfriend, now dubbed “couch guy.” Since the video was posted on September 21, it’s gotten a staggering 60 million views, along with a ton of remakes, commentary, and endless speculation. This bride and groom even reenacted the awkwardness at their wedding, but this rendition has to be my favorite. If you remember the “blue or gold” dress phenomenon from 2015, this trend sort of feels like that, but much more personal (err, invasive) to this one couple.
This article about two writers, a maybe-plagiarized letter in a short story, an insular writer community, and some mean girl group text vibes set the internet on fire this week. So, which side of the great divide do you fall on? Who is the “bad art friend”: Dawn or Sonya?
And, an update on last week’s life and culture section: While AMC CEO Adam Aron is figuring out how consumers can directly pay for movies with Dogecoin, he’s found a temporary solution that’s available now. Movie-goers can buy AMC Theaters gift cards with the cryptocurrency, and pay for movies that way.
Also, I can’t pass up the opportunity to share this very exciting Variety article with you all, which serves as a little update on what our company has been up to this past year. My favorite quote from Erik, our founder: “Our goal is to enable talent’s vision and help them figure out how to get things done, so we did that for ourselves in the pandemic.”
Of course, I’ve gotta leave you with my favorite TikToks from this week! This one gives context to the most stressful prank I have ever seen, and this one makes me immediately want to go to this band teacher’s next concert.
—Darlene Kenney, Digital Strategist
GUEST CURATED BY THE BRILLIANT MINDS AT
Artist to Know
The Platform team is diverse, and our taste in art is equally so—but we all converge in our love of this series of portraits by Gilbert Lewis. Portraits are a classic format in the centuries-long history of art, but typically, their subjects are the wealthy and powerful. Instead, Gilbert Lewis paints portraits of anonymous men, whose young faces and bright gazes express awareness, optimism, and innocence. They aren’t adorned with sceptres like Napoleon was; instead, they’re clad in t-shirts and sports jerseys, slightly ill-fitting glasses, and nose piercings. The artist suggests that these everyday people are just as worthy as the subjects of the portraits that hang in great museums and galleries. This is what’s incredibly exciting about the kind of art that eventually makes it into the art history books: To be truly great, the work has to relate to what matters in the time and culture in which it was created. I’m going to go ahead and posit that today, real people, in all of their honest nuance and perfect imperfection, are exactly what matter.
—Bettina Huang, GM & Head of Platform
Gilbert Lewis
Untitled (Young Man with Nose Ring), 2000
Watercolor and gouache on paper
16.0 × 12.0 inches
$3000 (Available through October 31st)
Film
6 long years after his last foray in SPECTRE, James Bond is finally back in NO TIME TO DIE (trailer here), which hits U.S. theaters this weekend after years of creative and COVID-related delays. If you haven’t returned to the cinema since the world started reopening earlier this year, I can’t think of a better occasion to make the trip. I’ve always admired the Bond films for their aspirational, global escapism, and this chapter is no exception, featuring stunning sequences shot in Italy, Jamaica, Norway, and of course, the U.K. And truthfully, above all, I really just missed the experience of sitting in an IMAX theater and watching a movie of this scale; Hans Zimmer’s operatic score rattled my seat so hard I nearly dropped my popcorn—and it was life-affirming. Clocking in at nearly three hours, NO TIME TO DIE certainly does take its time, but it’s an absolute spectacle nonetheless and wraps up Daniel Craig’s run as Bond with an unexpectedly emotional finale. And while a number of familiar faces reprise their roles from previous films, it’s Ana de Armas and Lashana Lynch who steal the show as quick-witted operatives who hold their own and then some alongside Craig. Between the action, the verve, and all the melodramatic ruminations on “time” and “revisiting the past,” NO TIME TO DIE exemplifies just about everything I love about Bond. Run, don't walk!
—Neal Mulani, Development Assistant
I saw a Letterboxd review for TITANE (trailer here) that nailed it, calling it “the most f*cked up wholesome movie.” Written and directed by Julia Ducournau—the second female director to win the Cannes Film Festival Palme d’Or—this film made me laugh, cringe, hide my eyes, watch with rapt attention, and feel all of the feelings. That’s what I want most in a movie: for it to elicit a wide array of emotions in just a short time—in this case, 108 minutes. And if you look beyond the violence and grotesque imagery that makes TITANE a true body horror, you’ll find an honest and resonant story about parenthood, self-acceptance, and unconditional love. But if you decide you’d like to embark on the wild journey that is watching this film, buckle up, because it’s quite the ride.
—Aimee Pham, Production & Development Intern
If you ever want a break from fiction, MINDING THE GAP (trailer here) is as real and raw as documentaries get. I was initially expecting a typical skater movie, but the film goes much deeper, delving into the personal lives of three skater friends—and their abusive childhoods. The director grew up with the kids in a poor suburb of Illinois, and they let him in on some incredibly personal moments. I couldn’t believe how unfiltered and genuine the reactions were—no actor could produce that kind of emotion. At its core, this is a coming of age story, and the two leads are the perfect subjects. While they both suffered abuse as kids and found an escape in skateboarding, their personalities could not be more different. You can watch it on Hulu wherever and whenever, just have some tissues nearby if you’re a crier ;)
—Daniel Shifren, Production & Development Intern
TV
If you haven’t been watching ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING (trailer here) on Hulu, now is the time to start! The final two episodes air over the next two weeks, so you have plenty of time to catch up on the 10-episode series. Created by Steve Martin and John Hoffman, the half-hour comedy is a light, self-aware take on the true crime genre. Steve Martin stars alongside Martin Short and Selena Gomez as true crime podcast-obsessed neighbors in a grand New York City apartment building that is thrown into disarray when one of its residents is found dead. Although ruled a suicide, the leading trio takes up its own investigation, convinced (or deluded?) that there was foul play. As they sleuth —and record a true crime podcast of their own—they learn about each other and the secrets kept by those living right next door. Come for the mystery, stay for Martin Short’s hilariously aggressive shouting!
—Nolan Russell, Executive Assistant
After running a robust marketing campaign that left no corner of the Internet unchecked, ONE OF US IS LYING (trailer here) finally premiered this week on Peacock. Based on Karen M. McManus's bestselling novel of the same name, the teen whodunit has been fittingly described as a BREAKFAST CLUB and PRETTY LITTLE LIARS hybrid. The show follows four archetypal high schoolers who must piece together what happened to one of their classmates, Simon, after he mysteriously dies from an allergic reaction while they’re in detention together. To complicate things further, each of the four students has closely held secrets they’re trying to protect (because of course they do!), and Simon ran a Gossip-Girl-esque blog that threatened to expose them all, giving each of them...a motive! I watched the pilot last night, and I’m pleased to report that ONE OF US IS LYING is a bit of a hot mess. Featuring clunky phone VFX, too many dizzying dutch angles to count, and most importantly, Teenagers Who Don’t Talk Like Teenagers, ONE OF US IS LYING possesses many of the foundational elements of a Good Bad TV Show. It's too early to determine if it’ll have the sticking power of RIVERDALE or PRETTY LITTLE LIARS—the characters are a bit indiscernible, and the show plays things fairly safe when it comes to its twistiest moments—but I’m excited to see how the mystery progresses from week to week. The first three episodes of ONE OF US IS LYING are available to stream now on Peacock.
—Neal Mulani, Development Assistant
Theater
SIX the Musical finally opened on Broadway this week, and I am so, so excited to see it! The latest in the “history-but-make-it-pop-music” subgenre, SIX is a tell-all concert performed by the wives of Henry VIII. Originally written by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss while they were undergraduates at Cambridge, the musical has already enjoyed sold-out runs in London and Chicago, and was about to open on Broadway right before the pandemic hit (there’s actually a great episode of The Daily about it!). Each wife is inspired by a different pop icon—Beyoncé, Adele, and Ariana Grande to name a few. Directed by Jamie Armitage and Lucy Moss, the stage show comes in at a tight 80 minutes (we love!) and is guaranteed to be one of the most fun evenings you’ll spend on Broadway this year.
—Julia Hammer, Director of Production
Book
Among the books shortlisted for the National Book Award this week is Lauren Groff’s MATRIX. The elevator pitch may sound archaic: Marie de France, a 12th-century “bastardess of the crown” is banished from Court by Eleanor of Aquitane and settles at a nunnery, from where she builds an empire. But I promise, Groff has written the most compelling, page-turning version of that story. Marie is an ambitious, thorny protagonist who cultivates her power with care. MATRIX may be a cautionary tale about the dangers of being too power-hungry, but Groff sustains the reader's sympathy for her protagonist through the entire novel. A great read for anyone craving a strong female lead who isn’t just a dude in a hot woman’s body!
—Julia Hammer, Director of Production
Music
Feels kind of crazy to be saying this since there are so many African artists making amazing music, but last week Wizkid and Tems were awarded the very first platinum certification for an African song in the U.S. with their song ESSENCE. The song has been dubbed the song of the summer by many outlets, the music video has over 35 million views after just five months, and the track was even remixed by Justin Bieber. While this is no surprise for Grammy award-winning singer Wizkid (also arguably the most mainstream Afro artist we have today), this is a huge moment for breakout artist Tems. In my opinion, she completely carries the track, from start to finish, to the point where I almost feel like it's her song featuring Wizkid. This is all to say that Tems has absolutely propelled herself to superstardom with just one feature. Since ESSENCE, she’s dropped her own EP titled IF ORANGE WAS A PLACE, and was featured on Drake's new album on the track FOUNTAINS. Have a listen this weekend and thank me later.
—Eden Bekele, Digital Associate
10/01/21
It all begins with an idea.
This week: Complex, captivating female characters; two wildly different shows about class—one from Sweden and one from South Korea; and two musical recs you really don’t want to skip.
TRENDS THIS WEEK
Youtube YOUTUBE'S MOST VIEWED VIDEOS
Letterboxd DUNE
TikTok #MyStory
Spotify STAY - The Kid LAROI
Netflix SQUID GAME
Twitter #PodcastDay
Life & Culture
On the off chance that any of you have ever dreamed of paying for your movie tickets with Dogecoin, I’m here to tell you that it looks like your wish will be granted by AMC. The company’s CEO tweeted out a poll asking his followers if the company should “explore accepting Dogecoin” in addition to the more mainstream forms of crypto that it already has plans to accept. Over 140K users voted, with 74% saying yes. Adam Aron responded by saying “it’s clear that you think AMC should accept Dogecoin. Now we need to figure out how to do that. Stay tuned!”
As a college student in the mid-to-late 2010s, I can attest that vaping was an absolute epidemic among students. I knew so many people who were hopelessly addicted to their Juuls. The tiny vapes, initially meant to be a replacement for traditional cigarette smoking, were simply everywhere. But it looks like things might be turning around. While vaping is still pretty popular, the FDA’s bet that forcing Juul to drop the fruity flavors would lower usage among young people seems to be paying off. According to The New York Times, 11.3 percent of high school students reported this year that they currently vape. This is down from 19.6 percent in 2020 and 27.5 percent in 2019. In light of these new survey results, the CEO of nonprofit Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids argues that the FDA should take a further step and “eliminate all flavored e-cigarettes, including menthol-flavored products,” which are now still available to consumers in a sort-of loophole, as disposable flavored vapes are still on the market.
And of course, my two favorite TikToks from the past week: This one captures an otter narrowly escaping a seemingly-hungry orca whale, and this one shows off the skills of two very tiny amphibians (I think they are lizards, but if someone knows for sure, please feel free to reply and correct me).
—Darlene Kenney, Digital Strategist
GUEST CURATED BY THE BRILLIANT MINDS AT
Artist to Know
Painter Lucía Vidales tends to blur the line between abstraction and figuration, and it’s imbued with the history of Mexico, where she lives and works.
She’s particularly interested in the physical, emotional and spiritual implications of the body—which she uses to explore the ongoing impact of colonialism in Latin America. In the works she’s presenting on Platform this month, she integrates elements of Mesoamerican religion and mythology and its impact on present-day Mexico—in particular, the fertility goddess Coatlicue and Xipe Totec, the Aztec god of regeneration, which you may be able to see references to.
I also love how she titles her artworks (The Dead and the Living, Piss and Tears, among others) — sometimes with historical references, sometimes with humor. I always find it to be a fun exercise to follow the clues an artist provides into their intentions for a given work, and that’s exactly what these titles feel like to me. Check her out, and have a crack at deciphering those clues while you’re at it!
—Richard Thayer, Director of Marketing, PLATFORM
Lucía Vidales
Punta, remate, fin y cabo, 2021
Oil, acrylic and encaustic on canvas
28.0 × 24.0 inches
$4500 (Available through October 31st)
Film
This past weekend, I watched the 1994 film CHUNGKING EXPRESS (trailer here) by iconic Hong Kong auteur Wong Kar Wai—in a movie theater. The double-pronged film follows two police officers who are both getting over exes. In their breakup processes, they each meet a mysterious new woman who changes the course of their lives. The cinematography, sound design, and production design in the film are oh-so-beautiful and dynamic, letting WKW’s directorial style really shine in this story of lovesickness, chance encounters, and the surprising interconnectedness of us all. Also, hats off to WKW for writing two strong female protagonists who are flawed but also charming, complex, and captivating. The heroine Faye is what I’d call “chaotic good” and might just be my favorite take on the “gamine” who’s fickle and sneaky, but all in the name of a good time. If you’re in the LA area and want to see it in theaters, the American Cinematheque is screening the film with new 35mm restorations this Friday (10/1) at the Los Feliz 3!
—Aimee Pham, Production & Development Intern
In 2000, Congress passed the Child Citizenship Act which granted automatic citizenship to children adopted by United States citizens—but left out adoptees who were already legal adults by the time the bill was passed. In other words, many adoptees who had grown up in America and knew no other life, could be deported tomorrow to a country they had no ties to. In BLUE BAYOU (trailer here), writer-director-producer Justin Chon doesn't shy away from painting this pained image for us. Antonio LeBlanc (Justin Chon) is a soon-to-be father who faces deportation after an encounter with a local police. The sad drip of inevitability permeates the entire film as we experience a deep feeling of helplessness in the face of a system that only protects certain groups of people. Justin, Alicia Vikander, and newcomer Sydney Kowalske all deliver powerful, wounded, and intelligent performances. So go hit up your local theaters this weekend and experience this beautiful film on screen!
—Mimi Li, Development Assistant
TV
SNABBA CASH (trailer here), translated to Fast or Easy Cash, is a Swedish show on Netflix that simply hasn’t gotten enough attention. The series is based on a book (with the same name) from 2006 by Jens Lapidus, a Swedish criminal defense lawyer. Set mainly in the projects outside Stockholm, the show draws parallels between the start-up/tech world and the mob in a really interesting way. The story, which ultimately centers around class, follows a young single mom of Middle Eastern descent who’s desperate to get her tech business off the ground and gets entangled with drug money from her brother-in-law. What sets this show apart from many other Nordic shows is the diversity of the cast—and absolutely incredible performances from Alexander Abdallah and Even Ahmad.
—Martina Lund, VP Marketing & Media Design
SQUID GAME (trailer here) is the new show that seems to have the Internet in a chokehold. Released less than two weeks ago on Netflix, the story is a South Korean survival drama written and directed by Hwang Dong-hyuk. The show follows 456 people who are invited to risk their lives playing childhood games in exchange for a shot at a massive cash prize. It tackles major themes like class conflict and egoism, shown throughout the games as contestants are continuously tested on what they’re willing to do to others to further their own chances. The show has been reported by Netflix to be on track to being the most watched non-English speaking show ever, which is promising news for those of us hoping for a Season 2.
—Eden Bekele, Digital Associate
Dance
With my one free afternoon in New York this weekend, I’m choosing to see choreographer Bill T. Jones’ new piece DEEP BLUE SEA. While I have long been an admirer of Jones’ work (ahem, SPRING AWAKENING), I’ve never had the opportunity to see Jones actually perform in one of his pieces. He performs here for the first time in 15 years, with a cast of 100 dancers and community members, in a work inspired by both Martin Luther King’s “I Have A Dream” speech and Moby Dick. I’m not entirely sure how Jones and his company will blend those two pieces together, but I am very excited to find out!
—Julia Hammer, Director of Production
Short Film
I haven’t been able to get Sudarshan Suresh’s MIZARU (trailer here) out of my head since I saw it last year, and I’m not exaggerating when I say it’s one of the best shorts I’ve ever seen. Set in Mumbai on Valentine’s Day, MIZARU takes place in one fluid shot as a young couple finds themselves targeted by a vigilante group, also known as the “moral police,” for engaging in some PDA in the park. Staging a short in a single take is always a risky proposition, but the hyperrealistic performances and smooth camera blocking elicit a palpable sense of dread that I haven’t felt since watching WHIPLASH for the first time. A number of supporting characters show up throughout the film as well, including members of a recreational yoga group, a duo of police officers who pass through to see what all the commotion is about, and another unlucky couple that finds themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time. As Sudarshan Suresh lets these side characters stroll in and out of this harrowing confrontation, you can’t help but notice the utter apathy—both on a social and bureaucratic level—that precipitates this insidious vigilantism. Yet, MIZARU never veers into ham-fisted territory under Suresh’s assured hand, making for a smartly observed social thriller that packs a real punch. After an incredibly successful festival run including Telluride, Brussels, and Palm Springs ShortFest (where it picked up a Special Mention for Best of the Festival), MIZARU is finally available to stream on the Criterion Channel, or to rent on Vimeo.
—Neal Mulani, Development Assistant
Music
Listen, if you haven't listened to H.E.R, this is me not-so-casually begging you to do so immediately. H.E.R is a four-time Grammy winner who’s truly one of my favorite artists of this decade. She garnered a lot of recent attention for the original song “Fight For You” on the incredible oscar-nominated film JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH. But her entire catalogue is spectacular. I have finally come down from the high of seeing her in concert at the Hollywood Bowl last month, and it truly solidified my love for her. She performed with the LA Philharmonic, paid her respects to the Black lives lost to police brutality, recognized the year we have all had amidst an ongoing pandemic, and even brought out Daniel Caesar and helped a couple get engaged to a rendition of “Best Part.” And to top it all off, she played a total of five instruments during the concert. I'm truly in awe of her skill and musicality, and I will be the first to buy tickets to any future tours. Also, did I mention she's only 24? Her most recent album “Back of My Mind” was released in June of this year—go stream it now!
—Erin Harris, Development Assistant
I've spent many an hour crying to Sufjan Stevens songs. I even referenced him in my honors thesis. But today, there’s no better reason to talk about Sufjan's latest work than the fact that it's entirely movie-centric. His new album “A Beginner's Mind,” made in collaboration with fellow indie singer-songwriter Angelo De Augustine, ruminates on films the pair watched together as an intended respite from writing. The variety of films discussed is eclectic, from ALL ABOUT EVE to BRING IT ON AGAIN. Even RETURN TO OZ, a nightmare-inducing staple from my childhood, makes an appearance. The whole thing works beautifully because Sufjan's music—dreamy, baroque balladry filled with themes like innocence, loss, spirituality, and love—has a tendency to stir emotions and memories and leave you with a sense of aching nostalgia and introspection. If you're looking for something to listen to and something to watch this week, this could be the perfect twofer solution.
—Alicia Devereaux, Executive Assistant