07/08/22
#gentleminions, the show everyone seems to be talking about, a few great throwback recs, and the perfect road-trip pod.
TRENDS THIS WEEK:
Youtube The World’s Most Satisfying Videos
Letterboxd MINIONS: THE RISE OF GRU
Spotify Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) - Kate Bush
Netflix ALONE
Twitter Duffer Brothers
Trailer THE WOMAN KING
Shopify It’s Been A Week
Life & Culture
Well, a lot of stuff—big and small—happened this week, and none of it was great. Shinzo Abe, the former Prime Minister of Japan, was assassinated. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson resigned amidst a wave of scandals. A shooting at a Highland Park July 4th parade left seven people dead, a toddler orphaned, and countless injured. A bunch of billionaires gathered in Sun Valley. Twitter seems to be introducing co-tweeting, for reasons that are unclear. And the Elon Musk Twitter acquisition really/probably won’t happen.
So, you can imagine my delight at seeing something pure and harmless fly off the internet and into the movie theaters, in the form of the #gentleminions trend, which has been blowing up on TikTok and Twitter. Teens (and some young adults) in suits and formalwear with bananas in hand, filling theaters to watch a kids movie that made its franchise debut when most of them were exactly the age of the target audience. So wholesome, so dapper, so charming. But of course, we can’t have anything nice, and that harmless TikTok trend ended up with a handful of the boys in suits doing damage to theaters, causing chaos, and leaving young kids in tears. Which has led to some theaters banning the trend altogether. But that hasn’t stopped the tremendous Gen Z turnout for the film, which saw double the teen audience of all the other films in the franchise, and a $125M opening weekend (breaking July 4th opening weekend records).
TIKTOK
Giving this very popular part of the email its own section, and all the respect it truly deserves, starting today.
So it turns out that we all have the same parents?! One of the more recent (and I’d argue the best) uses of Keith Sweat’s “Twisted” sound involves Codename_Slim noticing her divorced parents—who hate each other—suddenly flirting while at a family gathering. Perhaps the most painfully funny yet relatable TikTok to cross my FYP ever.
As per usual, flossybaby comes through with the advice we’re all in need of during these trying times: Just buy it.
I will never not watch a GRWM (come get ready with me!) TikTok, but the most gorgeous one of all time has to be dancer Kâhkâkis taking us through the steps she takes when preparing for a powwow. I’ve watched this approximately 300 times and it’s still not enough.
—Rosemary Brennan, Marketing Consultant
TV
I’ve been a vegetarian since I was nine, and there are very few shows that make me go... "Wow I really want to take a bite of that beef sandwich right now.” And somehow that was the thought looming in my brain while I watched THE BEAR, a new limited series created by Chris Storer, which premiered on FX on Hulu. The show has a seemingly simple concept—Carmy, a young chef (played by Jeremy Allen White) from the world of fine-dining, gives it all up to come home to Chicago and run his family’s Italian beef sandwich shop. But the show doesn’t want to settle for an easy-breezy sugar-coated look into what goes on behind-the-scenes in a kitchen. If anything, it’s extremely grounded and real (if not a bit anxiety-inducing!), capturing the urgency, tension, speed and raised voices of a cramped restaurant kitchen. I found myself on the edge of my seat as I followed the chaos, mayhem and the absurd amount of work that goes into running a family sandwich shop. And it’s all incredibly executed by the pulse-racing camera movements and amazing performances by the cast—including Ayo Edebiri, who plays the ambitious sous chef who comes in to help Carmy run the place but must earn the respect of the OG kitchen crew. But at the end of the day, what really captivated me is the relationship between the kitchen staff, and the drive and commitment that brings them back in, day after day despite all.
—Mimi Li, Development Assistant
How enthralling can a six-episode show focused on an international hotel manager be? Absolutely captivating, actually, when you mix in Tom Hiddleston, an intense undercover operation, and some truly stunning destinations. THE NIGHT MANAGER is a 2016 limited series on HBO that I watched in a single sitting, and fully believe it is one of the most underrated limited shows on HBO. The premise features an intense cat and mouse chase between an undercover British soldier (Tom Hiddleston) who intimately infiltrates the notorious family of an elusive arms dealer (Hugh Laurie). Other notable stars are Olivia Coleman and Elizabeth Debicki who both give terrific performances. But the thing that truly sets this series apart from its peers in the crowded spy films space is director Susanne Brier’s use of the game of espionage to show a deeper understanding of the characters. It is less about the heroics of a 007, but the actions of an average British soldier who can only rely on his wits and charisma to win against a very real enemy. I highly recommend this one if you missed it when it first came out. Not only is it extremely binge-worthy, but it’ll easily fit into a single late night of couch time!
—Jackson Ingraham, Executive Assistant
BOOK
This week I found myself returning to Jhumpa Lahiri’s WHEREABOUTS—which she wrote and published in Italian before translating it to English. The writing itself is just the sort of gorgeous prose you’d expect from Lahiri—applied to an observational, internal story filled with watching and longing and dreaming, but very little action. The novel details the life of a middle-aged woman in a small town in Italy living out her life as a professor and taking in the lives of those around her. She imagines what it would be like to carry out an affair with a married man but never acts on it. She mentors a young woman and finds herself inspired and simultaneously ashamed of her own life instead. She meets with an old friend and her husband and finds that she doesn’t like the husband. The almost vignette style of the novel makes for a refreshing summer read. I strongly recommend it if you’re already a Lahiri fan, because it’s quite a departure from her usual style of writing—and what a joy it is to see a writer you love experiment a little bit! And even if you aren’t already a fan of her work, give this one a read. It stands on its own merit and is just a beautiful, lingering read.
—Nimrata Narang, Digital Fellow
[Editor’s note: Happy last day of your fellowship, Nim! We’ll miss you!]
PODCAST
I’ve been on a pretty long road trip this week, which is naturally the perfect opportunity to settle into a new (to me) podcast. My co-pilot and I wanted to listen to something educational, related to nature, and also fun. If you find yourself in a similar boat this summer, let me put you on to OLOGIES. It breaks down very niche subjects in ways you can understand even if you’re entirely new to the topic. Host Ali Ward brings a different expert on the show for each episode, allowing listeners to dedicate 45 minutes to learning all about a specific subject. She covers topics like raccoons (which we obviously started with) to clouds to shipwrecks to kissing. If you check out her list of episodes, you’re sure to find a niche that will pique your interest.
—Darlene Kenney, Digital Strategist
Have a great weekend! And as always, be kind, stay healthy, and stay creative. ツ
