09/18/20

TRENDS THIS WEEK

☞ YouTube: Mandalorian S2
☞ Letterboxd: The Social Dilemma
☞ TikTok: #ghostphotoshoot
☞ Spotify: Sunburn (re-imagined) by DROELOE
☞ Netflix: The Devil All The Time
☞ Twitter: Justin Bieber’s Hair

LIFE + CULTURE

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, a pioneer in the fight for women’s rights and the second woman to serve on the US Supreme Court, has passed away today. She leaves behind a massive influence on women’s equality laws. Our nation has lost a cultural hero. If you haven't watched it yet, I recommend the doc RBG on Hulu, which details her life and impact on the world. 

Emily Ratajkowski’s thoughtful and brave opinion piece in The Cut reached all corners of the internet this past week. In the essay, which she called “an extremely personal piece about image, power, and consent”, she shared her own experience with sexual assault and what ownership of your body as a woman in the modeling industry means. The essay was shared widely over every social platform. Playwright Jeremy O’Harris described it best, calling it an “incredibly vulnerable excavation”.

OG Justin Bieber is back, apparently. Twitter users pointed out that he now has the same signature hair that he did in 2009― the shaggy skater hair that could be seen emulated by middle schoolers everywhere for a good chunk of the early 2010s. His throwback hair was unveiled in DJ Khaled’s music video for his song Popstar.

2009 is clearly making a comeback right now. MTV just announced that they’re bringing back their show 16 AND PREGNANT. They’re calling the reboot a “newly-reimagined docuseries”, and it will be a 6-episode season with all new moms and babies. It’s coming out next month...2020 just keeps getting weirder.

Got a few updates on the never-ending TikTok saga for you guys, hot off the presses. TikTok released some details on their elusive agreement in the works with the US government. American investors, including Oracle and Walmart, will have at least a 60% stake in TikTok. However, the Commerce Department announced today that they will be banning the app starting on Sunday for new users, while people with the app currently downloaded can still use it. If all this wasn’t crazy enough, Charli D'Amelio, TikTok’s most popular creator, joined rival app Triller this week. It gets crazier, with three creators filing a lawsuit over the ban.

FILM

If you live near a drive in, I highly recommend checking out Natalie Krinsky’s new romcom THE BROKEN HEARTS GALLERY. It’s an (ahem) highly relatable and endearing story about a woman taking charge of her life after she’s had her heart broken one too many times. And if you needed further proof that Geraldine Viswanathan is a movie star, this is it.


TV

WOKE is one of the most daring comedies in tone and subject matter with a career-defining performance from Lamorne Morris who sells the hell out of the wacky premise through exuberant charisma we haven’t seen since Jim Carrey’s iconic turn in LIAR LIAR. While the Hulu series occasionally loses its footing, don’t sleep on this audacious blend of cartoon characters in an adult live-action comedy.


THEATRE

One of the venues I miss the most from *the before times* is Joe’s Pub in New York, and in particular, their fantastic lineup of cabaret performers. Lucky for us, one of their most notorious cabaret acts - KIKI & HERB: SEEKING ASYLUM - will soon be available for streaming! Created and performed by Justin Vivian Bond and Kenny Mellman, it is an absolutely wild ride - I can’t wait to re-watch!


BOOK

A little younger than my usual fare, but I really loved Nnedi Okorafor’s debut middle-grade novel IKENGA, recently released by Viking. It’s about a 12-year-old Nigerian boy named Nnamdi who discovers that he has a Hulk-like ability to transform into a large, immensely strong supervening. Nnamdi must learn to control his emotions and hone his powers, all while grieving his late father’s murder. Though it sounds a somewhat familiar superhero story, its rooting in Nigerian folktales and spirituality brings a fresh perspective to the genre.


SHORT FILM

RUNON by Daniel Newell. One of my favorite shorts from SXSW this year. The film takes place in a bus station where a boy and his mom are waiting for their bus. I won’t spoil any more! I’m so glad it’s finally released to the world. I love Daniel's style. It's gritty, urban filmmaking, not unlike the Safdies. He shoots scenes in a way that makes you not want to look away. Coming from the world of music videos, you can tell Daniel has really honed his style. I can’t wait to see what else he does.

Also very into Vogue’s I LOVE NEW YORK campaign video, written by PS fave and frequent digest mention Jeremy O. Harris. The line, “New York love isn't brotherly, it's obsessive, ecstatic, an electric current that made you grab your bags and uproot your life” made me check out flights east immediately.


PODCAST

BUNGA BUNGA​ from Wondery: Silvio Berlusconi was the charismatic multi-millionaire real-estate mogul who set out to up-end the Italian political order. With his wealth, charisma and connections he became one of the most powerful men in the world until two words helped bring him down: “Bunga Bunga.” 

The GENERATION GREEN NEW DEAL podcast that dropped this week was truly inspiring. A new generation has pushed the climate crisis to the center of American politics. Generation Green New Deal tells the story of this youth movement: who they are, what they’ve accomplished so far, and where they go from here. These badass teens are impacting policy and the politics in real and meaningful ways, and I LOVE IT.