Something New (This Week)
The end of criticism, the start of a listening project, an airplane movie, and traveling.
Happy Friday, dear reader. I hope this email finds you well. After escaping the heat dome of Portland to the cooler, thicker air of Chicago, I’m glad to reflect on some new things I enjoyed this week, though disappointed to not have the time to finish a longer piece, about a book and a movie. Hopefully next week my fingers find the keyboard long enough to share that one. For now, here’s something(s) new this week:
Writing, and Having Opinions, is for Nerds
This week, the film writing world was lightly buzzed after a post from Reggie Ugwu at the New York Times described the world of MovieTok — a community of movie fans on TikTok — where the biggest accounts only talk positively about movies, believe criticism is boring and dead, and sometimes get paid to talk by the same studios that make the movies.
I’m currently on a phone-app-hiatus (if you see me posting on Instagram while traveling, no you don’t), which means I’m not exploring these creators’ content myself, but my word, is this a salty and sour perspective on the practice of criticism, personal reflection, honesty, and fun. I remain vaguely optimistic about the future of movie going, as Gen Z seems to be publicly invested in the art form on social apps like Letterbox’d, but this inability and disinterest in thinking about art beyond the binary of Good and Bad is grim. Despite the fact that some of these MovieTok creators are in their 30’s, I’m deciding to give the kids more time to develop their emotional capacities. God speed, Tok-ers.
Writing, and Having Opinions, Can Be Better
In stark contrast to the Tok-ers, I was fortunate to stumble across this entry on a Substack, from a writer I had never read before, where the author talks about their process of reflecting on the books they read, and not adhering to star ratings and recommendations, which felt refreshing and thoughtful and worth trying out for myself. If you like consuming art, and then talking about it, consider reading this perspective on how to reflect and explore your reactions.
A (Future) Lifetime of Lost and Found
Another day, another moment of sadness as a morning phone-check results in more news of musicians and artists passing away. This morning, it was Pavement drummer Gary Young, who was part of the original group, and the owner of the studio in which they recorded their debut EP, and later their debut LP Slanted and Enchanted.
Pavement is top-tier “my favorite person’s favorite band”, as my 1990 birth year and delayed music-discovering phase meant I never dove into the Pavement catalog. I am aware of their talent and their massive importance in the American rock landscape, and I’m excited to intentionally get my feet wet.
I’m not excited, however, to continue a new version of life in which I continue to regularly be faced with death and loss, as all of the infinitely important and talented artists that I’ve been fortunate to share the world with continue to pass. Everyone ages into this version of life, and I’m sure the sharpness of the shock fades, but for now, I will take the gut punches, and try to work through the despair with celebrations of life and creativity. Godspeed, Gary.
Movies to Watch on Airplanes
This past Wednesday I was blessed with a new Airplane Movie Hall of Fame candidate, 2023’s 65, a movie in which Adam Driver crash lands on earth sixty-five million years ago, when dinosaurs and toxic water geysers ruled.
This movie was remarkable in its ability to almost be good within every aspect of filmmaking. The direction, the writing, the acting, the musical score, the sound design, the editing, the casting; they all aspire to greatness, and they knock on the door of it, but none make it inside. The most satisfying work done was the creating and capturing of the images: it looks sharp, and clean, and not like a rushed sloppy CGI pile of slop that many, if not most, of the futuristic/comic book fictions of our time look. But this, too, remains fallible, with the strangely pasted-on anamorphic lens effect and the very much not iconic design of space travel equipment and the invention of predatory species.
The only nutrition I found here was the addition to the lifelong journey I am on to be an Adam Driver completist, a journey that I have always enjoyed being on. As with all the best Airplane Movies, I’ll remember nothing of this, but it got me 100 minutes closer to my destination, which is value enough for me.
That’s it for me this week. If you want to want to hear what new music I’m listening to this week, you can search for me on Instagram, where I am definitely Not Posting. If you want to hear about a single book and a single movie, check back in next week, or subscribe below to get it sent directly to your (e)mail boxes. If you want the typewritten hard-copy, please send me a letter with enough quarters to cover postage.
Thank you, as always, for reading. I hope you are doing something new, and I hope you share it with your people.
TTFN,
B