The Monthly Media Catchup: Everything I Read, Watched & Listened To | July 2020
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I think every year when it gets to July, half of my conversations with any given people begin with the statement something along the lines with, “I just can’t believe it’s July already! Where does the time go?” But this year, almost all of my conversations feel like they begin with that and not just because it’s an easy form of small talk but because we’ve spent most of 2020 at home, living the same day over and over again. With the opening of bars and restaurants this month, I seem to have temporarily become an extrovert, as the idea of getting out the house is more appealing than it ever has been to me. I’ve been soaking up all the social contact I can get but, with that, have been consuming less culture than usual.
The culture I have consumed, however, has been great, including some easily binge-able TV series that total less than 10 episodes each (ideal for commitment-phobes like me) and some really interesting books. As seems to be a theme since cinemas have closed, I haven’t watched many films. In fact, I haven’t watched any this month, just a documentary that I enjoyed so much I’ve been thinking ever since I need to watch documentaries more, although that’s yet to happen. I’ve been moving away from podcasts and have started to listening to music more often, so there’s a playlist this month. But I’ve largely been listening to albums that were released during my teenage years (as everything else about my life is reflecting them at the moment): Drake’s Take Care, Frank Ocean’s channel ORANGE and Beyonce’s BEYONCE, which I think I’ve decided is my favourite Beyonce album, although that’s an almost impossible decision.
Preamble over, here is everything I read, watched and listened to during the month of July this year…
BOOKS
When I lived in modern times by linda grant | ★★★*
At the beginning of lockdown, I started a book club with some friends from uni, as well as some people who I know call friends who I had connected with on social media. We met on zoom weekly to discuss what we’d been reading individually as well as a discussion topic that varied each week. As lockdown came to an end, I saw an opportunity for reading groups to get involved with the Women’s Prize initiative #ReadingWomen, a project to encourage people to read previous winners of the Women’s Prize. We were sent three books, Small Islands by Andrea Levy, The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver and this one, When I Lived in Modern Times by Linda Grant.
The idea of this book really appealed to me, so much so that I actually bought it myself earlier in the year (it was actually on my last shopping trip before lockdown began). It follows a young Jewish woman from London who emigrates to the future Israel in 1946. I am shamefully uneducated on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and this book certainly helped to provide some more context on the issues surrounding it, as well as the extra reading I was encouraged to do as a result of reading it. The protagonist is young and self-centred and, as a result, the novel presents the conflict very much from the perspective of a Jewish person. Whilst this was valuable in some ways, as her character certainly both encouraged and discouraged empathy towards the Israeli experience in very nuanced ways, I do think I would have preferred if the novel would have offered a more balanced outlook on the conflict, as there was a noticeable lack of Palestinian voices. Perhaps this is down to my own lack of education, as if I was educated on the subject I could have considered the book and its slightly biased point of view objectively but I do also think that, with it being such a complicated and sensitive issue that so many people lack education on for whatever reason, it’s important to always depict differing experiences when writing about this conflict, fictionally or otherwise.
how do we know we’re doing it right? by pandora Sykes | ★★★★
Pandora Sykes is one of my favourite cultural critics and I read every article she writes, as well as obsessively listening to her podcast, The High Low. So, obviously, I was very excited about her book (I’ve had it on pre-order for over a year). How Do We Know We’re Doing It Right? is a book of essays that tackle subjects that are distinct to the 21st century, perhaps even exclusively the 2010s. From wellness, to fast fashion, to the epidemic of business, the book is wide in its scope but does a great job at picking up on topics that are all somewhat relevant to each other.
What I love about Pandora’s voice, especially in this book, is that she is unconcerned with offering authoritative perspectives on subjects. Whilst I write and read opinion pieces regularly, I often find myself feeling exhausted by them and their mission to offer answers on subjects in 500 words or less, even if what they are writing about requires far more exploration than that. Pandora’s ethos in this book seems to be focussing on asking questions, rather than answering them and in doing so she pokes holes in phenomenons of daily life that have become normalised for most of us, offering nuanced and unique thoughts on topics that are written about regularly. It’s research heavy, which I appreciated, but also manages to be very easy-to-read and I flew through this book in a few days.
lote by shola von reinhold | ★★★★
I think the concept of this novel will either immediately appeal to you or it won’t, but its plot is almost entirely up my street. It follows present-day narrator Mathilda’s fixation with the forgotten black Scottish modernist poet, Hermia Druitt. I wrote my dissertation on an author who was marginalised from the modernist movement and the thing that I find most interesting about the modernist movement is the marginal spaces within it. In academic spaces, I feel like there are constantly discussions about rediscovering the archive and this is largely achieved in these spaces by reading books that were otherwise forgotten. But I think LOTE offers a way to rediscover artists and writers who have otherwise been neglected in a way that feels really modern.
The form of the novel is really interesting, with excerpts from various texts including a book called Black Modernisms that details the lives of various black people who were involved with the modernist movement, which was really educational. Alongside that, it follows Mathilda, who is fixated by the historical group The Bright Young Things and is involved in archival research concerning them in a London museum, when she comes across a photo of Hermia. The rest of the novel takes place in Dun, as Mathilda applies for a residency there as a means of finding somewhere to live and also discovering more about Hermia, who spent a great deal of time in Dun. The residency she is a part of is made up of highly pretentious academic-type people, which made for some hilarious moments in their extremely niche accuracy, but her investigation of Hermia offers fascinating insights about beauty and luxury, particularly how these things can exist and can hold power when we consider them outside of their usual boundaries, that is, within a system of capitalism (this was also something my dissertation was concerned with and something I am fascinated by).
This book is so intensely literary in a way that usually annoys me (e.g. Woolf’s Mrs Dalloway or Joyce’s Portrait of an Artist) but I really enjoyed it here. I think it’s because Von Reinhold writes with so much self-awareness and they are also interested in amplifying marginalised voices rather than the voices of those who already hold power in many ways, as the Woolf and Joyce novels do, in my opinion.
I’d highly recommend this book if it sounds like something that would appeal to you. It was published this year as part of Jacaranda’s Twenty in 2020 initiative, as they become the first publisher to publish 20 titles by 20 Black British writers in one year and there are some other books on the list that I am keen to read, so I’d recommend taking a look at that!
TV
hollywood (Netflix) | ★★★★
Set in post-World War II, you guessed it, Hollywood, this series follows aspiring actors and filmmakers who are trying to make it in the world of show business. It’s a Ryan Murphy series and it received really bad reviews, but I loved every episode and I’m coming to realise that I am a big fan of Ryan Murphy’s work (see also: my next recommendation). Hollywood presents a somewhat utopian vision of the American filmmaking industry, as producers and filmmakers put themselves on the line to create diverse film. It’s not historically accurate but I found it to be very moving, to see what could have come out of self-sacrifice and to see just how powerful diverse representation is in film (I sobbed throughout the entirety of the final episode).
the politician season two (netflix) | ★★★★
This is another Ryan Murphy show with fairly bad reviews but, again, I enjoyed it. I think I might have enjoyed Season Two of The Politician more than season one which is not the general consensus. But I loved the New York setting and its satirised depiction of how American politics and, in particular, American elections work. I loved episode five, which profiled a mother and daughter; the latter was voting for Peyton, the protagonist, and the former, his opponent. This episode does what the show does best, represent current issues in a humorous but reflective way.
the morning show (apple tv) | ★★★★
I saw this show promoted so much at the start of the year but, as I often do, waited a few months to watch it. It tackles issues surrounding the #MeToo movement as the host of America’s most popular morning show is fired as a result of predatory behaviour. It stars Jennifer Anniston and Reese Witherspoon who were really convincing in their roles. I was skeptical about having two such high-profile actors playing alongside each other (especially because I see them, first and foremost when they’re together, as Rachel and her sister) but The Morning Show is really a credit to their acting ability. I thought the series did a great job at exploring the nuances around the #MeToo movement, particularly cancel culture, and how high-profile figures claim to have had everything taken away from them whilst still having, ahem, a mansion in upstate New York and a 10 bedroom apartment in Manhattan.
FILM
everything is copy (Sky) | ★★★★
Nora Ephron is a writer who I turn to when I’m looking for something easy to read, wise words and a good old belly laugh. This documentary tracks her entire life, particularly her career and I found it totally fascinating.
PODCASTS
prose before hoes | ★★★★
If you’ve read one of my Monthly Media Catchups before, you’ll know I love a book podcast. This is a new one that combines alcohol and books, as the hosts, Camilla and Elle, discuss everything they’ve been reading whilst having a drink. As someone who doesn’t necessarily enjoy the taste of alcohol, and largely drinks, like a teenager, to get drunk, I enjoy the books part of the podcast more than the alcohol part. But I have similar reading tastes to the hosts and often am reading the same books they are, which makes for great listening. Also, I love the title of this podcast.
doing it right with pandora sykes | ★★★★
Alongside her book, Pandora started this podcast to explore some of the topics her essays are interested in, interviewing experts in their fields and pop culture figures. I’d highly recommend the episode with Sinéad Burke in particular. She’s an incredible speaker and this episode was so educational on issues surrounding disability.
individual episodes:
ARTICLES
How to Report on Internet Culture and the Teens Who Rule It | NY Times
Eliza Clark: ‘I’m from Newcastle and working class. To publishers, I’m diverse.’ | The Guardian