Cool stuff #2
Work's been busy of late so here's a postcard from recent 'readings' (winter 2024).
Movies I’ve watched recently
Look Into My Eyes (Lana Wilson). New A24 movie! I don’t want to spoil much even though this is a documentary but it revealed new facets of spirituality, art and the human condition; worth trying out! I went in with skeptical eyes, came out touched and completely lost at the same time.
Hard Truths (Mike Leigh). A moving portrayal of trauma, loss, grief, family; again, I went in not knowing much, but was glad I took the chance. Highly recommend!
Inside Out 1 & 2, which I hadn’t realized are set in SF. Exceeded my expectations, which were high to begin with, on account of all the people that recommended it. Can’t wait to re-watch it with my niece!
Dìdi (Sean Wang). Another Bay Area story that I‘d highly recommend! Touching, refreshing, and honest with an infusion of 90s nostalgia. The dedication at the end was particularly touching for me, and hearing about its seven-ish years in the making gave me an ever greater admiration for it. We need more such films.
All we Imagine as Light (Payal Kapadia). Lovely character development, a visual treat, loved listening to Malayalam dialogue mixed with Marathi, Gujarati, Hindi.
Music
Vince Staples: after some years away from his music, I caught up on his last three albums in the lead-up to and aftermath of seeing him live. I also watched the Netflix show he co-wrote. Things I’ve been thinking about:
the lasting influence of black communities on American and global pop culture; somehow, I’m increasingly interested in exploring race, colonialism—topics I haven’t actively considered yet—and the easiest place to start (for me, as for some others, perhaps) is music, particularly, jazz/ blues and hip hop; as an adult listener, I started exploring these genres with a quasi-academic view. As someone that’s primarily lived at a distance from the real experiences of this community, watching these lives portrayed and performed in products sold to me by “show biz”, I’m curious about the real lived experiences; similar for other minorities I’ve encountered in recent movies and books.
how artists of this generation speak on issues of this time and age in novel, self-aware, and entertaining ways, within their seemingly restrictive idioms of origin (like gangsta rap, in this case) but also through other creative outlets (two notable examples being Tyler, the Creator and Childish Gambino; Open Mike Eagle is not as well-known, but also deserves a hat-tip for this). As an aside: some new energy this year around the idea of West Coast hip hop.
specific themes in Staples’ body of work that resonate or make me curious (incl. art that acknowledges Mum’s struggles raising you).
Vijay Iyer Trio: saw them live as well and was mesmerized. They played without pauses and it was quite the journey. Check out Compassion (2024) with Linda Oh and Tyshawn Sorey.
Currently reading (or trying to, at least)
Designing with Data (King, Churchill, Tan).
Normal People (Sally Rooney): some variety, curious about the hype.
Thinking in Systems (Donella Meadows): revisiting this after a couple of years.
The love songs of W.E.B. DuBois (Honorée Fanonne Jeffers).
Some poetry (incl. Ada Limón, Ocean Vuong, Jane Hirschfield)—happy to be reading poems again.
Happy holidays!