I consume media nearly every second of my day. Any mundane chore, I’m listening to music. While I eat my breakfast I watch a YouTube video (I have an on-going obsession with 'mentor pilot' at the moment...). I scroll on social media for at least 1/2 hour before I get up. I read on my commute. I play solitaire on my phone while I watch movies. I’ll watch an entire season of a show on a lazy weekend day. Many people consume more or less than me, but still, I consume a lot. I spent little time completely alone with my thoughts (even now I have music playing). Quite honestly, I think I’ve become addicted to the constant escapism. I am so adapted to this comfortable, privileged lifestyle in my modern western world with access to endless little distractions.
Is this consumption good for me? Should I be spending this much of my life watching TV or reading books? I often wonder whether my inability to be left alone without consuming some form of media is a bad thing, but it’s all I’ve ever known. Growing up with the ever-accessible internet and cell phones may be to my detriment, but I cannot imagine a world without them.
My entire life revolves around the internet. How I entertain myself, how I work and attend university, how I know where to go and what bus to catch, how I book a table at a restaurant, how I talk to my friends and family, where I get advice, where I find recommendations, how I read the news and how I plan my life. I'm not sure I know how to exist without the internet, I've never had to. Whilst I could survive, it would not be my choice, I have become adapted to the ways in which my life is made better (and worse) by the internet. My phone is like a 3rd arm, it’s always with me.
I wonder what Emily without the internet would be like. Has my personality been altered by my online presence and media consumption? Would I be different if I didn’t have this access, this privilege? I don’t know any of these answers. Maybe if I thought about it more, I could figure it out, but I'm too busy, I have too many books to read and movies to watch. But what I do know is this, I am a digital girl, for better or for worse.
So with that being said, here’s everything that I consumed as a way to escape in April!
The five books I read are:
1. The thing around your neck by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
4 and 1/2 stars: This beautiful book is a collection of short stories about post-colonial Nigeria. The major themes in the book are loss, ‘home’, despair, loneliness, systemic racism, identity and women’s agency (or lack of). Adichie is an incredible writer and I highly recommend her short stories for an easy yet hard-hitting and impactful read
2. (M)otherhood by Pragya Agarwal
4 and 1/2 stars: A beautifully crafted non-fiction book about women’s bodies and society's obsession with them. Agarwal unpacks the laser focus on motherhood, touching on infertility, abortion, childbirth, rejection of motherhood, privilege and intersectionality. A stunning read.
3. Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
5 stars: Just incredible, Adichie's way with words is perfect, and this deep dive into US immigration from a Nigerian perspective is hard-hitting, crucial and interwoven with astonishing nuance. I will be reading everything this woman has ever written.
4. Coach by Devney Perry
3 stars: I can’t help it, I can be a sucker for romance books. Something about this worked for me, but I can’t stand miscommunication. This was a decent second-chance romance.
5. The Outpost by Devney Perry
2.5 stars: I started this on a long car ride and was enjoying it, but in reality, it's too long and honestly a bit strange. There’s just something off about it.
The TV shows I watched are:
1. I finished watching The Bold Type
I would actually highly recommend it. I didn’t expect to love it this so much, but when you look past its painfully millennial nature (that becomes surprisingly charming), it covered so many important topics that more pieces of media should engage with. Themes of racism, miscarriage, abortion, alcoholism, islamaphobia, immigration, sexual identity, mental health, breast cancer, woman’s empowerment, sexual freedom, unconscious bias and so much more are told through a story of strong female friendship. The perfect show for me when I think about it.
2. I started watching You season 3 with my flatmate but we are yet to finish it
We've literally only watched three episodes, but we're committed to finishing it in May. I can’t comment on it yet but also ??? is how I currently feel.
3. Swarm
My flatmates and I just finished this and it was SO strange. I think it had potential and it was an interesting social commentary about the impacts of stan culture and the idolisation of public figures. However, I think it fell flat and was too confusing (or my little brain couldn’t connect the dots). I loved the cult episode though, that had me hooked!!
Normally I watch far more TV than I did in April, but this month I was on a documentary kick, so the movies/documentaries I watched are 1. Tik Tik… BOOM!
3 stars (admittedly I wasn’t paying attention for most of it because I was busy multi-tasking - playing and losing monopoly, but my friend highly recommends it, so trust her more than me)! Anyway, my only comment is that I started it and said "this is so Lin-Manuel Miranda coded", and boy was I right. Oh, also, the ending got me feeling things so honestly, it's probably a good movie (again can't really confirm)
2. Where the crawdads sing
3 and 1/2 stars: This was interesting and I wanted to know what happened, but honestly it felt like a rip off of To Kill A Mockingbird but feminist. Unsure how I feel about it (and I haven't read the book), but I do love my girl Daisy Edgar-Jones.
3. She said
4 and 1/2 stars: The lovers of Spotlight (me) will love this. It's an incredible deep dive into investigative journalism and the Me Too movement; I thought it was beautifully done. Incredible acting and an important message. A must watch in my humble opinion.
4. Catherine called Birdy
3 stars: So unsure how I feel about this one, it was cute and very feminist in a slap-in-the-face obvious way. I think it is perfect for younger audiences, especially as it begins to unpack traditional gender roles. I also love Bella Ramsey, an icon living.
5. Nocturnal animals
3 stars: I love a good nail-biter/twisted/fucked up/who knows what the fuck is going on movie. But this was not that and something about it I just didn’t love. But still, I wanted to know what happened, so that’s something.
6. Dark Waters
3 and 1/2 stars: This is kind of a low rating for the fact this was actually good. If you need a movie to reinforce a hatred of our current capitalist system, watch this. Also if you hate big corporations that put money over human lives. I do think this could’ve been done better (Spotlight reference 2.0)
7. 14 peaks: Nothing is impossible
3 stars: Now what the fuck possesses someone to do this? Truly using all of the 24 hours in the day (IYKYK). Whilst this was inspiring, it could’ve had a more defined focus, especially on the challenges of climbing. Anyway, how this man is still alive we will never know, but a round of applause for him and his accomplishments.
8. Jojo rabbit
3 and 1/2 stars: This is one of the movies people were always surprised that I hadn't watched and so maybe I had too big of an expectation for it. I didn’t find it as funny as I was told I would. The cinematography was beautiful (the SHOES shot) but the movie itself fell flat for me.
9. Uncharted
2 stars: I am being PICKY but what in the unrealistic fuck was that??? Just a no from me, chaotic in a bad way, anti-feminist (a potentially unfounded claim but it makes sense to me #ChloeFrazerdeservedbetter) and just not that fun to watch.
10. The volcano: Rescue from Whakaari
4 stars: It was heartwrenching and devastating to hear the first-hand accounts of the eruption. I was excepting mentions of the legal aspect but that was steered away from. I think that made the film more powerful.
11. The alpinist
4 stars: I don’t want to say too much about this in case people want to watch it, but tears were shed! A very incredible story about human capabilities (but again, I cannot believe someone wants to dedicate their life to defying death in this extreme way)
12. Money shot: The pornhub story
2 stars: This had so much potential but was dull and lacklustre. This needed to be a series, not a singular documentary, and much more detail and nuance were needed. It did make me think a lot about my own thoughts and sparked a few interesting conversations with my friends.
13. Aftersun
5 stars: My first and only rewatch of the month. The most beautiful, soul-wrenching yet understated depiction of depression I have ever seen (aka accurate). The acting is incredible, and the filming perfectly captures the introspection that occurs when reflecting on our memories. This makes my heart feel like it's been crushed. I felt so fucking seen.
Here's what I listened to in April! I've moved on from my podcast era so it was all music. So here's Emily's music round-up:
My top five tracks of the month were
Labour: Paris Polama
Not Strong Enough: Boygenius
Karma: Taylor Swift (shout-out to my scammer, you inspired this to be put on repeat for an entire week)
Two Against Three: Daisy Jones & The Six
New Perspective: Noah Kahn
That's all from me,
Let me know if you've seen/read/heard any of these and talk to me about them!!!!!
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