June 2024 Recommendations

Film, music, and book recs for Pride month

Did you know I wasn't always a movie person? Well, maybe I was once just an I Know Who Killed Me (2007) person until a few years ago. In this season of my life, I have felt creatively inspired by external art, particularly film. I hit a creative high once I finished a draft of my first feature length screenplay this spring. 

However, I haven't felt particularly inspired to write personal essays about pop culture, nor have I felt particularly motivated on my memoir project about growing up online. I've been instead craving more time to reflect and reassess, which includes what this newsletter will look like, especially since I've received tons of refreshing feedback from my Q&A with Sadie Flesher (podcaster, comrade, and friend of Adryan's POV) on community care and emotional regulation under capitalism.

In the meantime, here are some pop culture thoughts about movies and other pieces of media. 6 out of 8 recs happen to be some flavor of queer… so happy Pride!

• I Saw the TV Glow hit streaming services last week. I watched it for the second time. I initially saw it in theaters during its release week, followed by a Q&A with actor Brigette Lundy-Paine. After my first watch, I was pretty confused, even with the trans allegories. However, the Q&A with Lundy-Paine cleared some things up and made the second watch more enjoyable, because I was able to focus on the experience of the movie rather than its analysis.