NO NONSENSE #24
Hey dolls,
It's time for our biweekly recommendations newsletter, and this time we have a bumper edition! Read on for everything from our take on the Big Brother reboot to our London Film Festival favs (no surprises to hear that we loved Priscilla...)
Gina Tonic - Deputy Editor
TV: Big Brother
It’s baaaack and it’s actually so so juicy and fun this year already! I think they did a great job on the casting and it’s really refreshing to see just a good bit of reality tv history being revived without being poisoned by overproducing.
Book: Glitch Feminism by Legacy Russell
Ione put me onto this when we did our campaign around The African Desperate and it’s been in my book pile for a while so really glad I finally got round to reading it! Lots of interesting thoughts on how gender and feminism intersect with the digital sphere and the body, a really good beginner reader for understanding cyberfeminism too.
Hatti Rex – Contributing Editor
Book: Strip Tees by Kate Flannery
This dives into how cultish working at American Apparel used to be, and what working with ex-CEO Dov Charney was actually like (a non spoiler spoiler: he’s weird and creepy!)
Music: xJermsx
They only have one track on Spotify but I can’t stop listening to it x
General
I got a VHS player TV and an ordered an X-Files trivia game for it so I’ll be sat in front of that if anyone needs me.
Charlotte Landrum - Platform Editor
Charlotte has been our eyes and ears at London Film Festival for the past week or so, and these are her top picks of the festy to watch out for when they hit cinemas:
The Sweet East
Starring Jacob Eldori and Ayo Edebiri, obviously this is going to slap. And slap it did. It felt like Good Time for weird girls. The look of the film is stunning - grainy film and frantic editing. There’s a funny crust punk commune too. It’s (almost) everything you’d hope to happen when running away as a teenager.
May December
Julianne Moore and Natalie Portman directed by Todd Haynes - we’re in for a winner, and oh how we won. This film is funny, menacing, uncomfortable - following a plot surrounding ethics of relationships (it's gross) and also celebrities. Portman does such a great job of playing a Hollywood actress who thinks she’s deep for method acting. Haynes has mastered the melodrama
Perfect Days
I watched this straight after seeing Martin Scorsese’s new flick at 8am and boy was I tired. I almost didn’t go, but I’m glad I did! It was the perfect film to watch whilst feeling so fragile I think - it’s slow and beautiful with Wim Winders’ signature shots of gorgeous cityscapes and protagonist that is quiet and introspective. Comforting film.
Misha MN - Culture Editor
TV: Call My Agent
After watching the truly great Irma Vep last month, a film about a French movie set and the chaos around it, I had a hunger for more movie making dramas, and so started the french series Call My Agent. Sent in a Parisian talent agency, cut throat impressarios battle with their clients and each other, all trying to claw their way to the top. The series is also great for celebrity spotting, with cameos from french cinema stars from the last fifty years, including the gorgeous Cecile de France in the first episode, leading me to my second recommendation…
Film: Haute Tension (or Switchblade Romance in the UK)
A great example of the New French Extremity, a transgressive cinematic movement showcasing intense taboo drama and horror, Haute Tension is a perfect Halloween slasher. Starring Cecile de France and directed by Alexandre Aja, a girl brings her new best friend home to her parents secluded country house, where they are menaced by a hideous axe wielding maniac. The expected twists and turns ensue, but a unique intensity to the gore and the breathlessness of it makes it truly memorable. Very worth watching as an intro to this controversial film genre.
Album: Pure - Maria Callas
I’m currently reading a Koestenbaum book about the connections between opera and homosexuality, which is very fun, and there was a great chapter about the hold Maria Callas had over mid century gays. He says that by the act of listening, we are the ideal mother to a baby’s voice, and baby to a mother’s voice. Will it continue? Will it provide? “I love Callas’s voice” is another way of saying “Callas’s voice loves me.” This album is a great overview of her extensive recording career, probably the most prolific of all opera divas. The quality of her voice, though sometimes imperfect from a technical viewpoint, is completely human and therefore more expressive and powerful for it. “Every body is a civil war, Callas sang the war.”
Lauren O'Neill - Copy Editor
Recipe: Quick Carrot Dal by Anna Jones
I'm a food girlie through and through so of course I'm coming at you with a cosy little Autumn recipe. This (Si apre in una nuova finestra) is a very easy and cheap vegan lentil curry which is packed full of veggies, turmeric, ginger and all the other good stuff, but somehow doesn't taste boring or worthy. I think that's down to the big helping of cinnamon which gives it a really indulgent flavour! The pic above is from when I made it – I had it with yoghurt, mixed pickle and a mini naan x
Article: Everyone Is Beautiful and No One Is Horny by Raquel S. Benedict
I'm incredibly late to this but I kept seeing this essay (Si apre in una nuova finestra) referenced everywhere for a few weeks and when I finally got around to it, it didn't disappoint. Taking cinema its main topic, it makes some really convincing arguments about the reasons why everything in culture right now feels so sanitised, from homes to onscreen sex.
Ione Gamble - Founding Editor in Chief
Film: Priscilla
Probably the most obvious recommendation I'll ever give but me and Charlotte went to see this at a London Film Festival screening and it was incredible. Still can't comprehend proper thoughts around it so for now I'll just say I wish this film existed on a loop in my brain at all times, but it did also leave me emotionally destroyed lol. Practically perfect.
Book: Death Valley by Melissa Broder
I read this over summer and in my opinion its definitely her most accomplished to date in terms of interior dialogue. Managed to make me enjoy themes that are very much not my wheelhouse and usually my least favourite subjects (nature, God, hallucinating lmao).
See you next time!
XOXO
The Polyester Team
