#DamnGoodContent 002 - Coronavirus Short Fiction (Stories and Films), South China Morning Post, and a stupidly brilliant movie with a lot of ear worms
The past two weeks were a bit of a blur. I tried juggling reading three books simultaneously, and wound up just reading one at a time. I decided to do a Wes Anderson marathon, which made me realize that his uniquely whimsical style of filmmaking, while charming, can get quite repetitive (although he's still one of my favorite directors working today). I also started listening to podcasts instead of music during my hour-long runs and three-hour-long bike rides, which I found quite useful in distracting myself from thinking about the physical pain I'm feeling on my legs. Amidst the flurry of stuff I tried to consume, here's the shortlist for this edition!
?? READ
?? Article: Wired - How to Make Government Trustworthy Again
Part of Wired's July/August 2020 issue’s “What Happens Next” series of essays that explore insights from the Covid-19 crisis, this article delves into some key reasons why Asian countries have been more successful in controlling their own outbreaks than their western counterparts. While we’re generally led to think that it’s because eastern societies have a better sense of community, the essay actually makes a more important argument saying that their more communal, cooperative behaviors is due to their government’s, their public institutions’ excellent track record of public investment, accountability and high-performance.
Of course, the piece more specifically alludes to Covid-19 success stories in Asia namely South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan, while ignoring places like India and my home country of the Philippines, where their outbreaks are actually relatively out of control, and true to the argument the article poses, also countries where the populace doesn’t have a lot of trust in their institutions. The read hits home by stating the not-so-obvious for people like me who are frustrated with their dysfunctional governments.
?? Short Fiction: New York Times - The Decameron Project
I’m a fan of short stories, especially the ones that are timely to our current health crisis. I’ve even attempted to do a couple flash fiction pieces myself around life during and after the Coronavirus. But of course, I couldn’t get as close to the level of artistry, prose and poignance from the professional writers that the New York Times Magazine has featured on their gorgeously-designed feature of Covid-19 themed short fiction pieces. Admittedly, I haven’t read all thirty of them, but I’d like to highlight these ones that piqued my interest, without giving any spoilers:
The Team (by Tommy Orange) - How an avid runner uses his favorite physical activity to give the reader a history of the sport and his culture and ties it with the events of today, jam-packed with really loaded metaphors and allusions.
Clinical Notes (by Liz Moore) - Creatively portrays the stresses of managing an infant in covid-19, showing how old behaviors of self and professional diagnosis unfold in a time when there’s a new virus out in the world. Personally, very relatable, since I’m raising one myself as of time of writing.
Systems (by Charles Yu) - An interesting take on our patterns of behavior at work, play, socialization, consumption and online activities have both changed and stayed the same even in a time when the whole world is generally focused on mostly just one crisis.
?? Novel: The Hive (by Barry Lyga and Morgan Baden)
A young adult novel that explores the idea of a dystopian world where the best fix for social media is to create a system where “bad” online behavior entails real-world punishment, dished out by netizens — particularly a story of how one teenager’s relatively harmless, but offensive “tweet” eventually unfolds into a massive shit storm that upheaves the whole system.
I think haven’t read a young adult novel since the Harry Potter book series, and I almost forgot how this genre reads quite straightforwardly (i.e. no complex prose or symbolic meanings I have to stop, think and re-read). So I managed to finish this one in a few days, not just because it was an easy ready, but I was particularly curious how the plot would come into a resolution — which I was hoping could be an important lesson we can learn in today’s similarly toxic world of social media.
Did I get a satisfying resolution? I’ll leave that for you to read and decide for yourselves.
LISTEN
???Podcast: Recode Media - South China Morning Post
Peter Kafka’s interviews Gary Liu, the CEO of the over a century old South China Morning Post, which is quite apt in a time when China has just imposed a draconian new law that restricts freedoms in Hong Kong. I thought it was interesting to hear insights from a relative outsider coming into the east asian press discuss the publication’s challenges transforming the paper’s operations covering both the protests and the Covid-19 outbreak, its difficulties moving into a subscription model, and defining its value proposition that merits paying for their content. I particularly like how he mentions that a key misconception that China is a “monolith”, while in fact there’s still a lot of dissent and disagreement that’s happening within the country that’s worth covering for the world to truly understand what’s happening in China.
???Podcast: Land of the Giants - The Netflix Effect
Again with Vox’s Peter Kafka, Land of the Giants covers Netflix’s journey from a disruptor in the video rental space into the…well…giant in online video streaming. I believe there are only three out of seven episodes in total currently available, and the ones that are out I thought were worth a listen right now, as it explores the company’s high-performance culture, how Blockbuster, Netflix’s once main competitor, actually sowed seeds of its own demise, and how a short experiment by the host shows how Netflix’s algorithms really work.
WATCH
?? Binge: Netflix - Homemade
Right when I was starting to get interest in Covid-19 themed fiction, Netflix just drops a relevant new series into my feed out of nowhere, which features seventeen bite-sized short films made by filmmakers across the world made during their respective quarantines. We’ve probably seen a ton of creative work done during lockdowns, but this anthology seems to be the cream-of-the-crop in quarantine creativity.
Although, to be honest, not all of them are watchable for mainstream viewers. And some of them seemed a tad bit too pretentious and overindulgent (especially the one made by Kristen Stewart). While I’ve seen all seventeen films and mostly enjoyed the sweeping desolate landscapes of cities and countrysides juxtaposed with the flurry of activities indoors, let me just save you the trouble and highlight the ones I think most people would love:
“Journey into the End of the Night” (by Paolo Sorentino, shot in Rome) - a delightful story of a fictional, blossoming romance between Pope Francis and the Queen Elizabeth, portrayed using figurines.
“Penelope” (by Maggie Gyllenhaal, shot in Vermont) - A fascinatingly weird story of how a seemingly self-sustaining man deals with isolation in his countryside cabin.
“Last Call” (by Pablo Lorraine, shot in Buenos Aires) - An old man in an elderly home professes his love for an ex-girlfriend. There’s a really great twist somewhere midway, so wait for it.
“Mama’s Dumpling Recipe” (by Johnny Ma, shot in Jalisco) - A Chinese man reads an apology to a mother he left in China to start a family in Mexico. It has an ending that could be of interest for home cooks.
“Ride it Out” (by Ana Lily Amarpour, shot in Los Angeles) - A portrayal of the dissonance of L.A.’s once bustling streets during a young woman’s bicycle ride throughout the city, enjoyable if you’re familiar with the locale. It’s also narrated by Cate Blanchett, whose voices sounds surprisingly apt for documentaries.
?? Binge: Apple TV+ - Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet
If you’re still on your 7-day trial on Apple TV+, and you loved HBO’s Silicon Valley, I’d say this is the gaming industry version of that show. Although, I felt it was much more focused on the colorful slew of characters in a game development studio, as opposed to Silicon Valley’s more apparent satire towards the broader tech industry. But if you enjoy tech geekery, tech professional stereotypes, and conveniently-placed plot twists and resolutions for the sake of humor and surprise, this show is worth the watch.
There’s also a bonus, quarantine-shot episode at the end of season 1, which I thought had a very endearing storyline.
??? Watch: Rice Media - Singapore Unfiltered: Singapore General Elections 2020
Singapore’s general elections are already over and done with with a historic “win” by the opposing Workers’ Party, nabbing the most minority party parliamentary seats in history. But this video gives a candid portrayal on how the older Singaporean voters perceive the country’s politics, from different points-of-views who either agree or disagree with the PAP’s dominance. As a foreigner from a younger generation who’s generally unaware of these things, I thought this piece was quite eye-opening, as it explores the sentiments of the people on-ground that I barely interact with.
??? Watch: Netflix - Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga
If you’d like good wholesome laugh in these trying times (and a break from my list of very bleak or un-entertaining content recommendations), watch this movie. If you want some musical ear worms that will stick to your brain like actual parasitic worms, watch this movie. If you like Will Ferrell, you will still like him in this movie, regardless if you know anything about the real-life Eurovision Song Contest show that the movie pokes fun at (which is apparently, according to European friends, are just as cheesy as the movie portrays).
??? Watch: Netflix - Uncut Gems
I know this is a movie from last year, but I finally got around to watching it, with no other expectations apart from the buzz around this being Adam Sandler's best performance ever. And it really was! Who would've thought his style of comedic franticness lends quite well in his more dramatic role as a gambling-addicted jeweler. Without a doubt, this was also the most stressful movie I've watched this year.
Not recommended for literal Netflix and chillin'.
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Fin! Stay tuned in a couple of weeks. I will try to not feature any covid-19 related content as much as possible, because, seriously, I don’t think we need more of that right now.
Unless it’s content about a formula for a vaccine.