Graduation Elation

Going to university is arduous, it’s one of the biggest life events that can shape your future. It’s years of toil, of pressure, of impending deadlines, headaches and nights spent hunched over a screen. But by Jove, when you’re finished it’s one of the most rewarding and satisfying journeys you have undertaken so far in the vastness that is life. In the three or four years you spent studying you have learnt your limits, you have learnt how to overcome those limits and you can proudly say “I have done it!”. That’s how it was for me anyway.

I went to university a little bit later than most people, at age 18 I didn’t really know what to do with myself, let alone what to study. So I took an academic break and dived into the world of employment. I challenged myself on the battlefield that is retail, overcoming social anxiety, sexism and other perils. And in this process, I learnt what I wanted to do. I wanted to study English Literature. I have loved books all my life, and I had flirted with the idea of being a writer or working in Advertising for quite some time. So English Literature seemed like a good subject to go for. I then decided at the age of 23 to enrol at The Open University to study English Literature, I chose the OU because it would give me the opportunity to study and work at the same time.

Fast forward three years, I have graduated amidst a global pandemic with a First-Class Honours in English Literature! I think I may have doubted myself every step of the way but I actually accomplished what I originally aimed for which I am so happy about, I am literally filled with elation right now…

So what’s next?

I have no idea, the job market is absolutely screwed, and we are in the midst of the biggest recession since well ever, maybe…just great! But that’s not really something to worry about, most wounds heal eventually, and everybody is in the same place. I’ll just have a bit of a harder time finding a job and maybe in the process I’ll become more resilient and resourceful which is never a bad thing. So here’s to the future, may it be full of intrigue, challenges and joy!

August 2020 Watchlist

This month my watchlist is dominated by non-English language content with Danish, Korean and German dramas at the forefront but the Jordan Peele produced Lovecraft Country looks to be one of this year’s best shows. What TV Shows will you be watching this month?

The Rain - Netflix - All 3 seasons

I only just started watching this Danish post-apocalypse series recently and after the first episode, I was hooked. It takes place after a mysterious virus that is brought with the rain kills off most of Scandinavia (and perhaps the rest of the world). There’s family, end of the world brutality and an interesting moral sci-fi dilemma. Great pandemic viewing.

Stranger Season 2 (비밀의 숲 2) - Netflix & TvN - August 15th/16th

I am so glad that this Korean Crime drama is back for another season, normally it’s one-season and done with Korean TV shows but sometimes and it’s happening more and more now, we get a continuation of a story. Stranger follows Prosecutor Hwang Shi-Mok (Cho Seung-woo) as he investigates corruption alongside Police Officer Han Yeo-Jin (the always amazing Bae Doo-na). I’m not too sure what this seasons story will be as there has been no trailer with English subtitles released yet!

Lovecraft Country - HBO & Now TV - August 16th & 17th

Jordan Peele is one of the executive producers for this show that is based on the book of the same name. The premise of both mediums and their namesakes comes from a mingling of H.P. Lovecrafts iconic bizarre horror and 1950’s Jim Crow America. I’m getting a little bit of an Indiana Jones vibe mixed with a whole lot of darkness! I think this could be one of the best TV shows of the year!

Biohackers - Netflix - August 20th

I am so interested in the idea of biohacking, I watched this documentary when I was younger about cloning and genetic modifications (goats that produce spider silk instead of milk, that kind of thing) and I have kinda been a little obsessed by the idea of self-perpetuated evolution, be that through cybernetics or biohacking. So, this German language TV looks like it will be right up my alley and kind of feels like it might fill the void left by Orphan Black.

July 2020 Books

Seasons of Migration to the North (موسم الهجرة إلى الشمال) by Tayeb Salih

This book is amazing. It’s lyrical, emotive and surprising. Salih has crafted a book that is not only intriguing, it’s also educational, and it explores the dark side of colonialism (more and more I’m finding it hard to see any positives) in Sudan and how orientalism and fetishisation of a culture and its people is utterly deplorable. A must-read for anyone wanting to educate themselves on Black Arab culture and the aftermath of white colonialism.

Adèle (Dans le jardin de l'ogre) by Leïla Slimani

Well, this is one disturbing novel. Adèle tells the story of a woman who engages in extramarital affairs and flings with numerous men, some she knows, some her husband knows and others who are complete strangers. Adèle is essentially a sex addict and her life soon descends into chaos as her liaisons become more and more frequent and risky. What makes this novel disturbing is the psychology behind Adèle’s actions and then some things that happen that are quite clearly spoilers so I won’t divulge them to you. But give this a read if you're into thrillers.

The Prophet by Khalil Gibran

This is one wise book. Gibran teaches through poetry in The Prophet and I felt like I had gained some invaluable wisdom by the end of its rather short page count. If you only read one book out of this blog post make it this one as you’ll come out the other side a better person to be around. Guaranteed.

Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 (82년생 김지영) by Cho Nam-joo

While this novel is powerful in its raw and honest offloading of gender inequality in South Korea it isn’t really a good novel. It’s very simply written and feels more like a report at times but I did find it very moving and also quite concerning as I identified (as do most women who read it no doubt) with a lot of what is discussed within it. It is a watershed book for Korea and it caused a massive uproar when published, so perhaps that is all that counts, and maybe the simplicity of it is necessary to get it into as many hands and minds as possible.

Dubliners by James Joyce

It has taken me quite the time to read this collection of short stories, I started them last year as part of my uni course and naturally only read the stories I needed to read for an essay. Seeing as I have recently finished my degree I thought it was high time to actually finish the collection. Some stories I liked, ‘A Painful Case’ being my favourite and the story I actually wrote about. But for the most part, they were well written but ultimately forgettable snapshots of life…I guess maybe that is the point and I will be reading more Joyce as I like his style.

Social Creature by Tara Isabella Burton

I got this book a while back from a book subscription box and I finally decided to pick it up and read it. I mainly read it as I was going through my books and deciding what to keep and what to get rid of (after reading of course!). This book was on the get rid of pile and after reading it I feel no different, it was an average thriller with average characters. Slimani’s Adèle is a much better thriller in my opinion.

The Humans by Matt Haig

This book very much has an agenda…an agenda to make you laugh constantly at the absurdity of human life. Haig has such a brilliant way of capturing all the minutiae of everyday life and turns it into a treatise on how and why life is brilliant and should be celebrated, all through the eyes of an alien as he learns how to be human. If your feeling down then this is a book to read as it will help you recapture your appreciation for life, and it’s also powerful to know that Haig wrote this book after getting through depression and anxiety.

Heroes and Villains by Angela Carter

Every time I read more of Carter’s work I fall a little more in love with her writing, the art of writing and literature overall. She was a master at her craft and every sentence she weaves is brilliant. Heroes and Villians is 164 pages of feral poetry, it's a gothic fairytale set in a post-apocalyptic world that will leave you considering it long after you close the book. I think I just found another new favourite this month.

French Cinema: Les Confins du monde (To the Ends of the World) film review

Les Confins du monde is directed by Guillaume Nicloux and stars Gaspard Ulliel, Guillaume Gouix, Lang Khê Tran and Gérard Depardieu.

Set during the volatile days of France's colonization of Indochina, most specifically Vietnam, Les Confins du monde follows a soldier on his quest to avenge his brother’s violent murder.

Beautifully shot, Les Confins du monde uses lingering shots on sumptuous jungles and beautifully framed quiet conversations suffused with poeticism to juxtapose with moments of extreme violence and gore.

The opening of the film is a brilliant example of this. The ghostly calm, represented by Ulliel’s Tassen sitting alone with people drifting past in a misty army post, a colour palette of pale blues, greys and greens suddenly becomes a contortion of bodies rendered in deep reds, oranges and rich green. A mass grave of bleeding corpses.

This is a shock to the system, a glimpse at the horrors of war and the film to come. This abrupt shift from peace to violence also represents the nature of guerilla warfare; a moment of solitude and silence very quickly descends into chaos and death.

The narrative of Les Confins du monde is very evocative of Apocalypse Now, and Tassen teeters on the edge of becoming a Colonel Kurtz figure as he obsessively hunts for a revolutionary figure waging a guerilla war against French occupation and Japanese invaders whom he deems responsible for the death and mutilation of his brother and his brother’s wife.

Tassen also falls in love with a Vietnamese prostitute, but his love manifests as control and psychological punishment, and his relationships with his fellow soldiers don’t fair much better.

He is poisoned by the need to avenge; he isolates those around him and breaks rules and causes many to die. It’s a brutal film, and the story sort of just fades off towards the end, symbolising that Tassen will probably never find the man he is hunting and that his whole journey is in the end completely futile.

«Le deuil est une drôle d'épreuve. Un jour, on croit en être sorti, et puis non... Il est toujours là, incrusté avec sa colère»

“Grief is a strange ordeal. One day we think we’re cured, but no… it’s still there indivisible from our anger”

Another central theme to the film is that of grief, Tassen is grieving, but he is blinded by rage and PTSD after being the sole survivor of a massacre. He has quiet conversations with Saintonge, a writer who asserts that he is on no one’s side, that he has fallen in love with Vietnam and its people, but who is ultimately crippled by grief.

Tassen is almost disgusted by Saintonge, by his defeat and continues on his journey. With each loss of life around him, Tassen contorts into a more savage, cruel and empty version of himself. This in itself is what makes the film interesting to watch, the study of a broken man on a deadly and endless quest.

Summer Playlist - Summertime Magic

Named after Childish Gambino’s song Summertime Magic, this playlist is me trying to capture the essence of Summer while the world is still firmly in the clutches of a global pandemic. Covid-19 has pretty much annihilated everyone’s summer plans so maybe this collection of songs can bring a little magic back into these summer months for everyone or at least help you imagine what adventures you can have next summer.