A Hot Mess of Media Musings
My brain is filled with nothing and everything this week which has led to a lot of confusion as to what I want to write about. Initially I typed what I should write about, but according to therapy, should is a stupid word. I also think that this kind of rewiring of certain thoughts takes up a lot of my headspace. I talk to myself a lot, I muse over ideas, I analyse. Sometimes I tie myself in knots and sometimes I see things with such clarity.
This morning at 3:30 when I couldn’t sleep, I thought I was using the word ‘I’ too much in this very newsletter. No conclusions were made about this, but the thought has stuck with me even though I often speak in the first person because speaking in the third person seems unnecessary. Anyway, here is a list of almost topics and un-fleshed out thoughts that crossed my mind for exploration this week. Some may come up again or some will never see the light of day (so I hope they enjoy their time in the sun).
My partner suggested I write about Djokovic and the media’s coverage of his debacle regarding visas, vaccinations and the Aus Open. I have no real understanding of what is going on with this, or care to talk about it. The thing with any story portrayed to us by the media is that it is multi-faceted and complicated and so I encourage you to not have an opinion on something if you don’t know much about it or don’t have anything to do with that. Not having an opinion is okay!
On an upsetting note, last night I watched Crazy Rich Asians (that’s not the upsetting part, the film was delightful) and the final song is a version of Coldplay’s Yellow. Now, I am not at the upsetting part yet but a bit of context. I don’t like Coldplay BUT I don’t mind some of their earlier stuff and I think Chris Martin seems like a really nice guy. So, after hearing Yellow close out Crazy Rich Asians, I really wanted to listen to The Scientist by Coldplay, a great song. So, I did on Spotify, and this is where the upsetting part came in, my stupid Spotify started playing THE LUMINEERS! Now, some of you may not be familiar with this band but I do not like this kind of music, and I am very regretful that the seed has been planted in my Spotify. I don’t think anyone should be judged for the media they consume (this is not a blanket statement because there are some things that people shouldn’t watch but I won’t list awful things here) but I don’t want people to think I like The Lumineers. It’s as vain as that. You can like The Lumineers. I will proudly tell people I listen to One Republic even though I think Coldplay is a non-band and some people will say these bands are related but The Lumineers is a step too far. Like Imagine Dragons or some other diddy diddy band that think they’re rock. It’s times like these I am fully reminded that our digital footprint is forever. And whenever I think about this, I think about the year I listened to some Lady Gaga song incessantly and was worried someone would get my iPod and find out. I am not being vague on purpose; I genuinely can’t remember which song. There’s nothing wrong with Lady Gaga either, I was probably in a very heavy Alt phase and insecure.
Speaking of internet histories, I am very curious as to whether I can restart my Netflix/delete my history. It is completely skewwhiff due to the number of things I have put on my list, tried to watch and didn’t like and now sit there under the Continue Watching banner and seeing them there makes me feel bad. I know a quick Google could sort this out, but my current state of mind means I’ll just wonder if I can do it as opposed to actually doing it. A lot of the shows are K-Dramas I tried to get into but couldn’t and some random reality shows about making chocolate or whatever. This is the thing with algorithms, they think they know you and they do but sometimes they don’t (see the anecdote about The Lumineers above) and you’re like ‘LET ME FIGURE THIS OUT FOR MYSELF’. I am however trying to watch The Witcher. I say trying because I’m only three episodes in and finding it really hard to follow but I like it and the whole vibe and Henry Cavill in general but especially in interviews about this show. Any media in the Fantasy/Sci-Fi genre is especially hard for me to wrap my head around because it’s not like it’s just set in New York or whatever and you’re like yep okay brain we have been here before in shows it’s like set in some made up land and everyone is in cloaks. I spoke to my sister about how confusing I found it and she mentioned the words ‘non-linear story line’, I don’t even have enough of a grasp on this show to even comment if this is true or not. The show could be playing backwards, and I would have no idea.
What I have managed to watch is Something in the Rain and Our Beloved Summer two awesome K-Dramas. The latter is being released twice a week in Aus. One on Tuesdays and one on Wednesdays. This is making Tuesdays very difficult for me because I know an episode is out but if I wait till Wednesdays, I can watch two in a row (!). I am developing very strong parasocial* relationships with all these characters and their actors. For example, my Pinterest is filled with pictures of Shin Min-a (Oh My Venus and Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha), Shung Jae In (Something in the Rain) and Woo-sik Choi and Kim Da-Mi (Our Beloved Summer). When I read that people think that Woo-Sik Choi and Kim Da-Mi are dating in real life I was so happy. Life is so confusing sometimes.
Speaking of, one of my ex-students has started a private Instagram account for her upcoming 18th birthday. The way people use the internet will never cease to amaze me.
I am on the lookout for people to watch on YouTube, this is the thing with influencers diversifying there are more platforms for their content but less (long form-ish) content. Instagram stories are not a substitute for a vlog. Don’t let them fool you. If you have any recommendations please let me know.
I have just reread this before getting ready to hit publish, I wouldn’t describe myself as a high energy person, but this issue makes me seem that way. Well, we all know talking about this stuff gets me going.
As always, thought I don’t say this every week, thanks so much for reading. It means a lot. Also, if you have any media recommendations or things you would like to read about, please let me know!
Natasha
*Also, quick recap, parasocial relationships was an idea developed in the 50s to describe the connection we feel with someone after seeing them on TV (it was initially based on news readers) or in the media. I feel like I’ve written about it before, but I can’t find it and I don’t have the desire to read through all my old newsletters.