Here comes this week’s grab bag, short & sweet to celebrate la rentrée (“the return” in French, short for la rentrée scolaire). Growing up in Paris, back-to-school was a nationwide ritual, where everyone returned from their vacations and got back into the swing of things, whether they had to go out and get the hyper specific list of school supplies or not. My parents were endlessly fascinated by the requirements year to year, notebooks with detailed descriptions regarding dimensions, interior details, and color.
As
writes: “September performs a kind of seasonal alchemy, taking the big dose of summer abundance from July and the hint of liminal August lethargy and turning it into a fresh new energy full of potential. To return is to come back, and while la rentrée and back-to-school have this as a central focal point—stepping out of a dreamy, obligation-less break time and back into a more scheduled, routine reality—there’s something else at play that gives this season its particular energy: newness.”Sanya Mansoor wrote this comprehensive piece for TIME: “The men are all worried about employment, as well as getting kicked out of their current dwelling because of a requirement for all single adult migrants to reapply for shelter every 60 days. Mayor Adams established the rule to provide more room for families with children, but these men don’t know where they’ll be able to stay next. Local bureaucracy has made it harder to get a city ID that would help migrants open bank accounts, access city services, and secure jobs—which would in turn help them get on the path to moving out of temporary housing.”
The Triadische Ballett (Triadic Ballet) was choreographed by painter, sculptor, designer and dancer Oskar Schlemmer. It premiered in Stuttgart on September 30th 1922. The costumes were meant to constrict movement - he created them before the choreography so the dancers were limited, moving across the stage like marionettes. He wondered if in the future “the act of mechanizing life through machines and technology, a trend we cannot ignore, will make us perceive the human machine and the body’s mechanisms with greater awareness.”
Per philosopher and scientist Daniel C. Dennett: “Some people don’t want magic tricks explained to them. I’m not that person. When I see a magic trick, I want to see how it’s done. People want free will or consciousness, life itself, to be real magic. What I want to show people is, look, the magic of life as evolved, the magic of brains as evolving in between our own ears, that’s thrilling! It’s affirming. You don’t need miracles. You just need to understand the world the way it really is, and it’s unbelievably wonderful. We’re so lucky to be alive!”
Alice Carrière’s memoir Everything/Nothing/Someone is out now. Her mother was renowned artist Jennifer Bartlett. We had somewhat overlapping lives, born around the same time, but we went from New York to Paris while she went the opposite route. The excerpt The Cut ran is stunning, about surviving emotional neglect and mental illness. Kristine has been raving about this book for years now, having grown up with her and read in galleys form, and I can’t wait to read the whole thing as soon as possible.
Bottoms is so deranged and so hilarious. No notes. I cannot remember the last time I’ve genuinely laughed so hard, been caught off-guard by so many razor-sharp lines. Richard Brody is dead wrong (except for when he writes that Ayo Edebiri’s “delivery of one extended monologue, in which she anticipates a grim and closeted future, is the artistic highlight of the movie.”)
Equally compelling is Rachel Handler’s cover story on Emma Seligman, Rachel Sennott and Ayo Edebiri: “When they first started writing Bottoms, Seligman and Sennott felt the need to plainly identify each character’s sexuality and stressed about the credibility of their own sexual identities. “Should Josie and PJ be bisexual because we’re not lesbians?” wondered Seligman. “Or at least at the time I wasn’t. Do we need to make that clear? I was trying to be really PC, and as time went on, it felt like we were forcing identity politics into the movie where it had no business being there in terms of this world where everything is so heightened.” Instead, in a later scene, several characters have epiphanies about their sexualities: One character, for example, watches two other female characters make out and looks thoughtful. “Okay, yeah, I’m not gay,” she says to herself. “I just like gay porn!””
I’ve been reading Kate Folk’s collection of short stories “Out There” on Cailin’s recommendation and each one is a perfect little movie waiting to be expanded upon. “The Bone Ward” is particularly eerie, a dark love triangle set in a medical ward for people experiencing a mysteriously bone-melting disorder. Called Total Nocturnal Bone Loss (TNBL), the condition liquifies the victim’s skeleton every night, and each morning the bones grows back in an excruciating process.
In her interview with Hannah Kingsley-Ma Kate Folk says: “When I'm writing these stories, I don't even really think of it as being that strange. I just start with a premise or even just a sentence that seems intriguing to me and then play out what would happen. If I'm not sold on the concept, then it's not going to work. It's hard to find that balance, right? It is so easy to veer off into just feeling silly or too absurd, and I feel like there needs to be that grounding and gravity to it. The type of stories that I like the most do feel convincing, but they also go into these really strange places.”
I have been exclusively listening to Burna Boy’s new album “I Told Them...” and it is such a solid good time. Joe Muggs writes: “The way the traditional sounding chant of “On Form” segues into the retro 90s hip hop groove, Brandy sample and autotuned guest vocal from 21 Savage, for example, is bravura stuff – both as an act of disaporic dot-joining, and purely as a musical experience. Likewise J Cole rapping only over percussion and guitar makes for a sound that’s not only original but suggests great possibility for future exploration. “Giza” with Seyi Vibez, for example, brings things up to date with South African amapiano – and echoes of generations of house and techno which that brings – perfectly woven into the fabric of the album as well.”
reminded me of one of my favorite podcast episodes in her newsletter . Roger Deakins, besides being one of the world’s greatest living cinematographers, has a brilliant podcast with his wife and collaborator James Ellis Deakins where they interview some major cast and crew heavyweights. The episode with Sarah Polley is particularly moving, where she talks about her shift from acting to directing, her history of political activism and the therapy she went through before making her documentary “Stories We Tell”.Kishori wanted some clarifications on subscriptions, so here’s a little explanation: writing and directing as a filmmaker is my day job, and these weekly installments are my attempt at something else, something that hopefully makes you rethink the world a little bit. Less of a side hustle, more of something that is fulfilling in and of itself.
That said, since I started writing here on Substack, people have been pledging subscription amounts as a way to support the work. My sister Kira had the idea to turn these payments into donations, as a way to directly support the organizations I write about. Therefore… this newsletter will forever be free, but if you are in a position to give, you can subscribe for any amount (on a weekly or yearly basis) and at the end of every month, 100% of the money is redistributed.
August’s donations went to Moms4Housing (reclaiming housing in Oakland), Voces Latinas (empowering new and undocumented Latine* immigrants) and Black Trans Liberation (aiming to end homelessness within the trans population). You can track where donations have been going here and thank you as always for reading! It’s a pleasure to write here and I do not take your eyeballs for granted.
Field trip!
What: J'Ouvert/West Indian Day Parade
Where: Along Eastern Parkway
When: Monday September 4 from 11:00AM to… ?
Till next time,
ASK