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A State of Freedom
A State of Freedom
Neel Mukherjee | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
A series of interconnecting stories.
I very much like books set in Asia, and in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh in particular. The stories they tell are far from the world that I live in, and I like to think that I'm going to learn something about those worlds and peoples.
This novel follows the lives of multiple people who are all connected in some way (even the first person we meet is connected, albeit in a very tenuous way). The stories are fascinating: from the privileged son of a couple who live in Calcutta who is visiting from London for a month, to the young girl (a child) who is sent to work in other people's houses and is treated like a slave in one of the houses she works in. I won't say any more about the stories of these people, but I loved where their stories led them, no matter how uncomfortable it was for me to read.
The writing is beautifully descriptive: it gave a feel for the sights, sounds and smells of where these people lived. It described the caste/ class system of India, the slums and the places where the better off lived. I really enjoyed this book, it really is well worth reading.
  
Tell Your Children (Reefer Madness) (1936)
Tell Your Children (Reefer Madness) (1936)
1936 | Crime
Dry as a bone but straight-up hysterical, the same year that doctors were prescribing and recommending 'healthy cigarettes' to the average consumer this violently clueless scare tactic was launched unironically into the public about how "the scourge of marijuana" is destroying America's moral fiber lmfao. Honestly makes weed look fucking awesome, especially in the face of whatever puritanical bullshit people thought it was a threat to at the time and even now. The acting is full-send idiocy, these people act like meth-heads rather than people who just took one hit of bum ass 30s pot. Made me utter quotes like "damn those are some weakass buds" and "oh shit he's going 45 look out!". Obviously this is disgusting, stupid, and reprehensible to anyone with half a brain cell but shockingly has some decent cinematography and editing tricks as well as being - truthfully - not all that much more reductive and over-the-top than today's average pot PSA or Hollywood movie involving drug use. Still needs to be made fun of today, because - despite what we may think - not every idea in this laughable fear-mongering trash's head has fully dissipated over the years. Alone it's fine but this is some mega "watch with friends and goof on it" curriculum.
  
40x40

Adam Lambert recommended track Vogue by Madonna in Immaculate Collection by Madonna in Music (curated)

 
Immaculate Collection by Madonna
Immaculate Collection by Madonna
1990 | Rock
8.8 (6 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"I remember being a kid when this song came out and I couldn't get it out of my head. I was obsessed with the music video and I kept singing it and dancing around to it. I think the significance now - I don't think I realised it then - was that it's so gay. ""I know now - I didn't know then - that Madonna was referencing the ball culture of New York, which is this incredible culture that queer people of colour started in New York with these underground gatherings. They would fantasise about being different versions of themselves and winning competitions amongst themselves. It was a way to build each other up and to celebrate who they were. ""In many ways, it was very ahead of its time and I think Madonna was inspired by that. She even had that in her video, she had people voguing and people dancing, from that world. I think I remember looking at those dancers and being like 'Huh, they're kind of feminine… Okay.' I didn't really quite process it because I was pretty young. I think there's a lot of subliminal significance for me, seeing one of my pop idols celebrating and being a part of that world for her song."

Source
  
The Greatest Showman (2017)
The Greatest Showman (2017)
2017 | Drama, Musical
music (1 more)
cinematography
autotune (0 more)
This movie was absolutely beautiful to watch, albeit slightly less beautiful to listen to. The songs themselves were very enjoyable but very derivative and at times seemed overly autotuned, but they definitely stick in your head and the choreography is cute too. I felt there were multiple subplots that would have added more depth to the movie that we only saw a tip of the iceberg with, I would have loved to see more of those but I think leaving them out means that it's a great family movie that people of all ages can enjoy instead of just grown ups.