In 2020 I started this blog about pop culture, but also about my life, our lives, and how these things all come together.
Hello world,
How are you all doing? Sorry for the loaded question. I just wanted to check in.
In this challenging year I decided to really commit to writing and sharing my thoughts about pop culture and the ways it has impacted my life.
Why is this important?
What we watch or listen to says a lot about our identities and our cultural moment.
Many years ago in one of my university cinema theory classes I watched the Edward Yang film Yi Yi (Translated into English as "One One")
It was a beautiful film with intersecting storylines of a large ensemble of characters in Taipei, navigating their complicated relationships and family histories. During one poignant scene, the following exchange between two characters unfolds:
Pangzi: Life is a mixture of happy and sad things. Movies are so lifelike - that's why we love them. Ting-Ting: Then who needs movies? Just stay home and live life. Pangzi: My uncle says we live three times as long since man invented movies. Ting-Ting: How can that be? Pangzi: It means movies give us twice what we get from daily life.
This moment SHOOK ME. It was what I always felt about pop culture in general. Edward Yang (who also wrote the film) was my kind of person. Pop culture reflects life and it is part of our lives.
I promise that this blog won't entirely be this kind of philosophizing. I will also write fluff and the occasional "hot take."
I'm just so excited that you're reading this and I look forward to sharing more! I'll leave you with the pop culture moment that I relive every time I am down or need a good laugh.
Enjoy!