jeevs' april media recap
hey...how y'all doin...
Hi friends! I’m alive! Sorry for being a bit quieter on here the past few weeks. I’m working on my three-episode Succession recap and a personal essay about cleanliness standards, hoarding, and shame that I’m hoping will come out in the next few weeks. Good food is coming, I promise!!!!
I’ve been struggling to make time for fun, Substack writing lately because I’m trying to claw my way out of the unmotivated, dejected phase of my depressive cycle. A long time ago I decided to accept that my life would be animated by this cycle (“productive”→slowing down→completely let myself go until I reach a breaking point→“productive” again)—mostly because I grew tired of convincing myself that I could function any differently. It’s exhausting to feel like a perpetual disappointment to yourself. But! That’s an essay for another day.
One of the things that holds me through every phase of my depressive cycle though, is the media I consume. It brings me joy, gives me an opportunity to inhabit and deconstruct other worlds and I’m infinitely grateful to have access to it. It’s an immense privilege.
So, let’s jump into another monthly recap of the things I’ve loved reading, listening to and watching this month :)
📚 Current reads
“Is Therapy-Speak Ruining our Relationships?” by Meg Walters [Refinery29]
I’ve been thinking a lot about how therapy-speak has permeated into our daily conversations, and how it’s made so many of us completely delusional. I’ve watched over the years how psychotherapy language has migrated from random Twitter threads by self-proclaimed experts, to Instagram infographics and now to actual mental health professionals who give blanket advice to the masses through TikTok videos. Do I think itself therapy makes us selfish? Absolutely not. But I think the rise of misused therapy terms can be a vehicle for the justification of us doing whatever we want, at the expense of other peoples’ feelings and needs. Sometimes you need a set a boundary, and sometimes we have to adjust our behaviours to exist in community.
“Nobody Can Take Your Power: Megan Thee Stallion in Her Own Words” by Meg Thee Stallion as told to Evette Dionne [Elle]
Meg Thee Stallion penned an essay to accompany her cover feature on the May issue of Elle Magazine, and I’m officially deeming it essential reading for this month. Meg Thee Stallion went through something unimaginable, shot by someone who she thought was her friend not long after the passing of her mother. She endured a high-profile trial where she had to recount details of her trauma on the stand while with the public questioned her at every turn, calling her a liar and siding with her abuser simply because he’s a man. Meg calls out how quick people were to defend T*ry, “Instead of condemning any form of violence against a woman, these individuals tried to justify my attacker’s actions,” she said. Her essay is a meditation on what she’s gone through in the past few years, and a call to action for those who don’t see violent behaviour against women, especially Black women, as a real problem.
All hail the girlfailure [i-D]
Ah, the girlfailure. The natural overcorrection for years of being told that we (women) can have it all! And by “all” they mean domestic labour and joining the workforce full-time because that’s equality…right? This essay is a fun, lighthearted read about the importance of abandoning the girlboss mentality (driven by the capitalist system, of course) which is predicated on treating ourselves less as humans and more as optimal workers. Let women be mediocre!
🎧 Current listens
the record by boygenius
I’m new to the world of boygenius. They’ve been on my list for a long time, but I caught their Coachella livestream last weekend and immediately fell in love with their latest album. Music about mutual obsession and friendship will always win for me. It’s haunting and comforting all at once. Perfect for mellow days when you want to curl in the fetal position and have a good cry. Top tracks: $20, Cool About It and True Blue.
4EVA by Kaytraminé
Yuuuup both my crushes on one track. KAYTRANADA and Aminé recently announced that they’ll be releasing a joint album and I quite literally could not be more excited. There are no two artists I trust more to execute a joint album to perfection. When I’m not crying to boygenius I’m listening to this.
📺 Current watches
Abbott Elementary (Disney+)
I am being so serious when I say I have not been this invested in a sitcom ship since New Girl. Quinta Brunson, the creator, writer and lead of Abbott knows exactly how to write a slow burn because Janine and Gregory are so adorable and meant to be and in love it’s sickening!!! Abbott is such a lovely, charming show with great writing and pitch perfect casting. It’s a delight to watch and I’d highly recommend adding it to your tv roster.
Barry (Crave/HBO)
Another one of my fav shows on tv right now. Barry is the story of a depressed hit-man who decides one day that he wants to be an actor. It’s dark, sure but also hilarious and also has very precise writing and stellar direction. With its fourth and final season now airing weekly, I admire how the show has evolved into a very honest depiction into the mind of a killer. It refrains from glorifying the character’s actions and explores the psyche of an unhinged, delusional characters whose consequences, it seems, won’t evade him.
That’s it from me, folks! Thanks for reading, love you lots. I’m off to watch the new episode of Succession! I’ll leave you with a calming, rainy day gif for this calming, rainy day.
