Who Knew?
Take literally my entire readership out of the craziness of their daily lives, force them into their homes all day every day, and what do you get? That’s right, you get the highest engagement rate of the year on the MezzaDigesta, that’s what you get.
It’s great to be back and writing again, and boy do I have time on my hands to do it. I teased this at the end of the last edition, but I know most of y’all disloyal floosies don’t read to the bottom anyway - so here I am again! Back with your second Digesta of the week in time to recommend some content for your weekends and ongoing quarantines.
We’ll see how this goes over and whether there’s an appetite for an ongoing content edition of the digest, but for now I decided to let it fly. So a content recommendation edition this will be, and I hope you enjoy it. Send me any content (memes, tv shows, twitter accounts, movies, books, articles, songs, whatever!) you’ve been digesting these days, as I’m always in search of the next great topic to think about all day every day.
But let’s get to this week’s write-up. I can think of no better place to start than……
It’s Time to Find Out - Is Love Truly Blind?
That’s right y’all - ya boy hopped in the Love is Blind hive in a big way.
The hype was simply too noisy to ignore. Love is Blind appeared on my radar in much the same way that Love Island did last year, with the major exception being that I was traveling in Thailand when I caught wind of the phenomenon this time around. It wasn’t a friend or a group of friends directly telling me about the show as much as it was a general build-up of noise. I’d hear about this new Netflix show taking off……see publications I follow write articles about it……then view Instagram story posts with friends watching the show……finally, see friends post about the show on Twitter. Next thing I knew, meme accounts were posting about Love is Blind and the hype train had really taken off. It seems to be the way shows build viewership these days - the same thing appears to be happening right now with Tiger King on Netflix as well.
Before those of you who have yet to watch the show or are partway through skip ahead, worry thee not: this piece is not meant to analyze plot points, review, or (majorly) spoil the show in any meaningful way. Instead, I’d like to zoom out a bit and analyze society’s continued fixation with reality TV, almost exactly 20 years after the modern reality TV era began in earnest with the premiere of Survivor.
Now why did your dear mate Joe decide to muse thoughtfully on reality television’s grip on society at this point in time? Well, one striking thought occurred to the bloke about 10 minutes into the third episode of Love is Blind. And that thought was: (drumroll) “You know what, I think this show kinda sucks.” And yet - Love is Blind had inarguably taken the TV-watching world by storm. And did I finish the series (and its accompanying reunion show)? You bet your sweet ass I did.
So, my incredibly academic opinion that Love is Blind kinda sucked? This opinion was formed in comparison to the other reality shows that have captured my attention over the years. I’m not the biggest reality stalwart out there, but I’ve definitely dabbled in my fair share of Real World/The Hills/The Bachelor/The Challenge over the years. Without getting into the nitty gritty too much, here are some ways in which Love is Blind falls short: The show’s premise. You’re supposed to buy in to a universe in which love is based on emotional connection and not physical attraction, which is all good and fun. But this premise is thrown completely out the window about 18% into the show’s run - just about the end of episode two. From that point on, looks are a factor! The show’s editing. In the first episode, you’re introduced to a couple characters that are inexplicably dropped from the continuing narrative and never seen again. What happened to my dudes Rory and Westley? I demand answers!!!! The show’s hosts. Are Nick and Vanessa Lachey hosts of this show, or do they just show up to offer celebrity credence at random junctures? And why does Nick always introduce himself as “obviously Nick Lachey?”
I could go on. But let’s get back on track here. Despite the show’s faults, I finished it and I don’t regret having watched it. But I definitely could have spent those 11 hours reading a book or watching one of the more “culturally approved” TV shows or movies that I have yet to watch (one of these days, I’ll sit down and watch Goodfellas or The Office). So the questions remain: Why did I watch all of Love is Blind? And why does reality television continue to grip so many of us so forcefully?
When the medium hit the scene, I think reality TV became popular because it was such a marked departure from tried and true formats at that time. It was intriguing to take a break from, say, Wheel of Fortune or Friends and tune into shows that broke the mold and seemed more “real.” The shows were less formulaic, the tropes less tried. In place of a sitcom laugh track, you had competitors dueling it out over cash prizes on Survivor. Predictable confrontations on scripted TV gave way to combustible arguments on The Real World. In reality TV as well you had the not unrealistic power to imagine yourself in such a setup in the future. It wasn’t totally out of the question to watch the first entrants on popular reality contests and think, “Hey, maybe I’ll be on such a show at some point.”
Twenty years later, the novelty has worn off and the once-unpredictable shows have become somewhat calculated. So what is the mystifying hold that reality TV has on us nowadays? I think it’s a couple of things. For one, I strongly believe that many people enjoy watching others go through what they themselves never would. Take The Bachelor. At this point, I’m willing to bet that most rational minds would agree that the premise of having one person sift through 25 eligible singles to find the one shining light of love is utterly absurd. But it’s utterly absurd AND entertaining! And with Love is Blind, do we really think you can find true love after talking to someone through a wall for five days straight? Of course not, but I’ve got to watch others try at least!
Secondly, people like to feel superior to others, and reality television gives everyone easy targets of comparison. Comparing yourself to your coworker who got promoted over you is frowned upon. Competing with your friends for attention is often a fruitless exercise that harms rather than helps your self esteem. But comparing your life to that of the crazy bitch who fed her dog wine on national TV?
That, my friends, is why reality TV is not likely to die anytime soon.
Oh, and the memes of course.
Alrighty! Here’s an overview of what content I’ve been consuming in quarantine thus far:
What I’ve Been Watching
1) Contagion, eerily relevant in these times
I’m sure Steven Soderbergh never fully intended his 2011 movie to have a renaissance quite like this, but here we are. Contagion follows the impact of a lethal worldwide virus that kills within days. If that sounds hauntingly familiar and eerily so, that’s because it is! Rest assured that I didn’t feel like it was “too real” of a watch, though it surely is a bit creepy.
One bonus: the cast in this film is dynamite! Matt Damon, Marion Cotillard, Jude Law, Laurence Fishburne, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslett, Bryan Cranston - it’s loaded!
2) Zoë Kravitz, melting my damn heart on Hot Ones
Hot Ones has come up in these parts before, but it’s back baby. I’m obsessed with the Hot Ones formula for its digestibility - while a 50+ minute podcast deep dive might seem like a bit of a chore, I can knock out Hot Ones interviews at an impressive clip. This convenient set-up led me to dear Zoë, who just seems so freaking *cool*. While I’ve seen her on screen a couple times (Mad Max: Fury Road, Big Little Lies), this interview made me think a lot more highly of her. And her first name rhymes with mine, so that’s cool too.
3) The most electric Korean folk rock performance of all time, as seen on NPR’s Tiny Desk
Tiny Desk has come up in these parts before, but it’s back baby. I stumbled across this performance from September 2017 when I googled “best Tiny Desk concerts” and landed on a Reddit message board. Shout-out to passionate redditors. Now, let me say this: I don’t feel particularly compelled to listen to SsingSsing regularly after watching this. But it is one of the more unique musical performances I’ve seen in quite some time.
What I’ve Been Listening To
1) The Rewatchables podcast
One content consumption habit of mine that I hope to eventually break is how I listen to podcasts. I find myself spending way too much time listening to sports podcasts. I’m a sports fanatic and thus it seems to be time well spent, but a lot of the sports content is so of the moment and takes me away from other very interesting stuff.
One thing about this COVID-19 shutdown period? There are no sports to discuss! So, that’s left me tons of time to dive into other podcasts that tickle my interests, such as The Rewatchables.
If you’ve never listened to a Rewatchables pod, I highly suggest you do so. The show takes the most “re-watchable” movies ever made and dissects them in a highly engaging way. Categories such as “Most re-watchable scene” and “Who won the movie?” enhance the process of thinking about favorite movies from years past.
Recent movies that I’ve re-watched and subsequently listened to their accompanying Rewatchables podcasts: The Social Network, The Departed, A Star is Born, and Get Out.
2) Taylor Swift’s discography
All right, I’m cheating a bit with this one. I watched the new Netflix documentary on our girl Tay this week, so this is more of a “watch” than a listen. But I needed more items for the “listen” category, dammit!
The documentary was pretty good! I enjoyed watching it. I don’t know if I *like* Taylor now, but I respect the hell out of her drive and work ethic. I’d say I “moderately agree” rather than “strongly agree” with the statement “You are a fan of Taylor Swift” on one of those questionnaires that you fill out from time to time.
Anyways, I’ve been diving into Taylor’s discography more thoroughly than I ever have before after watching the movie. Turns out, the girl’s got some hits! Who knew?
What I’ve Been Reading
1) Murder on the Orient Express, by Agatha Christie
There’s no better time than a full global lockdown to begin that reading habit you’ve been hoping to start! Agatha Christie was my favorite author growing up, and I just re-read this one, probably her most famous book. I wouldn’t say that I liked it as much the second time around, but I absolutely plowed through it, and it got me excited about continuing to read other books on my list! Building habits!
2) Rules of Civility, by Amor Towles
I’m currently reading this one, and it’s really pushing all the right buttons. Towles is a novelist more well known for his 2016 book A Gentleman in Moscow, but his first novel is not one to disregard. It takes place in New York City in 1938 and follows a young woman who finds herself in the middle of New York high society. It reminds me a bit of The Great Gatsby with a more modern writing style. Highly recommend!
3 Song Recommendations from your Dear Pal
Let’s finish this bad boy off with some song recs. It’s been a while since I updated the ol’ Digesta playlist.
1) The Weeknd - In Your Eyes
The Weeknd is the first major superstar to have dropped an album during the Great COVID Lockdown of 2020. I’ve never been the biggest fan of The Weeknd’s music, but I definitely appreciate his biggest pop hits. This new one falls in that category for me - it’s a jam.
2) Childish Gambino - Summertime Magic
Childish Gambino is the second major superstar to have dropped an album during the Great COVID Lockdown of 2020. I haven’t dived deep enough into his new release to recommend one track to the dear readers, so here’s one he released a couple years back. My gym used this song as its cool-down track regularly after group workouts, so I may be a bit biased hehe.
3) HAIM - The Steps
I’ve struggled with HAIM over the years. I’ve only seen them live once, but they really didn’t sound good. Maybe I caught them on a bad day. Anyways, I digress. This is the newest single from their upcoming third studio album, and I am DIGGING it. Maybe my favorite HAIM song to date.
And so ends the first content-exclusive edition of the Digesta. Hope you’ve found one interesting thing to check out here! See ya next time. Until then, fare thee well my friends.
Love you guys,
Joey