As we stumble into the beginning of yet another year, we are bombarded with list after list of what to look forward to in 2015 on our Facebook, Pinterest, and Tumblr accounts. I don’t even want to talk about it.
I am an anxious person who enjoys pop culture. So, when a new year comes along, instead of being excited about new TV shows and movies and books, I get upset, because I am now even further from all the things I have yet to watch and listen to and read. This is me:
You know that feeling of insignificance and impossibility that some people get when they look up at the thousands of stars in the night sky? That’s how I feel about the plethora of pop culture out there. I tried to keep an Excel spreadsheet to keep track of all these things but I abandoned that ship very quickly. It would keep expanding, serving as a physical reminder that I would never be able to watch or read everything. When I try to decide what to start next, I curl up under the covers and cry and then inevitably watch Sliding Doors (1998 ) for the umpteenth time.
So this year, alongside looking forward to all the new developments of pop culture, I am going to spend some time delving back into the things I’ve missed, but in a way that seems a little more manageable: I’m going to focus on things produced by women. This is partially inspired by the #Readwomen2014 movement of last year, but quite honestly, narrowing my field of options will just allow me some peace. I can sleep better knowing that I’ve simply taken A Tale of Two Cities off the table. So here are a few people and things I’m looking forward to finally experiencing in 2015.
- Toni Morrison: I’m ashamed that I somehow got through four years of undergrad being an English major without ever reading this woman. It’s high time to correct this.
- Designing Women: My mother always told me how much I would love this show, if only I could ever find it playing anywhere. I also appreciate anything that has as much big hair as this show does. I may have to suck it up and buy the DVDs for this one.
- Pariah: I remember reading so many positive blurbs and tweets about Dee Rees’ coming out/coming-of-age film when it was limitedly released in 2011, but somehow never caught it. This is the kind of movie I feel warrants the $2.99 it takes to rent on Amazon instead of waiting around for it to be available for free.
- Rebecca Solnit: I read Men Explain Things To Me a few months ago and was so blown away I immediately researched the rest of Solnit’s non-fiction. First up for me will be The Faraway Nearby.
- All About My Mother: Okay, so this winner of the 2000 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film was technically written and directed by a man, Pedro Almódovar, but the entire cast is made up of primary almost women. I constantly see it listed as an important feminist film and need to just watch it already.
Of course there are plenty more female writers, directors, musicians, etc. with boundless works out there for us to devour, and I’ll obviously keep adding to this list. There’s just so much out there competing with the upcoming season of Broad City for my attention. Deep breaths.
What feminist films, fiction, and other pop culture “musts” are you looking forward to in 2015?
Images courtesy of Goodreads and Beamly.
