#17 Culture Fix
Films, books and music galore by a tried and tested human so you can confidently embarrass your friends who are probably raving about an AI-made up novel.
The Culture Fix is the place where I share the books, films, music, articles, interviews, plays, exhibitions, places, and even food, I’ve enjoyed recently.
Recommendations may refer to content in either English, Spanish, French or Italian and sometimes not available in English. But since this is a publication called Abroad written by a multilingual foreigner in London, and hopefully appealing to those curious to explore beyond their own borders, this shouldn’t come as a surprise or be an obstacle to widen your cultural horizons.
In Neapolitan tradition the number 17 is synonymous with bad luck, or what the natives call “sfiga.” Since I’m typing these lines in the Eastern border of France near Switzerland, I trust the Jura mountains offer enough physical distance between me and Southern European superstitions to keep this issue of The Culture Fix safe from debacle. Since it’s also me typing it, I wouldn’t hold my hopes very high.
But don’t let me get ahead of my self and let me do a brief recap on what’s happened since the last issue.
To begin with, I started mostly cool stuff (no capitals, otherwise it isn’t cool), another publication where I share sweet and short dispatches bringing together the old curiosity shop that are the screenshots in my phone gallery, the links I send to myself, the news that capture my attention and the random discoveries I make along the way. It started as 2.0 version of previous newsletters I used to send weekly at work for years as I missed the joy of writing regularly, an itch that long form content isn’t always able to scratch at as it demands huge amounts of mental energy and subsequent rest periods. You can’t pour from an empty cup, and all that. Even when it looks like a 5 year old could have written that post, it was still exhausting to put it together.
Perhaps thanks to AI it doesn’t have to be anymore. At least that’s what’s been transpiring recently on Substack as a number of similar posts in tone have hit my feed over the past couple of weeks, all of them suspiciously graced by thousands of likes, hundreds of restacks, and a very high number of comments, which is the true holy grail of engagement. Most shockingly the authors of this highly successful content publish almost every day. How is that even possible? I can barely remember that brilliant idea I had for a post a minute ago let alone actually writing it.
Oh muse, tell me, the secret to these gifted scribes’ prose and endurance for I too long for the audience’s favour and the algorithm’s capricious blessing!
If you have also noticed the proliferation and ubiquitouness of a new kind of writer who expresses themselves in what has aptly defined as the Substack style, I would highly recommend reading his piece Scamming Substack? where he analyses the phenomenon and what may be going on behind the scenes. If you feel deflated for the lack of engagement, remember it’s not you, it’s probably AI.
The other thing that has also happened is that I’ve been reading a lot, at least for my average standard.
This has been enabled by an unexpected wifi malfunction over a weekend which left me with no other option for entertainment than books. It was nice to get lost into physical pages and not online posts and I hope to sustain the habit a bit longer so I’m grateful for that connection glitch that forced me to resort to physical objects in order to dissociate from reality for a change. Reading is reading, no matter how you end up there. Unless, of course, you claim to have greatly enjoyed the latest Isabel Allende’s novel, Tidewater Dreams, in which case I would have to report you to the Real Books Police for immediate arrest. How could you prefer it over The Rainmakers by Percival Everett? Unbelievable.
Can we really be surprised about this surge in AI generated-content when even tech CEOs are replacing themselves with avatars and very shortly so we will, as this tube ad reminds me?
Rest assure this edition of the Culture Fix features cultural products created by humans and recommended by another verified human. Not to brag but I have an 83% success rate identifying correctly traffic lights, motorcycles and even pedestrian crossings, which can be tricky.
Now hold tight and enjoy the cultural ride.
On Substack/News/Articles
— Let's Talk About ChatGPT and Cheating in the Classroom
— How to read more in 11 easy steps
— You can stay there - a travel guide for book and cinema lovers
— The death of the public intellectual
— 67 cringe-worthy clichés of book reviewing
— Agatha Has Been AI-ed, and I Feel Uncomfortable About It
— Vincenzo Latronico on writing Perfection, his International Booker Prize shortlisted novel
— Taste Is the New Intelligence
— Your hip surgery, my headache
— Books to Guide You Out of the Dark: A Fictional Therapy Reading List
Books
— Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams
If half of what Sarah Wynn-Williams writes about in this memoir about her seven years at Facebook working closely with Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg is true, I’m surprised Facebook is still in business. But at the same time that’s probably why they are still in business. As it always happens when whistleblowers write a book, Meta has gone to great lengths to prevent the book from being promoted, which accuses Meta’s leadership team of being deeply unconcerned with human rights, data protection violations or paying taxes in the countries they operate internationally, among many other things. Perhaps more interestingly is how Wynn-Williams focuses since the beginning, and then slowly builds up to, Facebook shift towards influencing electoral results and supporting divisive content to fuel engagement. I guess we’ll never know for sure what goes on behind close doors at big tech given how many interests (political, economic, strategic) and personal vendettas are intertwined with the truth, so we’ll always be left wondering what and who to believe. Judging however by recent events, Careless People seems to have hit a few nails on the head.
— Le parfum des fleurs la nuit by Leïla Slimani
Blending memoir with social observations and critique, this slim volume is the fruit of Slimani’s overnight stay at Punta della Dogana in Venice, where she was invited to spend a sleepless night alone in the museum by her editor as part of a new literary project. As the hours pass, Slimani reflects on the effects art has on us, who gets to experience it and how based on our gender and where we are born as she explores the question of cultural identity while she reminisces about her childhood in Rabat and the figure of her father, who was imprisoned by
— Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
Maybe because I started the year watching Nosferatu and developing a soft spot for all things gothic, maybe because 2025 marks Austen’s 250th birthday and I’ve resolved to read all her books before the end of the year (fingers crossed), I approached Northanger Abbey with the best of intentions and it paid off. I flew by Austen’s satiric take on the gothic novels of her day and while this may be an early work not fully reflective of her later style, it’s nonetheless quintessentially Austen so expect lots of balls, excessive deference for new acquaintances that prove to be not that worthy, a few misunderstandings that get in the way of two people getting together, religious observance of social conventions and a heroine that triumphs over adversity at the end of the day.
— Le perfezioni by Vincenzo Latronico
A modern spin on Les choses by George Perec, Le perfezioni is the story of the disillusions of the millennial generation told through the eyes of an exiled couple from Southern Europe that emigrates to more prosperous -and colder- latitudes hoping to live up to their generation’s expectations and make the most out of their youth and ambition. But after the novelty of a new place, synthetic drugs, risqué sex, the latest rave party and an array of international friends constantly coming and going eventually wears off and the dust of every day life and its problems settles, the cracks begin to show and what once seemed a goal to work towards to slowly morphs into a reality one can’t wait to escape from. Written with surgical precision that creates a vantage point of view for the reader as an observant of the life of others, Vincenzo Latronico has crafted the novel that captures the experience of being a millennial in the era of precariousness and the constant readjustment of one’s dreams as the goalposts keep moving further and further away.
— Spatriati by Mario Desiati
If Le perfezioni is the story of a couple that faces the disappointments of modern life together, Spatriati is the other side of the coin. We find two Southern Italians at the centre of Desiati’s novel who are looking for a better life, a man and a woman who have known each other since childhood but aren’t bound by romantic love but rather a desire to be accepted -by themselves, by the other, by society- for who they are deep inside and not the image those around them have created based on the false sense of familiarity that growing up in a small place creates. The two of them eventually find a way to live according to their own terms by uprooting themselves and building their idea of home and self far away from the place where everyone has already decided who they are supposed to be and what they are supposed to want.
Films
— The Uninvited
The first in a series of films released this year and starring Pedro Pascal, The Uninvited is the directorial debut of Nadia Conners. From the trailer I thought this would either move into love triangle territory à la Celine Song or be a fierce satire of Hollywood types as the plot focuses on a couple made of a talent agent (Walter Goggins) and his actress wife (Elizabeth Reaser) who are about to host a group of guests at home for a party, including a former love interest of the wife that is now the hottest actor in Hollywood (played by Pedro Pascal), an egomaniac director (Rufus Sewell) and an up-and-coming young actress (Eva De Dominici). However, The Uninvited didn’t quite go in either direction fully and instead took a lot of detours, some of them leading nowhere. The film, if not the evening, is eventually saved by Lois Smith, who gives a very moving performance playing a mysterious elderly woman whose identity will be revealed only at the very end when the party has come to a close.
— Jane Austen wrecked my life
Bringing together the best of French and British quirkiness, perfect locations that set the Austen mood instantly, an array of characters that could well belong in an Austen novel including a hero and heroine that initially don't see eye to eye but eventually warm up to each other, this is a somewhat predictable but nonetheless highly delightful story. Because let's be honest sometimes you want something that delivers exactly what the title promises, especially if it mentions Jane Austen in it.
— Parthenope
I can’t say I’m an expert in Paolo Sorrentino’s filmography having watched only La Grande Bellezza and Il Divo, but I have loved Parthenope. I found it was a very subtle and moving homage to Naples using her protagonist as an excuse to talk about a city that, like the protagonist of the film, possesses a breathtaking beauty that leaves no one indifferent yet is highly mysterious and often misunderstood, even by its own people. Expect excellent photography and don’t ask it to make sense because this is not that kind of film nor Sorrentino that kind of director.
— Sinners
I went to Sinners expecting a non-demanding action movie and came out blown away by what I had just seen: one of the most original and entertaining films I’ve watched this year. There is blues music, racial tensions, vampires, and two twin brothers Smoke and Stack (both played by Michael B. Jordan) all of them converging in Mississippi during the 1930s for a thrilling gothic Southern tale. I really enjoyed Michael B. Jordan’s double act and was really impressed by Miles Caton, who plays Sammy, a young cousin of the twins, and who has a show-stopper musical number that will have you humming and tapping your feet almost without realising. He is a star in the making, mark my words.
— Hallow Road
It seems that contained spaces and performances are made for Rosemund Pike’s talent to shine bright. Hallow Road is a perfect example of the magic that can happen when good actors meet good writing and direction. Pike is joined by Matthew Rhys in this claustrophobic race against time as the pair play a couple that is on the way to find her daughter, who has been involved in a traffic accident where she has run over someone. Hallow Road breaks the “show don’t tell rule” as we never get to see much besides Pike and Rhys inside a car and yet I promise you’ll be on the edge of your seat the whole time.
— The Phoenician Scheme
When one goes to see a Wes Anderson film the plot is almost secondary to the aesthetics. However, The Phoenician Scheme paints an interesting picture of the complicated alliances and power games in the fictional region of Phoenicia, an amalgamated territory that stands for a fictional Middle East of sorts. When the ambitious engineering plans of flamboyant businessman Zsa-Zsa Corda (Benicia del Toro in his most unserious self) get blocked by his rivals in the region, he sets out on a trip to visit and win over his rivals one by one. This adventure will bring him closer to his estranged daughter (an impassible Mia Threapleton that balances out the sanguine nature of Corda to great comedic effect) and the pair will be joined by Corda’s sons’ tutor Bjorn Lund, played by a brilliant Michael Cera who belongs in the Wes Anderson universe and hopefully will become a regular after this film.
— The Ballad of Wallis Island
Tim Key, Tom Basden and Carey Mulligan lead this story about a superfan (Key) of folk duo McGwyer Mortimer (Basden and Mulligan) who elaborates a plan to bring them together on a remote island after their artistic and romantic split for a very special concert set against the breathtaking Welsh landscape. This is a film that strikes the perfect and difficult to get right balance between comedy, longing for lost love, fear of new love, nostalgia and hope in the future. Plus being a film about a music duo it has a wonderful original soundtrack composed by Tom Basden. You’ll be checking Spotify before making your way out of the cinema.
Films I am looking forward to
— Celine Song is back with a new love triangle: Materialists. The film has already premiered in the US and the reviews are already out there, as are the spoilers, so I am doing my best to ignore them until I can watch it for myself. I have high expectations after Past Lives and while it seems Materialists is a lot more lighthearted, I hope it’s at least half as good.
— Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value gathered rave reviews at Cannes. The film stars Ellen Fanning, Stellan Skarsgård and Renate Reinsve in a follow up to Trier’s The Worst Person in the World, which I adored so I’ll be most definitely keeping an eye on the UK release date.
— This is a Pedro Pascal summer and we should all embrace it. Besides The Uninvited, and the upcoming Materialists and Fantastic Four, he is also starring on Ari Aster’s Eddington alongside Joaquin Phoenix and Emma Stone. I’m intrigued to see them in action in this film set on the early days of the pandemic in the US with paranoia running high and wild.
— Paul Mescal and Josh O’Connor in The History of Sound, a period romance which has been compared to Brockback Mountain, which Pascal denied during the press conference at Cannes.
— Denzel Washington received an honorary Palm d’Or at Cannes this year from Spike Lee, who is directing him in Highest 2 Lowest, which has gathered very positive reviews so far. I’m glad to see the French have recognised the talent of a man who was robbed of an Oscar nomination for his role in Gladiator II.
Interviews/Podcasts/Short videos
— Danny deVito and Colin Farrell are the Actors on Actors pairing we didn’t know we needed. Someone please bring them together to play different versions of the Penguin on a series/film. Or anything really as long as they are together on screen.
— Because Materialists has already premiered in the US (in the UK will have to wait until August, in France is out at the end of June), this means there are already lots of PR interviews with the protagonist trio, Dakota Johnson, Chris Evans and the man of the hour Pedro Pascal. They give chaotic siblings energy so I hope they turn the romance vibe on for the film as otherwise it’ll be an uncomfortable watch.
— Did you know that Cillian Murphy moved his family out of London, where he lived for over a decade, and back to Ireland because he noticed his kids were getting posh accents and he wasn’t very keen on that? That’s what I call keeping your culture alive. He made this confession back in 2022 during an episode of Armchair Expert where he also talked at length about his passion for music and what then was his upcoming role in Oppenheimer. Little did he know it’d be the performance that would win him an Oscar for Best Actor in 2024.
— There are people in the world convinced that Italian and Spanish languages are practically one and the same and provided one speaks slowly it’ll be fine. One of the funniest interviews I’ve watched lately, featuring Italian singer Damiano David and David Broncano, presenter of Spanish late show La Revuelta, challenges this misconception. You don’t need to speak Italian or Spanish to enjoy the chaos being unleashed here (with some English thrown in the mix) but if you speak either language, or both, you’ll also have plenty of laughs.
— I’ve been positively surprised by this interview/career retrospective of Tom Cruise on occasion of his BFI Fellowship for contributions to film and UK film industry awarded in May. Learning about Cruise’s lesser known roles (at least for me) and the passion with which he talks about his craft and cinema have triggered an unbridled obsession with everything Tom Cruise of epic proportions (I rather not think too much about it and just go with the flow) which has led me to watch as many of his films as I can get hold of, which is no small feat as the man has an impressive prolific career with many excellent titles under his belt. Something that can be easily overlooked given his off-screen personal life and his on-screen focus on action roles which unfortunately aren’t the best vehicle to let people see there is a solid actor underneath the Guinness record-breaking stunts. Let’s hope his upcoming Alejandro González Iñárritu film brings back Cruise the actor at last. The fact that is a wild comedy sounds very promising.
Meanwhile, and while I complete my Mara-Tom mission, watching Tom Cruise on the top of the BFI IMAX saying “Light the fuse” as I was at the BFI IMAX ready to abandon myself to Mission Impossible: Final Reckoning for a fourth time (we listen but we don’t judge) was such a joy. It doesn’t matter it’s the 100th time I had seen that clip, it was still a nice surprise because it was the first time I saw it on the place where it was shot ahead of the last instalment of a franchise I have come to like very much over the past year. Besides, ‘light the fuse’ is what Cruise says on Ghost Protocol, my favourite instalment of the M:I series, right before the iconic music theme plays in the intro. Yes, I can be cheesy like that sometimes and I’m ok with it.
Music
— If you’ve paid attention to the film section you have easily guessed The Ballad of Wallis Island would be making an appearance here. I love it when a film doubles up as a great soundtrack you click with instantly and can listen to anytime you like and be reminded of how much you enjoyed the movie in first place. Tom Basden and Carey Mulligan have great chemistry not only on screen but also as a singing duo, albeit fictional.
— I’m really enjoying You’ll Be Alright, Kid (Chapter 1) by Alex Warren, which apparently is not an album but an extended play, whatever that means, since Warren’s actual first studio album, You’ll Be Alright Kid (same title as the extended play, not confusing at all) is scheduled for July 2025.
Surprisingly Warren started out as an internet influencer renowned for his pranks, not his musical talents, and was part of the collaborative project Hype House from 2019 to 2022, which brought together young Californian creators which rose to fame on TikTok. However, in 2021 Warren started releasing his own music independently and eventually got a recording deal with Atlantic Records and his music has gathered positive reviews. So far, so Doechii. We’d better get used to the idea that the artists of tomorrow will be coming from social media and not a garage in Donaghadee (cheeky shoutout to Two Door Cinema Club who wrote its hit What You Know there). If you enjoy folkish pop charged with emotional lyrics and powered by deep vocals, Warren’s music may be right up your musical alley.
— When the temperatures rise, it’s time for the summer playlist to take centre stage. Which means I’m giving a lot of love to Tu Con Chi Fai L’Amore by Neapolitan band The Kolors, an upbeat track that was their Sanremo entry this year and which screams long, sticky summer nights dancing until dawn.
In fact, The Kolors have elevated the art of the summer song and infused it with a great 70s/80s disco pop vibe, their hit Italodisco being a great case in point. Give them a listen if you’re looking for a cool and stylish soundtrack to glam up your summer nights or days.
— I’ve been in France for the Fête de la musique, which takes place on the 21st June the same date as my sister’s birthday, and I highly recommend. I was in Besançon with my mum and my sister and the atmosphere was fantastic as the city came alive with different musical acts that took over the many scattered squares from early afternoon until well past midnight. And with a cosy 30 plus degrees on average, we had the perfect weather to celebrate the arrival of summer to the beat of batucada.
— I’ll be doing a double bill as I’ll also be in France for the Fête du cinéma, which runs from 29th June until 2nd July, when all cinema tickets are €5. I hope to catch Materialists as it will be available on French cinemas from the 2nd July, way ahead than the August release in the UK.
Abroad is an independent publication about London, living in between cultures, languages, books, music, films, creativity, and being human in the age of artificial intelligence.
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Love that lack of WiFi got you reading!
Brilliant recommendations and such a cool and varied selection. I'll be bookmarking this. Thanks for sharing! Parthenope looks extraordinarily beautiful. xx