The Culture Fix is the place where I share the books, films, music, articles, interviews, plays, exhibitions, places, and even food, I’ve enjoyed lately.
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.
2024 is already here and I started it in the same way I finished 2023: watching films and reading books. When something works, why change it? New year, same me.
As I was back home in Spain for Christmas I spent most of the time I wasn’t sleeping catching up with films I’ve been wanting to see for a while but never found the time. It also happens that they aren’t available on Netflix UK (the only subscription I have and plan to have as one has to put a limit to them), so I made the most of my new geolocalisation and sacrificed seeing people in favour of spending time in front of a screen. Basically I did what I do in London.
Short reads
— The myth of the “successful writer”
— Susan Cain on how leading a quiet life is about redirecting how we spend our attention
— Following on that, here’s an article on how to pay less attention to our phones and a post on how to incorporate creative rest into your routine
— Margaret Atwood on Substack agains Nazis
— Michael Fassbender and Kaimana on their instant chemistry and the need for comedy
— And on that note, a hilarious account of a romantic spa outing gone wrong by Remy Bazerque, a comedic genius in the making
— On satisficers and maximisers, or how good enough can be better than perfection
— As a believer in the benefits of public (as in state-funded) education this piece by Anne Helen Petersen on student loans is a great read on the inequalities of getting a higher education
— After ABBA Voyage, now it’s the turn of Elvis to have his own London AI-powered show
— Publications need to be careful on how they report on metaverse crimes
Books
— War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy. I have joined a War and Peace slow read along and it has been the best way to kickstart 2024. This is a novel I’ve been putting off for years and now I’m finding it extremely enjoyable to read and comment it alongside others. it’s like reading a critical edition but with fun notes. Yes, there are plenty of characters to keep track of right from the start, but I trust years of my mum filling me in with the local gossip every time I go back home, retaining names and relations between people I have never met in order to be able to contribute to the conversation, will see me through the 1358 pages of my edition with ease. And if not, Tolstoy’s writing will do the rest.
A man who on chapter 1 writes: “How can one feel well when one is … suffering in a moral sense? Can any sensitive person find peace of mind nowadays?” is a man who understood not only life, but also foresaw the future. 200 years on we’re still as frazzled.
— I want to die but I want to eat tteokbokki by Baek Sehee. After having seen it around for a while, I finally got myself a copy and I am reading it at a good pace. Classified as a therapy memoir, this slim volume reproduces twelve sessions between Baek Sehee and her therapist. It is really interesting to witness from so up close how therapy works in South Korea (mostly by suggesting avoiding said problem instead of trying to dig deeper into what may be causing it, which I found a bit surprising) and how some of the conversations relate to things we all experience at some point in life - not being good enough, imposter syndrome or living under the impression others are constantly judging us.
— The Multi-Hyphen Method by Emma Gannon Sometimes you don’t know something can be done, or how you could go about it, until someone else shows you the way. That’s exactly what Emma Gannon -whose work I came across at the end of last year- does in this book about redefining the way we work, which may be different from what we’ve been told. This is not a self-help book or a list of magic tips, it’s an account of how she understood early on the potential of the internet to help her, and by extension other people, find new ways of making a living in her own terms. Very prescient considered it was published in 2018. In fact, the points she discusses are perhaps even more relevant today as the pandemic and work from home have changed the game and platforms like Substack have become a new source of income for many people exploring their creative passions. Definitely worth reading if you’re creating work online or planning on doing so but don’t know where to start.
Films
— Batman trilogy by Christopher Nolan (Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises). While I am no particularly interested in super hero movies, Batman and Spiderman are perhaps the exception as I was still quite young when the first instalments of each with Michael Keaton and Toby Maguire respectively came out and they were not heavily CGI’ed, so felt a lot more engaging and realistic. I absolutely loved Christian Bale as Batman and Christopher Nolan has really created something quite unique, exploring the depth of the motives that lead Bruce Wayne to adopt the role of saviour of Gotham, even if at times he can lose sight of what’s really at stake - his happiness and to live a real life of his own. But perhaps the reason why this feels such a definite trilogy, making any further remakes unnecessary, is because all villains are equally great in their psychological complexity and Nolan really conveys the journey of his hero from his origins to his downfall quite convincingly for us as spectators to let him go in peace. The three movies are very strong in their own right, with very solid supporting characters (Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Liam Neeson, Aaron Eckhart, Cillian Murphy and of course Heath Ledger and Tom Hardy) and I was pleasantly surprised by how things wrapped up in the last film and how Nolan finally has two intelligent women, Anne Hathaway and Marion Cotillard, outsmarting, challenging, and also working alongside Batman. Definitely a trilogy to rewatch.
— ANNA by Luc Besson. I’m very much aware that the reason I watched both the Batman trilogy and this film is Cillian Murphy. I was disappointed he got so little screen time in Batman and was delighted to find he was one of the leads in this spy thriller that could be a modern-day re-elaboration of Besson’s Nikita, but with new elements. I wasn’t expecting much but it had some nice unexpected twists. The highlight was seeing Cillian in the role of a CIA agent that can’t help to fall for a serial killer. Starring Helen Mirren, Luke Evans and Sasha Lush in the leading role ANNA won’t subvert the spy thriller genre but it’s worth a watch and will keep surprising you.
— Next Goal Wins by Taika Waititi. One of those movies from which you don’t know anything beyond the trailer but which makes you leave the cinema feeling uplifted. Based on a true story, and inspired by the documentary of the same name, Michael Fassbender plays Thomas Rongen, a Dutch-American football coach prone to rage outburst who is sent to American Samoa to train their national team, considered one of the weakest in the world. Rongen’s irascible character will be tested by his hosts’ contrasting optimistic outlook on life and most importantly on football. This is a classic underdog story that focuses on what makes people want to give their best and what helps them be their best. The highlight of the film is the relationship between Rongen and Jaiyah Saelua, a transgender player that Rongen is initially very dismissive of. A feel good movie and really nice to see Fassbender do comedy after having watched him in The Killer recently.
— Ferrari by Michael Mann. I was intrigued to see Adam Driver playing another iconic Italian businessman after incarnating Maurizio Gucci and he did deliver as the competitive and sombre Enzo Ferrari at a stage of his life when he’s trying to save the company from going under while keeping the peace at home. However, the one who stole the screen was Penélope Cruz in a role that fits her natural talent for portraying strong women full of nuanced complexity. For motor enthusiasts the film may fall short as while there are some great racing sequences they’re not the focus of the film, although be ready for a couple of surprises that will have you on the edge of your seat. Overall, I quite enjoyed Ferrari for the glimpse it gave me into the recent past of racing and the making of one of Italy’s best-known international brands.
— Bridget Jones’s Diary. I bid farewell to 2023 going to the cinema with my sister. We both watched this film together at the cinema when if first came out so it was very nice to revisit it (in my case for the hundredth time). My sister loved the venue and as she was brought a glass of wine she looked around and said “This cinema is very you. The one I used to go in Paris was a bit decadent and edgier and definitely didn’t serve drinks” to which I could only respond with “Very you indeed.” With a couple more of decades of life experience on our shoulders, and joined by a mostly-female audience who amplified the fun, we loved to see that Bridget has aged well and got us all laughing and smiling like the first time. She has always been perfectly fine just as she is.
Series
— The Crown Season 6. End of an era truly. Have watched seasons 1-4 multiple times and the only time I couldn’t make myself to rewatch the show was after season 5 came out. I didn’t know what the last set of episodes would bring, but personally I’m satisfied with how The Crown has ended. Seasons 5 and 6 have left a lot to wish for, never in terms of acting, which has always been consistently strong throughout, but the focus on dissecting the War of the Waleses didn’t work out as expected. While the royal divorce and its aftermath couldn’t be ignored, and it shouldn’t, the show got a bit sidetracked. Perhaps that’s why the final episodes in the season 6 seemed a homage to the late Queen Elizabeth II. Overall, I appreciate the show’s final efforts depicting -with more or less realism- a slice of history and a way of being in the world that died the day the Queen passed away.
— Outlander Season 1, with Sam Heughan and Catriona Balfe. I’ll be honest: I’ve never cared about Outlander, nor I knew it existed until a couple of weeks ago when I watched The Couple Next Door and found myself wondering why Sam Heughan’s face felt familiar. I had already loved Eleanor Tomlinson in Poldark and due to one of those random synapses I felt I should check out other historical fictions. It has to be said that not having a tv and being foreign in the UK make things quite exciting as I’m always discovering shows that people watched ages ago, Poldark and Outlander being both the case in point. Outlander happens to be available on Netflix Spain but not in the UK, so I spent my holidays binge watching season 1 because, well, I wasn’t expecting it to be so engaging despite the incident that sets things in motion is a bit of a stretch. But the characters, background historical context showcasing Highlander culture and the stunning Scottish landscapes make it fascinating to watch, plus I have a soft spot for Scottish accent and I don’t hear it enough in London. My only regret is that now I’ll have to wait until going back to Spain to resume season 2.
— Berlin. This spin-off based on one of the main characters of Money Heist was one of my most anticipated series of late 2023, as it came out on 29th December. I was expecting Berlin to have some elements of the early Money Heist but I have been pleasantly surprised to discover the plot revolves a lot less about the actual robbery and more around the characters, with Berlin not being centre stage as the title may suggest, which works perfectly well to let space for the new characters to add to the story. For instance, Tristan Ulloa shines in his role and I love every scene he’s in. And Nawja Nimri makes her entrance in episode 6, resuming her role as inspector Alicia Sierra, which is a nice touch. She definitely was a power house in Money Heist and the role fit her like a glove. In short, while Berlin wasn’t what I thought, it was what I needed and now that it seems there’ll be a season 2 and you can bet I’ll watch it.
And also…
— The leading ladies of some of last year’s and early 2024 most interesting films speak of their roles at these Los Angeles Times and The Hollywood Reporter roundtables. Really enjoyed the insights from everyone, in particular listening to Greta Lee discussing the nuances of using Korean for her character in Past Lives (one of my favourite movies of 2023) and how she prepared for that as language is almost another character in this film. And loved hearing from Sandra Hüller about how she’s prepared her two leading roles in Anatomy of a Fall (for which I think she deserves an Oscar) and The Zone of Interest, which will be out in early February in the UK.
— As I intend 2024 to be my year of Tolstoy and contemplation, I’ve been listening again to this episode of La Grande Librairie (only available in French) on the importance of literature to help us develop empathy and how fiction allow us to get inside someone else’s point of view and understand where they come from better than non-fiction. In the age of social media and our constant exposure to screens, which has unfortunately increased narcissism tendencies, it is important we find time to read physical books again to connect with others and ourselves.
— My sister’s shower playlist has had me listening to Lágrimas Negras - an album we both loved when it came out in 2003 and which brought together two styles that worked surprisingly well: Cuban rhythms with flamenco singing, an amazing fusion of the talent of Bebo Valdés y Diego El Cigala.
— According to a BPI (British Phonographic Industry) analysis of Official Singles Chart in 2023 women artists topped the charts for a record-breaking 31 out of 52 weeks. Based on combined streaming and sales activity, four of 2023’s five biggest tracks and seven of the year’s Top 10 were by women, including Milley Cirus’ Flowers, which wast at number 1 for 10 weeks. In the UK, Dua Lipa’s Dance the Night -the leading track for Barbie- was one of the domestic hits. As I’ve done my share of listening to its contagious upbeat rythm to the point that Spotify Wrapped revealed it was one of my top five songs of 2023, I thought it’d be great to learn a bit of how it came into being, so here are Dua Lipa and Mark Ronson discussing the making of a modern disco classic:
— As I’ve been back home for Christmas I thought I should share some of the great food I’ve indulged in during the holidays.
And that’s all for this fix.
Hope you all had lots of wonderful food in the past couple of weeks that you can’t stop dreaming about eating again. You can’t call yourself Spanish if you don’t love talking about food. It’s cultural.
Abroad is an independent publication about identity and belonging, living in between cultures and languages, the love of books, music, films, creativity, life in London, and being human in the age of artificial intelligence.
Ola, and thanks for the shoutout !