2022 Round-Up: Part 2
The conversation continues
For the last month, people all over the internet have widdled down their lists and shared their opinions on the “best” 2022 had to offer in entertainment and media.
We also felt obligated to give our perspectives and summarize 2022, but both of us couldn’t bring ourselves to assume that the tiny sliver of music, film, TV, and reading material we digested from this year could in any way encapsulate the year itself. So instead, we chose a simple, honest format: the conversation.
Without further ado, here is Part 2.
-AK & JB
New Year’s (Media) Resolutions
JB:
Looking ahead to 2023, do you have any specific goals or more vague aspirations for another year of media engagement? Any particular content coming out in the new year that you're looking forward to?
AK: The first thing that pops up as an answer to that question sends us back to the beginning: new seasons of Severence and Only Murders in the Building are expected in the new year, both of which I can't wait to dive into.
I was also gifted a few books this Christmas that I'm excited to read:
' new short story collection Liberation Day (of which I'm already half-way through), 's The Satanic Verses (the one that got him into trouble with Islamic extremists and is possibly the reason he was stabbed this past August ✊) and Quichote (his latest novel), and House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski (a novel I've been intrigued by for years and now own!).I also have a list of films I'm looking forward to watching, thanks mostly to your recommendations. Everything Everywhere All at Once sounds like my kind of movie, so I'll definitely have to get an Amazon subscription for a month just to watch that. You and I discussed The Cow earlier this year, and I'd love to prioritize watching that. I've also been meaning to watch last year's adaptation of Macbeth, starring Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand and would love to break my movie theatre fast with this new Avatar movie everyone seems to be talking about.
I'm also looking forward to paying more attention to new music in 2023, but my main media-related goal for 2023 is to make more of it. I didn't spend as much time writing poetry and fiction in 2022 as I would've liked, so I'm planning to make a habit of it in the coming year.
I also want to increase the amount of writing I do on Substack. Monday Metamorphoses starts in January which I'm super excited about. I've also been talking to other Substack writers about collaborating in some way in the new year as well (guest posting, etc.). Plus, I'm working on starting a new newsletter about the electric vehicle industry called
that I plan to launch in 2023 as well. I'm making myself busy!
JB: Amazing, I love how much you've put on your plate to create and consume in 2023! Exciting stuff. For me, well, first off, anything you write will definitely be up there for me to read in the new year. And thanks for reminding me of Macbeth--that's definitely on my list as well! Love Frances McDormand and anything either of the Coen brothers makes, so I'm sure to love that one.
Musically, I made peace a while ago with the fact that I just can't keep up with all the great new music coming out with, so these days I mostly stick with my go-to artists. One of those is my long time favourite Chris Staples, who has a new album coming out this upcoming year which I'm pretty excited about. I'm also going to see Bruce Cockburn live in Vancouver this year with my dad, so I'm pretty pumped about that.
Movie-wise, I hope to catch in these first few months of 2023 a few more of the 2022 releases that have been getting good buzz, like Women Talking, The Banshees of Inisherin, and She Said. The same-day release of Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer and Greta Gerwig's Barbie later in the summer should be great. And I think there's a new Scorcese film coming out too??
I thrifted books like mad in 2022 so my resolution for 2023 will be to read some of them haha. Maybe read at least as many as I get this time.
On the creative side I'd like to continue writing for our Ponytail Picks every other week and hopefully start contributing to a new segment or two (there's one in the works!). On an unrelated (musical) note, I have some songs I wrote like two years ago that I'd like to finally record and get out there!
AK: I'm imagining you and your dad together at a Bruce Cockburn show and smiling. It sounds like something that needs to happen. Like, in the world of platonic ideals, that's what the ideal version of you two are doing. In my head, anyway.
Your list of movies to watch in 2023 sounds great. I happened to watch Banshees of Inisherin just last night. Get ready to laugh and also feel depressed. Women Talking is definitely on my bucket list as well and will probably become mandatory viewing for Canadians (is Miriam Toews officially the next Margaret Atwood?).
Looking forward to hearing new music from you as well!
Thematic Through-Lines of 2022
AK:
Looking at all the art you digested this year, do any particular themes jump out at you that crossed genre and medium or defined 2022 in some way for you?
JB: It's tough to find a common thread amongst everything, but I might say (and this is stretching it a bit) the tension between world escapism and world engagement. It feels like there's a lot going on in the world these days (and I say that as a very privileged straight white cis man—I can only imagine what it's been like for disenfranchised groups), and so the temptation to shut off my brain and escape when it comes to my media consumption is strong. But so is my conviction of the importance of diving deep into the stories of the aforementioned disenfranchised groups, stories which aren't always easy to hear/watch/read. It's a tension that I'm sure will continue into 2023.
AK: I don't see the tension between engagement and escapism as "stretching it" in the least. A lot of the films and TV shows we've discussed seem to draw on that tension within themselves. Andor springs to mind immediately. In fact, I'd say that the way the show played with that tension is exactly how it elevated itself from the rest of the Star Wars and MCU shows Disney has released so far.
Like you, I also felt that tension within myself in 2022. And I've felt drawn to stories from less privileged communities as well. If you're up for a recommendation in that department and you have a Disney+ subscription, give Reservation Dogs a try. The series (which I've only just started) follows a group of teenagers living on "the rez" in Ohio, and it tows that line between engagement and escapism nicely, thanks to its wry sense of humour. If there's one writer Ponytail Press would want to canonize, it's probably Thomas King (we've mentioned his book Green Grass, Running Water twice in Picks). Reservation Dogs reminds me of him.
JB: Thanks for the recommendation! Love the play on the name of Quentin Tarantino's famous flick, and yes, everyone here knows that Thomas King is a favourite of mine, so that show sounds right up my alley!
What's a common thread that you can pull out of your media consumption in the year that was?
AK: For me, the main theme I noticed throughout a lot of the media I consumed was the exploration of family and trauma. In fact, looking back, every TV show I highlighted earlier has a plotline dealing with the relationship between these two themes at some point or other. I noticed it come up in the new Alvvays album, too, and I can even hear it in the undertones of my favorite Harry Styles song from 2022 (from another highlight album of the year for me), "Boyfriends." Maybe that's just me reading into things, though.
Funny enough, the only medium that I don't see this theme in is my reading. I say "funny enough" because I feel like I've read so much about it in the past, just not in 2022 that much. Maybe I'll see it pop up more this year.
JB: Family and trauma—so nothing too heavy, then! Haha. I guess that's what I've got coming my way with Women Talking, from what I've heard. Definitely a big theme throughout Stranger Things as well, which I'll be finishing up (well, until season 5!) this year!
AK: Before I wrap things up, I'd just like to say thank-you again—to you and our readers—for jumping in and building Ponytail Press with me this past year. We're just getting started, and I can't wait to see what you and the rest of our little community bring to the table.
JB: Yes, I echo your thanks! So grateful for your leadership of this newsletter, and for our readership. I didn't really know what to expect in terms of subscribers when we started but now I look and see so many unfamiliar names and emails in addition to the friends and family that jumped on board at the beginning. It's flattering and a little scary. Thank you!
Here's to the power of stories on the page, on the screen, and in song, and seeing how they play out in 2023!
That’s it for this year’s round-up. Tune in next week for the return of Ponytail Picks, when we explore the multiple perspectives our culture has the concept of