The New York Times Op-Docs
The venerable newspaper is proving its digital storytelling could be as revolutionary as the kind that sealed its print legacy. Three films from the paper’s Op-Docs series were nominated in the 90th Academy Awards’ documentary short subject category. Here’s a convenient roundup of all three short films so you can watch them! They’re around 15 minutes each and are great for a short commute.
True Story
Speaking of great things to do on a commute: I recently ordered a subscription to True Story and am loving it! This pocket-sized mini-mag features one nonfiction piece a month, selected by the editors of Creative Nonfiction magazine (which I also just subscribed to and am kicking myself for not doing it earlier). The longform narrative medium that’s explored in True Story is a cathartic antidote to the numbing (and dumbing) world of 140 characters and bite-me click-bait headlines.
The “Hang the DJ” episode on the new season of Black Mirror
I was perhaps particular to this episode because it is one of the few Black Mirror episodes that didn’t leave me in a state of hives and high anxiety. Or maybe it was because I love the actor Joe Cole so much for his bad-boy-baby-brother role in Peaky Blinders that I think he can do no wrong. Or maybe it was just a happy ending in a dystopian world. Either way, I dig it. It’s on Netflix now.
The Post
The more I learn about the Pentagon Papers and the heroic story about the presses brave enough to publish them, the more I’m surprised this story isn’t more famous than Watergate. Queen Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks are, of course, perfect (and I loooooved Bob Odenkirk and David Cross as hard and bulbous nosed reporters!), but this new movie worth watching for its tense, well-timed drama and presentation of women who pushed the boundaries of business ownership. Oh, and also, you should know why the press matters and what democratic values can be accomplished when newspapers and the public value good journalism. This film is dripping with media morality. I needed that. Warning: The beautifully shot scenes of newsprint presses churning out issues will make my fellow former journalists cry.
“The way they lied. Those days have to be over.”
Francis and the Lights
The new album “Just For Us” is just lovely.
Unsurprisingly, I freaking love “The Post.”