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Lisa Kholostenko's avatar

This was such an interesting exploration (Ari Aster hive! 🙋🏻‍♀️🙋🏻‍♀️🙋🏻‍♀️).

The first thing I think of with Y2K boy aesthetics is boy bands. Oversized jerseys, a hoop earring in one ear, pagers (a lot of things, as you mentioned, "borrowed")... starting sentences with "girl."

Building the Band scratched some of that itch (I jumped when I saw someone named Landon wearing a leather flat cap backwards).

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Brendon Holder's avatar

Omg wait… is this how I learn about Building the Band?! Marvelous. I’ll have a new show to dive into. Thanks so much for reading! Your descriptions remind me of Cam’ron whose aesthetic is still replicated today.. I’m thinking of the pink mink jacket 😍

Have you seen eddington yet? What did you think?

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Lisa Kholostenko's avatar

100% Cam’ron was the blueprint! I still think about when Melina Matsoukas wore that pink jacket for Halloween one year. Iconic costume!

Based on our overlap of interests, I think you will LOVE Building the Band. Everyone is so talented (kudos to casting) and the format is extremely compelling!! Netflix really getting their money's worth out of those pods they purchased.

I haven't watched Eddington yet! Still preparing my nervous system (complimentary).

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Dia Lupo's avatar

boy shit. 🔨🩷

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Darren Harper's avatar

So many thoughts as someone who spent the start of the summer reading Judith Butler’s “Who’s Afraid of Gender?” with Lorde’s “Man of the Year” on repeat.

TLDR; version: It’s difficult to come to the realization that you can’t ever get off stage and all of life is a performance of some sort. But I’m all for the widening of the softboi as a legitimized form of masculinity as it helps tear down the binary and (I genuinely believe) is also healthier!

The one role I’ll never play is the dude who only shows his emotions during sports games, quietly hates his wife and dies of heart attack at 70 from suppressing himself his entire life.

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Darren Harper's avatar

Also, “Eddington” fucking ruled!

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Brendon Holder's avatar

What did you think about “Who’s Afraid of Gender?”

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Darren Harper's avatar

Not only did it strengthen my own arguments and also kind of encapsulate various threads running through my head, but I also learned quite a bit that challenged my own pre-conceived notions on how biological sex works.

I don’t think it was as radical a work as Gender Trouble — and I think Butler would agree as they state that wasn’t the aim here. As political explanation of the current moment it’s absolutely essential.

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noella williams's avatar

your work is always such a breath of fresh air to read! and i love how you made all of these connections to each other from recently released media

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