by Alice-Ginevra Micheli, Contributing Writer
We all have that feeling. You know the one: You finish watching a movie and something about it hits you in just the right spot.
Whether it was the theme, the story, or even the characters, there was a quality about it that almost makes you want to turn around and go back a second, third, or even fourth time!
Bar the reality of living in the movie theater for the rest of your days, you turn to the rest of pop culture and start to look for other avenues where you can find that same feeling.
Well I’m here to make this plight easier for all. Each month, I take a piece of pop culture that was prevalent in the social consciousness — whether it is a movie, TV show, or something else — and then recommend other forms of media for those who want to stay in that world a little bit longer.
Welcome to your One Stop Pop, internet!
July is always a crazy month. Full of sun (for those of you in the Northern Hemisphere), fun, and lots to see at the local movie house. This is typically when studios will start releasing their big tentpole projects, designed to get as many bums in seats as possible and box office numbers skyrocketing. Ergo, it’s always difficult when it comes to choosing which movie is the best possible choice for what shook the world up in the seventh month of the year.
However, given how dominant the MCU has been for the last decade and a half, I would be remiss to not explore its only cinema entrant for the year: Deadpool & Wolverine. Already hugely successful, this film is being touted as the shot of adrenaline the Marvel Cinematic Universe needed to get it back on track. Meta, gory, hilarious, and full of heart-stopping reveals, this is a movie that is meant for the biggest comic book and superhero movie fans out there. So with all of that said, what can I possibly recommend to this cohort that hasn’t been done before?
Book: S by J.J Abrams and Doug Dorst
Why don’t we start with a book that directly plays with a reader’s ability to interpret the story?
Just as Deadpool breaks the fourth wall, and is using those powers to tell a story within a story within a story, within a story, S asks the reader to take in a story, and then read the notes of someone else doing the same thing.
S (also known as The Ship of Theseus) is the final novel written by legendary anonymous writer, V.M Straka. This book is the one you’re reading — a tale of a man with no past who is thrown onto a ship that is traversing some very perilous waters. However, the book also tells the story of a young woman who meets a young man in the margins of said book. Responding to his notes with ones of her own, an unlikely conversation begins that plunges them both into the unknown.
Look, it’s a little confusing, but what else can we expect from one J.J. Abrams, Mr Lost himself, when conceptualizing a novel Basically it’s published so as to tell the main story of the Ship of Theseus, while also telling a second story in its margins through the form of notes, and loose supplementary materials tucked in between pages.
It’s whimsical, haunting, introspective, and everything in between. This is a book that has just so many layers that you’ll be finding yourself flipping back and forth, trying to find what the answer is, as well as unravel its many mysteries.
Considered by many not just to be a book, but an experience, it’s one that doesn’t fall for the typical choose-your-own-adventure schtick; instead it’s elevated for readers who want to take their literary consumption to that next level.
TV Show: You vs. Wild
Let’s go from a double narrative to bringing the audience into the actual narrative, with one of the many interactive Netflix specials out there. Just as Deadpool talks to the audience wherever he is — whether it be comic, television or film — and therein being a kind of interactive piece of content for audiences, Netflix has been attempting to get people on the choose-your-own adventure train for a while now, with a deluge of different interactive experiences. From specials for Kimmy Schmidt, Puss in Boots,and Black Mirror, the idea of these viewing experiences is for the audience to choose the direction of the plot, and take an active part in their storytelling.
One such special is none other than Bear Grylls’ You Vs. Wild.Taking the form of two seasons AND a movie, Grylls is taking his survivalist know-how and quite literally putting it into the hands of the viewer. Playing out like a gripping survivalist movie, viewers will be part of Grylls’ harsh environmental trek through the great outdoors and have to make some choices on his behalf. You can either help him survive easily, or result in him being stuck in some tough situations, while imparting some survival lessons along the way.
If you add to the consideration the fact that no matter what, he had to film every outcome so that it’s available on our screens, and it’s almost cruel not to consider watching in order to have made all that effort worth it.
Podcast: Comic Books Couples Counseling
Wolverine and Deadpool go together like peanut butter and gasoline — or at least that’s what the famous byline says. Theirs is a relationship that could be analyzed for eons, and to be frank, would be in good company with the many dysfunctional relationships that are, and have always been present in, comic books. So while you can’t therapize fictional characters — no matter how much you may want to — you can listen to someone else talk about these interesting combinations in the form of a podcast.
Comic Books Couples Counseling sees real-life married couple, Brad and Lisa, as they analyze comic books duos while reading what relationship experts have to say about their dynamics. Part therapy, part nerd-out, part genuinely interesting concept, this show is the equivalent of a cosy hot cup of tea, where the listener gets to “hang out” with the hosts as they discuss these infamous characters in a wholly unique, and human way.
However, they don’t just limit themselves to the relationships; the episodes also include interviewing new creators from time to time, as well as general nerding out about the best comic books of the year, and reflecting on major anniversaries.
It’s definitely the calmest recommendation you’ve been given so far, and could be that perfect pairing for when watching a high-octane movie is too much, but curling up with the latest issue of X-Men wouldn’t be enough stimulation.
Video Game: Disney Dreamlight Valley
Now, for no apparent reason, and with absolutely no relation to the film being recommended from today, this game is all about being reintroduced to your favourite characters from a movie universe that you once might have enjoyed, or even loved. Like I said, no relation to Deadpool & Wolverine in regards to cameos or anything like that…
So anyway, this month’s game is all about living your best life in the best version of your island — but Disney-fied!
Disney Dreamlight Valley allows the player to live magically alongside Disney and Pixar friends in a new life-sim adventure game from the entertainment monolith. Part quest game, part Animal Crossing ripoff, this is as cozy of a game as one could want, but with villagers that span from Beauty & The Beast’sBelle, to Encanto’s Mirabel, this game is designed to feel like coming home in many ways.
In the story of the game, the player is dropped into Dreamlight Valley as someone who might have been there once before. Reminiscent of the feeling given to Alice in the Tim Burton Wonderland movies, the game is meant to play on the idea that this is not a first time adventure, but you getting back in touch with a forgotten part of yourself, your inner child perhaps.
With something for everyone — from quests, to house decorating to relationship cultivating — this is a great choice for any fan who wants to wind down after a long day.
What a whirlwind adventure we’ve been on this month. From barely surviving, to delving into a story, and into the depths of relationships, to finally landing in the comforting embrace of Mamma Disney, these recommendations should hopefully be what is needed to see you through the rest of the summer.
We’ll be keeping an eye on the final month of this season for what creates a frenzy in August. But until then, thank you for visiting SiftPop’s One Stop Pop — we hope to see you again soon!
You can read more from Alice-Ginevra Micheli, and follow her on Instagram and Letterboxd