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!
As we know, sometimes it’s not the best film that hits every chord on the internet; sometimes it’s the ones that are slightly lesser quality that catch the net on fire. One of these hit our streaming waves in July, and I thought there would be no better example for this month’s OSP.
I am, of course, speaking of Netflix’s recent foray into period film for Jane Austen’s Persuasion. The story follows Anne Elliot who, eight years earlier, was persuaded not to marry a dashing man of humble origins. However, they meet again and romantic hijinks ensue.
This is one of Austen’s finest, and yet not often adapted stories, and there were many fans who were sorely disappointed — in the destruction of Austen’s prose, in the cacophonous storytelling, and in the overall ruined hopes of many a fan’s dreams.
However that doesn’t mean that there isn’t a fountain of recommendations I can give for those who were in the audience and were left wanting for more. So let’s just get started, shall we?
Music: Six the Musical
What Persuasion tries to achieve, and ultimately fails at, is in the modernization of the story through the dialogue, and perceiving of story. Now this can be done, and done well, and it has been proven many times over. However, a recent attempt brings me to the auditory recommendation for this month: the original soundtrack for Six: The Musical.
For those who don’t know, Six is a modern retelling of the lives of of Henry VIII’s six wives, presented as a concert. Each of the Queens take turns singing and telling their story to see who suffered the most, and therefore, who would become the group’s lead singer.
In 75 minutes, this show manages to deliver an absolute sensation of musical storytelling, historical quips, and adrenaline-pumping entertainment. It’s intelligent and amusing, intricate yet simple, and really, just a whole lot of fun.
Each queen’s looks and musical style has been designed after Divas from our time, whether it’s a combo of Beyonce and J-Lo, or Lily Allen and Avril Lavigne, or of all of the Spice Girls, they have their own unique sound that is immediately identifiable even if you’re only vaguely into music.
As a result, the ensuing show is one that keeps listeners on their toes, singing along, dancing, and shouting into the void about the patriarchal unfairness of history. You might be asking whether it’s enjoyable without the in-person experience, and I can confirm that listening to the soundtrack is still a great time. Plus, when the show does come to your neck of the woods, you’ll be ready.
Check it out on Spotify or your favourite music player.
Video Game: Fire Emblem: Three Houses
You might think I’ve lost my edge here. After all, what does a JRPG have to do with a regency-era story about emblazoned, yet repressed passion? Well let me enlighten you.
Starring as Byleth (male or female based on your choice at the beginning), you are a former mercenary with a mysterious past, and have just become the academy’s newest professor. In the lead role, you must now choose a class to lead and guide their students through a series of tactical battles for the country.
This is a game of strategy, but not just in battle, in all areas of behavior, just like any classical novel. Your conversations with your cohort will have direct impact on how a battle’s outcome will turn out. Your favoritism amongst the characters will develop your own personal life, and your mistakes will significantly impact the ending.
There is love, loss, violence, and pure emotion throughout this game, and if you’re really feeling it, you can end up experiencing it three different times due to the multiple playable arcs!
I can tell you right now that this game is incredibly addictive, and will take over your life in a way you wouldn’t quite expect. Then, if you’re left a cold, dry husk at the end of it all because you just wanted more, you can turn to the new brawler-style sequel of Fire Emblem: Three Hopes, and lose all your time to that game as well, just like I lost all of mine.
If it sounds intriguing, find it on the Nintendo Switch today!
TV Show: The Great
Now in terms of TV shows, there seems like there would be an obvious recommendation here, if you’re looking for British period romance drama with a twist that you can stream on Netflix, and it rhymes with Fidgerton. However, I would be failing you as a recommendation columnist by suggesting so. In short: if you haven’t heard of Bridgerton by now, and even a mild interest hasn’t led you to checking it out, then it’s obviously not for you.
Instead, I will direct your eye to an equally excellent, but not as prioritized Hulu dramedy of The Great. Taking the true story of Catherine the Great, the current two-season run follows the aforementioned royal as she is living in rural Russia during the 18th century, and is forced to choose between her own personal happiness and the future of Russia.
This show is what you would get if you took The Favourite, Wes Anderson, and Jane Austen, and bundled them up into a wacky, sexy, comedic, violent mess. In short, it’s chaos, but it really works. Elle Fanning is perfect as the titular character, and her undeniable chemistry with on-again-off-again villain, Emperor Peter (the lovely Nicholas Hoult) is an absolute pleasure to watch.
It really is a raucous good time, and it manages to strike an optimal balance between winking toward future sensibilities, while still paying accurate homage to the ways of the past. Unlike Netflix’s recent adaptation, which took the lowest common denominator in modern language and decided that would be enough, this show is all about the witty and the quip, while also illustrating the tender dalliance between history, and creative license.
If you think this could hit you just right, check it out on the streamer Hulu now!
Book: Texts from Jane Eyre: And Other Conversations with Your Favorite Literary Characters By Daniel M. Lavery
Finally, I have another reimagining of the classics that has been done in a much more intelligent way, and this time in literary form.
Told through a series of separate message threads, this book breaks down hilariously imagined text conversations of yore — the passive aggressive, the clever, and the strange — from classic and modern literary figures, from Scarlett O’Hara to Jessica Wakefield.
This is a short, highly entertaining novel that breaks down all the classic stories of our time in a format that is bite-sized, easy to read, and full of the jovial nature that is often lacking in the lives of most of our heroines.
It poses the question, what if they all had tech? And then asks that over and over again, with many specific “isms” that we would all recognize having lived through the texting era.
There’s not much else to say here, as it’s a pretty simple concept. However, it will definitely scratch the modernized classic itch that you were hoping would get fulfilled by Persuasion, and instead felt unfulfilled by instead.
Check it out from your local library, or an online bookseller might be your best bet.
So there you have it, a list of consumable pop culture that could satiate your classic cocktail ways in a much more fulfilling manner than Netflix now. There’s something to read, listen to, play, and watch, and each will bring significantly more excitement to your life.
I will return in a few weeks to break down what was most notable in August, and as we saw today, that doesn’t necessarily mean the best or most popular, so stay tuned. Until then, thank you for visiting SiftPop’s One Stop Pop; we hope to see you again soon!
You can follow Alice-Ginevra Micheli on Instagram and Letterboxd