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 will 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!
Now let’s think, what could possibly have been the biggest success at the end of last year? I’m not going to insult any readers’ intelligence by pretending that there was anything other than one obvious choice for the subject of this month’s OSP. That is: Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Now on the off chance that you’re reading this and somehow still haven’t seen this movie, I’ll try to be kind of vague in my recommendations. But only kind of, as there’s some things I must mention for the recommendations to make sense. However, what I do recommend is that you high tail it off this page (for now — make sure to bookmark it for later!), and check out one of the most glorious cinematic experiences you’ll ever have… and then return for some excellent recommendations (if I do say so myself)!
So without further ado, lets get into it…
Video Game: Life Is Strange: True Colours
There are many themes and story threads from the MCU’s latest entry that could be explored and further dissected long after the last post-credit scene rolls. However, the one I want to focus on here is that of choices.
Now it may seem to some that the obvious choice here was the 2018 PS4 game Spider-Man (since remastered for the PS5), due to its many accolades. That some would be wrong — it would simply be too easy to be that obvious!
So instead, we’re looking at a graphic adventure video game that comes from a line of other very successful, evocative games, them being the Life is Strange series. The latest one follows Alex Chen, a young 20-something girl who goes to live with her brother following a recent stay at a mental institution due to her ‘curse’: a psychic ability to absorb, and possibly control, the emotions of others. I could go into a little more detail here, but I went into this game knowing very little, and I think that my experience was all the better as a result.
What you should know is that this game was transformative, not just in its absolutely stunning graphic and sound design, but also in its ability to fully transport you into the shoes of Chen, and (ironically enough) to allow you to truly feel and experience the events of the story. Having played a few games in my time now, this was actually one of my most stressful playing experiences — and that’s a good thing!
Going back to our theme here, the central game mechanic is centered around choices. You play through the story, and every now and then are presented with decisions you must make that will impact the way the rest of the story plays out.
So, going back to what I said, it’s both a calming and stressful experience, as you only have your own moral compass to go by. Much like Peter in this new Spider-Man, you have to ‘grow up’ quickly, and realize that every small choice can spiral and create unforeseen, yet great impacts in the near future.
Introspective, thoughtful, and just beautiful, I highly recommend you check this one out to really feel what it is to live life in another’s shoes (with superpowers of course).
Book: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
Now this is another of those recommendations that I won’t really go into in too much depth, as if you haven’t seen the new Spider-Man, the reason for this one is a massive spoiler. But let’s just say, if you know, you know. Need more elaboration? Okay, let me tell you what this book is about…
Initially set in France in 1714, this novel follows Addie Larue, a woman who made a deal with the devil for immortality. The catch? That she be forever cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets. We follow her through 300 years of an extraordinary life full of lost chances and magnanimous adventures, whereupon Addie finds herself entangled with a young man who actually remembers her after the fact.
This is magical realism at its best, with compelling characters, intricate storytelling, and a truly dark past where someone is having to constantly deal with the consequences of their actions. Invisible in spirit, and in impact, this book explores what it means for someone to be forgotten to time, and everyone who touches it (get the relation now folks?!).
It’s about human connection, emotional needs, and everything in between, and has a lot more in common with Marvel’s latest export than you’d think possible.
If this sounds like something that might tickle your fancy, check it out at your nearest library or favourite bookstore!
TV Show: The Flash(CW)
Now, when we start talking about multiverses, conflicting storylines, and visiting cameos, you need look no further than one of CW’s (only) shining beacons in The Flash.
Following the adventure of DC’s famous speedster, Barry Allen, this is a show that’ll take you across universes, possibilities, identities, and everything in between. Plus, if you’re wanting to really get into the interconnectedness that we all know (and generally love) from the MCU, this has it, but with the CW universe. There are oftentimes ‘team-up’ episodes with the other shows on their roster such as Supergirl, Green Arrow, and Legend’s of Tomorrow to name a few.
The Flash is just a great quality show, with plenty of intriguing, mystical, and fantastical storylines to keep audiences hooked across its 169+ episodes. As well, Grant Gustin’s rendition of this quick quipster, is one of the best around, topping even the box-office darling of Ezra Miller as the DCEU’s current pick.
Then, you take the fact that it’s centered around one of the first comic book characters to play with the concept of inter-dimensional expansion, and you know you’re in good hands.
All in all, this is a show that definitely lends itself to feelings similar to those one might have experienced with Spider-Man: No Way Home, if only for the rumors that surround the possibility of Gustin making an appearance on the big screen in the aforementioned Miller’s solo movie, along with Michael Keaton’s Batman, and many other notable past roles.
So if all of that — or really any of that — seems like something you could sink your teeth into, then go check out a few episodes, and dip your toe in to see how you like it, now on Netflix in the U.S.
Comic Series: Spider-Geddon
Okay, I know I said I was going to steer clear of the obvious, but I just did so to lull you into a false sense of security, just like Spider-Man: No Way Home did to audiences (and my little, traumatized heart!).
When we’re talking alternate realities, when we’re talking Spider-Man, hell, when we’re talking Spider-verses, you can look no further than the Spider-Geddon series of 2018. Sounds ominous, right? Well ominous is right. The story takes the Spider-Verse idea, and instead of acting like a uniter across universes, Spider-Geddon is there to destroy them all! When villains escape their radioactive prison planet, a whole Spider-army must reunite to keep them at bay! Starring such names as Spider-Man, Doc Ock, Spider-Gwen, Miles Morales, Spider-Woman, Spider-Punk, the Spider-Man from the aforementioned PS4 video game, and MANY more Spiders, it’s the ultimate pairing to the wonder that is acronoss our cinema screens right now.
Honestly, this comic event is an absolute blast; you can feel the electricity in the air as you flick across the pages of one of the most ambitious graphic novels in Marvel history. Jam packed with action, emotion, and scientific explosion, it’s ALMOST, as thrilling as No Way Home, and just as intriguing.
Honestly it’s the quintessential text for any Spidey fan, so if you haven’t read it, or even heard of it, I strongly suggest you check it out as soon as you can.
Head on down to your local comic book shop, or click onto your favourite online comic seller today to check it out.
This is a doozy of a film. Spider-Man: No Way Home somehow took a primed MCU audience and might have even topped Avengers: Endgame levels of anticipation. With it came a lot of eyes wanting to consume even more excitement as a result. So whether you liked how it played with the theme of choices, or just liked the insane Spider-congregation, hopefully there’s something above that appeases your tastes.
I’ll be back next month with whatever manages to cut through the normally DEAD month that is January. But until then, thank you for visiting SiftPop’s One Stop Pop, and we hope to see you again soon!
You can follow Alice-Ginevra Micheli on Instagram and Letterboxd