Happy Friyay! I think I’ve lost all semblance of routine with my writing at this time, but pleased to have written again. What has been going on? A lot! Over here in the UK the weather can only be described as confused, displaying all 4 seasons last Friday. It came as no surprise that the UN issued a report this week imploring everyone to act now to tackle fossil fuel emissions. Last Friday also saw the world cup draw, where England got a welcome draw, I can already hear the ‘It’s coming home’ chatter. The most discussed incident of the last fortnight is easily ‘The Slap.’ To this day it still feels a bit unreal, not because of the action, but the time and place. Combat sports are popular, so no one would’ve batted an eye if it happened in a ring, but it happened on the global stage at the Oscars. The ongoing fallout of all of this is a reminder that with great power, comes great responsibility.
For today’s blog I want to focus on what’s been keeping me entertained this year. Theatre has been a big source of that, there are such a range of enjoyable theatre productions constantly shown across the UK. We’re rather spoilt, at this time there are definitely a lot more good theatre shows to watch than movies in the cinema. I often think there’s a perception that theatre is too expensive, which is wild considering the price cinema tends to rack up to, they’re comparable. There are a range of productions from small, inexpensive to the high street shows, which can offer good value prices too. This year, I’ve seen 3 shows; Les Mis, Red Pitch and Queens of Sheba. All were good to watch and ranking them I’d put them in that respective order, from 3 – 1. Queens of Sheba was a thought-provoking watch on the combined layers of racism and sexism. Following the unfortunate news about child q and a further discussion of it on the HC podcast, I read on the adultification of black girls. An extract from the research:
Perhaps most concretely, researchers suggest that the phenomenon of adultification may contribute to increasingly disproportionate rates of school discipline for Black girls.
It seems that I’ll be keeping on the heavier theme for theatre this month as I intend to watch ‘For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When It Gets Too Heavy.’ TV continues to provide a constant supply of entertainment too. Top Boy season 4 has come and gone, and it really did end with a bang. They used this latest season to touch on an array of themes, from abusive relationships, gentrification and underlying to all the themes loyalty. Bridgerton was of course a change of pace from Top Boy, entertaining too nonetheless, offering a diversity of actors, and subtle and simple music and cinematography to leave the viewer feeling like a voyeur at points. Following the latest season, I’m even curious about paying a visit to the orchestra, I remember a few years ago they were doing renditions of Hip Hop albums, something they touched on in Bridgerton if you check out their soundtrack. Revisiting Will Smith, in a better light, he has produced an excellent reboot of a favourite of us all in Bel-Air. I have been so pleasantly surprised at how well they have done this, even having a low bar going into the reboot it has exceeded my expectations and most by so much. We’re in a great time for entertainment, so if you’re looking for alternative ways to be entertained on your weekend, check out some of these recommendations, they slap!
All this slap focus had my mind wondering to the best and worst slaps. In the continued theme of entertainment, ‘How I Met Your Mother’ provided me with a tear shedding slap. That was peak comedy, it arose from a lost slap bet. This unfortunately influenced my friends years ago to follow suit, which resulted in my worst slap, my life may have flashed before my eyes. I think it’s important to also focus on the separate highlight of Will’s night, his first Oscar win (and probably last too) for a wonderful movie in King Richard. One last movie recommendation for you all as we enter the weekend
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Temis2Pence
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