In this months 'RTR Recommends' feature, it's the turn of team member Dominique to reveal some of her favourite books, music, films, TV, LGBTQ+ moments and fashion items...
BOOKS: As a PhD student, I spend a scary amount of time reading academic content. When it comes to reading for fun* I want to read something that catches my attention quickly and makes me forget about my scary deadlines.
Over the past few months, two books managed to remind me how much I love reading as a hobby. The first one is One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston. It tells the story of August and Jane, two women who meet (and keep meeting) in the New York subway. I didn’t know much about the plot when I picked up this book, but I was shocked when I realised it wasn’t a simple meet-cute, but a meet-cute with a sci-fi twist. I love a good rom-com trope, but I love genre subversion even more! If you want a book that will make you laugh, cry, and make you reflect on the way society evolved (and keeps evolving), this is the book for you.
The second book I wanted to tell you about is Boom Chicago presents the 30 Most Important Years in Dutch History by Andrew Moskos and Pep Rosenfeld. The book also features stories from some of your favourite comedians and creators (Seth Meyers, Jordan Peele, Jason Sudeikis and Amber Ruffin, to name a few). If you love improvised comedy and/or Holland, this book provides great insights into Dutch history through the lens of Boom Chicago, a theatre/comedy club founded by Americans in Amsterdam. I may or may not have registered to an improv class after reading this!
*I adhere to the socially accepted definition of “fun” for this piece. My daily life consists mainly of reading about media, fandom, misogyny, and antifeminism. Most of it is actually fun to me, if sometimes a little disheartening, but I am aware it would probably not be fun for you.
MUSIC: The Season is upon us, and I could not be happier about it if I tried! This year, the holidays started a little earlier than usual for me: on November 22nd, with Hannah Waddingham’s Home for Christmas special on Apple TV+, which conveniently was paired with a live-recorded album. If you want to throw yourself into the holiday season by listening to some powerful vocals, go ahead and stream this wherever you stream your music, my friend. You will not regret it.
FILM: ‘Tis the season for Richard Curtis’ Love Actually. I am actually (ah! The improv classes are paying off, I am even more hilarious now) writing this piece while watching it. It’s my go-to as the holidays get closer, and I must watch it with a mug of hot chocolate. I highly recommend you do the same if you are in the mood.
TV: I thought I’d keep up with the current holiday theme I have going on with my next recommendation: the Norwegian Netflix series Home for Christmas (Hjem til jul). It tells the story of Johanne, a 30-something who is constantly reminded that being single during the holiday season is a nightmare. The viewers follow her on her quest to find herself a boyfriend for her family’s Christmas dinner in the hope that they stop bothering her about her love life. The show is funny, relatable, and Ida Elise Broch is an incredible lead. If you are able, I urge you to watch the two seasons of the show in its original Norwegian language with subtitles of your choice. Maybe you’ll pick up a few new words… God jul!
LGBTQ+ MOMENT: There are more and more moments that could be included here (thankfully!), but mine needs to be Tess and Vicky’s relationship in One Night. Okay, I know this is not a single moment, but I like following rules as much as I like to completely ignore them to write whatever I want (sorry, co-editors… or am I?).
So, yes, my “moment” is a full-fledged, complex fictional relationship. But that is just the thing: too often, queerness is this “abnormal”, extraordinary thing that becomes the sole focus of a piece of media. With One Night, we get to see a same-sex couple in a different light. Jodie Whittaker said it better than I ever could in her latest Attitude interview: “[…] within this piece, it’s absolutely a part of the story rather than that being the story”.
Representing queerness as a whole story adds to the heteronormativity that structures our society a lot more than we realise, which often places queer people as “Others”: always different, too often represented by their relationships rather than everything else that gives layers and dimensions to these characters... One Night is a huge step in the right direction, and I sincerely hope we get to see more attempts at subverting expectations when it comes to LGBTQ+ representation.
FASHION ITEM: I am sadly sub-par when it comes to fashion. I aim for clothes that make me feel comfortable and confident, and that does include the 13th Doctor’s costume at Comic Con as well as a blazer paired with a geeky t-shirt for an academic conference. That last one can be a strange mix to some, but it perfectly sums up who I am. So, I suppose that my favourite fashion item is not something specific, but rather the confidence boost I get when I wear something that is undeniably me.
Words: Dominique Gagnon (she/her)
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