Sujata Said...2022 Movies and Podcasts
If my 2022 TV recommendations weren't enough to keep you busy...
2022 Movie Recommendations
Everything Everywhere All at Once: This was my favorite movie of the year - this is a surprise for me. It’s #NotMyGenre - I went to this movie purely for the Michelle Yeoh of it all. It’s very very different and frenetic, and a movie about family challenges, and expectations, and sacrifices. Is it horror? Is it science fiction? Is it a family movie about generational trauma? Is it Weird AF? Is it Asian AF? YES. 1000 times yes! And I loved it. And I loved every cast member’s performance. It’s available everywhere for streaming but truly best on the big screen, and it should be back in theatres for award season.
Good Luck to You Leo Grande (Available on Hulu): This is one of the best movies I’ve seen about woman’s desire, aging, and sex work. And it’s very very enjoyable. I laughed, I cried, I’m a little in love with both characters. The two leads, Emma Thompson and Daryl McCormack, are in every scene and it’s magic.
Descendant (Available on Netflix): This documentary is about the search for the Clotilda, the last slave ship believed to have entered the US, and the reckoning (or not) in Alabama and the community of Africatown, where descendants still live, after it was found. Producers include the Obamas’ Higher Ground production company and Questlove, whose ancestors were enslaved on the Clotilda. It is engaging, moving, enraging all at once.
Glass Onion-Knives Out (Available Dec 23rd on Netflix): The original movie was a triumph- smart, funny, shockingly great in my opinion for a old fashioned “who done it.” I believed there was no way the second one could meet that bar and probably would be horrible disappointment, but I was wrong. I saw it in the theatres during it’s 7 day November run, and it was great! Daniel Craig returns as Benoit Blanc and is just the best. The new cast works very very well. The cameos are brilliant, surprising and moving in many ways.
Turning Red (Available on Disney+): Is this animated movie about mothers and daughters? Is this about a engaged and unique father figure in this genre? Is it about generational trauma and pressure? It is about getting your period? Is it about friends? Is it Asian AF? Yes. 1000 times yes! And so worth it to watch!
2022 Podcast Recommendations
These are available wherever you get your podcasts.
Vibe check: The best new addition in my life, Vibe Check is a new weekly podcast this fall, so you have time to catch up, and it’s a joy. I came to this because of the three hosts, who I follow/love/listen to individually. Writer, poet and culture critic Saeed Jones, Journalist and Culture critic Sam Sanders, and journalist and entertainment producer Zach Stafford. Three friends, who call this podcast, their group chat come to life, are knowledgeable, funny, empathetic and honest in every way. I look forward to it every week.
Empire: Shockingly I will listen to anything that applies a critical lens to imperialism and colonialism (Critical Imperial Theory?). This podcast began in 2022 by two British historians Anita Anand and William Dalrymple and the first season focused the British Empire in India. So I was all in. It was excellent, nuanced with excellent guests whose perspective made the conversations very robust. Dalrymple is one of the few white Britons I continue to read about South Asia - he is deeply self aware and has written many many excellent histories on so many topics. Anand has written two books I learned so much from that are also empire related: The Patient Assassin and Sophia: Princess Suffragette. Together Anand and Dalrymple wrote Kohinoor: History of the World’s Most Infamous Diamond - which you should definitely read before Queen Consort Camilla wears the Kohinoor when she is crowned in 2023. IYKYK.
Last week, they dropped the beginning of their second season focusing on a NEW empire - The Ottomans.
NPR Pop Culture Happy Hour: An oldie but goodie, short episodes (for walks, commuting, chores) with great, authentic and diverse panelists who cover all sorts of culture, sort of like Sujata Said…And every Friday episode includes “What’s Making Us Happy” where I get some great recommendations of things I would normally never find on my own.
Trojan Horse Affair: A New York Times produced podcast, for good and bad - only 8 episodes, and a stand alone series. Most US folks would not even know about this story, engaging, and reflects all the realities of current British society, from Islamaphobia, the extremes of the British media and tabloid press, and with some nuance, and some messiness, the internal tensions within historically marginalized communities who were most impacted. Listen to this, then read some of the think pieces about it!