Time to lighten up
THIS YEAR’S POP CULTURE SEES A RETURN TO SILLINESS, CHILDLIKE DELIGHT, JOY AND EASE
This year is about treading softly. We want joy, we want simplicity, we want things to be easy. It’s not about tuning out from the news — it’s about applying light-hearted content as a balm for global devastation.
It started last year when grown-ups collectively lost the plot for Barbie and Wonka, and the trend of kids’ movies with adult appeal continues this year with IF. Sure, it’s definitely a children’s movie — it’s about a little girl who can see the invisible friends adults have forgotten about — but with a cast including Phoebe Waller-bridge, Awkwafina, Maya Rudolph, Emily Blunt, Ryan Reynolds, Steve Carell and Matt Damon, and written and directed by horror-slash-comedic-talent John Krasinski, you can expect ticket sales to match the bar sales.
Just because content isn’t deeply serious doesn’t mean it’s not worth consideration. Literary fiction gets a rom-com twist with Brydie Lee-kennedy’s debut novel, Go Lightly, a very funny bisexual love story about Ada, who falls in love with Sadie and Stuart at the same time. Lee-kennedy is an Australian TV writer who has written for Netflix, Apple TV+ and Disney+, and has also been a cabaret performer, sex columnist and kids’ entertainer: the perfect blend of grown-up who knows childlike delight.
Want to drown out the world completely? The noisecancelling headphones will get a workout with Dua Lipa, Billie Eilish, Lenny Kravitz, The Black Keys, Paul Mccartney and Elton John all dropping new music.
If your attention span for all of the above is totally shot, consider other ways to incorporate play into your life. Dr Stuart Brown, the founder of the National Institute for Play in California, found that play is an essential part of being human, and when we don’t engage in it, we can experience mild depression and adopt a generally negative outlook towards life. Exactly what we’re trying to counteract this year.