Issue 18: I Saw the TV Glow

Currently on ghosts, gas, and growing up.

📝 Reviewing: I Saw the TV Glow (2024)

What about you? Do you like girls?
I don't know. I think that, I like TV shows.

After the screen went black in the theater, through their devastated sobbing, I heard the guest sitting behind me say, “I’m feeling emotions right now that psychology doesn’t even have the words for.” And I realized that sometimes, it’s more important for a film to be affecting than entertaining.

Like many other A24 releases, Jane Schoenbrun’s ‘I Saw the TV Glow’ is lo-fi with elements of horror, ambiguity, stunning visuals, and a vibey soundtrack. It’s a time machine back to 1996 small-town suburbia — an homage to a time when television was appointment viewing and weekend nights were spent inside. And if you were an adolescent then, it was a time when Nickelodeon was your closest companion.

For me, ‘I Saw the TV Glow’ was reminiscent of my memories of being bullied for being a nerd, yelled at by adults for my mumbling, desperate to find a sense of belonging, and finding an escape from it all in shows like ‘Are You Afraid of the Dark?’, ‘Clarissa Explains It All’, and ‘Boy Meets World’. It also reminded me of my fear of closeness, and how in the third grade I pulled the sleeves of my turtleneck down past my palms as a barrier to prevent me from directly touching my crush as we held hands under a playground parachute.

But even if this film reminds me of my own stories, this film wasn’t made for me.

‘I Saw the TV Glow’ represents how I feel perfectly. It understands me. My experience of the world and how incredibly isolated I feel from what others consider to be reality. Along with this, it portrays the loss of life a closeted trans person feels. — Raymond B. on Google

‘I Saw the TV Glow’ is a metaphor for anxiety, escapism, obsession, and identity. But it is also proof that even in isolation, a common interest can provide common ground for closeness. Experience matters, representation matters, people matter, and illuminating human stories is important because everyone deserves the chance to glow. ‘I Saw the TV Glow’ is currently playing in theaters.

📣 Recommending: The Last Stop in Yuma County (2024)

Never bring a knife salesman to a gunfight.

If you loved the diner scene at the beginning of ‘Pulp Fiction’, then ‘The Last Stop in Yuma County’ is for you. Part Coen Brothers and part Quentin Tarantino, ‘The Last Stop in Yuma County’ features tense twists and turns, witty dialogue, is shot almost entirely in one location, and all wrapped up in a ‘tight 90’.

Similar to other stylish debut features like ‘The Outfit’ and ‘The Vast of Night’, ‘The Last Stop in Yuma County’ has me highly anticipating what’s next from director Francis Galluppi. ‘The Last Stop in Yuma County’ is available to rent on Amazon.

📺 Watching: HIT ME HARD AND SOFT Interview

As mentioned previously, I love listening to artists discuss their art, as it helps me get an intimate look into their lives and perspectives, allowing me to understand their process better. Zane Lowe, Apple Music's Global Creative Director and essentially the David Letterman of the music industry, recently sat down with Billie Eilish and FINNEAS to discuss their latest album, ‘HIT ME HARD AND SOFT.’

Because Zane is a genuine fan of music, artists feel comfortable and safe opening up to him. As a result, viewers hear stories from Billie and FINNEAS about confidence, the tendency to quit, being out of sync as collaborators and siblings, and balancing fear and fun — stories that wouldn’t so easily surface with another interviewer. The interview for Apple Music is available to stream on YouTube.

Thanks for being here.
— Justin

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