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- Every Pop Culture Article We Recommended In 2023
We’ve loved sharing our favourite articles, unhinged Twitter threads and analysis Tik Toks in our Weekend Recommendations every Sunday – it's become a beloved series for both you and us. With so much valuable content shared throughout the year, we want to give each recommendation its well-deserved spotlight.
If you’re looking for some great reading material over the slow summer weeks, scroll down for a link to every Pop Culture article we recommended in 2023. Feel like something different? Why not try our fave pieces on:
We’ll continue finding the smartest stuff on the Internet for you in 2024 – subscribe to this newsletter to make sure you don’t miss ‘em.
Best Pop Culture Writing in 2023
The real horror in M3gan is not the homicidal murder-doll on All The Heterosexual Nonsense I Was Forced To Endure substack
"I’m famous for once, after being introduced to my friend’s primary school aged child asking him “what he did”, as if we were networking at a conference. Why? because I panicked. And that panic is the horror that drives M3gan. The panic of someone handing you a baby out of the blue and telling you to support its head."
Riding the Subway with Anna Delvey In four-inch Manolos — to meet her parole officer on The Cut
I was flip flopping in my opinion the whole way through... and I'm still not sure what to think of her. "Instead of making her way back to Germany, she has decided to fight to be able to live in New York... Where else could she go? This is a city of people famous because of their misdeeds, not despite them."
Margot Robbie Takes You Inside The Barbie Dreamhouse video on Architectural Digest
Obviously they have a gigantic budget, but overall it’s important to show people the work and detail and craft that goes into creative projects, particularly in the fast content-consumption environment we now live in.
Pharrell for Louis Vuitton Is the Marvel Movie of Fashion Shows on Back Row substack
“Fashion is, like the film industry, leaning into the blockbuster strategy, where studios maximize profits by attempting to create a handful of mega-blockbusters each year… The show wasn’t meant to be a critical success or good design. It was meant to sell bags. It was meant to commercialize Paris, heritage, celebrities. It was meant to be, simply, a show.”
The Powerful Anti-Colonialism Of Hozier on Junkee
“As one descends through Unreal Unearth, the themes of colonial violence against Ireland and how Hozier experiences that legacy becomes more and more explicit. On ‘De Selby’ and ‘Butchered Tongue’, lyrics wax and wane between English and Native Irish as Hozier laments the loss of Native Irish language through colonialism and those who fought and died to keep it.”
Pamela Anderson's new memoir review on Celebrity Memoir Book Club podcast
The Fangirlification of Formula 1 by Maria Sherman on The Cut
"Some fans, like Lauren Asher, an avid romance reader who was introduced to Formula 1 through Drive to Survive, have taken to creating their own media about the sport. She was so inspired by the docuseries that she wrote 'Throttled', her debut romance novel and the first of her 'Dirty Air' series based in the world of Formula 1, a year later."
What BTS’ Military Service Tells Us About Soft Power on Kill Your Darlings
"Unlike charging in with tanks, explosives and threats, soft power has to feel apolitical to achieve its purpose. In other words, its intrinsic value must resonate with its audience in an organic way... This messaging is central to the band’s cultural diplomacy efforts, one championed by the South Korean government."
The Hailey Bieber Witch-Hunt: Why Brands Need To Stop Capitalising On ‘Female Rivalry’ For Social Media Marketing on Centennial World
"As brands continue to pit these women against each other, they strip Selena and Hailey of their accomplishments and goals, positioning them as superficial people who only exist to appeal to men.”
Body horror: Darren Aronofsky’s ‘The Whale’ on The Monthly
"Fatness in film is never incidental. No matter what a fat character does or says, their body informs their character and – perhaps more importantly – the way that character is treated."
Bring It On dissected on the Sentimental Garbage podcast
IA deep analysis of iconic 2000 movie Bring It On – why it was a perfect (yes I said perfect!!!) & very clever piece of cultural commentary that deserves way more credit that it gets.
Famous Historical Photos Recreated By The Simpsons in this Twitter thread
People always talk about how The Simpsons has predicted some crazy stuff that actually came true and this thread (actually, the entire account) proves how.
Tefi's breakdown of the entire Fleetwood Mac story on TikTok
Sorry, but Daisy Jones & The Six could never be more interesting, dramatic or devastating than the real life story of Fleetwood Mac, no matter how hard the writers tried.
Sinead O’Connor Shares Rememberings on Celebrity Memoir Book Club podcast
A great podcast to listen to in the wake of Sinead’s passing. Her passion, empathy and commitment to justice even at her own expense, and while enduring such pain, is incredible.
When We Watch And Just Like That, Is The Joke On Us? on Refinery29
“Its characters are no longer relatable working women… Though we were once able to suspend disbelief because the characters appeared to be working for their wealth, now, their elitism just feels like an insult to our intelligence.”
In ‘The Bear’, Why Can’t Carmy And Sydney’s Friendship Be Enough? on Junkee
“Platonic friendships between men and women are rarely viewed, at least on screen, as whole and fulfilling in and of themselves. In Sydney and Carmy’s case, why is their bond as creative collaborators and equal partners not seen as compelling or even valid without the subtext of romance by so many members of the audience?”
Hasan Minhaj’s “Emotional Truths” on New York Magazine
"[Comedians] have become the oddball public intellectuals of our time, and, in informing the public, they assume a certain status as moral arbiters. When fibs are told to prove a social point rather than to elicit an easy laugh, does their moral weight change?"
How Lorde Prophesied the Tumblr Generation’s Bittersweet Coming-of-Age on ‘Ribs’ on Rolling Stone
"Lorde detailed her adolescent disenchantment with the illusion of time — a finite resource often presented to young people as an endless luxury — with striking emotional resonance on ‘Ribs’. Over the past decade, the deep cut has taken root among a generation of listeners acutely aware of the quickening pace at which their youth is accelerating.”
We’re Not Too Far From the Reality of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes on TIME
“What does that say about the consumers of this art that creeps closer and closer to reality? What price are we willing to pay for a good show? And what price tag does that pin on performers?”
Miss Universe Isn’t Better For Allowing ‘Plus-Size’ Contestants on The Swaddle
“The ultimate decision of finding the “ideal woman,” who more often than not goes on to become the face of ad campaigns for the cosmetic and fashion industry, signals the commodification of womanhood and reduces the female body to a prop for promoting commercial goods.”
Ask A Music Critic: Why Aren’t There More Negative Album Reviews? on Uproxx
"Instead of covering everything, music critics now are inclined to write only about genres they already like... Expertise is a virtue, no question, but when everyone 'stays in their lane' you lose that wild hater energy that keeps the discourse interesting."
Camp Cope leaves the Australian music industry forever changed by their fearless feminist activism on The Conversation
A loss for the industry, and worth reading at a time when another Australian band with a history of violence, racism and sexism is headlining a local festival again.
This very insightful TikTok by Australian music critic Sam Murphy about why new artists can’t break through any more.
Anything your book club can do, mine can do better on Sydney Morning Herald
Such a funny piece – read if you like books & need a good laugh!