Alexa, The Pandemic, and Art.
I see, I saw, I see snake agwo.
It's been almost a week since I resumed school and nothing, my people, has been able to spark joy. Everything has become less interesting and I am almost always thinking of how much work I have to cover in so little time, but that isn’t why we’re here.
During the week I finally got all caught up with The Resident and while I love the show, I kind of find it very reductive that a pandemic we’re still going through was compressed into one episode and by episode 2 they had moved on to other things. I literally let out a laugh when episode one started with “Sometime in the future, when the COVID-19 pandemic is history...”
Are these people even serious? I expected at least half of the season to be COVID related considering it’s a medical show and also that the pandemic isn’t over. I’m also now slightly less connected to the show because everyone speaks of the pandemic in the past tense while I am here putting on masks and social distancing. It seems like some alternate universe, honestly. This brings me to the larger point about art that tries to predict the future of/ after the pandemic. We’re still smack in the middle of this and there is a lot we will not return to, a lot of people have tried to create pandemic inspired art and while I will never police what people create, I think it is important we are not awash with a toxic kind of optimism that is devoid of the nuances of people’s experiences during this pandemic. Watching a TV show gloss over a very potent present is not as comforting as it seems.
Another thing that has been on my mind is that absolutely crazy Alexa Super Bowl ad released within the week with Michael B. Jordan. Bruh. It was equal parts creepy and amazing and you know what would have made it even more amazing was if they had gotten Nicki to finally release New Body and used it for the ad. It also got me thinking: who would you love to be your Alexa?
I personally would love Jeff Bezos himself to be my Alexa because why am I getting an Alexa if I don’t get his dollars? A close contender is Beyoncé. Imagine that sultry voice of hers waking you up every morning or reading your to-do list.
There's also a Tik-Tok video going around Nigerian Twitter that I am obsessed with. It’s two men dancing in random places to an absolutely infectious song—Looseguard by Styles—that I cannot get out of my head. Because I would rather do anything else than read for my exams, I decided to do some digging and I found out that the lyrics of the chorus are actually from an Igbo folk song. My friend says she wants everyone in the world to see that video and dance exactly like that and yes, I agree.
What this newsletter is watching...
Aside from watching The Resident and Modern Family, I also got caught up with season 6 of Superstore which happens to be one of the funniest shows I have seen. It manages to revolve around characters in a single store, keeping them fresh and funny for six seasons now.
What this newsletter is listening to...
My friend, Kottrel, has a song out that I love so much. If you’re into the mushiness of love, you’d love Like You, a guitar leaning love song accented by his harmonizing vocals. Make sure you give it a listen because valentine is coming and you need it.
What this newsletter is thinking about...
I was talking to someone really important yesterday and I told them I had observed that we had recently become stuck in a cycle of bleakness. We are both going through a lot so we end up just plastering our sadness on each other. This made me think about bonding and how bonding over trauma or collective sadness is never the way to go. I am not saying that we should abolish sadness from our relationships, no, I’m saying that we should allow ourselves to feel the full spectrum of emotions with people. And it is also very okay to decompress when someone you love is going through something. You cannot be there for them if you too are drowning with them. So, find pockets of joy and happiness away from them because in the end,they are the ones in charge of their lives, not you.
That is all for today and I hope you all have a great week ahead. The feedback from the first issue was amazing and I’m looking forward to hearing from you.