DTWID Digest #5
Hey fructose fam, welcome to the May issue of DTWID Digest! A monthly collection of biased observations from yours truly. Honestly, May was a blur. I watched some TV and started writing several things that I really hope to start dropping in June. Mostly I’ve been dissociating. Enjoy!
What I’m Loving Right Now
Stranger Things 4
What’s wild about Stranger Things is I did not remember almost anything from season three before going into the latest season. As of this writing, I’m almost done rewatching it, and it’s really like the first time. I have flickers of recognition but on the whole it just… did not stick. The first few episodes of this season led to a constant commentary of, “oh that’s what happened.”
That said, season four might be my favorite after season one. It’s a really tight story with interesting expansions of the lore and worldbuilding. I’m excited by the possibilities of what these new revelations mean! It’s only been a few weeks, so I won’t spoil anything in the newsletter, but perhaps I’ll drop my “random thoughts I had while watching” notes for y’all. 🤔
Legendary
Legendary is a competition reality series on HBO Max where drag houses compete in themed balls—functions—for an opportunity to win a large cash prize. What’s great about the show is that it is QUEER AS FUCK, and diverse! You may have learned about ball culture from Pose or Paris is Burning, and Legendary gives us a small glimpse of that world in an accessible way. It also highlights folks in the LGBTQIA+ community we still have a dearth of representation for, especially Black trans women. The show allows these folks to tell their own stories, but the focus is very much on the looks and performances. We get to root for and celebrate their creativity, hard work, and talent.
I am really enjoying KeKe Palmer as a judge this season. Jameelah Jamil is an executive producer, which I’ve always attributed to why she’s even there—no shade. It’s cool to have an audience surrogate judge, someone who does not know the ins and outs of ball culture and is watching it from a layperson’s perspective. But Jameelah has always felt… performative to me. Keke feels more relevant and more in-tune with the competitors, and with her here… we do not also need Jameelah.
I enjoy Keke, she can keep up with Law Roach and Leiomy, and her commentary feels like it comes from a place of taking the competition seriously, and wanting to reward folks for performing well. She’s also just fun! If you like performance competition shows, the gays, fashion, or reads, you should definitely watch!
The Man Who Fell to Earth
Chiwetel Ejiofor and Naomie Harris are fantastic in this sci-fi drama series, which is based on the 1963 book of the same name by Walter Tevis, and a spiritual successor to the 1976 film starring David Bowie. (Yes that’s a long sentence, I don’t have an editor.) The Man Who Fell to Earth is a wonderful exploration of what it means to be human. It’s superbly acted and beautifully shot. Watch it on Showtime, I cannot recommend it enough!
Plug: Black Girls Create is doing weekly Spaces about the show. Join us Tuesdays at 5pm on Twitter for #TARBISTalks where we discuss the latest episodes!
My Stuff
Black TARDIS
I’m hoping to record several episodes of the podcast in June to drop early for y’all throughout the summer. It turns out that single-handedly planning, recording, and editing is a lot of work. Especially when you have other things to write, record, and edit.
I have a few pieces in the drafts! The queer rep piece is coming soon. I have been noodling on it for a minute, and wanted to include the latest Doctor Who announcements. I’m also working on a piece about the state of (my) fandom… not sure what that will be, but it’s in the works, along with some other things. 👀
Delete This When I’m Dead
The blog officially relaunched! Supporters will be able to find all of my Patreon content there, plus additional stuff that will only be on the blog. I have several film & television commentary pieces in the drafts… we’ll see what happens with those.
The World
Every month there’s a new, worse thing I don’t want to have to explicitly talk about. Alas.
Bad News
- Overturning Roe – Just fuck people with uteruses, I guess. I am tired of lamenting this country, we get it.
- Uvalde – On May 24, 2022 a gunman entered Robb Elementary school and opened fire, killing nineteen(19) students and two(2) adults, and injuring several others. The timeline of events is questionable, and the local PD is undoubtedly guilty of negligence at the very minimum for their apparent inaction. I’m still to furious to be civil about this, but ACAB / #DefundThePolice. The second amendment can eat an ass. Check out these verified GoFundMes!
Other News
It’s all bad news, I fear. But June is pride month, so let’s enjoy these corporate rainbows!
Read and watch queer stories:
- Heartsopper (Book / Netflix)
- Our Flag Means Death (HBO Max)
- Fire Island (Hulu)
- Legendary (HBO Max)
- First Kill (Netflix)
Reply with your fave LGBTQIA+ stories and characters!
It’s been pretty terrible…
(Sorry this is so late, I drafted it and forgot it!)
