Connecting the personal to the universal, these stories sit on the intersections of identity, memory and how the natural word blooms, seeps, weaves into the realities of being human.

Womanhood is the facet through which the Kuwaiti artist sifts through regional folklore, floral and botanical growth, and the beauty of the banal, the every day. Merging Eastern and Western perspectives, Rashed takes all these elements channeling them into each to create arresting, dreamlike imagery that feels as intuitively present as they are when she was creating them.

Aside from exhibiting internationally, Rashed’s unique aesthetic has caught the eyes of lucury brands including Dior and Piaget of which she was collaborated with.

In this week’s of Great Big Questions, Rashed tells The Culturelist how “every work begins with a seed of intention,” why she doesn’t really believe in distractions, and what being “stuck” during the process of making art can really mean for an artist.

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What’s easier for you: starting a project or finishing one?

It isn’t really a question of whether starting or finishing is easier. Each stage is rewarding in its own way.

Beginning a work feels like planting the first seed and breathing its first spirit into existence. It is a space of intention, but also one of chance, surprise, and discovery. The seed is the seed of intention, yet what grows from it often exceeds what I could have imagined at the start.

Finishing a work is about gathering all of those planted seeds and witnessing the forest they have become. It is a moment of arrival, where I can reflect on the conscious and subconscious decisions that shaped the work along the way. In many ways, completion is an act of understanding how those two forces met each other to create something larger than either one alone.

How do you know when a work is done?

I know a work is complete when I feel that I have reached a destination of fulfilment. It is a deeply intuitive feeling, one of arriving at the place I intended to reach or sometimes blooming into something beyond what I originally imagined.

Completion is not necessarily about resolving every detail but about recognizing a sense of inner fulfilment and wholeness within the work. There is a particular joy that accompanies that moment, a feeling of arrival. It feels as though the work has found its own home, and in turn, I have arrived at a newly born home within it.

What is your biggest distraction from creating work?

I do not really think of anything as a distraction from my practice. Instead, I believe it is important to allow for moments of pause within the studio.

Often, these pauses take the form of listening to music from my vinyl collection or simply getting up to turn the record over and begin the next side. These small gestures create moments of reflection and breathing space within the process.

I have come to realize that these pauses are not separate from the work itself. They contribute to the final result just as much as the act of painting. The moments between making are often where ideas settle, transform, and find their place. In that sense, every pause becomes part of the journey and ultimately contributes to the work’s arrival.

What do you do when you feel stuck?

I usually see it as a sign that I need to step away from the work for a while. Rather than forcing a resolution, I often begin creating something new and allow the original work to rest.

I return to it when the calling arrives naturally. Over time, I have learned that every artwork has its own lifespan and rhythm. Some unfold quickly, while others require months or even years of reflection and revisiting.

The process is never fixed or concrete, and that is part of its beauty. Each work reveals its own pace, and my role is to listen to it rather than rush it toward completion.

If you could own any artwork in the world, which one would it be and why?

I would probably choose a work by Khalil Gibran. His drawings and paintings are deeply concerned with the relationship between the body and the spirit, how they unite, separate, and continually seek one another. His work captures a profound sense of human fragility, and I find myself returning to that tenderness and vulnerability again and again.

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Which creative person would you most like to have dinner with?

I would have loved to have dinner with Etel Adnan. May her soul rest in peace.

I think she is one of the few Arab artists who engaged deeply with the philosophy of beauty and treated it as a serious intellectual and artistic inquiry. Through both her paintings and her poetry, she brought beauty into a critical and thoughtful light. I would have loved to hear her speak about art, landscape, language, and the ways they shape how we move through the world.

Where do you think ideas or creativity come from?

I believe ideas and creativity come from intuition. The challenge is not simply having an idea, but committing to it, trusting a vision enough to bring it into reality.

Creativity requires taking chances, accepting the possibility of failure, and being willing to excavate an image until it reveals itself. For me, every work begins with a seed of intention. No matter how small or humble that seed may seem, it carries a sense of urgency and charge. The creative process is about nurturing that seed and allowing it to grow into something that did not exist before.

What is the best advice you have received about art, creativity, or the process of working?

The best advice I have received is to trust and commit to your intuition.

There is a power and purity in your own voice. Certain images, ideas, and experiences will resonate with you in ways they may not resonate with others, and your role as an artist is to bring those things into the light. The same is true for every artist. We each notice different things, and that diversity of vision is what makes art so vital.

To commit to your intuition is to trust that what moves you is worthy of attention, and to have the courage to follow it wherever it leads

About Great Big Questions

What does it really mean to be an artist? Where do ideas come from? Can creativity be taught? The Culturelist’s artist interview series, Great Big Questions, asks every artist the same eight questions, revealing surprising similarities, striking differences and the deeply personal philosophies behind a life devoted to making art.

I’m a day late. I know. But there’s a legitimate reason. The internet.

I’ve had some serious connectivity issues that left me backed up with work - not fun. But I made it. Internet issues resolved (I believe) and it only took 40 hours of screaming.

The week has been particularly intense as after watching a delightful viral clip of Anne Hathaway talking about her favourite memes of herself, I spiralled into tangents of research on how the publics entitlement to celebrities faces, bodies, and lives. It’s a fun piece I promise, with lots to think about - scroll down for more.

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Also, big news! I’m so excited to launch a new series here on The Culturelist, one that I’ve been thinking about and planning for a while. Great Big Questions is a new weekly artist interview series that explores some of the most fundamental questions about creativity.

What does it mean to be an artist? Where do ideas come from? What is the most challenging part of the process?

Every week I ask the same eight questions to different artists across disciplines, mediums, and styles, revealing surprising similarities, striking differences, and the deeply personal philosophy behind a life devoted to making art.

I’m honoured that the artist featured in Great Big Questions is the legendary Palestinian painter and sculptor Sliman Mansour. His body of work has become synonyms with contemporary Palestinian art and a people’s visual identity and culture. I was really fascinated by his answers - both straightforward and profound,

Read the full interview below along with all the usual bits and pieces.

Enjoy,

Maan Jalal

This Week on The Culturelist…

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Listen on The Culturelist…

The Culturelist Recommends…

Virgina Wolf’s Orlando is such a vibe.

It is one of the strangest, most fascinating, and intriguing literary ventures about love, the self, and societal structures. It’s was beautifully adapted into stunning film that really feels like a novel starring Tilda Swinton and directed by Sally Potter. If you haven’t read it yet, I implore you to spend some time with it.

Buy this book

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This Week’s Quote…

I don’t often have this week’s quote come from the recommendation of the week, but I couldn’t help it. While reading Orlando this quote struck and has stuck with me:

“Illusions are to the soul what atmosphere is to the earth.”

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This Week’s Question…

Given my mini drama this week, it feels only fitting to pose this question to you:

As always, thank you for you subscription to The Culturelist.

See you next week.

Maan Jalal

There was Mother Mary in April a compelling film that didn’t get the attention it deserved, then we had the long awaited (whether you enjoyed it or not) The Devil Wears Prada 2 in May followed by the epic critical and commercial success of The Odyssey in June, and now the recent release of the sci-fi survival film The End of Oak Street, and in October, Hathaway will star in the Colleen Hoover psychological erotic thriller Verity – give me a minute I need to catch my breath, did I miss anything?

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Oh yes, she also announced that she is pregnant with her third child in a super cute Instagram video in June.

This is not even including what projects Hathaway is working on now – Princess Diaries 3 (will be huge) and Yesteryear the trad-wife thriller based on the hugely successful (and polarising) novel by Caro Claire Burke.

Aside from the obvious, (booked, busy, refusing to stop impressing us with her work ethic) Hathaway, has also done an excellent job at entertaining the internet through the many memes she has inspired.

Meme Muse

Here is where Hathaway rises a distinct notch or two above the rest. I wouldn’t be wrong to dub her one of this generation’s most inspiring meme muses.

The memes come forth in a plethora.

There is her excellent work in the first two Princess Diary films and The Devil Wears Prada (the sequel is yet to yield anything meme or viral worthy), a collection of looks and poses on various red carpets, there is also the one of her holding a champagne glass from the film The Hustle, and the promotional photo from the 2009 Shakespeare in the Park production of Twelfth Night – I could go on.

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My personal favourite is when Hathaway went viral in 2023 for dancing to Lady Marmalade at the Valentino after-party at Paris Fashion Week. That was peak “Ren-anne-aissance” building up from a year where her style revolution had shifted thanks to stylist Erin Walsh, from which she went forth and entered into what fans dubbed the Hathaslay era.

Collective culture propagating on the internet truly is a fascinating thing, a collection of language, content, and movements, that tsunami over us before receding back into the horizon.

Wondrous really.

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Often or not though, we never consider or know the story behind a meme.

Like a cultural archaeologist brushing away the dust and debris of the internet’s reframes, revisions, reshares, and of course the comments, discovering the origin story of a meme can be satisfying and enlightening. The circumstances in which an image has become relatable enough to millions of people online when the framework behind the original is rearranged can be unexpected.

In some instances, the story is a telling reflection of facets of culture that feel frustratingly unfair.

Last week, Hathaway sat down with Ewan McGregor as part of the press tour for the aforementioned film The End of Oak Street. The Esquire video conversation between the two has since gone viral for one of the questions McGregor asked Hathaway – what is your favourite meme of yourself?

Hathway had two. Below are the memes and her response:

The Cupcake Meme

“So, there was this one where I was walking down the street. I was early to go to the gym, and did I get on a piece of cardio equipment? No, I didn’t. There was a bakery around the corner, and I bought a cupcake. And they gave me a bag, and I thought, OK, that’ll be my reward after I work out. And mind you, I’m seven months pregnant.”

She continues:

“I’m walking down the street, I’m like, I’m just gonna eat the cupcake now, and then I’ll burn it off!” she recalled. “I start eating the cupcake, only to realize I’m having my photograph taken by a pap.”

Hathaway adds that she looked at the photographer and made a disappointed face, which was then memed as, “me realizing I ate all the cupcakes.”

The HR Meme

The origin of the meme is when Hathaway made a virtual guest appearance on RuPaul’s Drag Race.

“It was during the pandemic. I was doing this Zoom, and I had a panic attack. I just flushed from here to here,” she points toward her neck and face. “I started sweating, and my hair got really matted to my head, and I just smiled. And somebody made me, like, the forever face of HR telling you you’re about to be fired. Because the smile goes nowhere near my eyes.”

Hathaway discusses the two memes and the stories behind them jovially, the internet generally praising her for being a good sport. And Hathaway is a good sport, an excellent one really.

But why does she have to be?

Behind the Meme: Portraits of Control

While one can’t deny the interest in listening to the story behind any meme, and to be fair Hathaway’s explanations here were entertaining, my thoughts focused out towards more big picture stuff. And the view was rather bleak.

The two meme’s Hathaway chose were the two that to me follow a theme of control. One letting go of control the other an attempt to harness it.

Convincing oneself that they will work out, that they deserve a prize for sweating it at the gym, and then eating the prize before the work out, is rooted in relatability. Add the pregnant, dressed in workout clothes, munching on said cup cake, along with the “aw, no more cupcakes?” expression, the story then speaks to different sets of very specific groups of people.

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In an incredibly normal moment of existence, a moment that may have only last a few seconds, Hathaway shed the glamorous aspirational Hathaslay alter ego to be every person, every woman. While she wasn’t acting, Hathaway became a character many can relate to, an avatar of experience that we are already familiar with.

The cupcake meme, in truth reveals a woman letting go of control, prematurely rewarding herself, having a very mundane and yet human moment. This is why the meme works so well.

The HR meme however, while hilarious, feels darker.

Hathaway was having a panic attack while filming. A panic attack in any circumstance is an absolutely claustrophobic and horrendous experience. Having to control it and you spiralling while performing would feel worse.

The public obviously had no idea that Hathaway was suffering from a panic attack (and one has to also question whether they would care if they knew) and her dead pan smile triggered a familiar image across corporate life.

Through Hathaway’s desperate attempt to control herself in a moment of mental anguish, a portrait of something much more sinister, and unfortunately, relatable, emerged.

The veneer of joy, warmth, civility stretched across something hollow, unfeeling, descending.

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Does the analysis of these memes warrant a conversation on whether or not Hathaway is allowed agency on how her face and person is being used in the online public arena?

Does celebrity status mean that we are allowed to praise, drag, or use a person as per our whimsy?

I hate rhetorical questions, but here we are.

Lest we forget, Hathaway was not always as beloved as she is in this moment, not always able to speak about less flattering images of herself in cheerful and breezy cadence.

From Hatha-hate to Hatha-slay

Between 2011 to 2014, Hathaway was the target of public scrutiny and hate.

It began after her heavily criticised Oscars hosting gig in 2011 where she was perceived as too eager next to her co-host the then super cool (now super cancelled) James Franco.

The hate campaign reached an extreme peak during the 2013 awards season. At the time Hathaway was promoting films such as The Dark Knight where she played Catwoman, a role many thought she wasn’t “cool” or “sexy” enough for (I’m glad to report those haters were dutifully proven wrong), and then Les Misérables where her role as Fantine was gaining a lot of critical acclaim, including an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

“It came true…”

Were the first words of Hathaway’s winning acceptance speech at the Oscars – a reference to Fantine’s song I Dreamed and Dream. Hathaway then ended her speech with:

“Here’s hoping that someday in the not-too-distant future, the misfortunes of Fantine will only be found in stories and never more in real life.”

This, it seems, was too much for the public to handle.

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Social media abuse was relentless as Hathaway swept the award season where her interviews and speeches were dissected by a small but loud and influential group of irritated (and sad) people online that felt she was too keen, too affected, too Disney, to stand.

Looking back now, Hathaway was a delight compared to some of the antics we’ve seen on press circuits over the last few years. A few highlights:

• A Star is Born 2019: Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper baiting the public into making us believe they were having a romantic tryst, as Gaga repeated the “there could be 100 people in a room and 99 don’t believe in you” line over a dozen times in interviews.

• Madame Wed 2024: Where Dakota Johnson was completely detached in her interviews while promoting the film with rumours circulating that she thought the film was bad and wanted nothing to do with it.

• It Ends With Us 2024: Blake Lively’s oddly cheerful floral fashion, info commercial focused approach to marketing a film that involved domestic abuse. I won’t go into the all the details of the complicated mess of the Justin Baldoni of it all – it’s had enough media attention.

• Wicked 2024: Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo’s overly emotional press tour full of crying and intense displays of gratitude were bonkers it must be said but the “holding space for the lyrics of ‘Defying Gravity’” moment was an absolutely joy to witness.

• None of these instances received as much vitriol as Hathaway did in the early 2010s.

Hathaway’s perceived personality, whether genuine or not to who she actually is, was taken to task gathering momentum and speeding towards Hathahate station. Hathahate became a shorthand to disliking Hathaway for no specific reason, expect for an imagined inauthenticity or a vibe that she was cringy. The phenomenon was covered extensively in legacy publications and affected Hathaway’s mental health as well as well as her career.

In a 2024 Vanity Fair interview she explained:

“A lot of people wouldn’t give me roles because they were so concerned about how toxic my identity had become online. I had an angel in Christopher Nolan, who did not care about that and gave me one of the most beautiful roles I’ve had in one of the best films that I’ve been a part of. I don’t know if he knew that he was backing me at the time, but it had that effect. And my career did not lose momentum the way it could have if he hadn’t backed me.”

Hathaway is referring to Nolan casting her in Interstellar. That was the second time Nolan cast her in a project, the first was The Dark Knight Rises in 2012, and their latest was The Odyssey this year.

In an appearance on The Ellen Show in November of 2014, Hathaway discussed the experience:

“I listened at first. I couldn’t help it. You try to shut it off and I couldn’t. And then I realised why I couldn’t was I hadn’t learnt to love myself yet, I hadn’t gotten there. And if you don’t love yourself when someone else says horrible things to you, apart of you is always going to believe them. So then I was like OK. I don’t want to believe these people, I don’t want to agree with them on any level. I’m going to figure out who I am, I want to learn who I am.”

Hathaway took a short break and before appearing in Ocean’s 8 in 2018, then Hustle in 2019, and We Crashed in 2022 and has been on a steady upward trajectory, helped enormously by her style evolution, ever since ombreing from Hathahate into Hathaslay.

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The Price of Fame

Why does this matter? Hathaway’s journey as an actress isn’t unique one can argue. Many celebrity women have been fed to the cyber wolves and the salivating clicks of the paparazzi, before, after or while being hailed as an icon of their generation. Hello, Lauren Hill said it best in Superstar:

“They’ll hail you then nail you, no matter who you are, They’ll make you now then take you down.”

She is a public facing person and so the argument there is that she has no choice on when and how her image and story is used in public discourse.

While some celebrities, particularly in reality TV, relish a viral moment that could propel or enhance their career, even going as far as to clip farm themselves while on camera in the hopes of being memeified, some famous people aren’t interested in becoming the butt of a joke.

Is this allowed? Sorry another rhetorical question.

And while we can take the Ricky Gervais route of:

“Let’s get this in perspective: They’re the wealthiest, most privileged people in the world. Offence is taken, not given. It’s your choice.”

A perspective that was shared long before by Joan Rivers when speaking about her show Fashion Police she said:

“The key is let’s not take it so seriously. It’s people walking around on red carpets and they’re all making millions of dollars. You can take a little flack.”

It’s a line of thinking the public gets behind, one that can create a path which smashes through blind celebrity worship.

But at some point, a celebrity’s personhood can’t completely be up for consumption. In bursts, waves, or cycles, fame functions now like an affliction. The more famous someone is the less honesty they are, the less human we perceive them.

Even now, in the midst of the public inhaling Hathaway like she’s the last oxygen mask in a nuclear fallout there is extreme conspiracy theory ridden disapproval of her, her body, her intentions.

Hatha-hate Never Really Left

At the world premiere of The End of Oak Street last week, Hathaway showed off her bare baby bump in a silk crop top and low-rise jeans. The bump, from what I gather, looks exceptionally ideal as far pregnancy bumps go.

This seemed to have sparked a lot of questions and outrage, and like a storyline from Desperate Housewives, rumours began circulating that Hathaway’s bump and her whole pregnancy were fake.

I’d like to point out the obvious here. If one was indeed faking a pregnancy, I highly doubt they would put themselves in a situation where their prosthetic belly was on full display in front of dozens of cameras.

Hathahate may have dulled but it never completely left.

The rumours were addressed by Hathaway through a video recap of the red-carpet event on Instagram along with a simple caption: “Fake hair, real bump.”

It feels like Hathaway has learnt who she is, as she described was her priority in that Ellen interview over ten years ago. I also understand that for her part, this is a strategy, an act, another phase of the public persona that she has had to cultivate since the days of Hathahate.

The question here shouldn’t be how “genuine” is it and how “authentic” she is, but more what personas Hathaway and other female celebrates have to inhabit in order to navigate the land mine of public life on the internet. Part of that is talking about her favourite memes of herself - whether the intention is to explain, laugh about, or stay afloat of the conversation.

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It was pointed out to me in a conversation with a friend on this topic that there was a chance that Hathaway, who is probably media trained within an inch of her life, chose those two memes on purpose. She wanted to explain away toe of most unglamorous images of her.

Probably, potentially, maybe not. So?

I find the argument that any person, particularly a woman, using every arsenal at her disposal to control her public image a thing by which we should judge her, seeped in some misogyny. The fact that she was hated for no reason, when many men have performed atrocities and have been forgiven, is in fact the problem here.

Not every woman can be a chilled-out gal and not care what others think of her. It’s human. I don’t have enough time to go through the list of women who have had to go in hiding under strict, maniacal measures to control their public personas as a means to protect their humanity.

OK, I have a little time – Jennifer Lopez, Meghan Markle, Taylor Swift, Victoria Beckham to name a few.

We Are All Always Watching

Beyond Hathaway, the boundary blurs between how we interact and use celebrities more every day. Every refresh of the algorithms, every update of newsfeeds, every new AI invention, affords us more intimate ways to watch celebrities across their work and to speculate on their personal lives. In turn, the parasocial relationship intensifies.

I won’t go into the invasion of privacy the paparazzi committed while photographing Hathaway without her consent in cupcake meme. It goes generally without saying that if it were up to Hathaway she most likely would have preferred not to have been photographed scoffing down a cupcake. Conversations on paparazzi tabloid culture unfortunately seems less pertinent these days especially when we AI glasses are rapidly invading people’s privacy celebrity or not.

It’s nauseating to think about how much access and entitlement we have to how famous people exist, regardless of if they are welcoming us into their lives or not.

It allows for the parasocial to mutate out of the petri dish and metastasise, engulfing culture in a relentless all-consuming grip. The effects of the cycle of loathing and loving, hating and hailing can not only be detrimental to a celebrity on an individual level but also to us as a culture.

Even if you think the world of celebrity somehow exists in a parallel universe, a place of fiction, it’s ignorant to assume it doesn’t affect us on a granule level. Even the happenings of the Gods on mount Olympus influenced the lives of mortals.

This to me is one of the reasons why the close observation, study, and critique of pop culture is crucial. Through that lens, from meme to headline, to red carpet interview and fan led movements, an Instagram caption and thousands of comments, patterns emerge in pop culture. Connecting them paints a moving portrait of how we interact with the world and each other.

I am not disconnected or above the cultural zeitgeist movements or vehicles of the moment. Memes bring me a lot of joy.

There is no obvious answer or remedy to me here no one particular individual or group to blame. But there is the inherited systems and our own tribal instincts that we should always be questioning.

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There is also irony. I can’t help but think about it.

We had one of the world’s most famous women disguising her panic attack on a reality show that explores alter egos, constructed personas, and the relationship between a performer and the characters they conjure. It was a smile “that didn’t reach the eyes” that became one of the most widely shared memes in recent history, that says so much and yet not enough about who we are.

Here’s one thing that I find sad about Hathaway’s Oscar acceptance speech. It was the last line, hopeful, naive and feels a bit sad.

“Here’s hoping that someday in the not-too-distant future, the misfortunes of Fantine will only be found in stories and never more in real life.”

I by no means want to compare the tragedy of Fantine life from Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables to that of the issues that affect celebrity lives. But it must be said that the struggles of women, whether in the public eye or not, when it comes to how they should act, disguise themselves, pretend, behave, sounds exhausting.

And I’m afraid there is no chance in the near future that they will only ever exist in stories.

It’s been a manic week. Internet connectivity drama, deadlines, and the end of summer, and the final of House of the Dragon has made it almost impossible to get this episode out.

By the way, the final of House of the Dragon episode was a long one, a real deep analysis of the episode and of the whole series thus far and where we can expect to go in season four so make sure you check it out.

The stories this week felt random to me at first but funnily enough, me being me, found a running thread throughout them… the mysterious.

Jump in an listen to the episode straight away or scroll down to read some of the thoughts I didn’t share on the episode.

Enjoy!

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Why Banksy Artworks Have Cost UK Taxpayers Nearly £150,000

If you want your story to go viral write about Banksy. Believe me, I know first hand the power of the Banksy name when it comes to search engines. People love to read about him. I’ve come to the conclusion (no revolutionary in any way) that the conversations, the stories about Banksy are more the art work than the art work themselves.

And while the Shadow Justice Secretary Nick Timothy is furious that tax payers money is being wasted in removing or protecting three of Banksy’s work that have appeared on government buildings and areas, I think the more public figures like him are outraged the more people will find it funny and cheer him on. People love a rebel, especially a mysterious one.

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Why Poetry Sales Are Booming as Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey Revives Homer

Are you reading poetry? Do it now. I recapped an article by The Guardian that profiled poets Lucas Jones, Hollie McNish, Nikita Gill, Lemn Sissay, and Len Pennie, in the episode, read a couple of their works, and plan to buy their books.

It’s honestly a thrill that poetry is having a moment and I hope the moment lasts forever, especially in this moment in time where AI and slope in particularly is seeping into our newsfeeds.

Also, this story proves why having adaptations of classics is so important for the ecosystem of reading, literature, and publishing.

Who Made Zendaya’s Spider Brooch? Inside the Chopard and David Webb Mystery

This feels like the beginning of an enticing mystery. This story is really about creativity, where it comes from, who is influenced by whom, why some people wouldn’t credit an inspiration.

Who actually made the diamond spider? It kind of doesn’t matter now. The spider is attached to a story, a lore that will propel it into a realm that’s more interesting than putting a name to who first designed it. I hope they don’t figure out who actually designed it and this story can keep living in infamy.

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Why Netflix Is Being Sued for $105 Million Over a Stolen Nicolas Cage Film

The fact that studios are sending streamers like Netflix their films through a hard drive is insane to me. Insane. I thought they would have a much more… sophisticated? method of sharing films.

More shockingly, I discovered that Nicolas Cage has been continuously making films and TV shows for the last 16 years - nonstop! Who is watching these films and shows? Why does no one know about them? I have not heard of one, not one!

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Why Anne Hathaway Had to Deny Her Pregnancy Belly Was Fake

People are seriously insane for thinking Hathaway was taking part in soap opera, Desperate Housewife narrative just because she looked good on the red carpet. I’ve written an in-depth piece about the public entitlement (and audacity) over celebrities’ faces, bodies, existence etc

It all started with a meme and got me spiralling with thoughts that become over 3,000 words about how we all need to just chill.

Listen to last week’s episode of The Voice Note

• The Voice Note: John Galliano Met Exhibition, Barbie 2 Salary Standoff, Children of Blood and Bone Fallout

Through a career spanning more than five decades, Mansour has documented the history, struggles, and identity of the Palestinian people through powerful imagery from now viral works such as his panting Camel of Hardship, to expressive landscapes and his dedication to the symbolic nature of the olive tree.

Mansour has also been incredibly influential in establishing important Palestinian artistic institutions as well pushing the boundaries how people can make and experience art. From using locally sourced materials in his work to leaning into the viral nature his images have taken over the last few years, Mansour continues to push his ideas and approach to art and being Palestinian through traditional and contemporary means.

In this, the first edition of Great Big Questions, Mansour tells The Culturelist how he knows a work is finished, respecting the viewer as a participant of the work, and why creativity is more than a burst of inspiration.

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What’s easier, starting or finishing a project?

Finishing the project.

How do you know a work is done?

The inner feeling tells me so; it’s like a feeling of satisfaction just like getting full after eating. Simply, it’s when the result feels aesthetically pleasing and successfully conveys the idea I want to express.

What is your biggest distraction from creating work?

Distraction varies by time, now my biggest distraction is my medical condition and the pain it carries. Previously, the quarrels with artists, and long time ago girls were the major distraction.

What do you do when you feel stuck?

When I feel stuck in a certain artwork, I simply leave it and work on a different one. However, if I’m stuck as an artist, I change the technique and start a new adventure.

If you could own any artwork in the world which one, would it be and why?

If I were to own any artwork in the world, I would choose one of Paul Gauguin’s works painted in Tahiti, because it reflects a deep appreciation for colour and form. It also carries a sense of mystery through the interplay of light and shadow. Also, it is compelling in its exploration of themes and human relationships such as love and sexuality.

Which creative person would you most like to have dinner with?

I would like to have dinner with El Greco. He lived in Toledo and his artistic world was shaped in part by the Andalusian cultural environment.

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Where do you think ideas or creativity comes from?

Creativity and ideas come from thinking deeply in a topic for a long period of time.

What is the best advice you received about art, creativity, or the process of working?

The best advice I’ve ever received concerning art, is to respect the viewer wherever they are and regardless of where they come from.

About Great Big Questions

What does it really mean to be an artist? Where do ideas come from? Can creativity be taught? The Culturelist’s artist interview series, Great Big Questions, asks every artist the same eight questions, revealing surprising similarities, striking differences and the deeply personal philosophies behind a life devoted to making art.

There is argaret Olley’s intimate domestic settings, Carmen Laffon’s patience and detail oriented attention to her work over time, the the archiving and study of Islamic history to new audiences in Korea and the storytelling of documentary photography through Sharjah Art Foundation’s Vantage point.

While vastly different in many ways, each exhibition considers what is visible and how the world can be recorded through the artist’s eye.

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Margaret Olley: Australian Intimiste
National Art School, Sydney

The legacy of legendary Australian painter Margaret Olley is currently being celebrated through an exhibition of over sixty works drawn from significant public and private collections. Seen through the lens of the European artistic tradition of intimism – a movement of art, literature, or film centring on quiet and domestic interior scenes (sounds down right delightful) the exhibition is a portrait of Olley’s personal world.

On view until 26 October

Carmen Laffón. Variations
The Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid

The first major retrospective since her death in 2021, Sevillian painter and sculptor Carmen Laffón’s exhibition focuses on her unique approach to the figurative world. Featuring over 70 works, including oil paintings, charcoal drawings and sculptures, the exhibition reflects how Laffón has presents central ideas and motifs in her compositions as they recur in variations and series across her expansive career. throughout her more than sixty-year career.

On view until 27 September

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Islamic Art: A Journey of Splendor
World Art Gallery of the National Museum of Seoul

This sounds incredible. An expansive exhibition presenting 85 masterworks drawn from the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, Qatar. Korean audiences, and anyone visiting Seoul will have the opportunity to learn about the rich, diverse, and interconnected works of Islamic civilisation across it’s 1,400-year history and geography that spanned from Spain to Southeast Asia.

On view until 11 October

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Vantage Point
Sharjah Art Foundation, Sharjah

The 13^th edition of the photography exhibition features six artists from across the world working from different perspectives within the medium of documentary photography. The thoughtfully curated exhibition explores themes such as the connections between land, memory while pushing the boundaries of what documentary photography can do.

On show until 29 November

We made it, that’s it, House of the Dragon Season 3 is over. While frustrating at some points, it was overall a great season, one I think now on hindsight was really about character portraits, more than anything else.

Despite having an intense action packed beginning, the rest of the season played out the narratives in a way where we explored the dynamics of relationships - parenthood, loyalty, romantic love I feel were the dominant ones.

Aside the political games, cliff hangers, and reveals, all of which kept us in suspense and watching, it was the grater theme of power, and in particular what one has to do to get power and how power can corrupt.

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I cam across a review of the episode of the season by a legacy publication (I honestly can’t remember which one now) that said something along the lines of “House of the Dragon lacks the charm of Game of Thrones”

OK. What a weird thing to write.

The reason I love this show, is because from the very beginning, I made a conscious decision that I won’t be comparing House of the Dragon to Game of Thrones. Not only is it unfair to a new show to compare to another story from it’s own world, but also what’s the point?

We have to look at this series, as it’s very own thing, a story that informs Game of Thrones, yes, but by no means is it supposed to mimic or be a replica of anything else but be true to the story it is telling.

And on that score, House of the Dragon is a brilliant story about power and how it relentlessly corrupts people and if not checked can destroy the world.

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What I Can’t Stop Thinking About: Helaena

Helaena was the only good, truly good person on the show.

Innocent, a little naive at first, but she was pure, uninterested in power even when she was in close proximity to it time and time again. As a dragon rider, she relinquished her dragon, as Queen she wasn’t ever interested in her duties, even as a Targaryen she understood that her family and blood line were… complex, she chose nature, she chose motherhood, she cherished freedom.

The saddest part of Helaena’s end is that it was the product of everyone letting her down. Her brother husband and her mother - particularly her mother, who despite trying at the very end to bond with Helaena, was not there when it mattered, didn’t prepare or teach Helaena about the world she was in enough. And I think Alicent will be the one who suffers the most after and because of Helaena’s death.

In fact, Helaena’s death signifies a lot for season 4, more than most people are probably aware of.

What it all means for Season 4 of House of the Dragon

Now that the only purely idea of good has left the story, I think Season 4 will reveal a much darker and sinister side to every character on the show.

It is the final season of the show and conclude the fate of all of the characters who have (except for Dareon at this point) have done some horrendous things in their quest for power, desire and freedom.

Rhaenyra is a target. Everyone from Baela and her grandfather Corlys, to Hugh the Hammer, the Targaryen brothers, and now Alicent, will want her either out of the way or will want her head. Even Alyn and Addam will turn against her as they turn against each other in their weird incestuous love triangle.

Daemon I predict will remain loyal to her and I think eventually that, along with his maddening arrogance will be his downfall.

I think Rhaenyra is (was?) a good person, but her paranoia, her constant hunger to feel worthy, the pressure of the throne has turned her thoughts dark and now at this point there’s no turning back.

Question of the Week…

I’m keeping this weeks questions (the last one for this series of The Voice Note) vague.

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Listen to previous episodes reviewing House of the Dragon Season 3

• Season 3 Episodes 1 & 2 Review

• Season 3 Episode 3 Review

• Season 3 Episode 4 Review

• Season 3 Episode 5 Review

• Season 3 Episode 6 Review

• Season 3 Episode 7 Review

For those of us begrudgingly heading back into the office after a much deserved holiday, I have good news. There’s a lot of exciting things happening in the culture before 2026 comes to an end.

Chiefly, I want to direct you to ultimate book-to-screen adaptation I have been working on over the last two weeks (see below). I was thrilled to see how many good movies and shows we have to look forward to before the end of the year. I thought we peaked with The Odyssey, but no, there’s still Dune 3, Sense and Sensibility, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, and so many more adaptions to look forward to.

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On this week’s episode of The Voice Note I broke down five of the biggest stories dominating culture this week. One of them was of course the announcement that Valerie Hillings has been appointed as the inaugural director of Guggenheim Abu Dhabi which will be opening on December 11. Another cultural activity to look forward to before year’s end!

I was in Abu Dhabi a week ago and the Frank Gehry designed museum already looks incredible from the outside, so one can only image how beautiful the structure, and the art, will be inside. I can’t wait to set foot in there and even more excited to bring you all along for the ride.

From a scandal in the book film world that I cover in The Voice Note this week, to re-reading this week’s recommendation, and thinking about films that I don’t think enough people know about.

So whether you’re more of a reader, writer, or prefer watching your stories on the screen, I have something that should keep you scrolling.

As usual I love hearing from all of you. I was delighted to get a message from a reader last week who told me that listening to my review and recap of the Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender while she was stuck in traffic inspired her to watch the original series with her son!

This is one of the reasons I do what I do, so please never hesitate to get in touch and say hello.

Enjoy,

Maan Jalal

This Week on The Culturelist…

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The Culturelist Recommends…

I’ve spoken about Tina Brown’s brilliant before. I come back to it when I need so inspiration, opening at random and seeing what was going on in the word of glamorous magazine publishing in the 1980s and early 90s.

Even if you aren’t into publishing and media, its a great story about a young woman in taking on New York and making her mark in very male dominated work culture.

Buy this book here

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This Week’s Quote…

A master of crime fiction, P.D. James’ birthday was this week. Cover her Face, the first in the Adam Dalgliesh detective series, is an incredible novel, smart, enticing, perfect with ever re-read.

I recently read her Ten Rules for Writing Fiction from The Guardian’s series for writers and I feel that her fifth rule could also apply to those who don’t write.

Open your mind to new experiences, particularly to the study of other ­people. Nothing that happens to a writer – however happy, however tragic – is ever wasted.

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This Week’s Question…

Over the last week I watched three great action packed stories. I Will Find You on Netflix, which reminded me of Mel Gibson’s 1996 film Ransom, that I then rewatched, which reminded me of one of the best action packed thrillers of all time - The Fugitive which was released in 1993 starring Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones. What a film!

I was very surprised when I shared this on my instagram how many people hadn’t seen the film and some hadn’t even heard of it. So I pose this question to you:

As always, thank you for you subscription to The Culturelist.

See you next week.

Maan Jalal

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Marina Abramović: Balkan Erotic Epic
Gropius Bau, Berlin

Marina Abramović is that artist. Based on the folklore of the Balkans, the region where the conceptual artist and performer grew up, Balkan Erotic Epic includes cinematic and sculptural installations with live performances.

Eroticism as a bridge between life and death, the self and the cosmos – these are some of the themes that Abramović explores acts of personal endurance and rituals.

On view until 23 August

Basquiat × Banksy
Hirshhorn Museum, Washington

Two paintings by two major artists in one space.

The exhibition is of two important works one by Jean-Michel Basquiat and the other by Banksy.

Basquiat’s Boy and Dog in a Johnnypump painted in 1982) and Banksy’s response, Banksquiat. Boy and Dog in Stop and Search painted in 2018 are placed together in dialogue, revealing the threads connecting street and contemporary art, and the public consciousness.

On view until 7 September.

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DIVAS: From Oum Kalthoum to Dalida
Sursok Museum, Beirut

This sounds incredible.

Honouring the legacy of iconic female singers of the Arab world, this exhibition pays homage to some of the greats.

Oum Koulthoum, Warda Al-Jazairia, Asmahan, Fayrouz, Laila Mourad, Samia Gamal, Souad Hosny, Sabah, Dalida – these are the timeless and powerful divas who changes culture, fashion, art, and music through their varied and prolific contributions.

The exhibition takes visitors on a journey through the lives of these singers and actresses and the profound impact their art left behind.

On view until 1 February.

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A Moving Line: 1500 Years of Indian Visual Storytelling
Museum of Art & Photography, Bengaluru

Wow - more than 250 works are exhibited tracing how India has told stories for over fifteen hundred years across generations, mediums, and technologies.

The exhibition reflects how, as societies changes, so does the creation of new visual identities and the evolution of a country and its people through the vehicle of storytelling across time and space.

On view until 15 November.

I’m so glad to be back to our regularly scheduled programming. Or at least the initially planned scheduled programming. It’s been a very manic summer, with the on-going war, traveling, coming back to Dubai and figuring out how to make all this work, it’s taken me a minute to get into a rhythm, especially with The Voice Note.

But I’m making it work! You know what’s not working? Not right now anyway, is the video component of The Voice Note. I recorded last week’s episode on camera, but the process of editing and uploading was so time consuming that the episode was over a day late - unacceptable!

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And so, until I have a better workflow (or better internet connection) the video element will have to wait a little.

By the way, if you’re new here, by regularly scheduled programming I mean what I initially planned for The Voice Note. A weekly podcast episode breaking down the biggest global cultural stories of the week.

And here they are… you can jump in and listen to the episode straight away or read some more of my thoughts on each story below.

Enjoy!

Perez Hilton Hospitalised After Disturbing TikTok Livestream

Very sad and disturbing news. It’s difficult to know what to say in situations like this aside from wishing him and his family well and hoping he gets the right support and help he needs.

Perez Hilton has always been a contentious public figure, who has indeed, through his online celebrity reporting in the early 2000s caused great pain and harm to people. But as I mention in this weeks episode, the media landscape, society, culture in general was a different place then.

And while Hilton has apologised for his past actions the public has remained to be very unforgiving towards him. As I detail in today’s episode, I really do wonder where the line is when it comes to forgivenss and redemption and whether public life and public opinions really aren’t for everyone.

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Why Tomi Adeyemi Has Distanced Herself From the Children of Blood and Bone Film

This is one of those novels that I was so excited to see on the screen. Don’t get me wrong, I still am (it’s part of my ultimate guide of 45 Upcoming Book-to-Screen Adaptations for 2026 and Beyond that you must read!) but this story is confusing.

Aside from thinking about how much right, culturally and legally, an author has on the adaption of their story, and so much of the misinformation out there about how that relationship works, it’s unfortunate to see Tomi Adeyemi, a very talented writer, address the ongoing saga in a way that leaves her readers with more questions than answers.

Why John Galliano's Met Exhibition Is Already Dividing Opinion

Was anyone else shocked about this? Or just me?

John Galliano is only the third living designer to have a whole Met Exhibition dedicated to his work. And while no one can deny the incredible talent, artistry, and influence this man has had on fashion and art, I once again can’t help but think about these ideas of forgiveness and redemption through the lens of the public court of opinion.

When do we decide its time to forgive someone for how they acted, what they did, what they believed? How? and also who?

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Guggenheim Abu Dhabi Names Its First Director Ahead of Opening

This is so exciting. Valerie Hillings’ appointment as the inaugural director of Guggenheim Abu Dhabi which will be opening on December 11 is another sign for me that culture really is the way forward after what has been a challenging year for many.

I was in Abu Dhabi a week ago and the Frank Gehry designed museum already looks incredible from the outside, so one can only image how beautiful the structure, and the art, will be inside. I can’t wait to set foot in there and even more excited to bring you all along for the ride.

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Why Barbie 2 Could Be in Jeopardy

Second time I was shocked this week. The question is very simple - do we need a Barbie 2? Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to see Margot Robbie in pink again and Ryan Gosling dropping another incredible song (I’m Just Ken was the song of 2023) but is there any story left to tell?

From a plot perspective Greta Gerwig did end the first film in a way that something can happen to Barbie and Ken moving forward. But from a good (and I mean good) story perspective, themes, messaging is there anything left to say? I felt it was all very clear (and shaky, and distracting) in the first film.

Besides the point I suppose if the studio doesn’t want to pay what Gerwig, Robbie, and Gosling want.

I’ve categorised them per month, and then into late 2026, early 2027, and then a whole list of adaption that don’t have an official release date, yet.

I was considering including another list of rumoured adaptations or those that were in early development but it would make more sense to add those once they are confirmed. This will be a continuously updated list, so do save it to your favourites.

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I wanted to make sure that this wasn’t only a guide for new films and shows to keep an eye out for, but also a place to come if you’re looking for your next good read. Almost all these novels have been greatly discussed in the culture and you would have most likely heard about them.

Knowing that a novel is being adapted and has a release date within the next year is a great incentive to actually buy the book and read it. I love giving people a reason to pick up and read a novel so please do think of this as list you can come back to for inspiration if you’re stuck on what to read next. I even added a link to where you can buy each book.

The genres are varied - rom-coms, thrillers, action, commercial, literary, sport dramas - there’s something for everyone here to read and watch.

Do let me know how many of these you read, are planning to read, or maybe will never read! I always love reading your comments and DMs.

Enjoy

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August 2026

One Hundred Years of Solitude: Season Two

If you’ve seen the first season, you’ll know it’s beautifully shot.

The second and last season of Netflix’s One Hundred Years of Solitude based on the seminal novel by Nobel Laureate Gabriel García Marquez will be releasing on two dates. The first seven episodes will be available on 5 August while the two-hour grand finale will premiere on 26 August.

The novel, hailed a masterpiece since its publication in 1967, is a multi-generation saga set in Latin America. The story follows the Buendía family, whose patriarch, founded the fictitious town of Macondo, which is eventually consumed by war, the rise and fall of modernity, and a long-foretold curse.

Available on: Netflix

Release date: 5 August, 26 August

Buy the book here

My Life with the Walter Boys: Season 3

The love triangle between Jackie Howard and Alex and Cole Walter continues into a third season but potentially with another love interest for Jackie? Who is in for season two?

Based on the popular young adult romance novel by Ali Novak, the story follows Jackie an orphaned high school student from New York who moves in with her mother’s old friend Katherine Walter to a ranch in Colorado, a family of seven sons and one daughter.

Available on: Netflix

Release date: 6 August

Buy the book here

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Reacher: Season 4

One of the best action series out there.

Based on Gone Tomorrow, the 13th book in Lee Child’s global best-selling series, season four is set to be another action-packed series stars Alan Ritchson as Jack Reacher.

The former major in the United States Army Military, now a drifter who often finds himself caught up in dangerous situations, is drawn into a deadly game placing against ruthless and very powerful enemies.

Available on: Amazon Prime

Release date: 12 August

Buy the book here

The Magic Faraway Tree

If you haven’t read this to your children do it now.

Enid Blyton’s endearing book series is about a gigantic magical tree in an enchanted wood that is discovered by three children. The film adaptation, starring Andrew Garfield, Claire Foy, and Nicola Coughlan, takes the premise of the books but focuses on a modern family relocating to the countryside. The children, who then discover the Faraway Tree, are transported to a magical land and the family set off on adventure that will bring them closer than ever.

Available in theatres

Release date: 19 August (UAE), 21 August (USA)

Buy the book here

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The Dog Stars

The Ridley Scott directed film starring Jacob Elordi, Josh Brolin, and Margaret Qualley is set in a post-apocalyptic world where a virus has wiped out most of humanity.

Hig, a pilot, who survived the virus but lost his wife, and Bangley, a hardened former Marine along with a group of survivors face roaming scavengers called Reapers as they search for a better life beyond where they currently live. The film is based on the popular 2012 novel by Peter Heller that follows the same premise.

Available in theatres

Release date: 26 August

Buy the book here

The Whisper Man

This is going to be good, I’m telling you.

When a widowed crime writer’s 8-year-old son is abducted, he turns to his estranged father, a retired police detective, for help. The story takes an even darker turn when he discovers a connection between his son’s kidnap and The Whisper Man a convicted serial killer.

The crime thriller stars Robert De Niro, Michelle Monaghan, Adam Scott, and Michael Keaton and is based on the novel by Alex North.

Available on: Netflix

Release date: 28 August

Buy the book here

September 2026

Practical Magic

Make sure to watch the first film to get yourself ready.

A sequel to the 1998 cult classic, the film will once again star Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock as the Owen sisters. The sequel is based on the 2021 novel The Book of Magic by Alice Hoffman, who also wrote the 1995 novel Practical Magic of which the first film is based on.

Set twenty-five years after the events of the first film, the story now follows the Owens family as they face new challenges when they discover a secret regarding their family’s history and the origins of their magic. The first film is available to stream or rent on various platforms.

Available in theatres

Release date: 11 September

Buy book one here and book two here

The Doll

Even I must admit, as staunch period drama lover, have never seen or a read one set in Poland. It feels like exciting new territory.

Set against the backdrop of 19th century Warsaw, the period drama followed the story of a self-made merchant tormented by his desire for a strong-willed aristocrat. Starring polish actors Sandra Drzymalska and Tomasz Schuchardt, the story is based on the classic Polish novel by Bolesław Prus.

Available on: Netflix

Release date: 16 September

Buy the book here

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My Sad Dead

The Spanish series of four short stories by Mariana Enríquez first published in The New Yorker as translated by Megan McDowell has been adapted into a multipart mini-series.

The series follows Ema, a 60-year-old doctor who has the ability to see and hear the dead and has spent her life avoiding this gift. But her life takes a turn when her young niece Julie visits, with a more intense approach to the same supernatural gift. The psychological and supernatural horror drama will deal with themes of death, desire, and family.

Available on: Netflix

Release date: 24 September

Read the short story here

Sense and Sensibility

This is too much to bear!

The new adaptation the Jane Austen classic will star Daisy Edgar-Jones, Esmé Creed-Miles, Caitríona Balfe, Frank Dillane, George MacKay, and Fiona Shaw. The beloved, charming, and witty, story follows the Dashwood sisters, practical Elinor and the romantic Marianne as they navigate sisterhood and love aft an abrupt change to their lives after the death of their father.

The 1995 adaptation of the film directed by Ang Lee and starring Emma Thompson (who also wrote the script) and Kate Winslet is a fan favourite to which many see this film will be contending with.

Available in theatres

Release date: 25 September (UK), 16 October (US)

Buy the book here

October 2026

Verity

Often referred to as one of the better Colleen Hoover novels (according to at least a dozen comments I’ve read in various bookish comment sections) here’s hoping Verity gets none of the dark energy that was attached to It Ends With Us.

The psychological romantic thriller follows the story of ghostwriter Lowen Ashleigh who is hired by Jeremy Crawford to complete a series of bestselling by his author wife Verity, who is unable to finish after an accident. While residing at the Crawford home, Lowen discovers an unfinished manuscript which reveals unsettling details about Verity’s past.

The film stars Anne Hathaway (love seeing her consistently on our screens) Dakota Johnson, and Josh Hartnett (happy to see him back on our screens!)

Available in theatres

Release date: 2 October

Buy the book here

Whalefall

This sounds terrifying, not in a thriller way, but in a claustrophobic way.

The survival thriller film us directed and produced by Brian Duffield and is based on the 2023 novel by Daniel Kraus, who also co-wrote the script with Duffield. The story follows a scuba diver Jay Gardiner a teenager living who is struggling over the recent death of his father, a well-known figure in the local scuba diving community.

While searching for his father’s remains, he is then swallowed alive by a whale and attempts to escape. It’s all very biblical. Inside the whale, Jay is forced to come to terms with his relationship with his father in order to find closure and be free.

Available in theatres

Release date: 16 October

Buy the book here

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Klara and the Sun

A robot girl designed to prevent loneliness tries to save a heartbroken family of humans? Based on the novel by the brilliant Kazu Ishiguro? I’m so in.

Starring Jenna Ortega, Amy Adams, and Mia Tharia, directed by Taika Waititi who wrote the screen play along with Dahvi Waller (please, I hope they did a good job!), the dystopian science fiction film couldn’t come at a better time as we are faced with a many ethical and moral challenges as we find ourselves amidst of AI everything.

Aside from that, anything based on the writing of Ishiguro is always a must watch.

Available in theatres

Release date: 23 October

Buy the book here

Late 2026

Lupin

After ending with a massive cliff hanger in Part 3, Lupin Part 4 couldn’t come any sooner. Starring Omar Sy as Assane Diop, the plot of the series is still under wraps but will include eight episodes.

The French language series which has consistently performed highly on Netflix is based on the gentleman thief from the stories by Maurice Leblanc released in 1907.

Available on: Netflix

Release date: 23 October

Buy the book here

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Sunrise on the Reaping

After recently re-watching The Hunger Games franchise (I never realised how entertaining they are) this is a very choice for an prequel novel and adaptation.

Haymitch Abernathy, who was so brilliantly played in the film by Woody Harrelson, get his own story when we revisit the world of Panem 24 years before the events of The Hunger Games. The story starts on the morning of the reaping of the 50th Hunger Games, also known as the Second Quarter Quell, of which we know that Haymitch has a historical win.

The film has a stellar cast including Ralph Fiennes as President Snow (the man has a thing for villains it seems), Elle Fanning as a young Effie Trinket, Glenn Close, Maya Hawke, Kieran Culkin, and more. Nice to see that Suzanne Collins is on the writing team too!

Available in theatres

Release date: 19 November

Buy the book here

Dune: Part Three

Is there a more anticipated film this year? Seriously. Yes, even more so than The Odyssey please.

The final instalment of Dune, directed by Denis Villeneuve, who co-wrote the screenplay with Brian K. Vaughan (love him, hello, Pride of Baghdad? Saga?!) is based on the 1969 novel Dune Messiah the second instalment from the book series by the incredible Frank Herbert.

There is a lot riding on this film. Yes, Paul Atreides has to seize control of the universe, navigating through political adversaries and religious fanatics, but also Timothey Chalamet needs a serious win.

Despite having a good year (various nominations and wins for Marty Supreme) the public aren’t big fans of him after “pursuit of greatness” speech last year and ballet gate this year. So, I’m hoping that he’ll be a bit more thoughtful in the press tour for Dune: Part Three and that the public are more merciful.

In saying that, I do truly believe that Dune is much bigger than Chalamet.

Available in theatres

Release date: 16 December

Buy the Dune Messiah here buy Dune here buy the three book set here and the six book set here

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Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone

What an incredible Christmas present.

The first season of the new Harry Potter series based on the first book, will consists of eight episodes.

The story by J.K. Rowling, in case you have no idea, follows orphan Harry Potter discover he’s a wizard and attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry where he meets Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. As they learn magic they also forge strong bonds of friendship and face the growing danger posed by Lord Voldemort’s return.

The cast looks amazing but I’m most excited to see John Lithgow as Albus Dumbledore. I’ve also recently been listening to the new full cast edition of the novel on Audible and it’s very good.

Available on: HBO

Release date: 25 December

Buy the book here, buy the full book set here

A Dog’s Perfect Christmas

Is there anything more wholesome than a Christmas film about a dog?

The family holiday film is based on the best-selling series by Bruce Cameron whose previous books were also adapted into the films A Dog’s Purpose in 2017 and A Dog’s Journey in 2019.

The story is told from the perspective of Winstead a sage basset who has been watching the Goss family for years. When Mrs. Goss is placed in an induced coma during the holidays, the family are tested beyond their limits. However, hope is on the horizon when a new Corgi pup arrives at their doorstep.

The film has an impressive cast including Dennis Quaid, Milo Ventimiglia, Jennifer Tilly, and Mary Steenburgen.

Available on: Netflix

Release date: Holiday season 2026

Buy the book here

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East of Eden

This is the classic everyone is reading this year. It might have something to do with Hudson Williams, star of Heated Rivalry, mentioning in a recent interview that East of Eden is his current read. Suddenly, BookTok is a blaze with recaps, reviews, and analysis of John Steinbeck’s 1952 family saga.

Considered a masterpiece of American fiction, the story follows the lives of two families, the Trasks and the Hamiltons, and their interwoven lives. The novel explores themes such as guilt and freedom with running references and parallels to the biblical Book of Genesis, reenacting the story Cain and Abel.

The series stars Florence Pugh, Martha Plimpton, and Ciarán Hinds.

Available on: Netflix

Release date: Fall 2026

Buy the book here

Guarding Stars

A holiday romantic comedy starring Leighton Meester and Jared Padalecki?Absolutely! Both of them are way too talented and haven’t been on our screens enough.

Based on the novel The Bodyguard (the name change makes perfect sense to me) Katherine Center, there’s a no-nonsense bodyguard assigned to protect a film star. Here’s the thing though, the bodyguard is Hannah Brooks, the actor is action superstar Jack Stapleton.

It’s like a gender swap of Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston’s The Bodyguard but with more cozy Christmas vibes.

Available on: Netflix

Release date: Fall 2026

Buy the book here

In a Holidaze

You’re in your 20s, and you make a massive romantic mistake (it happens) but now you’re trapped in a time-loop where you have to relive the same Christmas at your family’s cabin in snowy Utah until you discover true happiness.

The film starring Maddie Ziegler, Rob Lowe, Graham Phillips, and Elias Kacavas is based on the 2020 novel by Christina Lauren (who by the way is the pen name for writing partners Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings).

It’s giving Groundhog Day (brilliant rom-com) but on Christmas steroids.

Available on: Netflix

Release date: Late 2026

Buy the book here

The Mosquito Bowl

Buzz Bissinger novel, The Mosquito Bowl: A Game of Life and Death in World War II is based on a real football game that took place during World War II in Guadalcanal.

The action-drama sports film sounds intense. Four top American football players decide to enlist in the United States Marine Corps after the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. While preparing for the battle of Okinawa, they play one last football game, before their lives ultimately change for ever.

Available on: Netflix

Release date: Late 2026

Buy the book here

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Pride and Prejudice

This is going to be a big deal. Huge.

First of all, how lucky are we to get two Austen adaptations in one year?

This one of the classic Austen novel (the best in my opinion) has been adapted by Dolly Alderton and directed by Euros Lyn. The cast is pretty stellar.

Emma Corrin as Elizabeth Bennet, Jack Lowden as Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy, Olivia Colman as Mrs. Bennet, Rufus Sewell as Mr. Bennet, and Fiona Shaw as Lady Catherine de Bourgh.

The trailer which was released in February this year left a lot of Austen fans unimpressed, but had me intrigued, in fact, excited by this new adaptation, which seems an attempt to combine all that we love about Pride and Prejudice but trying something slightly off the cuff. Here for it.

Available on: Netflix

Release date: Late 2026

Buy the book here

The Trap

This is the kind of thriller I live for.

The novel by Melanie Raabe takes the reader on a complex trail of lies, deception, power, and protagonist who will do anything to avenge her sister.

It’s been ten years since the renowned and reclusive author Lisa Konrad has left her house, ever since she witnessed the murder of her sister Anna. But when she recognises the killer on television, she makes out a plan to trap him, a plan that places here at the centre as bait and the target.

Available on: Netflix

Release date: Late 2026

Buy the book here

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Unaccustomed Earth

The short story collection by Jhumpa Lahiri’s has been adapted into a drama series starring Freida Pinto. Love her by the way and was so delighted to see that she voiced Avatar Sonam in the animated film Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender.

The story focuses Parul Chaudhury a devoted wife who lives in an affluent Indian American community in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Her routine life is turned upside down when Parul finds herself in the midst scandalous affair when her a long-lost love remerges from her past causing major rift in the elite community she comes from.

Available on: Netflix

Release date: Late 2026

Buy the book here

2027

Children of Blood and Bone

So there’s been a lot of drama here which I won’t het into here, however with a lot of drama comes a lot of anticipation.

The New York Times best selling novel by Tomi Adeyemi, is a thrilling read. Plot driven, action packed, but with complex interesting characters, and a lot of magic, the story follows Zélie Adebola a young girl in attempting to restore magic to the kingdom of Orïsha, following the ruling class’ brutal suppression of the class of magic practitioners she belongs to.

Based on west African mythology and Yoruba culture, this was one of the first novels that brought black fantasy into the mainstream. So you can imagine the expectation and anticipation that’s being placed on the adaption. The cast is excellent and includes Idris Elba, Cynthia Erivo, Viola Davis, and Regina King.

The trailer was released a week ago and I had some thoughts:

Available in theatres

Release date: 15 January 2027

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Remain

Funnily enough I was just telling a friend the other day that it’s been a while since we’ve has an M. Night Shyamalan film. I’m especially curious when he said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, that it is the “highest-testing movie of my career.”

The supernatural romantic thriller film is based on an idea Shyamalan developed with author Nicholas Sparks, who then separately wrote a version of the story as a novel published last year.

The story is about New York architect Tate Donovan who recently left a psychiatric facility after grieving his sister’s death. After taking on a job designing a summer home for his best friend, he meets Wren, a woman who makes him question his beliefs about life and loss.

The film stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Phoebe Dynevor - an interesting pairing, and she in particular needs to be in more films.

Available in theatres

Release date: 5 February 2027

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Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew

This, now this, I’m excited about.

Initially, I wasn’t sure how Greta Gerwig was a good fit for C.S. Lewis’ prequel to The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. One of the staples of Lewis’ story telling is how he plays with the uncertain, the things in between, in leaving a lot of things unsaid, while Gerwig’s writing and directing is not particularly subtle.

But then it was reported on NarniaWeb that Gerwig appointed Academy Award-winning creature effects artist Neal Scanlan to oversee the film’s creature effects. Scanlan is known for his work with puppeteers and creature performers.

There have also been reports of animal handlers and animals on the set. This gives me hope that Gerwig will focus more on craft as opposed to CGI for the visuals of the film, an approach that is crucial for the tone of The Magician’s Nephew.

The story was written by Lewis in 1955 and is actually the sixth published novel from the Narnia series, despite it being the first in the timeline of events.

It follows two children Digory and Polly who find themselves in a dangerous adventure through the use of magic rings that sends them to the Wood between the Worlds where they meet an evil sorceress.

Available in theatres 12 February 2027

Available on Netflix 2 April 2027

Buy The Magician’s Nephew here, but the full Narnia set here

The Nightingale

I don’t know one person who hasn’t cried reading the novel by Kristin Hannah. The highly anticipated film has a lot to live up to but given what we know, I think it will do well.

It’s a story of two sisters, Vianne and Isabelle each embarking on their own path of love, survival and freedom in German-occupied, war-torn France. The film will star sisters Dakota and Elle Fanning, a genius casting choice.

Available in theatres

Release date: 19 March 2027

But the book here

Fake Skating

Set to be directed by Josh Boone (The Fault in Our Stars) Fake Skating is an emotional high school hockey romance with, but of course, the glorious fake relationship trope.

Academically gifted Dani Collins has moved to her mother’s hometown and reunites with her childhood sweetheart Alec Barczewski. When a photo of Alex, star of the hockey team, with a bong appears on social media, he’s determined to restore his reputation with sport scouts.

He and Dani decide to fake a relationship so Alec can impress the scouts by having an academically gifted girlfriend while Dani can get a team manager position that will help her application to Harvard.

Things start to get complicated, as they ultimately do when, their fake relationship starts to feel very real.

Available in theatres

Release date: 16 July 2027

But the book here

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Released Date to be Announced

The God of the Woods

Barbara Van Laar, a 13-year-old girl is missing – and she’s not the only one.

A multigenerational story filled with class tension and dark, well-kept secrets based on the bestselling 2024 novel by The God of the Woods, will be a series starring Maya Hawk as Judy Luptack the smart and determined investigator.

Judy has a lot to prove as the first female investigator in the male-dominated Bureau of Criminal Investigation assigned to navigate the uber elite world of wealth, influence and power.

Available on: Netflix

Release date: TBA

Buy the book here

This Summer Will Be Different

Who doesn’t love a summer romance? Especially a forbidden one.

The 10-episode series follows Lucy Ashby, a young woman navigating her 20s across several summers on Canada’s Prince Edward Island and her first real love with her best friend’s brother – the one guy she was supposed to fall for.

Based on the bestselling novel by Carley Fortune who has had several popular contemporary romance novels set in idyllic setting and seasons.

Available on: Netflix

Release date: TBA

Buy the book here

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How to Kill Your Family

I will never say no to watching anything with Anya Taylor-Joy. An absolute talent.

And she seems absolutely perfect for this.

Bella Mackie’s incredibly entertaining and dark 2021 novel is turning into an eight-episode series following Grace the forgotten child of Simon Artemis, a cold-hearted billionaire who rejects her after her mother’s death. So obviously she must exact revenge, but her deadly plan may pulls her away from what she really needs.

Available on: Netflix

Release date: TBA

Buy the book here

The Secret of Secrets

This is incredible news. Not only because the Robert Langdon books series by Dan Brown is genuinely brilliant, but because the casting choices are so good.

Side note, I was disappointed by Tom Hanks comments in the New York Times in 2022 about the novels and the Ron Howard directed films of which he starred in three of them made close to $1.5 billion worldwide at the box office.

On the films: “God, that was a commercial enterprise. Yeah, those Robert Langdon sequels are hooey. The Da Vinci Code was hooey.”

“There’s nothing wrong with good commerce, provided it is good commerce. By the time we made the third, we proved that it wasn’t such good commerce.”

On the books: “Those are delightful scavenger hunts that are about as accurate to history as the James Bond movies are to espionage.”

“But they’re as cynical as a crossword puzzle,” Hanks continued. “All we were doing is promising a diversion.”

Rather surprising that he doesn’t seem to understand how fiction works, since he himself has dabbled in writing fiction.

All that to say, while I am a Tom Hanks fan, I’m glad to see the baton is moving swiftly on. Enter Morgan Spector (we know him as George Russell from The Gilded Age) who is set play the character Robert Langdon.

Spector’s wife, actress Rebecca Hall has been cast as the female lead, Katherine Solomon. Love a real-life husband and wife team playing love interest on screen for the eight episode series.

Brown’s latest instalment of the Langdon series follows symbologist as he races to rescue a missing scientist and her groundbreaking manuscript that will change humanity’s understanding of the mind.

Available on: Netflix

Release date: TBA

Buy the book here, buy the books box-set here

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Icebreaker

The massive BookTok sensation, New York Times best selling hockey romance novel by Hannah Grace, the first in the three-book Maple Hill series, is being adapted into a series.

The college romance series follows competitive figure skater Anastasia Allen who is training for the Olympics. But not everything goes to plan when Anastasia is forced to share the rink with Nate Hawkins, a hockey player who is just as ambitious as her.

It has to be said – yes, we are dealing with ice cold temperatures but the heat between Anastasia and Nate will be steamy.

Available on: Netflix

Release date: TBA

Buy the book here

Fourth Wing

This is big for the romantasy world. I believe it’s the first massive romantasy novel, which really dominated the culture, that is being adapted into a live-action TV series.

Based on the The Empyrean romantasy book series from Rebecca Yarros, Fourth Wing is set in Basgiath War College where twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail, who was planning to live a simple life, finds herself among hundreds of candidates striving to become dragon riders.

There’s not much we know except that Meredith Averill (we know her from Locke & Key and The Haunting of Hill House) will write, executive produce, and run the show.

Available on: Amazon Prime Video

Release date: TBA

Buy Fourth Wing here, buy Iron Flame here, buy Onyx Storm here

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Here One Moment

At this rate Nicole Kidman is the queen of adaptations.

Kidman will star in the mystery thriller based on the novel by Liane Moriarty about a woman on a delayed domestic flight from Hobart to Sydney, Australia who walks down the aisle and tells unsuspecting passengers the exact cause and age of their deaths. Things get creepier when a few months later, one passenger dies exactly as she predicted.

Available on: Twitch

Release date: TBA

Buy the book here

The Husbands

Holly Gramazio bestselling novel is turning into a mini-series and it sounds equally hilarious as it Kafka-esque.

Lauren returns to her London flat to find a man claiming to be her husband, a man she has never met before. Things get weirder when he goes to change a bulb in the attic and vanishes only to be replaced by another husband.

Her eery attic continues to create endless husbands, forcing her to question reality and her life choices.

Available on: Apple +

Release date: TBA

Buy the book here

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The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

Taylor Jenkins Reid’s insanely popular historical drama is critical success and commercial bestseller that has left fans desperate to see the story on the screen.

The story follows a young journalist’s interview with Evelyn Hugo, a fictional aging Hollywood starlet, who goes into the details of her seven marriages along with tales of Hollywood scandals, betrayals, and shocking truths about her life and of the people she knew.

While there has been speculation on who will place Evelyn nothing has been announced except for the director, Anna Kendrick. I, like many, was surprised by this choice, as Kendrick is primarily known as an actress. No opinion yet, but that’s a lot of pressure I would assume for Kendrick.

Available on: Netflix

Release date: TBA

Buy the book here

Funny Story

Emily Henry is a big deal in the rom-com space and now, for the first time, she’ll be adapting one of her novels.

Daphne is a children’s librarian who is dealing with the aftermath of her broken engagement to Peter, who realized that he was in love with his childhood best friend Petra. Now she’s stuck in her ex’s lakeside hometown and is forced to become roommates with Petra’s ex, Miles. You see where this is going? Despite their very obvious differences, they make a plan to get back at their exes.

It’s very much giving the real life couple swap that happened with Shania Twain.

Available on: Netflix

Release date: TBA

Buy the book here

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Happy Place

Yes, another Henry novel is also being adapted into a film but this time, Netflix has optioned the bestseller for Jennifer Lopez’s production company, Nuyorican Productions. We usually do love a Lopez rom-com (just don’t ask me about Office Romance).

The story follows Harriet and Wyn are the perfect engaged couple. They’ve been together since college and have always been madly in love.

But they broke up five months ago and haven’t told their friends yet. They decide to keep their break up a secret to spend what might be their last annual friend group getaway in a cozy cottage. Not wanting to upset the group, Harriet and Wyn have to pretend they are still in love… how hard can it be?

Available on: Netflix

Release date: TBA

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Better Than the Movies

Another Lynn Painter novel set to be adapted, with another Fake relationship trope!

The hugely popular YA rom-com follows high school senior Liz Buxbaum whose is obsessed with romantic comedies (very relatable). And now she’s determined to turn her romantic fantasies into reality, when Michael her long-term crush moves back to her hometown.

So, obviously, the only way she can go to prom with him is if convinces Wes Bennet, her next door neighbour and guy she hates to pretend to like to get Michael’s attention.

But wait, does she actually hate Wes? What’s going on? Fake relationship trope is one of my favourites

Available on: Netflix

Release date: TBA

Buy the book here

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The Midnight Library

Florence Pugh will star and produce Matt Haig’s bestselling novel which has sold 15 million copies worldwide and has been translated into 56 languages

The story follows Nora Seed who finds herself in a library between life and death with the chance to experience all the potential lives she could have lived.

Available in theatres

Release date: TBC

But the book here

You Are Here

When a mutual friend brings them together, Marnie and Michael find themselves setting off on an epic walk and start a relationship that while neither was looking for might be just what they both need.

Based on the novel by the bestselling novel by David Nicholls who is also writing the eight-part adaptation, the series will star Matthew Macfadyen (aka Mr Darcy) and Claire Foy (aka The Queen).

Available on: BBC

Release date: TBA

Buy the book here

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Crossroads

Jonathan Franzen novel Crossroads is currently in development at Netflix with Jeremy Strong set to star.

Franzen’s novel is a family saga set in the 1970s that follows a Midwestern pastor and his family as their lives unravel after a church scandal sends each of them chasing freedom and desire.

Available on: Netflix

Release date: TBA

Buy the book here

We are nearly there people, nearly at the end of House of the Dragon season 3. What started out as an action packed season has turned into episode with carious narrative threads that include character studies on the pressures of power, guilt, and some really weird mummy issues.

Episode 7 The Dragon in Winter had some intense scenes, my favourite was all the dragons versus Sheepstealer, and the epic ending with Aegon, who I never thought I would champion in anyway shape or form.

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In this episode of The Voice Note, I recap what happens in episode 7 scene by scene (and congratulate myself on a few predictions I got right in previous episodes - it must be done). The episode is an obvious build up to the end of the season and I’m afraid it’s not looking good for Rhaenyra.

Prediction for House of Dragon season finale…

Everything over the last five episodes is leading to one thing. We will end season 3 of House of the Dragon the same we began it - with a massive battle. It will hapen in Tumbleton.

With the Tully artmy men on a day’s march away, Ormund Hightower (the freak) has a pretty good plan in place. Not only has he been carefully weakening Rhaenyra’s rule at Kings Landing from the inside, he’s now acquired one of her dragon riders, Ulf (the loser). This betrayal will be a huge blow, not because Ulf was so loyal to her, but because it reveals once again, how Daemon’s arrogance will be another blow to their campaign. She’s also loosing dragon

My prediction is this battle will be bloody. Part of me hopes Aegon shows up on Sunfyre, though I doubt it. Though I do have high hopes that Daeron will have enough of Ormund and stick it to him. I have high hopes for Daeron.

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Helaena Targaryen…

I can’t stop thinking about Helaena Targaryen. Not only are her visions so important for the show and a great glimpse into how the events of House of Dragon relate to Game of Thrones, but also because I believe she is truly the only innocent character in the show. Her intentions are never nefarious, she only desire is to be free and be with her children.

This in no way means she’s free of corruption, the vision of her on the dragon at the end is something worth thinking about when it comes to her place in the overall story.

Question of the Week…

I always love hearing from all of you so please message me or leave a comment below.

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Listen to Previous Episodes

If you’re catching up, you can also listen to my previous House of the Dragon reviews:

• Season 3 Episodes 1 & 2 Review

• Season 3 Episode 3 Review

• Season 3 Episode 4 Review

• Season 3 Episode 5 Review

• Season 3 Episode 6 Review

Across more intense public scrutiny and praise for Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey scrutiny, I have turned to art. Inspired by Homer’s epic, many artists have imagined scenes from the story, paintings that have elicited similar divided opinions when they were shown to the public.

At least we can take comfort in the fact that as a people we have always found a way to be offended by adaptations. Feel free to share your thoughts on those works when you scroll down and tap on the story.

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One of the highlights of my week was finally getting to watch the animated film Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender animated film. I had a lot of thoughts, so much so that I wrote a lengthy story and dedicated a full podcast episode to it. You call see both of those below. One of the main takeaways from that experience was the craft of creating a world that feels epic, a story that will endure, is no easy feat.

In this week’s quote, I chose a line from an epic indelibly woven into Middle Eastern culture, following up with a question on the very personal relationship we have when we choose the stories dedicate our time too.

The realisation that time is sacred, more sacred than anything else, feels more relevant than ever today.

And with that I thank you for taking the time to read The Culturelist and going one step further by sharing my stories and reaching out to me directly.

It’s alway such a delight that I will never take from granted.

Enjoy,

Maan Jalal

This Week on The Culturelist…

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The Culturelist Recommends…

Everyone should have a book about Bill Cunningham in their home.

His photography was so much more than the capturing style, trends, and fashion of the everyday on the streets of New York. Cunningham’s work, his incredible eye, reveals that street style is also about people and the evolution of culture.

Obsessed with this book which goes through his stunning photographs as he captured them across the decades.

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This Week’s Quote…

I have been researching and reading more about great and classic epics, given the current climate in culture, and found myself (as I often do) gravitating towards 1001 Nights.

Reading from Yasmine Seal’s incredible translation in the beautifully curated book The Annotated Arabian Nights: Tales from 1001 Nights, I fell in love again with the story The Take of the First Dervish. The first line is compelling way to pull you right into the story:

“My Lady, I will tell you how I cam to lose an eye and shave my beard. My father was a king.”

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This Week’s Question…

Thank you so much for messaging me with your answers form last week’s question. It’s exciting (and a little overwhelming) how long my list of films and shows to watch is getting!

This week, I was recommending novels to a friend after she had finished Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke, who wanted something equally “intense.” After a visit to a bookstore, she took none of my recommendations (not offended in the slightest) and picked up a novel by Alice Feeney that she hadn’t heard of before but felt is what she needed.

So I pose this question to you:

Once again thank you for you subscription to The Culturelist.

See you next week.

Maan Jalal

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We started Season six of House of the Dragon with major action, plot twists, and great story telling, and while every season needs to have its peaks and valleys, we are getting to a point now where all these varying narrative threads need to connect and cumulate to something mind blowing.

This is especially the case when we consider that there will only be one more season after this one, due to come out in 2028. That is SO far away, so please give us something good to hold on to.

Won’t repeat all of the details I mention in the podcast here, but some bullet points that I will cover:

• Criston’s End (bye loser)

• Daemon’s arrogance

• Rhaenyra’s ruthlessness

• Alicent’s human side

• Aegon’s realisation

• Aemond’s plan

• Aly’s delusions of grandeur

• And of course, Incestuous love triangles

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Reading through those bullet points, doesn't it make you realise what a brilliant show House of the Dragon really is?

Question of the Week…

Thank you you so much for getting in touch after last week’s recap and review and sharing your thoughts on my theories and answering last week’s question! Please don’t hesitate to do it again (I love hearing from you guys) I’d love to know what you thought about this week’s episode before episode 7 airs!

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Listen to Previous Episodes

If you’re catching up, you can also listen to my previous House of the Dragon reviews:

• Season 3 Episodes 1 & 2 Review

• Season 3 Episode 3 Review

• Season 3 Episode 4 Review

• Season 3 Episode 5 Review

It’s no surprise that a film of this nature, based on a classic work, would illicit such fevered reactions. People are deeply committed to the “original” story and equally culture hs become, over the last decade or so, deeply devoted to the idea of “accuracy” and “authenticity” when it comes to adaptations and storytelling.

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Ironic that the root of the word adaption comes from the Late Latin word adaptationem which means to “to fit” or “to adjust” or to “to join.” In fact, the definition of the word in 1790 was a “modification of a thing to suit new conditions.”

Can we let that simmer in our minds as we actively discuss the adaption of stories?

Now that we’ve taken a moment to do that, considering that The Odyssey is one of the oldest surviving works of literature, composed at around the 7th or 8th century BC, it has been prone to various adaptions over the centuries beginning first of all with art.

I wanted to collate and curate for you some of the first and most interesting depictions of scenes from The Odyssey. These ten works are not only beautiful, created in different styles across eras, but they are also fascinating examples of how the same story, sometimes the same scene, can be depicted and adapted in varying ways to appease or shock audiences while being true illustrations of the artist’s voice and vision.

By the way, Odysseus is the original Greek name of our protagonist, and Ulysses is his Latin name used by the Romans – another adaptation. So often the title of an artwork will include Ulysses when referring to Odysseus.

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Penelope and the Suitors Pinturicchio by Pandolfo Pintoricchio (1509)

This is one of three paintings in fresco, painted directly on to wet plaster, that once decorated the walls of a room in the ruling family of Siena in Italy, the Petrucci palace. Pandolfo Petrucci commissioned these works to celebrate the marriage of his son to the niece of Pope Pius III and as a way to show off his interest in classical history.

The scene depicts Penelope welcoming (or probably tolerating) suiters while she works on her weaving – a funeral shroud for her father-in-law. It was of course a trick. She told the suiters that she would choose a new husband once she finished the shroud, but every night she would unpick the area she had woven during the day.

Penelope was basically breadcrumbing them to buy herself some time until Odessey’s return.

Perhaps it was a way for Pandolfo Petrucci to signal the expectations he had of his new daughter in law - to be strong, loyal, and steadfast as Penelope is in the story. If I was his daughter in law I wouldn’t put up with art being used as as a passive aggressive vehicle to guide me in my conduct as a wife.

Ulysses and Penelope by Francesco Primaticcio’s (1545)

This intimate scene of Odysseus and Penelope doesn’t feel sensual despite them being in the nude. I find his gaze at her while she explains to him what seems to be a strategy or plan (it’s something about her fingers doing a walking motion on her open palm) rather endearing.

I like to think this was the moment in the story where Odysseus is about to tell Penelope that if he doesn’t return that she should take a husband. I found that scene very well executed in the film, particularly Anne Hathaway’s slap across Matt Damon’s face.

The silhouetted figures in the background feel menacing and I wonder if it’s a type of visual foreshadowing of the suitors waiting in the shadows for Penelope to be alone.

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Odysseus in the Cave of Polyphemus by Jacob Jordaens (1635)

In the story, when Odysseus and his men land on an island looking for sustenance, they had no clue there was a giant cyclops named Polyphemus living in a cave making his own cheese and herding sheep who had an appetite for human flesh.

It was by far one of my favourite scenes in the film. The suspense, Polyphemus’ complexity, Odysseus’ leadership and stupidity (or maybe it was honour, not sure) was beautifully told. I also loved the puppetry of the giant.

The painting here feels much less menacing than the film. The giant is more idealised, the lighting and nature is flattering and picturesque, the proportions and perspective are skewed and unrealistic making this feel more like an illustration in children’s story book - I mean that in the best way possible.

Penelope Awakened by Eurycleia by Angelica Kauffman (1772)

As the only woman artist on the list, I’m very interested in the fact that she chose to paint Penelope and Euryclea.

In the film it’s Euryclea who first realises the homeless stranger is Odysseus when she cleans his feet and sees his scar. However, she and Penelope don’t get many scenes together.

Here, Euryclea wakes a sleeping Penelope with the news that Odysseus has returned. It’s quite a gentle moment. Penelope resting is symbolic of how tired and weary she is having waited for her husband to come back and having to fight off those power hungry suitors. Also, the lighting and drapery is stunning.

Ulysse and Nausicaa by Louis Gauffier (1798)

Unfortunately, the story line of Nausicaa wasn’t included in Nolan’s adaptation of the film. One can understand while from a pacing, plot, and length perspective, but it’s an interesting storyline, nonetheless.

As depicted in the French painter Louis Gauffier’s work, when Odysseus is shipwrecked in the in the utopian island of Phaeacia, he meets Princess Nausicaa who shows him mercy leading him to her parents and guiding him on how to gain their favour. The painting really illustrates her bravery and kindness, standing tall and welcoming him while the other woman turn away in fear and disgust.

It’s fine that Nolan chose not to include Nausicaa. Hayao Miyazaki was so inspired by the story of Nausicaa that he dedicated a whole manga and film to her, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. The story is his interpretation of her in a post-apocalyptic world, one that she navigates with courage and deep understanding.

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The Apotheosis of Homer by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (1827)

So, I cheated here a little. Ingres’ neoclassical masterpiece (I love a neoclassical anything) isn’t a direct scene from The Odyssey. It is an homage to Homer as the figurehead, source, inspiration of Western art literature and civilisation.

Here Homer has been elevated in the painting into an almost godlike status, given that his epics are considered the foundation for so much of western arts and culture. He’s surrounded by other great figures of the western canon who owe their craft to him – they include Aristotle, William Shakespeare, Raphael, Socrates, Plato, Mozart and more. The two women at the foot of his seat are meant to be personifications of his two greatest works, the Iliad and the Odyssey.

Ulysses Deriding Polyphemus by Joseph Mallord William Turner (1829)

A stunning work, one that says so more about the environment, the physical word of the story than perhaps the story itself.

It supposed to depict Odysseus standing on his ship (you can see him there wearing red) arms over his head in victory after beating Polyphemus the giant cyclopes. It’s hard to notice this as the eye is drawn to Turner’s radiant portrayal of the sky, the lavender golden clouds and the sun busting over the horizon.

Not sure if this is the point but the painting really emphasises how small Odysseus and his triumph is compared to the grandeur of nature, of the greater world.

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Odysseus and Calypso by Arnold Böcklin’s (1882)

Filmic, deeply phycological, absolutely captivating, Böcklin does so much here with a powerful composition and clever use of colour to tell a story.

Nolan’s adaptation of Calypso was less nefarious and much more understanding than the source material. Here, Böcklin chose to depict Odysseus looking out to shore, contemplating departure after seven years on the island with Calypso, a very different Calypso than the film. Her pose is longing, fill of desire for him but in her face worry that he will leave.

The bright red of her blanket, the dark blue of his clock, already reveal their very opposing states of mind and intentions of each character.

Ulysses and the Sirens by John William Waterhouse (1891)

This has to be one of my favourite on this list.

In the film, Nolan didn’t show the sirens as the attempted to lure the crew through their song. In a way this made them feel much darker and intriguing. We were able to hear their song, experience their power, through Odysseus’ expressions when he tied himself to the mast. He was the only one without wax in his ear as he wanted to experience their song and live to tell the tale.

One of my favourite lines from the film was by Odysseus in fact describing the siren song:

“It’s the song of all the failed promises I failed to keep.”

Now Waterhouse, chose to paint them as bird creatures with women’s heads – a very controversial choice at the time as audiences were expecting to see more seductive mermaid-like nymphs. However, in early Greek pottery sirens were portrayed as half-bird, half-woman.

I wonder if Elon Musk will depict the half bird siren for his “historically accurate” AI version of The Odyssey.

Ulysses and the Sirens by Herbert James Draper (1909)

This I suppose is what they people wanted to see. A more sensual depiction of sirens, because having seductive voices wasn’t enough, they have to be in the nude to drive men into madness.

To be fair to Draper this depiction, the sexualisation of the sirens as beautiful mermaids, was the norm within the Victorian and Edwardian eras. He was just giving the people what they want really.

Looking at this work, painted 18 years after Waterhouse’s depiction of the same scene, makes you appreciate how revolutionary, or dare I say rebel, Waterhouse actually was. It’s also another example of how adapting a story can produce variously different works.

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Kusama Pop
Yayoi Kusama Musuem, Tokyo

Bold colours, clean compositions, stunning clarity, Yayoi Kusama’s work is always a joy to experience. The very much iconic Japanese contemporary artist’s solo exhibition focuses on her very personal interpretation of pop art, documenting the incredible breadth of her output over the years.

To say it’s immersive is an understatement. Kusama’s exploration of a mass-consumption society, concepts of repetition, her powerful large-scale paintings and sculptures, her unique use of colour and line is something that should be experienced in person.

On view until August 30.

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Same Air
Tabari Artspace, Dubai

There is nothing like a well curated group exhibition and this particular one feels apt in theme and thoughtful in approach. Featuring fourteen artists connected or rooted to the Gulf region, Same Air includes works ranging in style and mediums connected through the idea of creation in response to a moment of disruption.

From Lebanese British artist Aya Hairder’s needle work over photographs to Emirati artist Maitha Abdalla’s surreal and expressive landscape and Palestinian artist Hazem Harb’s delicate and horrifying drawings of drowning and dismembered bodies, this exhibition is a must see.

On view until September 1.

Anselm Kiefer: The Women Alchemists
Sala delle Cariatidi at Palazzo Reale, Milano

Any chance to see an Anselm Kiefer exhibition is a chance that must be taken. The pioneering contemporary German painter and sculptor continuous to awe. His incredible exhibition The Women Alchemists features more than forty large-scale canvases depicting powerful symbolic imagery inspired by and giving voice to female alchemists – a group that is in definite need of more archiving, understanding, and exploring.

From the well-known alchemists such as Caterina Sforza, Isabella Cortese and Mary the Jewess, to the more unrecognised trailblazers such as Marie Meudrac, Rebecca Vaughan, and Mary Anne Atwood, Kiefer’s exhibition is an experience in art, history, and storytelling.

On view until September 27.

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Schiaparelli: Fashion Becomes Art
Victoria Albert Museum, London

Shocking that this is the first exhibition on Elsa Schiaparelli body of work in UK. Spanning from the 1920s until today, the exhibition is a celebration of the unique, pioneering, and enduringly influential Italian fashion designer. It’s impossible not to see anything by her hand, a design influenced by her aesthetic and not do a double take, if not gaze upon it with wonder.

It is a fashion house with an approach to art that has always transcended the runway and danced into the realm of art making. The exhibition covers the groundbreaking origins of Schiaparelli through to its evolution and its wildly regarded presence in the contemporary art and fashion landscape under its current creative director Daniel Roseberry.

On view until 8 November.

Given all the less than excellent version we’ve had of adaptions (putting it mildly I know) from this incredible world, it was an absolute, delight, nay, a thrill, nay a delight and a thrill, to watch the next chapter of Ang’s story that felt real, true, familiar but also new.

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The film was Directed by Lauren Montgomery and co-directed by Steve Ahn and William Mata. It is a continuation of the series created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. The story concept and screenplay were by Kenneth Lin and Tim Hedrick along with Christopher Yost who also worked on the screenplay.

The film stars voice cast members Eric Nam as adult Aang, Jessica Matten as Katara, and Román Zaragoza as Sokka, all of them did a very believable job as adult versions of the characters, we all know so well.

My main take away from the film is that it felt so much like the season four that all of us Avatar fans wanted, and my main criticism was that at one hour and 39 minutes, it was way too short. If The Odyssey was almost three hours.

Watch this episode of The Voice Note

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You may have noticed above that there is a video version of The Voice Note this week. It’s an experiment to see if having both audio and a visual element will help in enrich your experience (and perhaps mine too). It’s a bit more work but I’m happy to do it if I see a real interest and need for it. Again, great for you - options, options!

I have also written down my thoughts on the film, my live thoughts, as I was watching in: 104 Thoughts I Had While Watching Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender Movie. So you can read my stream of consciousness as I was experiencing the story or listen to me recap the film and deep dive into certain elements in this weeks episode. Options, options.

Enjoy!

After what feels like an actual age and a lot of drama Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender movie has finally been released.

Like all films, shows, and books I’m excited about I have purposely avoided consuming any content that reviews, analyses, and speculates on any aspect of the story line, plot, or even details of the animation style. I watched the trailer twice and I left it there.

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I wanted my palate to be clean of any assumptions and expectations. All I did to prepare was re-watch the three seasons of the show. An absolute joy even if it’s the countless time I’ve binged the whole series.

All I knew before I started is that this film is set in the future, a few years after the end of the 100 year war and that Aang along with team Avatar find a frozen air bender in the ice. That’s it.

Other things I knew was that the film was Directed by Lauren Montgomery and co-directed by Steve Ahn and William Mata. It is a continuation of the series created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. The story concept and screenplay were by Kenneth Lin and Tim Hedrick along with Christopher Yost who also worked on the screenplay.

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Staring in the film was Eric Nam as adult Aang, Jessica Matten as Katara, and Román Zaragoza as Sokka, all of them did a very believable job as adult versions of the characters, we all know so well.

The film was absolutely brilliant, delivering everything I wanted from what feels like the first true extension of Aang’s story on screen. As per usual, I was diligently writing notes while watching and honestly, my hand couldn’t keep up with my thoughts.

While you have my unfiltered thoughts as they came to while I was watching the film you can also listen (and now watch!) a full dedicated episode on The Voice Note where I deep dive into the plot, animation, and themes of the film.

One of my main take aways, it’s perhaps a criticism, of the film is two fold.

This film needed to be longer, one hour and 39 minutes, it was way too short. If The Odyssey was almost three hours then we deserved almost three hours of bending.

Second, and most frustrating, is that I wish we were able to experience this in the theatre as it deserved a cinematic experience.

Aside from these two points (and some very minor plot points) I loved every second, ever scene.

So here you go, my 104 unfiltered thoughts on one of the films of the year.

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1. Wow, seriously the animation is stunning – from the first second of the first scene!

2. What a beautiful opening. Actually haunting. Beautiful and haunting. It’s cool to see how the Air Nomads lived in the temples.

3. Monk Gyatso:

   “Aang, as an air bender it’s important that you know when to show restraint even if you have the power to win. You are the avatar. A lot of people are going to relay on you.”

4. That opening quote from Gyatso to Aang is basically the main theme of the film. Even in the series, the creators were always so good at setting the tone without being cheesy about it.

   

5. Opening a film with a dream can be tricky, overdone. It works here because it sets the emotional state that Aang is in. He is haunted by guilt and grief. This makes sense because the show Aang was too young to really process those feelings. He was also trying to master the elements and fight the Fire Lord. But now as a young adult with the war over he has time to think and reflect on his childhood.

6. Beautiful juxtaposition of the air temple in reality compared to his dream. It’s all in ruins now.

7. What lovely, layered idea that he is collecting relics from his people’s past while trying to reconcile his own past. How else can someone understand their own history if not by collecting it, curating it, and archiving it!

8. OK these guys are the Denied, anti benders I guess, similar those Equalists in Kora. They are probably the start of that movement. They are fighting with Aang and want one of the statue thingies he has.

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9. The fighting scenes are very cool. Great action. Great cinematography.

10. Interesting to see that Aang, even as a young adult is still doing the restrain and avoid thing, he has always done as a young air bender. He wants to talk with them and only use his bending where necessary.

11. Good quote by one of the Denied:

    “We’re done living in the world where benders have all the power and we have none.”

12. That is epic. Aang’s air bending powers have developed so much. He literally stopped the air temper tower from falling by getting into the avatar state, setting it back on its foundations.

    

13. He’s exhausted from that though. Showing the there are limitations even to his powers.

14. This is cool. They did an opening sequence that recounts the original avatar story (the series) like an updated version of the opening credits. It’s so well done, concise, minimal and rich. This is really what I love about avatar. They always know how to use just enough dialogue and imagery to tell a beautiful story in a very simple and effortless way. They just took three seasons and put it into about 30 – 40 seconds.

15. It’s such a shame that this wasn’t showing in the cinema. I’m sure the atmosphere would’ve been incredible for a true avatar fans! I wonder how many times I’m going to think this.

16. So nice to see all old characters like the cabbage guy, the singing people hippies, and the foaming excited guy all in Republic city at the opening of Unity Tower.

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17. Not surprised that Katara has a formal place in the government of Empire city. She was always very good in those spaces, not as a politician but someone who was making things happen from a community perspective.

18. Katara is healing Aang’s wounds and is worried that the Denied are ruthless enough that they don’t care about killing the Avatar. She seems more of worrier here.

19. They are showing us Aang’s scar on his back from Season Two when he was injured while he was in the avatar state. Second time they are weaving in this idea about the boundaries of power.

20. It’s so nice to see Aang and Katara as a couple. They still have the same dynamic they did as friends but its much deeper obviously.

    

21. The setting of Empire City is so picturesque, it’s set between two mountains in a river with the moon behind it. I don’t remember seeing it that way when I watched Kora.

22. Again, I’m astonished by the intensity of the animation here. Seeing Aang go into the avatar state to speak to his past lives, they animators really did a unique job in how they visualise the at imagery with fantasy in a very interesting way.

23. How cool is it that the avatar can just go into all his past life to seek information and advice. I guess this is how the Internet was supposed to work in a way – how wrong we were!

24. This is what animation should be like, 2D hand drawn that has some 3D elements that don’t take over the visuals. Computer generated animation has a way of spiralling out of control and distracting form the story, but not here, it’s helping tell the story.

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25. Avatar Xian is so funny, freaking out about “people’s crusty cuticles” is hilarious to me.

26. This lost legend of Sonam, the forgotten Avatar is intriguing, so is the concept of her staff that can channel the energy of the sport world.

27. Why doesn’t Aang wake Katara and tell her he’s going to Mount Baihu? He leaves her a note and sends messages of the rest of team Avatar.

28. It seems too easy that the staff is there at Mount Baihu.

    

29. Aang’s letter to Zuko is so funny. It’s good to see that they’re including humour again into the film in a way that makes sense.

30. I’m surprised that the fire nation under Zuko is still very grand and formal. I suppose it suits the history of the fire nation. And to a degree Zuko’s personality.

31. I like this montage of seeing how and where they are all living now. Sokka in the Southern Water tribe teaching children about fighting and technology, Toph teaching earth benders how to metal bend, it makes sense.

32. The scale of the story and animation feels both epic and also intimate. I’m so annoyed. We couldn’t watch this in the cinema. What an experience it would’ve been. OK second time I mention this point.

33. Aang is climbing up Mount Baihu without Apa? It’s probably too dangerous with the snowstorm.

34. Again, they are showing us how much effort bending can be, it actually tires you. I guess Aang can’t just bend a giant rock to take him all the way up to the top. It actually takes physical effort to use bending powers.

35. That ice sphere is almost identical to the one he was in. Even the colour of light inside.

36. The music here is so good.

    

37. I’m surprised Aang doesn’t use all of his bending to do things. When he’s cracking open the big snow sphere that has a frozen man inside he doesn’t use fire, just air.

38. The guy has weird tattoos. He looks like an action figure.

39. Amazing scene as the mountain collapses on itself and Aang is carrying this frozen Air Nomad through the snow and bending at the same time.

40. Ah, the frozen Air Nomad can bend air. How did team Avatar find Appa?

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41. There’s a good balance of fast paced action and epic moments with small quite moments of reflection, giving us a minute to take things in. It’s Hayao Miyazaki-esque.

42. So hang on, that man was keeping the whole mountain standing while he was frozen?? Ok why did I think he might be Sonam. No he’s someone else.

43. Hahaha the conversation on whether the frozen Air Nomad is attractive or not, is so funny.

44. You know what I find strange? Is that in a lot of fantasy and sci-fi, people from different times, realms and planets all some how understand each other, they all speak the same language. How is it that this guy can speak the same language they do?

    

45. So, I want to know how the Denied found out about Avatar Sonam, her staff and the map when it seems like no one in the world as well as most of the past avatars had any clue about it and her.

46. OK so this guy is called Tagah and he used to fight earth benders. Now it gets more interesting, he’s claiming the staff can give non benders the power to bend. He used to be a non-bender, but Sonam made him an air bender.

47. Obviously, Aang is ecstatic about his. I think he believes that by bringing back air bending to the world he will redeem himself of the guilt of running away and the grief of losing his people.

48. The Denied want that power too, to bend air?

49. Tagah is shocked by the air shop they are taking. I like the idea of showing how in this world, time has changed through machinery. So many fantasy stories don’t ever show the progression of time through technology.

50. It’s cool learning about Air Bending culture as they travel across the endless sea. Like how they can travel through air currents no one knows about and Tagah teaching Aang this new air bending technique, where they fly and use each other’s energies.

51. Zuko doesn’t have a strong presence in this so far. I get there are a lot of characters, but still… he’s an important character, he should at least one scene alone with Aang.

52. Red flag number one: Tagah is weird, his conversation with Aang about the fire nation is odd, and almost killing the Denied in their ship… he has a ruthless violent side. Yeah, he’s probably nuts.

    

53. The immortal storm reminds me of Laputa Castle in the Sky by Miyazaki.

54. The way they are weaving the tornadoes and air is so cool. It reminds you how much there’s endless potential for bending in this world with all the different elements.

55. I love how all of them are using their different skill sets to save the ship after its been show. From Sokka’s funny navigation to Toph metal bending. What’s great about the show and the film is that they’re always pushing the messaging that if we all work together, we can create good things.

56. But Aang isn’t with them he’s clearing the way with Tagah. I guess that’s his role always guiding the way, but he can also get lost, I think they are trying to convey if he follows Tagah’s path too deep.

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57. Red Flag number two: Tagah is very manipulative, a bit of a politician. The way he diffuses the situation when Katara gets angry at Aang for putting them at risk. He puts the blame on himself they can keep going instead of turning back.

58. I never realized how important it is now to keep Aang alive in this world after the war is over. If he dies, the avatar cycle begins again and everything they have built could collapse.

59. Haha Toph is so funny. She has such a crush on Tagah.

60. Tagah is so weird. I bet Avatar Sonam put him in the ice because he was evil.

    

61. The Turtle Lion Islands are so beautiful.

62. Ah, the animation is beautiful. The way they use light actually is stunning. I’m looking at all the details like the rust and the paint chipping on the airships compared to the trees and Sokka’s clothes for example and there is so much depth.

63. How is it that this, an animated film, has better detail an nuance on a visual medium compared to Master of the Universe that I saw the other day that has terrible CGI which makes everything look bright and flat.

64. Oh wow, I love how Katara moves with water how she can use it as a way to travel, like surfing through the air.

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65. Kitara is smart - she sussed out Tagah straight away.

66. Did he just kill everyone! I knew it! Ok maybe it was obvious, but still.

67. Tagah to Aang, “You’re a traitor to your own just like Sonam.” I knew it, I knew she put him in there cause was evil!

68. What an incredible fighting scene between him and Aang and I like how through the use of colour the staff is a tool that can be used for good or evil, depending on who is wielding it. Tangah holds it and it’s now red, such a bright gross red.

    

69. Wait, did he kill Aang in the avatar state?

70. Omg he stole Appa!

71. You know what I love about this film so far? It shows you how everybody is capable of evil. The Air Nomads are supposed to be peaceful and enlightened. But power is so seductive and can destroy you doesn’t matter what culture you come from. That on its own is a great lesson from this film

72. I don’t like Aang feeling sorry for himself. This is like the third or fourth time he feels sorry for himself in the film. Where is he? It’s all black.

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73. Oh he’s with Sonam now?! She’s beautiful.

74. Sonam’s storytelling is also a stunning bit of animation, different to the rest of the film. It feels like a storybook. It could’ve have gone more minimal and less colour and more lines but is still stunning.

75. This is good story telling. The fact that Katara was able to heal everyone through water bending because the water here is different due to the island’s strong spiritual energy makes sense, it doesn’t feel like a convenient. Everything is woven into the natural ecosystem and the ruled of this world from the series. Not always an easy thing to do!

76. I’m really glad that they are all there for Aang and aren’t blaming him for his mistake because he already feels bad enough for himself. It’s sad because he didn’t see the red flags because he just wanted to connect with is culture and past and Taga represented that.

    

77. So clever bringing up the ocean sprit to travel to the Spirit world. Throw back to season one!

78. Loved this bit of dialogue:

    Aang: I’m sorry. I know I got us into this, but I promise I’ll fix it.

    Katara: we’ll fix it together

79. And then they all jump into the portal to the spirit world. This is what this show is about. This is the messaging from episode one season one all the way through to this film. It’s really about unity, working together, and friendship, most of all.

80. It’s so funny seeing them all in the spirit world in different phases of life teenagers, babies, old people. I wonder if it says something about who they really are. Very clever to connect that to the fact that the spirit world is out of balance because of Tagah.

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81. Wait. Where is Iroh? I hope he’s not dead!

82. The hog spirt thing is so funny is giving me Robin Williams as the Genie in Aladdin vibes. Oh, I just googled him, it’s Taika Waititi. Yikes.

83. Another bit of good dialogue:

    Aang: this isn’t the way. We can use the staff to bring back balance, peace.

    Taga: you care so much about your ideals that you’d let your people die! I will do anything to make sure they survive!

    

84. My cabbage guy is so funny even in the movie. I love how they did that.

85. What the show used to do so well that used to annoy me at first, but I ended up really liking is having showing multiple scenes of action at the same time in different places. In this fight in Aang is fighting Tagah and the avatar team are fighting everybody else in the public city. The animators have balanced it really well. The switching in all these scenes feels very cohesive and still there’s room for storytelling, humour, tension, suspense.

86. I swear I just can’t get over how beautiful the animation is. I want to rewind to enjoy it.

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87. I think the monster that Tagah becomes a little bit too comical or cartoonish? He could have been more dark to really reflect the grief and vengeance inside him.

88. I’m really wondering, what is going to happen here to resolve this now that Aang has the staff and he’s turning into a monster himself.

89. So, in the end of season three Aang took bending away from the Fire Lord, he can’t do that now. I remember also how Katara was always the one who would bring him back from the edge of rage and madness in the avatar state. Both of these could work here, but it would feel like a repeat a cliché.

90. The memory or fantasy he’s living as a child is such a welcoming visual juxtaposition compared to the darkness of the fight he’s in now.

    

91. The shot of Monk Gyatso’s hand on Aang’s head is so touching.

92. Amazing quote:

93. Monk Gyatso:

    “Aang. You will do so many great things as the avatar. But you must be prepared to do what frightens you the most. Your people, your home, we are always with you.”

94. Breaking the stuff is so clever and unexpected but also makes complete sense. It also shows Aang doing the greater good putting his own desires aside for the balance of the world. He knows that no matter what good the staff can bring, the chaos and darkness it could potentially bring wouldn’t make it worth it.

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95. Wow:

    Aang: we can’t erase the pain of the past. We couldn’t save them.

    Tagah: but it’s our duty to protect our people

    Aang: not at the cost of the train everything they stood for. It’s time to let go. You have to forgive yourself. I have to forgive myself too.

    Aang: We walk the world for a moment in time. Then we return to the eternal wind.

96. That was so emotional.

97. This is really a story of reconciling with his own grief, his past mistakes and trying to come to terms with who he is as an avatar and who he could’ve been. It’s a story about what grief can do to you. It can turn you into somebody who’s hateful and wants revenge and destruction or someone who is sensitive and wants to make the word a better place. But it’s interesting here with angry well in with guilt.

98. Katara flying down to Aang and they are hugging mid-air; it reminds me of Spirited Away. I see so much of Miyazaki’s influence not only in the animation style in the images, but also in the pacifist messaging.

    

99. I wish there was a bit more humour in this film. I get it it’s a heavy topic but I feel like Sokka is doing all the comedic stuff, it’s a lot on one character when all of them have potential to be funny.

100. Haha OK Toph too, “I’m done with bad boys.”

101. It’s a way to tie things up with Aang speaking so Sonam and telling her about the Air Nomad values living on. She is now free of her shame and its cool to see her join the other past avatars.

102. Again we are back at the beginning almost, with Aang this time not alone but with acolytes all of them searching and archiving Air Nomad relics. That’s a great character arc, Aang was alone, or felt alone and haunted at the beginning but is now free and with his friends and people who believe in his new mission.

     

103. And finding sky bisons! It’s a great symbol of hope for Aang, what a great ending!

104. I can’t believe this wasn’t at the cinema.

It’s been a great time to sit and watch stories.

While I’m more of an advocate for looking down at a book instead of up at a screen, I’m grateful that after what felt like a stretch of absolute slope, we are now inundated with more quality films and shows.

I’ve been diligently keeping up with House of the Dragon and was pleasantly surprised by Amazon Prime’s Elle, I’ve also been rewatching episodes of Avatar The Last Airbender on Netflix and Stargate also on Prime.

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By now most of you (I hope) have already watched The Odyssey (if not, I implore you to do so). While the conversations around the film continues to divide people, I thought I’d re-include my story (below) from last week in case you managed to block out three hours to watch it, and can now compare your notes with mine.

Despite my obsessive film and show watching, I’ve still been reading, talking, buying books. In fact, I’ve launched the first volume of The Culturelist Library a collection of seven novels that have left an impression on me.

I’ve decided to make the reading experience of the once a week email you get from me as concise as possible. Not wanting to get rid of any of the usual bits and pieces I have below, I’m cutting down the intro and may have taken Earnest Hemmingway’s advice a bit too far. He said something along the lines of the best kind of writing is re-writing, but I’ve gone into Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch territory by murdering my darlings, a phrase which, ironically, was re-purposed by William Faulkner to the now popular “kill your darlings.”

All that to say, moving forward, intros will be as concise as possible to get to the good stuff.

Short attention spans and all that.

This Week on The Culturelist…

The Culturelist Recommends…

I got my hands on a beautiful copy of The Sonnets and a Lover’s Compliant by William Shakespeare and have been delving into random pages, reading, looking up explainers on the various sonnets. It’s been a lot of fun.

Buy this book

This Week’s Quote…

Given my recommendation above it feels only right to include a quote from a sonnet that struck me as, funnily enough, it reminded me of a dilemma that Elle Woods is grappling with in the new Amazon Prime show Elle.

Sonnet 150

O, from what power hast thou this powerful might
With insufficiency my heart to sway?

This Week’s Question…

As mentioned, I’ve been watching a lot of films and TV lately. So I pose this question to you.

As always, thank you for your subscription to The Culturelist.

See you next week,

Maan Jalal

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Anish Kapoor
Hayward Gallery, London

Nearly three decades after his landmark survey at the Hayward Gallery, Anish Kapoor returns with an immersive exhibition spanning sculpture, installation, and painting. Bringing together celebrated mirror works, sculptures coated in Vantablack, and monumental new installations, the exhibition explores perception, space, and the body’s relationship to form. From seemingly endless voids to reflective surfaces that distort reality, Kapoor’s works invite viewers to question what they see while confronting themes of scale, materiality, and human vulnerability.

On view until 31 August 2026.

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In Transit
Artbooth Gallery, Abu Dhabi

Bringing together seven artists from across the Middle East, In Transit explores movement as both a physical and psychological condition. Spanning abstraction, figuration, and conceptual practice, the exhibition traces themes of memory, identity, displacement, and perception through interconnected artistic voices. From Palestinian narratives of belonging to reflections on conflict, urban history, and Arab cinema, the works reveal how personal and collective experiences shape visual language across generations, geographies, and artistic disciplines.

On view until 31 August 2026.

Homelands
National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC

Drawing from the National Gallery’s collection, Homelands brings together more than 20 works by modern and contemporary artists exploring the relationship between people and place. Organised around themes such as family and memory, the exhibition examines how migration, personal history, and cultural identity shape ideas of home. Together, the works offer a nuanced portrait of the United States through diverse artistic perspectives.

On view until 1 August 2027.

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Hiroshi Sugimoto: Extinction
The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo

This major exhibition presents around 60 gelatin silver photographs by Hiroshi Sugimoto, spanning his practice from the late 1970s to today. At a moment when digital technology threatens the survival of analogue processes, the show foregrounds Sugimoto’s conceptual rigour and technical mastery. A parallel display features works from the museum’s collection alongside notebooks documenting his photographic process.

On view until 13 September 2026.

Z for Zarafa
Gypsum Gallery, Cairo

Egyptian-Lebanese artist Lara Baladi uses the story of Zarafa, the giraffe sent from Egypt to France in 1827, to examine migration, diplomacy, and power. Through tapestry, photography, sculpture, and archival references, the exhibition connects forced movement with revolution, exile, and return. Collaborative works also incorporate experiences shared by migrant and refugee women in Egypt.

On view until 23 September 2026.