All of the fabulously feminist content about The Odyssey
Shout out to all the real life Circes of the Internet!
This month I have been fully immersed in all of the fabulously feminist content surrounding the release of Christopher Nolan’s IMAX film adaptation of “The Odyssey.”
Did I listen to Madeline Miller (author of “Song of Achilles” and “Circe”) on not one but two different New York Times podcasts? You bet! Did I ask my editor if I could create a “Contact Me” page mimicking the one of noted ancient Greek translator Emily Wilson — where she has a specific form for “misogynistic trolling”? You bet! (She hasn’t said yes…yet.)
Did I read Wilson’s much-discussed review (“no sex scenes, and all the food looks horrible”), Joyce Carol Oates’ takedown of Wilson’s review, and many a general survey of the discourse on the discourse? Come on, you know you don’t even have to ask.
And OF COURSE I also listened to Sam Sanders’ conversation with Angelica Jade Bastién on the real elephant in the room about the film itself: “Does ‘The Odyssey’ Have a Woman Problem?” (Short answer: Probably!) But also, be sure to read her wonderful analysis of the Circe vignette in the film, too.
I haven’t seen the movie yet, but also have already mentally committed to paying a babysitter so I can actually see this in theatres, a real rarity for me. If you’ve seen it already, please write me and tell me what you thought!
And with that? Some links!
The grift (and not grift)
You know I hung onto every word of Cheryl Wischover’s report on her Substack from attending an event with a company that will be selling compounded peptides — and how she couldn’t get straight answers about safety. (You’ll remember that we talked all about peptide mania during Deinfluencing Month back in April!) (Good For Your Age, July 2)
I deeply appreciated Molly Dickens’ dive into the placebo effect — and the complexity that comes when there’s no science backing something that might make us feel really good. (The Maternal Stress Project, July 7)
Related? I love Taffy Brodesser-Akner on trying and loving cold plunges — and reflecting on how trying new things can in fact be deeply therapeutic. (You’ll remember we also talked about cold plunges during Deinfluencing Month!) (New York Times, July 8 & 12)
I spend a lot of time thinking about influencers: Life coaches! Wellness coaches! Menopause coaches! And if you start to follow any of them long enough, you’ll inevitably hear about how you, too, could start coaching. Katie Gatti Tassin (aka Money With Katie) did a whole spiel on “Influencers Selling Sales” — and while she specifically talks about what this means for so many Gen Z women entering the workforce, I couldn’t help but think about women in midlife looking for a second act. (Money with Katie, July 8)
Last month’s AI grannies are this month’s AI middle-aged women…who are of course pushing supplements with all kinds of dubious claims behind them. Robin Levine Shobin did a gangbusters job on her Substack of explaining the full trajectory of the Instagram Reel rabbit hole of these faux midlife influencers, all of whom are somehow “57 years old.” (Charlotte’s Book, July 17)
And this conversation between Brittany Luse and Brooke Devard Ozaydinli about the optimization effect on beauty culture and its impact on Black women and agency is a perfect bookend to thinking about how we metabolize what we consume online. (It’s Been a Minute, July 14)
The rock and the roll
God bless Neko Case and her righteous screed against Creepy Men in Music and the lack of consequences for their behavior. (Entering the Lung, August 2)
My inner punk screamed with glee reading Lisa Tozzi’s reporting on Menopunkpalooza! (The Guardian, July 7)
Which is why I of course had to read Gilly Ann Hanner’s first-hand account on Substack of taking the stage of that same aforementioned festival at the super punk age of 59. (The Imprecision of Memory: Musical DNA, July 7)
Oh what’s that you say? There’s a Radiohead cover band composed of perimenopausal women going by the name of Labiahead? God, I love middle-aged women. (The Persistent, July 8)
The way Ann Powers explained the Gracie Abrams blowback vis a vis a Carly Simon history lesson? [Chef’s kiss] (NPR, July 20)
The culture
I know that you, too, can smell Bath and Body Works’ Japanese Cherry Blossom at the mere mention of its name. (The New York Times, July 6)
I appreciated how freaking real Penelope Cruz was talking about perimenopause with Olivia Wilde. (Allure, July 7)
… much like Amy Poehler talking to Greta Lee about her frozen shoulder. (Good Hang with Amy Poehler, June 23)
Immense gratitude for Fawnia Soo Hoo’s Substack — a phenomenal Gen X pop culture water cooler — for this interview with legendary costume designer Debra McGuire — and for teaching me that McGuire costumed Jennifer Aniston on “Friends” and is doing so now on “The Morning Show.” (Whatever Nevermind, July 14)
Mary H.K. Choi made a name for herself for her cutting, singular young adult novels and I couldn’t put down her debut work of adult fiction, “Pool House” — all about an adult daughter and her former TV star mother moving into the pool house alongside the house they can no longer afford. It’s all about identity and sex and grief. (Flatiron Books)
Also, Samantha Morton talked about menopause in relationship to her Circe performance in “The Odyssey”! (Vulture, July 22)
The poignancy of aging
I consider myself both a fan and student of Rachel Aviv’s work and, as the daughter of a mother and the mother of a daughter, am very much looking forward to sitting with her new book “You Won’t Get Free of It: Stories of Mothers and Daughters.” I also really loved this interview with her in The New Yorker’s newsletter. (What We’re Reading, July 8)
By now you probably know that I’m a huge fan of Rachel Martin’s NPR podcast Wild Card. This interview with writer, climate activist and professor at Harvard Divinity School Terry Tempest Williams is a profound and moving listen. (Williams’ new book is “The Glorians: Visitations from the Holy Ordinary.”) (Wild Card, July 9)
The Marshall Project
The Marshall Project recently released their guide to how to navigate perimenopause and menopause in prison. It’s a really informative resource on something you may not have thought about before, and a really wonderful compliment to the piece they ran on this topic (that we highlighted here!) back in April.