2015 was such a good year for pop culture. From books to TV shows to movies, it was just very satisfying.
Streaming video and binging kind of took over my life, as I fell in love with shows like Grace & Frankie on Netflix, Casual on Hulu and Transparent on Amazon. Over on the networks, shows that I became addicted to were Jane the Virgin and Crazy-Ex Girlfriend, which I of course binged on Hulu and rarely watched live.
Books like The Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes, Paper Love by Sarah Wildman and Love Her, Love Her Not: The Hillary Paradox by Joanne Bamberger greatly inspired me and kept me going.
It was the year of women progressing in the film space, as we saw more and more women-written, produced and directed films like Suffragette and rich movies like Brooklyn. I was fortunate to work with Broad Street Pictures on the launch of their company early in the year and look forward to the release of their new film Equity at the Sundance Film Festival later this month.
The face of social media shifted, and now there are even more tools to learn. My kids have taught me a heck of a lot about SnapChat and YouTube, and my own appreciation and interest in Instagram grew, as did my following.
Oh, and need I say Hamilton? I saw it during its off-Broadway run and loved it. I knew I’d seen something special, but who knew it would turn into such a phenomenon on Broadway? Watching bi-weekly #Ham4Ham videos is my new hobby and meeting Lin-Manuel Miranda on a plane to Los Angeles was certainly a highlight of my year. I managed to work on one play called Let it Come Down by Eve Lederman at the Theater for the New City, which was a thrill. Coming into contact with the stage, writers, actors and producers still makes me happy.
And now it’s 2016. I’m another year older and just as pop-cultured centric as ever.
Here are some of my Pop Culture Resolutions in 2016:
To actually finish the shows I start streaming, particularly on Netflix. I need to finish House of Cards, Jessica Jones and I really need to start watching Making a Murder. I’m eagerly awaiting the March return of Grace & Frankie, Orange and the New Black and the imminent Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, but I don’t have any trouble watching them. On the contrary, I watch them too fast.
To watch more shows on Amazon Prime. Catastrophe and Transparent knocked everything else out of the water, especially the latter, and I want to watch Mozart in the Jungle and a bunch of their other new shows. I wrote about the channel on BlogHer last year in an article titled How Amazon is Changing the Ratio with Great Shows for Women, and they are proving that more and more with time, having just ordered three women-backed shows in December.
To read more. I have a zillion books on my list. I always read on plane, train rides and other modes of transportation but it’s time to get off Facebook and read. It’s one of my life-long passion, and I can’t let the digital age take its place. I also want to revisit classics by the likes of Jane Austin. I’ve been saying that for a long time, now’s the time.
To introduce my kids to more classic novels, TV shows, movies. During the holidays, my tween and I streamed Flashdance, Muriel’s Wedding and Ghost on Netflix, which gave me enormous pleasure.
To listen to more alternative radio and revisit much of the music from my childhood. I already have tickets to see Duran Duran and The Cure in 2016, and I vow to listen to 90.7 WFUV more often as Sirius XM Radio (I love their morning show with Jessica Shaw, an old friend, and Dalton Ross) has recently filled my radio listening time with other stations. I plan to support the arts, and more locally.
Theater-wise, I’m thinking more off-Broadway. I love plays over the Public Theater, the Signature, Playwright Horizons and MTC. I’ve seen many of the best shows off-Broadway, and I’ve even worked in it (on The Best of Everything based on the book by Rona Jaffe a few years ago). That’s where it all starts.
Film-wise, I want to see more female backed movies. I want to see more women directing, writing, producing and starring in roles that take their careers to the next level and blow me away with important themes and stories.
What are you looking forward to this year?
Disclosure: I am a member of the Netflix #StreamTeam but all opinions related to the network are my own.
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