Welcome to this week’s 5BF: my weekly article where I share the contents of my learnings from the past week in my life.
1 – what I read
Pygmalion by G.B. Shaw – a romance, this play is subtitled, but at its heart it is a satire of the bourgeoise society. Elisabeth Doolittle is taken on as an experiment by what seems to be linguist Mr. Higgins and his friend Colonel Pickering: within six months, Liza, formerly a flower girl, would be perfectly fit and able to enter the high-class society for she would be speaking proper English and would ask about others’ health. Like Shaw’s other play ‘Heartbreak House’ from where I began my English Literature syllabus, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this play as well. Shaw is a master when it comes to thrilling, sharp, insightful, and moving wordplay.
2 – this week’s article
The ME ME ME generation @time – a comprehensive and beyond-judgmental article about the ugly and impressive traits of the millennials. As a millennial I hate myself and this generation, but I can also sympathize by knowing the reason behind this self-hatred; this article forces us to look at the positive signs as well.
The trial behind ‘Crime and Punishment’ @atlantic – similar to LitHub’s article about Dostoevsky’s stenographer and later his wife, this article also zooms in on the largely unheard life of the great Russian author by showing his contradicting personalities, as it tells the real-life trial that inspired the classic masterpiece.
The benefits of organizing your bookshelf by colors @newyorker / 33 thoughts on reading @medium – witty, satirical, and very funny articles for the book nerds out there. Get real.
How to love @brainpickings – Popova’s extracts of Thich Nhat Hanh’s book on how to love, which simplifies the basic elements of love, like understanding, happiness, listening, and demolition of ego.
3 – movie recommendations
Brokeback Mountain (2005) – featuring Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger, this western movie is a story of two young men who fall in love with each other while catering to lambs on mountain as their summer jobs. As they start their own families, things get complicated later on.
Never Look Away (Germany, 2018) – a young painter’s journey in the post-WW2 Germany amidst political totalitarianism. A brilliant movie about art, love, mental illnesses, snobbery, artistic criticism, sex, and more.
Dune (2021) – latest blockbuster movie that definitely looks like one. This is a gorgeous looking movie although poorly told because it is only the 'part one' with its sequel yet unconfirmed. A retelling of the classic science-fiction and dystopian novel.
Fauci (2021) – National Geography’s documentary on the career of Dr. Fauci, USA’s head of the National Institute of Health. A moving, humanizing, and inspiring film which shows the tumults of this man’s career: AIDS, Ebola, COVID-19, Trump; and his undeterred, humble, anti-heroic, and courageous commitment to this work.
4 – this week’s podcast
Phoebus Cartel @throughline – a history of ‘Manufactured Obsolescence’ in US and abroad with the thrilling story of the ‘lightbulb that could burn forever' at its center.
5 – this week’s quote
‘When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good
measure.’
Goodhart’s Law