Feet of Clay, First Cow, and Love Poems
A featured write-up by Mehek Bopari on 'Lawn Dogs,' a film directed by Leonardo Martinez and produced by Neha Nagavalli, and a podcast featuring rapper Maassai.
Welcome to the eleventh installation of The Q: your one-stop weekly newsletter of culture recommendations. Can’t find a platform where you can receive condensed, reliable, pop-culture content? Yeah, we can’t either.
Every Saturday morning in your inbox, you’ll find a featured article, an album, a film, a playlist, a book, a video, and something funny we found that week. Oh, and a Two Virgins podcast episode, where Sam and Teresa talk about a recommendation while drinking virgin drinks. We also invite a guest onto the show every week (that guest could be you!)
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Featured Article
A Look at ‘Lawn Dogs’: A Film Tinted With Lush Disappointment
Lawn Dogs spans just six and a half minutes yet manages to capture months of melancholy between two brothers and their pursuit of whatever may be behind the veiled term “American Dream.” Director Leonardo Martinez and Producer Neha Nagavalli, rising seniors at Dodge College of Film and Arts, Chapman University created the short film as a thesis of sorts for their junior production course. When asked about how the story arose, Martinez explained the origin of the narrative to be intimate with his own experience growing up: “The essence of the film, I wanted to be very reflective. One of my friends suggested ‘Why don’t you just do something you’re very familiar with? You grew up landscaping. That’s what you did at a young age—you helped your father work.’ And so, I took that suggestion to heart, and I ran with it.”
Album
Feet of Clay (Deluxe) by Earl Sweatshirt
Earl Sweatshirt’s career has reached a precipice...and he leaps from it happily.
Thebe Kgositsile, ubiquitously known as Earl Sweatshirt, released his Feet of Clay EP on Halloween in 2019. Owing to the album’s macabre cover and content, it was a fitting release date despite its announcement mere hours prior. Now, Sweatshirt’s discography is no stranger to tackling grief, depression, or delinquency in a myriad of ways. We’ve come to identify his esoteric style and measured delivery to be synonymous with the emotional weight of his work (see his 2015 album I Don’t Like Shit I Don’t Go Outside).
Film
First Cow directed by Kelly Reichardt
It is difficult to dispute the beauty of First Cow, as its cropped, intimate shots of forests and the woodlands reveal an attentiveness to individualism even in a large ecosystem. Other reoccurring shots, such as the returning placement of the riverbed, ground the film, making Cookie and King’s world seem much larger than it is. Reichhardt excels at crafting this film’s simplicity. It’s more difficult to make a good tasting cake with just a few ingredients than plenty of them. Similarly, Reichhardt expertly places just enough elements in the film to craft a story, without leaving room for things that aren’t absolutely necessary.
Book
Love Poems by Nikki Giovanni
Want to relive falling in love for the first time?
Love Poems written by Nikki Giovanni creates an aura of romance so strong that it leaves you with a warm fuzzy feeling lasting for days. She presents love to her readers in the most simple, and also most unconventional ways. These poems can be cheesy, oftentimes making your face feel hot. They’re also very elaborate and stylistically complex, outside of the box.
Playlist
Regina’s SIPPIN’ NOT SIMPIN’ features Comethazine, UNKWN, and Ambjaay.
Regina’s favorite track: “Scream” by Usher
Description: “This playlist features some awesome upbeat songs that are great for parties and hangouts. The main genres are pop, rap, and EDM music. It includes some of the greatest hits of the 2000s that are perfect for vibing, singing, and dancing.”
Follow Regina on Tik Tok!
Podcast
Two Virgins Episode #11: Vitamin Water and an Interview with Maassai
On this week's episode, Sam and Teresa interview the Brooklyn rapper Maassai, over a bottle of Vitamin Water. Maassai is an incredible artist who continues to push the boundaries of lyricism in hip-hop and represents part of the growing New York City underground scene. She shares wisdom on what it has been like recording during the pandemic, explains some of her densest lyrics, and offers advice for young artists on how to get the most out of their art.
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xx Teresa and Sam