We don't need another hero
On heroes, villains — and a pretty great dress
America loves a hero and a villain. We see things — more and more, it seems — purely in black and white. I’ve thought about that a lot this week, because it’s framed so much of the political conversation (for years, really) — but has also seeped in to pop culture.
Surely you’ve all seen clips of the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard trial. TikTok and Instagram are absolutely full of accounts lambasting Amber, while Depp has become something of a cult hero. You are either Team Amber or Team Johnny, and there is no in between.
Same goes for Kim Kardashian, who has long been a love-her-or-hate-her character. Last Monday, she showed up to the Met Gala in a gown worn by none other than Marilyn Monroe (who wore the shimmering confection when she sang Happy Birthday to JFK in 1962). “How could she?” some historians screamed. Others slammed the look as “not fitting the theme” (to which I say: the museum was hosting an “In America” exhibit. Yes, the dress code was Gilded Glamour, but she fit the theme of the exhibit pretty damn well.)
The long and short of it is, not every story has a hero and a villain. Some stories have two heroes. Some have two villains. And sometimes it’s just a story about… someone very famous wearing another very famous person’s dress, and drawing more attention to that moment in history, for better or for worse.
I thought Vox writer Constance Grady described the lack of nuance in these conversations really well in her explainer on the Depp-Heard trial: “In the end, perhaps that’s what’s most damning about the larger conversation around this trial: the inability to handle the ambiguities.” I think that can be said for a whole range of things — including a sparkly vintage dress (that, let’s be honest, was the real hero all along).
Now on to the stuff I’m into this week:
A female artist that was so ahead of her time: Ukrainian-born French artist Sonia Delauney was a painter and illustrator before becoming a textile designer. Kind of crazy that these works were made in the 1910s-1930s and even crazier that most of us probably aren’t familiar with her! She was (and is) a very big deal — and in 1964 became the only woman to have had an exhibition at the Louvre Museum in her own lifetime.
An over-the-top reno: This Dallas home was purchased for $286,000 — and, after a $1.35 million renovation inspired by TRON: The Legacy, now looks entirely different. And is complete with a see-through garage (so that the Ferrari is clearly visible from the living room, natch). In truth, it’s not necessarily my taste BUT I have a lot of respect for all the dedication that went into this project. And if I had a Ferrari, I guess I’d also want all my guests to know it.
A really excellent thrift find: KUT-Austin has the story of a woman who thrifted a marble bust at Goodwill for $35 — only to discover it was a priceless artifact looted during World War II. I… can totally see myself finding this and probably selling it on Instagram.
A gripping new crime show: Apple TV’s new serial killer drama Shining Girls is so, so good. It’s the crime drama I’ve been looking for and has everything: great cast, killer acting, and is very. Very. Creepy. I’ve had dreams about it. And not good ones. But it’s worth the watch! The first episode was a little confusing (I didn’t read the book so I didn’t totally know what to expect) but once you understand what’s happening, you’ll find this is a show that gets under your skin.
A peanut butter treat I am desperate to make: I love peanut butter. I am used to having it almost every day (a single scoop, over a banana, for breakfast or stuffed into a date for dessert) but, as our kitchen is currently being remodeled and the appliances are scattered about the house, I have no way to eat any (well, I could, but I would have no sink to clean the bowl, or the spoon, or the knife to cut the banana…) Enter: Nekter Juice Bar, which I have been frequenting near-daily in the past week. They have the most killer peanut butter chia pudding that I have ever had. And now all I can think about is making one. This recipe is first on my list.
Recommended reading:
• A Curbed writer went to the Martha Stewart tag sale and wrote about the “dream and the nightmare” of paying $250 just to…buy more stuff. (Full disclosure: I would also pay to go to Martha Stewart’s tag sale.)
• A family in Montana talks about what it’s like having a nuclear missile (one that’s ready to launch from any second) just sitting on their ranch. (I would personally just…never sleep and die of stress.)
• Buzzfeed examined how some of the most viral pro-choice content on social media over the past week (i.e in the days since Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s alarming draft opinion on Roe v. Wade leaked) is coming from … perhaps surprisingly … Mormon mommy bloggers.
And I’ll leave you with this…