š Reviewing: The Bikeriders (2024)
We donāt belong nowhere else. So we belong together.
In 2003, writer/director Jeff Nichols found a photobook on his brotherās coffee table (his brother being Ben from the band Lucero). The book, The Bikeriders, published by photographer Danny Lyon in the 1960s, chronicled the real-life Chicago Outlaws Motorcycle Club. Moved by its images and accompanying text, Nichols decided to make a film about it. The film, however, is a fictionalized version about a group called the Vandals, though many of the characters are based on those in the book.
Using photographer Lyon as the framing device, the film depicts interviews with numerous members of the biker gang, with an abundance of voiceover from one of the membersā romantic interests. However, the narrative quickly splits to focus on three other members of the crew. Because of this, thereās a bit of drifting from person to person and place to place, with occasional text overlays to orient us to where and when we are.
Due to the nature of using this voiceover interview approach, weāre told what to care about, but we never see why we should care about it. Therefore, thereās no emotional resonance to any of the events, motivations, or particularly the relationships in the film. Often, the characters appear one-dimensional, with low stakes and no growth.
Lately, Iāve been feeling a little lost and lonely. Lost in the sense of not having a strong anchor in my life. And lonely, not due to a lack of social activities, but a lack of connection. This has resulted in being overwhelmed by the plethora of possibilities on my journey to discover new communities to belong to.
Iāve recognized that there are a lot of correlations between my current state and this filmās shortcomings. Formulating a fictitious story from a series of photographs offered too much possibility for Nichols. The story sprawls and sputters into a conventional tale akin to any mafia film youāve seen before. The decision to spotlight a few characters slightly instead of one completely meant there was no anchor, no direction, and no connection. And without those, it feels a little lost. The Bikeriders releases in theaters this Friday.
š Reading: The Saturday Night Ghost Club
Reality never changes. Only our recollections of it do. Whenever a moment passes, we pass along with it into the realm of memory. And in that realm, geometries change. Contours shift, shades lighten, objectivities dissolve. Memory becomes what we need it to be.
Billed as Stranger Things meets Stand by Me, The Saturday Night Ghost Club is a novel about a group of misfit kids who spend a summer investigating local ghost stories and urban legends. Set in a small town in 1980s Niagara Falls, the story follows Jake Baker reminiscing about his formative years spent with his eccentric Uncle Calvin, a paranormal enthusiast.
Author Craig Davidson presents the story through adult Jake, now a brain surgeon, reminiscing about his summer as a twelve-year-old. Throughout the novel, Davidson explores loss, trauma, and nostalgia. Itās a book about growing up in a small town, finding adventure in everything, and realizing that we might not know everything about the world. So far, itās a poignant coming-of-age story that is heartfelt and introspective and I canāt wait to find out where it goes. The Saturday Night Ghost Club is available wherever you get books.
š¬ Watching: Death of the Follower
The āfollowā is a piece of internet architecture that felt closer to magic than anything that Iāve ever experienced in my life.
At this yearās SXSW, Jack Conte, co-founder and CEO of Patreon, delivered a keynote titled Death of the Follower & the Future of Creativity on the Web. Conte presented how the early internet empowered creators to easily reach audiences and build dedicated followings, enabling them to establish direct connections and cultivate community.
However, in recent years, there has been a shift to algorithm-focused platforms, which has disrupted the community-based model. These platforms prioritize content based on engagement and activity, making it challenging for creators to reach their audience.
While Conte focused on Patreonās actions to combat this shift, he ultimately advocates for an internet where creativity can thrive independently of algorithms and the objectives of corporations. As a long-time artist who found great success on the early internet, Conte shares a vision for building a better way that art can exist on the web. Personally, as someone who started this newsletter as an experiment to replace social media with more connected conversations, I like and subscribe to this vision. Death of the Follower & the Future of Creativity on the Web is available to stream on YouTube.
Thanks for being here.
ā Justin