I recently finished reading The Doorman by Chris Pavone. A very contemporary novel that reads like the blend of a satirical critique of the current cultural moment and a thriller. The book looks at power that comes from wealth, whiteness, reputation, and location, but really it’s about who understands and can read the room and the moment.  The story revolves around a few essential characters. First, Chicky Diaz, the doorman at the luxury condominium where the other characters

I recently watched Love Jones by Theodore Witcher. We often talk about how modern dating is broken, that something meaningful was lost in earlier eras. Love Jones suggests otherwise. Love Jones is governed by an unspoken relational power system. Vulnerability is liability. Pride is protection. And safety, of both feelings and image, can block the deepening of connection. It can feel self-centered or even malicious in the moment. But most of the time, it’s fear. Fear that prot

I recently watched In the Mood for Love by Wong Kar-wai. We hear people talk about bringing back yearners and yearning in the nostalgic 80s and 90s R&B sense, but this movie embodies a yearning that I think people most often live with and feel, but rarely talk about.  This is yearning driven by restraint.  Restraint is such a powerful tool in storytelling and also one of the most uncomfortable for the audience. It can break fantasy or activate the imagination and deepen it. I