Lately #10: Lady Parts, wicked letters, and the stories behind soundtracks
Five things to entertain you, and one piece of advice.
Welcome back to Story Has It. On Sundays, we share some of our favourite finds from the week in our Lately newsletter.
Yara and I have swapped land masses this week - I’m back in Scotland and she’s back in Dubai after a London trip. I took the advantage of some flight time to get through several chapters of All Fours by Miranda July - it’s a wild ride, and explicit enough that I’m glad nobody could read over my shoulder! Check out both of our summer reading stacks here.
I also watched two cracking films. I should fly more often.
This has turned - unintentionally - into a bit of a British-themed newsletter. I must have been affected by my surroundings. So cheers, mates - enjoy it! Gillian
Something we should all be watching - part 1…
I’ve had an actress double-bill and immediately needed to share them both. The brilliant Anjana Vasan has become my leading lady for July - you might recognise her from the Demon 79 episode of Black Mirror?
Well, she’s also one of the stars Channel 4’s We Are Lady Parts (on Peacock in the US), a British-Asian comedy about a Muslim punk band in London. It’s original, rowdy, blunt, funny and “vapes in the face of stereotypes”. Created by writer and director Nida Manzoor, the first series came out in 2021 and won a load of awards. For the second series, Nida brought together an all-woman writing team:
“I wanted to go into bodies, shame, mother wounds and motherhood. So I wanted to assemble a room of women, writers I really admire whose tones are often different, so we could have frank and open discussions.”
Favourite scene from Series 1: the Uber singalong with the Proclaimers’ I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles). Series 2 has been out for a couple of months, and I’ve read it takes things up another level, so it’s next on my list - who’s been watching?
Something we should all be watching - part 2!
Sticking with the Anjana Vasan theme, I was on the plane this week and managed the blissful achievement of watching two films - Zone of Interest (incredible) and Wicked Little Letters. I’d actually seen a recommendation for this British black comedy in a Substack newsletter, which for the life of me I can’t remember! I’ll share if I do. Anyway, I was sold on Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley, but was so happy when Anjana turned up as another lead.
Based on a real scandal that happened in 1920 Britain (the title card tells us ‘This story is more true than you’d think’), it follows an investigation into the anonymous author of crudely insulting letters sent to the residents of a small English seaside town. The acting is Grade A and it may be set 100 years ago, but the themes are perfectly relevant today.
The extra humour of watching this film on a plane with censored swearing? Around half of the film was silent for me…
A podcast you’ll want to share…
If you haven’t listened to Soundtracking, add it to your podcast queue now. It’s by a fellow Scot who grew up just down the coast from me - presenter, Edith Bowman - who interviews musicians, composers, directors and more to discover the stories behind soundtracks. There’s so much to learn through the lens of a film or TV score - we’ve both become regular listeners and love Edith’s genuine passion and natural style.
There’s a recent episode with director Lee Isaac Chung on Twisters, for those who’ve seen it and would love to know more about Benjamin Wallfisch’s score and the country music choices. But scroll back through the episodes and you’ll find interviews with Mark Ronson for Barbie, Anna Calvi for Peaky Blinders, Steven Spielberg on his love of music and score - really, a list of something for every taste.
A memorable backstory read…
On the subject of Twisters, Yara sent me this interesting article from Slate about the impact the original 1996 film had on real storm chasers. Twister might have introduced the majority of us to the idea of storm chasing, but a small-but-dedicated group of researchers and hobbyists had been hunting tornadoes since the 70s.
The popularity of the film changed things forever:
“Some were optimistic that, after the initial frenzy of the movie’s premiere, the attention would fade … After wannabes, high on images of flying cows and Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton holding on for dear life, got a taste of actual storm chasing—with its hours of endless driving, the frustrations of forecasts that didn’t pan out, and the misery of gas station food and cheap motels—they would surely abandon their interest.”
But the attention didn’t fade. It led to more media coverage, more amateurs, a boom in storm-chasing ‘tours’, reality TV shows - even a lift in enrollment in meteorology courses. Will Twisters also leave some “significant wreckage in its wake”?
Something for your bucket list…
The Frameless Museum in Marble Arch, London, creates an immersive experience with famous works of art. Have a look at this - it features Rembrandt’s ‘Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee’ and looks like an incredible experience:
Would you love to visit? What do you think the artists would make of this use of their work?
One piece of advice:
Seeing as I’m back in Scotland right now, here’s an old favourite from one of my Dad’s books: In Praise of Books. Judge it by its cover - it’s old with tiny print, and it praises books! Favourite bit of advice inside:
“Wear the old coat, buy the new book.”
I’ve heard so much about We Are Lady Parts! In need to watch it… great round up - that frameless gallery looks insane
Thanks for the incredible tips. So beautiful written too.