Cultural Comforts: Winter Favourites

To finish up the year, here are some wintery recommendations to keep you warm this Christmas. 

Cultural Comforts: Winter Favourites

If you’re not too keen on Christmas but do want to get ready for the holidays this December, I have the perfect heartwarming recommendations for you. 

You can find last month's recommendations here.

10 Things I Hate About You

Some things never change, no matter what’s going on in the world. For me, one of those things is the movies that I watch during the holidays pretty much every year. 10 Things I Hate About You scores high on the repeatability scale because it balances a fun story with jokes, iconic scenes and great dialogue. If you didn’t know, 10 Things I Hate About You is loosely adapted from Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew. The modern version is set in an American high school where Cameron, a new student, tries to make his friend Patrick (Heath Ledger) date Kat, the protagonist. The party scene with Kat dancing on the table, Patrick’s singing and the final scene are just a few memorable scenes from this movie. 

Little Women

This is a perfect cosy film to watch with the whole family. There are beautiful costumes, a lovely story and wonderful acting - what more could you want? This retelling of the classic American coming-of-age story by Louisa May Alcott takes a new look at the characters. The director Greta Gerwig had a strong vision for the movie and was able to change the stories’ of the female protagonists just a little bit. Amy, often vilified in adaptations, is shown to be more than merely a selfish girl but a growing and flawed young lady, making the best of her situation. Jo’s loneliness is not ended by her romantic pursuits but by the close bonds with her sisters. In fact, Gerwig leaves the ending up to interpretation: does Jo really end up falling in love with Bhaer? Or is that the ending she writes because of her publisher? Alcott, who never married or had a child, had a deeply profound understanding of love, raising two of her sister’s children herself. And that’s what makes Little Women such a comforting watch; it is packed to the brim with love. 

Over The Garden Wall

This short ten-episode animated series is an underrated winter watch. The show follows brothers Wirt and Greg, who end up lost in a strange forest. With the help of a woodsman and bluebird, Beatrice, Wirt and Greg must journey through the forest. The entire series feels like a children’s storybook or fairytale, as the animation was inspired by folk art and classic illustrations. The voices include Elijah Wood, Christopher Lloyd and Samuel Ramey. While the concept is strange, I would highly recommend this easy-to-watch show (ten-minute episodes!) just because of how sweet, dream-like and entrancing it is. 

A Winter playlist 

To finish the year with a bang, I have an entire playlist of recommendations to last you all winter long. The full list of songs and artist can be found below.

White Winter Hymnal                   Fleet Foxes

Don’t Let Me Down - Demo         Joy Crookes

Bewafa Hai Ghadi                        Lifafa

Black Dog                                     Arlo Parks

Cherry Wine (Live)                       Hozier

Warm (feat Mia)                           Dre’es, Mia

ARE WE STILL FRIENDS?         Tyler, The Creator

Electric Feel                                 Henry Green

Bloom - Bonus Track                   Paper Kites

Black Leaf Falls                           Sea Wolf

Mine                                             The 1975

Tune Kaha                                    Prateek Kuhad

Midas                                            Maribou State, Holly Walker 

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