Jorge Gives Thanks

by Jorge Molina

2017. What a year it's been, huh? Not only does the world seem to be changing / falling apart at every level, in general, it also has not been a particularly easy year for me on a personal level. I don't want to get too personal (that's for the actress that wins an Oscar for playing me to do in her monologue), but it involved lots of delayed visa paperwork, a forced exile to my hometown in Mexico, and a three-to four week delay in movie release dates.

But, throughout it all, I could always count on entertainment to pick me up and get me going. It was (as it always has been) my medicine, my way to fight back, and my chosen method of escapism. So this year, I am thankful for these little pieces of pop culture that made it all better:

• There literally has not been better news in recent memory for me than the announcement of a Mamma Mia! sequel for 2018 release. It keeps me going every single day. 

• Coco just became the highest-grossing movie of all time in Mexico, with just under a month of being released in theaters here. This proves the power of seeing yourself and your culture on a big screen. Representation matters. 

• I am thankful for Allison Williams cold-bloodedly eating Froot Loops one by one while sipping milk in Get Out.

 

• The TV landscape may be sorely overcrowded, and there is not enough time in the world to ever see it all. But without this oversaturation, I doubt we would have ever reached a place of creative freedom where shows like Better Things, Search Party, You're the Worst, The Handmaid's Tale, One Day at a Time, GLOW, and Big Little Lies get to co-exist. 

• Ru Paul's Drag Race reaching a well-earned mainstream status may be a compromise on the underground aspects of drag, but I am glad the show is finally being recognized by audiences and critics alone by its artistic and cultural values to entertainment. Also, Sasha's wig reveal is one for the history books.

• I am thankful for Cate Blanchett doing a lip-sync performance in Stonewall at the start of the year.

• The dominoes are finally falling in Hollywood. The systematic change that is taking place with the removal of toxic males in power is overwhelming, overdue, and at times, painful, but necessary. I cannot wait to see how the new Hollywood is reborn.

• The two episodes in the fourth season of Bojack Horseman focusing on Bojack's mother, Beatrice, are some of the most moving, poignant, formally radical, and outsanding half-hours of television this year. 

• And finally, I am thankful for all the boys that Charli XCX brought together in a single video.

It may not be Thanksgiving anymore, but we can all find time any day to be thankful for the art that inspires us. Happy Leftovers Day! 

Jorge (pictured left) was born and raised in Mexico City, viciously devouring media where he could see a glimpse of himself, most notoriously teenage witches, unfortunate orphans, and queer-coded animated villains. He then decided he would start writing his own. He graduated from the University of Southern California with a degree in screenwriting, and hopes to one day write the types of stories he loves to dissect on this site. 

You can read more about Team Experience here. Or check out previous gratitude lists from Jose, Chris, Nathaniel, Salim and Dan.