Here’s some stuff I liked in 2020

2020 was bad, everything is terrible, the world is on fire, blah blah.

You don’t need me to remind you that it’s all gone tits-up. Instead, here’s a few things I liked this year, and I think you might like them as well.

How To With John Wilson. 2020 showed the limits of “feel-good” television. While shows like GBBO, The Good Place, and Schitt’s Creek had their share of great moments, they felt, at least to me, somewhat lacking this year. There was an artifice in their life-affirming messages, perhaps because the world outside continued to crumble in spite of their best efforts. How To, on the other hand, struck the perfect balance for this traumatizing year. It was hilarious, surreal, sweet, caustic, shocking, and, yes, life-affirming. And without spoiling anything, the final episode landed like an absolute gut-punch and I haven’t stopped thinking about it since.

Capybara twitter accounts. How I’m tryna be. Good vibes only. Etc.

This guy. Like the capybaras, just good vibes. Chill AF.

Baby Yoda. Yeah I know I’m late to the party on this one. I just wanted to say kudos to the puppeteers at Lucasfilm. Fantastic work. The Mandalorian is a pretty good show with some pretty big flaws (AHEM Gina Carano) but Baby Yoda is a triumph of practical effects and creature design. Adorable!

Palm Springs. I barely saw any new movies this year, enough so I can’t even put together a proper top 10. Regardless I’m convinced Palm Springs would’ve made my list even in a normal year. Effortless, charming, funny, moving, and clever. A nearly perfect comedy in an era bereft of comedy films.

The Invisible Man. The last movie I saw in a theater. Just a really solid, well-done horror thriller. Elizabeth Moss? More like Elizabeth Boss. Thanks.

The Boys Season 2. I didn’t expect to like this show at all. “Oh, what if heroes are actually bad? Wow hot take bro!” I said to myself when I read the show description. Except, they actually nailed it. The Boys has its finger on the pulse of American culture and capitalism better than any show I’ve seen in years. As dark and grim as it can be, however, it never gives in to full nihilism. There’s always a little sprinkle of hope that keeps you hooked.

Swamp dog. I’ve watched this video maybe 40 times now. I will watch it at least 40 more.

The launch of Defector, Discourse Blog, and other indie media. I don’t know if all these new subscription-based media organizations can sustain themselves. I already feel myself having subscriber fatigue. However, it’s the biggest glimmer of hope I’ve seen for the beleaguered media industry in years. Defector and Discourse have become daily routines for me in the way that Deadspin and Splinter were before they were gutted.

The Studio Ghibli catalogue on HBO Max. As a streaming service and harbinger of things to come, HBO Max is deeply flawed and troubling. However it does have almost the entire Studio Ghibli catalogue, which has provided me more comfort viewing than anything else this year. Thanks HBO Max! Now please don’t destroy the entire film industry!

Obnoxious media “personalities” siloing themselves in echo chambers we can all ignore. Annoying as it is to see self-aggrandizing blowhards like Matt Yglesias, Glenn Greenwald, and Matt Taibbi launch paid Substacks, I think there’s a silver lining. As these overpaid bloviators yeet themselves from big publications like NY Mag, The Intercept, NY Times, Vox, and others, the salary caps of these companies go up. The cost of your standard Bari Weiss or Andrew Sullivan can cover 3 or 4 journalists doing actual journalism. Whether these organizations will use this opportunity remains to be seen, of course, but it’s a start! Also, much of these people’s reach comes from their wide availability on popular news sites. We’ll see if they maintain the same large platforms after intentionally creating walled gardens for their content. People might read Yglesias (for some reason) when he’s free on Vox. Will anyone but his subscribers give a shit if he’s siloed behind a paywall? I hope not! Good riddance!

Four Seasons Total Landscaping, or, Giuliani’s terrible horrible no good very bad month. Dude flop-sweated his way through the Borat movie, endless court losses, literally melting in press conferences, farting in court, and a Covid diagnosis. One thing no one can say about the man is that he’s lazy. In fact, Rudy Giuliani has become the wet unhinged face of America’s Rise and Grind mentality in more ways than one.

The election celebrations. The exuberance that erupted when they finally called the election for Biden was terrific, even if I could only witness it via breathless tweets and Instagram stories. It was a burst of hope and relief in a relentlessly awful year. Most of us weren’t excited about Biden, per se, but rather the idea that Trump will soon be relegated to history. Of course, we had no idea Trump would try to maintain his grip on power quite so strenuously, but for that brief shining moment, we all felt hope. Cathartic, satisfying hope.

Also the French media had to explain what Gritty was during its coverage of the celebrations, so that was fun.