Netflix: The Great Hack
“Data is the most valuable resource on earth,” the trailer for The Great Hack tells us. Your privacy, your information, everything you post freely on social media, is more valuable than oil, gold or money. And the fact that the most valuable resource on earth — our information — could be exploited and weaponised at any time is exactly what this film explores, to terrifying effect. With The Great Hack, filmmakers Karim Amer and Jehane Noujaim uncover the dark world of data exploitation, touching on the Facebook/Cambridge Analytica data scandal and how our information is being weaponised to wage cultural and political warfare. Almost enough to make you want to delete your Insta, eh? Almost.
The Great Hack premieres 24 July on Netflix. Watch the trailer here.
Theatre: Seven Methods of Killing Kylie Jenner
No, not literally. Actually, the cleverly named Seven Methods of Killing Kylie Jenner is an exciting new stage piece from Jasmine Lee Jones. It explores the digital fantasy of murder and the increasingly violent way we speak to each other online, as well as exploring the issues of cultural appropriation that the youngest Kardashian-Jenner has repeatedly waded into. An imagined death for Kylie Jenner (the drama begins with a wrapped up body being dragged on stage and dumped in a grave) is part of the digital fantasy of Cleo, who wants the celebrity dead for her appropriation of black beauty, particularly her reliance on lip fillers. Over the course of the play, Cleo and her friend Kara hotly debate the art of Twitter war, online appropriation, race, colourism and everything in between. Would RT.
Seven Methods of Killing Kylie Jenner ends its run at the Royal Theatre this week. Get your tickets here and catch it before it ends!
Book: Rebel Writers: The Accidental Feminists
It’s mad isn’t it, to think that in the olden days people used to write books without having a Twitter account on which to brag about them and argue with their critics. But it happened! And those oldies paved the way, giving us our first taste of feminist literature. This biographical study from Celia Brayfield, celebrates their life and work. It opens with A Taste of Honey, a play written by 19-year-old author Shelagh Delaney, which redefined women’s writing in Britain. After Delaney came Edna O’Brien, Lynne Reid-Banks, Charlotte Bingham, Nell Dunn, Virginia Ironside and Margaret Forster; an extraordinarily disparate group who were united in their determination to shake the traditional concepts of womanhood in novels, films, television, essays and journalism. They became a literary movement, determined to revolutionise the idea of womanhood in print. Make this your next inspirational read. Trust us, it’s Oprah’s Book Club worthy.
Rebel Writers, the Accidental Feminists is released 25 July. Check it out and pre-order here.
Film: Marianne and Leonard
Coming to cinemas this week is Marianne and Leonard, the story of the enduring love between Leonard Cohen and his Norwegian muse, Marianne Ihlen. Filmmaker Nick Broomfield chronicles their relationship, from the early days in Greece to how their love evolved when Leonard became a successful musician. Look, it’s gonna hit 37 degrees in London on Thursday, so if you ever needed an excuse to go sit in an air-conditioned, dark and gloomy room listening to solemn Leonard Cohen songs, this is it. Not that you should need an excuse to do that.
Marianne and Leonard comes to UK cinemas this week.