Hey campers,
How are we this week? It’s been a tough few days (I mean, really a tough forever) in the US, and I hope you’re all hanging in there. Maybe this will serve as some type of distraction, maybe it won’t. Regardless, take care of yourselves and I love you.
Also, I met John Waters on Friday. He told me to try LSD and if I liked it to try Acid next. So there’s that!
Now on to the real subject of today’s letter! Welcome to the first installment of The Sapphic Syllabus, a roundup of sapphic/WLW horror and thriller (and some more…general) media that I’ve enjoyed recently. Some of these are media that I’ve just finished or ones that have stuck with me over the last few months—for good reasons and for bad reasons. Spoilers for all this gay shit ahead!
Killing Eve
Yes, I’m coming in strong and this is an attack. Yes, Bury Your Gays is still very much alive.
And I’m aware I’m stepping foot into The Discourse with this show. But here we are, at this point I just need to get it out of the way so I can move on with my life.
I started Killing Eve for the first time a few years ago, watched the first two episodes, and dropped it. There was nothing really keeping my attention and I don’t think I was in the right headspace for a show like this. Not that I am now, but for some reason my partner and I decided to turn it on a few weeks ago. Now, my life will never be the same (this is dramatics, but also not really and here’s why).
I’ve always been extra sensitive to shows with strong queer sapphic relationships that are toxic. See: any relationship on The L Word. Either that or someone is dead (see: Buffy). Killing Eve perfectly wraps those two tropes in a bow and hands it all over to us. I’m sensitive to these shows because who wouldn’t be, and also being in queer abusive relationships is a factor. There hasn’t ever quite been a show like Killing Eve that has made me reanalyze everything I thought I already knew about queer sapphic relationships. How they function, how they don’t, how mine have affected me. It did all of that in such a short amount of time, and now it’s over and it turned out to be the exact opposite of what we all needed it to be. We’re left with more dead lesbians in water (see: Bly Manor). I’ll probably have to give myself time write about this in a more structured, cohesive way, but right now I’m trying to figure out why I feel the way that I feel.
I just finished season four yesterday and I’m sure you can tell. Y’all, I told my MOM to watch this show. I am ashamed.
The Wilds season 2
Shoni for life. I binged this entire season of The Wilds in a single day on Sunday, much like I did when the show first came out. It’s one of those shows that has just enough mystery to keep you coming back. While I was hesitant about the inclusion of boys on the island this season (still kinda am), the themes and plots that were shown in their storyline and character arcs were important and not what you typically see in survival media. So for that, I applaud the writers—but if the whole show ends on some “men and women work best when they work together” type bullshit, consider everything I just said redacted.
At the end of the day, The Wilds is Pretty Little Liars but on an island and for a Gen Z audience. And that’s a compliment.
Overall: The point of the experiment just seems a bit too obvious to me and a lot of other people watching. But I’m persevering for my God-fearing Shelby and hard-headed Toni 💕
Everything Everywhere All At Once
It is highly improbable that I’ll ever see a movie that meant so much to me again. This isn’t a horror movie, but horror is subjective. And sometimes, as a first-gen, queer, eldest child, your life IS a horror movie.
I have seen EEAAO *three* times. As much as I loved going to the movie theater pre-COVID, I’ll say it’s a struggle now to get me to sit in a dark room with people coughing up kernels every five minutes. I don’t see movies in theaters multiple times anymore, except for Everything Everywhere All At Once. Because this film is impossible to get sick of. You’re learning something new every single time you watch it. You’re becoming a new person every single time you watch it. This isn’t an original thought—I haven’t yet met a person who flat-out dislikes EEAAO (I know they’re out there but I don’t need to hear about it).
I do believe EEAOO is creating new thresholds for how we look at film and how it can change us. This movie made me realize things about myself that were always there but slightly out of reach, maybe in a different multiverse. Or maybe it didn’t. I don’t know. Nothing matters 🥯
Yellowjackets season 1
Besties…this show doesn’t leave my mind 🐝
While some compare Yellowjackets to The Wilds, I must respectfully disagree. Everything about Yellowjackets ranging from the characters themselves to the acting and the storytelling is much more complex, thoughtful, and horrific in ways The Wilds doesn’t touch on as much (at least, pre-season 2. The baby bunnies 🥲). Comparing the talents of Melanie Lynskey and Christina Ricci to newcomers like Shannon Berry and Mia Healey (who are obviously amazing) takes away from what both shows are trying desperately to show: women being messes.
Be still my heart. I miss you, Jackie.
I simply cannot wait for season 2. So many unanswered questions. I miss my batshit crazy Misty. Let’s get the girls back together already!
Crush
It was cute (minus the biphobia from one of the main actors).
Like many others are saying, I really would’ve loved to have this movie as a young person in high school. No matter its slightly over-exaggerated acting and predictability, this movie is just fucking cute. And that’s all it needs to be. Why is it on this list? Good question.
If you need a break from traumatic media (like we all sometimes do), consider turning this movie on to disassociate from the horrors of the real world.
It Came from the Closet: Queer Reflections on Horror
While this isn’t a specifically sapphic-centered collection, it does include an essay on Jennifer’s Body (my favorite movie) by the iconic Carmen Maria Machado (one of my favorite writers). I couldn’t possibly think of a better combination of my interests.
I’m still making my way through this anthology of queer horror writers, and I’m so glad a book like this is being brought into the world. It Came from the Closet and other books like it are going to push the work of queer voices in horror forward, not only for us but for the generations to come. It releases on October 4 through Feminist Press (expect a review in the coming months)!
That’s all for this week—thanks for reading y'all! What are your favorites from the list? What are your least favorites and why? Let me know in the comments or email me!
We all need more sapphic content in our lives. Fill my inbox with it, please.
Stay queer, spread fear,
Beyza
to me killing eve ended with them driving off into the sunset and i cannot be convinced otherwise (love this roundup tho!!!)
Okay It Came from the Closet looks incredible! I love the cover, too!!