2023 Culture Roundup (2024)

It’s time for the year-end culture roundup! Year-end “best of” lists are a dime a dozen these days, and I don’t presume to think that my opinion is at all important in the giant ocean of cultural criticism. But this is an annual tradition for me now, one that really helped me during the worst of the pandemic three years ago. I made these lists to help me see the positives and moments of enjoyment and entertainment in an otherwise awful year, and to share them with others.

This year has proven to be another annus horribilis, in the grand scheme of things. Too many wars, genocides, climate disasters, mass shootings, political upheavals, and the like. To one who pays even the slightest bit of attention to global news, it may seem as if focusing on superficial things like my top movies of the year is fiddling while Rome burns. And I’m not going to deny that or try to justify it. I’ll only reiterate that the last time things seemed hopeless, it helped me personally to document the good, and to be thankful, and to remember that art is always valuable, even (or especially?) during times of crisis.

I must add that fortunately, the past year has been remarkably positive for me personally, global news notwithstanding. 2023 was marked by huge life changes and upheaval, but on the whole, I look back on it with gratitude for the blessings and love that filled my life and accompanied every big milestone. Okay, before I get too schmaltzy–on with the show!

Literature

I am embarrassed to start with this section, because I read fewer books in 2023 than in any other year since I started keeping track (almost a decade ago). I can’t make the excuse that I was too busy (even though I was); more than anything, it seems that the sharp increase in my movie watching habits (see below) corresponds to the sharp decrease in my reading. That said, the three books I’ve decided were my top reads for this year are actually phenomenal, and I highly recommend them to you!

A Tale for the Time Being, by Ruth Ozeki: This novel, set partially on an island in the Pacific Northwest (near Vancouver Island), gripped me completely from start to finish. One narrator with writer’s block, another narrator from across the ocean whose story suddenly ends on a cliffhanger, and a sprinkle of magical realism? Count me in. Reminded me in a good way of Sophie’s World and the less abstract entries in the Murakami canon.
Sea of Tranquility, by Emily St. John Mandel: I love speculative fiction, short stories, and multiple narratives that intertwine in unexpected ways. This was a breezy, slim novel that had all three, and it was also set partially on Vancouver Island! Reminded me of Cloud Atlas.
There There, by Tommy Orange: This has been on my to-read list since it was published in 2018. I liked that it took place in Oakland and provided grounded, three-dimensional portraits of Indigenous people. Also, it was a novel comprised mostly of short stories, loosely woven together, which I can see now is emerging as a theme of the kinds of literature I enjoy. Evokes Joy Luck Club, but with more narrative nuance.

See all my tracked reads since 2019 here. Please recommend some new books for me to read in 2024! I’d like to read more next year than I did this year. Indigenous authors and authors of color are very welcome; I enjoy science fiction, fantasy, and shorter reads.

Film

This section was difficult to compile, because in 2023, I watched nearly 100 feature-length films. I was astounded when I realized this. That’s so many movies, far more than I watched last year; about 75% of them were movies that I had never seen before, to boot! I have my partner, who is a huge film buff, to thank for this; he introduced me to many films that I had never heard of and would never have watched otherwise. Also, I watched tons of films on planes this year, thanks to how many flights I took in January and February during the job interview season. This list is organized by my favorite films released in 2023, then my favorites that I watched this year regardless of when they were released. I only count films that I watched for the first time this year; no repeat viewings are included.

Television

I must say, I had too much screen time this year. In addition to a hundred movies, I also watched about twenty seasons of different television series; although a “season” is variably defined, in the end, that’s still a lot of television. And all that despite the SAG/Writers strikes that took place this year! Gosh.

White Lotus, Season 1: Season 2 was also great, but the first season was absolutely groundbreaking. I binged both seasons in early January, and I cannot wait for the third. Also, the theme music is very, very cool.
Beef: My partner and I were glued to the screen. We wanted so hard to binge it, but I needed days to “cool down” after each episode, it was that stressful. We paced ourselves. It was worth it. Ali Wong did such an amazing job.
Derry Girls, Season 3: Late to the game with this one, but I needed a breezy comedy in the later half of the year, and this fit the bill perfectly. There was an undercurrent of tension (the Troubles) that I also appreciated, but mostly I was tuning in for the laughs, the hijinks, and the opportunity to train my ear to decipher Northern Irish accents. All three seasons were great, but the last one was, in addition to being just as hilarious as its predecessors, also able to bring me to tears at several points.
Abbot Elementary, Season 2: I was mildly entertained by the first season of this show about a public elementary school, buoyed mostly by the winks and nods at Philadelphia culture. But the second season managed to continue the parade of jokes and funny awkward situations while continuing to build every character out, and frame it with a balanced arc about the very relevant public versus charter debate, so hats off to the writers for pulling that off!
Schmicago: Yay, musicals! I was surprised to find that even though I loved the parody and excitedly pointed out every reference to my baffled friends (I made them watch it with me), the storyline was a bit shakier compared to the first season (Schmigadoon!), and the songs themselves were not quite as catchy as those from before. Still, there are more than a few standouts that now have a permanent spot on my musical theatre Spotify playlist. I can’t wait for season three… Schment? Schmemphis? Schmavenue Q? Shmurinetown???

Music

According to my Spotify Wrapped, many of my top songs of 2023 were the same as those from 2022. This is because I use Spotify to listen to the same playlists over and over again. So, Wrapped has never done a great job of summarizing my year in music. Instead, here’s my manually-assembled Top 10 in music: not necessarily my favorites, but different tracks that really defined the year for me.

Games

I did not play many new board games this year, and I also didn’t even play too many of my old favorites. Life got in the way, I suppose. I did learn a few new games, including Happy Little Dinosaurs and Casting Shadows (of the Unstable Unicorns Tabletop Universe, I suppose…), but the one that I would love to explore more is called Turing Machine. The best way I can describe it is like competitive Mastermind, players versus algorithm.

As for video games, I kept up with my “dailies” (Wordle, Spelling Bee, Worldle, Flagle, Anigrams, Fiddlebrix, Pokémon Go, and Duolingo), introduced two new ones (Framed and Connections), and began to think that I was spending too much time playing “short” games each day.

Finally, I’ll throw pub trivia in the “games” section, as I was just reminiscing about how much fun I had with my Vancouver friends at the Junction on Monday evenings, and how our team won first place when we went for what would be my last Monday ever! I have yet to join a similar pub trivia/Geeks Who Drink event in Honolulu, though I’m sure they’re out there, and I just have to look.

Travel

I’m happy to report that I traveled to many different places all around the world this year. I often travel for work, and this year was no exception, but over the summer I also planned some trips just for fun.

January and February were stacked because I flew to six cities (Tempe, Honolulu, La Jolla, Toronto, London (England!) and Fairfax) in just two months for job interviews. It was a fascinating whirlwind of a time, but would not necessarily recommend that much flying in such a short time. In between those trips, I managed to sneak in a few ski trips back in Vancouver (Whistler). Other work/pleasure trips included the LSA conference (+ one ski day) in Denver, the ICIS conference in Salt Lake City, the AAAS conference in Long Beach (+ a quick trip to the Bay Area for Easter), and my last few train/bus rides to Bellingham and Seattle.

I visited Mexico City for the first time and ended up going twice: Once for Mexico Pride (fantástico!) and then again for a wedding (a frankly incredible 36 hours). Just before moving to Hawaiʻi, my partner and I went on a short but wonderful road trip around Northern California, hitting up Santa Cruz, Monterey, Yosemite, Sacramento, and San Francisco. After I moved to Hawaiʻi, I mostly stayed put, although friends and family did visit me. It’s clear that Honolulu’s beaches are a much bigger draw for most people than Vancouver’s mountains! But actually, my family did visit me in both cities this year, and I really appreciated that.

Culture

I count among my “movies” the few live theater performances I manage to catch each year. I love musicals, and I was happy to see productions of Cabaret in London (West End!), Crazy for You in New Westminster, Spring Awakening in Vancouver, and Sweeney Todd in Honolulu. I’d like to do more to support local theater in the coming year. Oh, and continuing the theme, my partner and I attended a party billed as a “Musical Theatre Rave” back in February, and it was so much fun! It was not a rave. It was five hundred teenagers and young adults singing along to their favorite pop Broadway numbers in a huge auditorium, most of them dressed up as their favorite characters and probably sober. 10/10, would do again.

I also appreciate a good museum, and although I didn’t go to very many this year, I would highly recommend the Denver Art Museum (it has a fantastic permanent exhibit of traditional and contemporary Indigenous art, which is where I first saw Kent Monkman’s paintings), the Tate Modern in London, the Bishop Museum of Honolulu, and, if you happen to be driving on CA-152 East from the Bay Area to Merced, Fresno, or Yosemite, drop by the Romero Visitor Center for a nice view, a bathroom break, and a surprisingly cool and hi-tech exhibit on dams, reservoirs, and civil engineering!

In Honolulu, I haven’t had enough time to really go out and explore whatever “scenes” there are (besides the beach/hiking scene, which I’m already familiar with). But I did have fun going to parties and the main festival of Honolulu Pride, which takes place each year in October. Oh, and as I mentioned before, there was also the Hawaiʻi International Film Festival, which I’ll happily attend again next fall.

Besides all that, of course, the thing that I’ll remember 2023 for, over anything else, is that this year, I moved in with my partner, then moved to a different city/state/country with him to start a new job as a professor. And all that that entails–I won’t quickly forget the logistical tarantella that was all of May, June, July, and August. But my lengthy reflections on all that life stuff are for another post, I think. This one is getting too long, so I’ll just leave you with one last photo of me at Tantalus Lookout, overlooking Lēʻahi (Diamond Head), downtown Honolulu, and my place of work.

Word of the Day: An olla (Spanish for ‘cooking pot’) is a ceramic pot used in Ancient Rome, Spain, and Central America. There’s a great local cafe near where I live that serves cafe de olla, their take on a Mexican cinnamon-flavored coffee that is traditionally served in a clay pot, or mug. I had cafe de olla for the first time this year in Mexico City, and for the second time in Honolulu.