Pop Xulture Newsletter # 29 - End of 2024 Favorites
Happy end of 2024 and kick off to 2025! Last year I published a list of my 2023 favorites (which you can read here) and this year I kept the same format. Below you’ll find: (1) A list of my 2024 articles, (2) My media favorites consumed this year, (3) Media consumed for my 1984 vs. 2024 article, and finally, (4) some of the cool stuff I’m working on for the new year. Enjoy!
#1 - My 2024 Articles:
Christ and Pop Culture (CAPC’s) Favorite TV of 2023: The Last of Us
Listen to Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis (Substack)
Not an Owl (short story on Substack)
Why Mystery is Crucial to Our Lives (And Why It’s Never Going Away)
Creativity, Part 3 – Timeless Relevancy (Substack)
Eric: Bringing Light to the Darkness and Facing Our Monsters
How Politics Shape and Twist Relationships [focused on Tetris]
Saturday Night and the Challenge of Conversations About Identity
“1984 vs. 2024” – slated to publish with Christ and Pop Culture early January 2025
#2 - Media Favorites Consumed (But Not Necessarily Created) in 2024
Here’s a smattering of what I consumed (with sporadic commentary):
TV Shows
Only Murders in the Building (Season 5). Surprisingly, this recent season might be as good as the first.
Hysteria!
Bodies. A well told, multi-timeline adventure based on Si Spencer’s graphic novel series of the same name.
Death and Other Details
Fallout. I’m writing on this for CAPC’s “Favorite TV of 2024” list.
Mike Flanagan’s Fall of the House of Usher
The Marvelous Mrs. Maizel (all 5 seasons). A shockingly funny, complex show with breathtaking character arcs. It took my wife years to convince me to watch and I’m sad I procrastinated.
Netflix’s Eric
Into the Fire: The Lost Daughter (documentary). An unbelievably true story about a tenacious mom unraveling the complex mystery of her daughter’s 1989 disappearance.
Dead Boy Detectives
Fisk (Seasons 1 & 2). Australian humor as dry as the Sahara.
TV BONUS: Shows I Started but Haven’t Finished (Yet)
Skeleton Crew [Star Wars]: The creators have described the show as “The Goonies in space,” and while that’s a perfect description, the currently released five episodes are more layered and well-executed than I had hoped.
From (Season 1)
Outer Range (Season 2). I enjoy the plot and acting but Season 2 is kinda boring and lacks Season 1’s gravitas.
John Mulaney Presents: Everybody’s in LA
The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin
Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace. A fantastic satire-ish mockumentary about an incompetent sci-fi writer’s cheesy TV show.
Gilmore Girls (Season 1)
Films
Netflix’s The Killer
American Fiction. Cord Jefferson’s expertly crafted commentary on Black entertainment. I’m writing on it in my forthcoming “1984 vs. 2024” article.
Lisa Frankenstein
Civil War (2024). The fictionalized result if the U.S. can’t heal from its current division. Audiences were confused about which side were “the good guys,” which writer/director Alex Garland purposefully left ambiguous to illustrate that in an internal conflict, neither side is a victor.
Everything Everywhere All at Once
The American Society of Magical Negroes
Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice. Exactly what I’d expect for this sequel being made in 2024.
The Whale
Robert Egger’s Nosferatu. A superb reimagining of the 1922 vampire classic, definitely earning its R rating. Cinematographer Jarin Blaschke should win an Oscar (I shouldn’t have been surprised to find that the Academy did indeed nominate him for The Lighthouse).
Woman of the Hour
Wolfs. A fun mystery, well-executed (pun intended) about two aging fixers, harnessing Brad Pitt and George Clooney’s chemistry.
Tucker and Dale vs. Evil
Books
FYI: I read more books than what’s mentioned below, if you want to see my list go to: Chris Fogle’s Goodreads.
John Mark Comer’s Practicing the Way. A profound take on what Christianity was meant to be.
Black horror anthology Out There Screaming, edited by Jordan Peele
Sam McPheeters’ Mutations: The Many Strange Faces of Hardcore Punk. A surprisingly engaging series of essays that goes deep into the hardcore scene. I think readers who have no background in punk might enjoy it too.
Zach Weinersmith’s Bea Wolf
G.K. Chesterton’s Orthodoxy. The humorous theologian’s writing is insightful, sometimes bewildering (due to its age [1908] and timely references), and not what you expect from a theology tome.
George Orwell’s Nineteen-Eighty Four
Frank Herbert’s Dune. Any time content amasses gushing reviews, I instinctively stay away. But man, this one lives up to the hype.
Phillip K. Dick’s The Man in the High Castle
Kaitlyn Schiess’ The Ballot and the Bible. A balanced history and view of American Christianity and politics, which I talked about here.
Music
I exclusively listen to metal (list below), but in an effort to recognize that sometimes catchy pop music can satisfy a need, here are a few songs that aren’t awful: Chappel Roan’s “Pink Pony Club,” Benson Boone’s “Beautiful Things,” and Conan Gray’s “Lonely Dancers.”
Best Metal of 2024
Wage War. Album: STIGMA. A solid album that, according to YouTube, I listened to more than anything else this year.
Night Rider. Album: self-titled
Memphis May Fire. All four newly released songs off their forthcoming “Shapeshifter” are bangers.
As I Lay Dying. Album: Through Storms Ahead. Despite what seems like Tim Lambesis’ latest sabotage, the album is incredibly strong even with the short-lived, new lineup.
Bloodywood. Song: “Nu Delhi”
While She Sleeps. Song: “To the Flowers.” The best music video I’ve seen in years. I’m writing this up for CAPC’s “Favorite Music of 2024” list – the visual storytelling is what every music video should aspire to.
Music BONUS
BABYMETAL and Electric Callboy. Song: “Ratatata.” What’s better than BABYMETAL or Electric Callboy? Substituting “and” for “or”!
He is Legend. Album: Endless Hallway
Thrice. Album: The Artist in the Ambulance (Revisited). Somehow better than the original.
#3 – Media Consumed for my 1984 vs. 2024 Article:
Here are some of the 1984 film, TV shows, books and music I consumed in preparation for my article:
TV: Miami Vice (S1, E1) “Brother’s Keeper” (i.e. pilot). As a TV show it was a revolutionary, cinematic masterpiece. I highly recommend the elaborately detailed article “Why Was the Miami Vice Pilot So Good?”
Film: Stop Making Sense. Talking Heads’ live performance on what many consider the best concert ever.
Book: James H. Cone’s For My People: Black Theology and the Black Church
Music: Doug E. Fresh and MC Ricky D, “The Show.” Sampled 1000 times!
TV: Hulk Hogan vs. The Iron Sheik for the WWF title.
Film: Beverly Hills Cop
Book: Bill Hull’s Jesus Christ, Disciplemaker. One of the best books I’ve read on mentoring others, but it’s also just a great reminder of Jesus’ love and how the Church should be acting.
Music: Rockwell’s “Somebody’s Watching Me”
Film: Repo Man. I highly recommend reading “The Oral History of ‘Repo Man,’ The Greatest Indie Sci-Fi Movie Ever Made.”
1984 BONUS:
2024 Graphic novel: Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips’ Where the Body Was. Set in 1984 (with small jumps to present day), I expected more from these creators (FYI: parts put the graphic in graphic novel).
Documentaries made in 2024 about the ’80s: Kings from Queens: The Run DMC Story, Hulu’s Brats, The Greatest Night in Pop, and Netflix’s Mr. McMahon.
#4 - Upcoming in 2025
I’ll be publishing several exclusives for you including one comparing 2024 media focused on 1985. I’m also excitedly gathering Xollection Machine entries – my new-ish method of collecting interesting pop culture artifacts and sharing them with you.
Creatively, I’ll be sporadically hammering out articles for CAPC, including one soon on Severance, Season 1 in anticipation for Season 2 coming out in January! I’m also finally going to buckle down and complete the book on humility I’ve been writing for like, four years!
I’m excited about all of these and glad you’ll be along for the journey. Have a great New Year!
Thanks, in Him,
-Chris (the Bearded Wonder) Fogle