Illicit Objects
I'm excited to report that I've got a short piece coming up as part of the Illicit Objects project.
Keep an eye on that page for my forthcoming work.
PROJECT:OBJECT is a sequel to the much-discussed quasi-anthropological SIGNIFICANT OBJECTS experiment conducted in 2009–2010 by Joshua Glenn and Rob Walker, culminating in a book lavishly published by Fantagraphics in 2012. PROJECT:OBJECT will publish 100 original nonfiction stories about objects in 2017 — right here on HILOBROW — in quarterly “volumes” inspired by distinct themes. This new endeavor further extends Rob and Josh’s pioneering exploration of narrative, objects, and meaning into the realm of (often unexpected) personal significance.
Upside Down
40 Likes, 1 Comments - Susannah Breslin (@susannahbreslin) on Instagram: "🙃 #tallythetallbarbie #tallbarbie #tallgirlsrock #barbiefashionista #barbie #barbiefashionistas..."
Watch It
"Okja" is: terrific, insane, captivating, uplifting, horrifying, demented, funny, tragic, and surreal. It's about a giant pig, a girl, and what makes America awful. It's quite unlike anything you've ever seen, unless you've seen "Snowpiercer," and this is 100 times more curious than that. I highly recommend it.
I'm in the Dictionary
I was surprised and amused to find myself quoted on the Merriam-Webster website, my go-to site for all things words and definitions related. Check it out here.
100 Porn Movies/100 Days: An Introduction
The other day, I was talking to a friend who recalled seeing "Deep Throat" in the Seventies. I had to admit that despite having written about porn for 20 years this year (!), I'd never seen that seminal 1972 film. (Because, you know, that's what adult movies were, in those days: not cheap, fuzzy video, but actual, vivid film.)
It occurred to me that I should watch it. Then it occurred to me that there are probably 99 other porn movies, some of which I've seen and some of which I haven't seen, that could stand up to close consideration. Then I wondered what would happen if I watched those 100 porn movies, and because I like undertaking projects that are constrained by time, I thought it would be interesting if I watched those 100 movies in 100 days.
Hence, "100 Porn Movies/100 Days" was born. Would watching 100 porn movies in 100 days simply be a waste of my time? Would watching porn daily reduce this viewer to her "bottom-most" self, as the New York Times' Worst Hire Ever would have you believe? Or would scrutinizing some of the most important, noteworthy, and, well, curious porn movies ever made shed some kind of light on, dare I suggest, the human condition? Having spent a significant portion of my life looking at pornography, writing about our culture's ever-changing relationship to it, and lingering on the periphery of the industry that produces it, I'd like to believe that this oeuvre-of-100 would reveal something significant about the collective state of us.
As for what that is, that remains to be seen.
So far, I've got the start of a list of movies to watch. It includes legendary films like "Deep Throat" (so timely in today's political climate!) and "The Devil in Miss Jones"; movies that captured an era, like "New Wave Hookers" and "Debbie Does Dallas"; and movies unlike anything that came before them, like "The Operation" and "American Bukkake."
What would you add to the list? If you've got suggestions of movies that you think should make my must-watch list, you can email me at susannahbreslin at gmail dot com.
[Eventually], I'll kick off with "Deep Throat." Did you know the cast of performers includes not only "American Beauty" star Thora Birch's mother, but her father, too? Do 1972 sex scenes differ from 21st century sex scenes? Did the film that kicked off "porno chic" change the game with its preoccupation with female desire or are viewers bearing witness to a visibly bruised actress being sexually exploited by her handlers? How much did "Deep Throat" make at the box office, anyway? Was it $50M ... or $600M? What about those money-laundering-by-the-mob rumors? And let's not forget that groovy soundtrack.
Also, a special thanks to Dave Winer, who is taking no prisoners on his blog, as of late. Dave is the blogfather, and he always reminds me of why we blog. As he wrote today: "First, you do this because you love it, not because it pays well." Thanks for the kick in the pants, Dave.
See This Movie
Watch this movie. Tragic, and beautiful, and totally original. America has the president it deserves.
Hustling for Dollars
I did an interesting interview with a veteran stripper who coaches other dancers on how to make more money.
Stripping ain't easy, kids:
"Our work ravages our bodies and many dancers are managing chronic pain without insurance. Like athletes, we often tolerate the intolerable because our options are limited. A good club is worth dealing with the occasional unsavory business."
Sick
13 Likes, 1 Comments - Susannah Breslin (@susannahbreslin) on Instagram: "💀"
Wonder Woman Disappointment
I saw "Wonder Woman" and am apparently the only woman in the country who didn't OMGLOVEIT. Confusing. I've been thinking about writing a post on my Forbes blog about it, but I haven't yet been able to figure out why it didn't entirely do it for me. Wonder Woman was a bit naive and one dimensional. The action was stagey. The plot was disjointed. I was underwhelmed by Gal's acting chops. I missed Lynda Carter. Chris Pine was canned. It made me long for something more like Emily Blunt's character in "Sicario." But she's no hero.
Trump, Comey, and Those Russian "Hookers"
The last time I was in the same room with the man Larry Flynt deemed the "pimp master general of America," Dennis Hof, I was at "The World's Biggest Gang Bang III." Yesterday, I talked to Hof, several sex workers, and a therapist who works with sex workers about what it means when men in power -- in this case, fired FBI director James Comey and President Trump -- talk Russian "hookers."
From "Comey Talks Russian 'Hookers' and Sex Workers Are Not Amused":
Years ago, not long before he got into the brothel business, Dennis Hof says, he met Trump. "I met him 27 years ago," Hof recalls. "I was in the timeshare business. He wanted to timeshare the [Trump] Taj Mahal, and he wanted me to come aboard to do that. I didn't do that. I said there's not enough money in the world to make me live in Atlantic City." Instead, Hof became "the pimp master general of America," the title, Hof says, given to him by Hustler publisher and Larry Flynt Publications president Larry Flynt. Hof, now 70, runs seven legal brothels throughout Nevada.
More of This
I've been doing more pilates lately. It seems to do all good things. I'm standing up straighter. My muscles are longer. And I'm working on getting my alignment realigned. It's certainly a curious practice, and I can't say I understand how it works, but you might want to try it if you haven't. You can start by going to a mat pilates class. It will tone up your core in no time flat. Promise.
Tall AF
4 Likes, 1 Comments - Susannah Breslin (@susannahbreslin) on Instagram: "all your friends short af 😂👑💅🏻 #tallgirlproblems #tallgirls #tallbarbie #tall #sixone..."
Check out my Instagram for the latest installment of my #tallgirlproblems series.
Recent Things
Keeping up with me on my Forbes blog? I've posted a few things there lately that are worth a look.
I'm super excited for the premiere of HBO's porn drama "The Deuce" this fall.
This guy likes to smear food on his face and take pictures.
Say hell yes to ladies-only "Wonder Women" screenings!
Dubai's Robocop scares me.
And don't miss my think-piece on mugshots and why love them. (Hint: It's not them, it's you.)
"Inspected at this range, the supermodel is revealed to have a slight mustache. The famous actress has an angry pimple. The male superstar has something awful stuck between his teeth. Stars, we think, feeling pleased, they're just like us."
Sincere
48 Likes, 2 Comments - Susannah Breslin (@susannahbreslin) on Instagram: "👀 SINCERE #corvair"
What the Web Used to Be
58 Likes, 10 Comments - Christyna Mills (@christynamills) on Instagram: "There's a first time for everything 💁 The scorpion/cocoon is mine! 🦂💪So much pain...😂 * * * Thank..."
It used to be that the internet was a great place for voyeurism. You could peer into people's private lives (blogs), you could find things nobody else had ever seen (rule 34), you could be transported somewhere else through something that felt new and fresh (see: whatever turned you on in the beginning). Now it's harder to do that. Lifestyles are curated brands. Blogs have been eaten by corporations. People have turned into performances. It's filtered, it's curated, it's packaging. For some reason, I feel like I see more intimacy on Instagram now. It's where I find myself wandering when I want to find what I haven't seen already (and, let's face it, for me, that's pretty much everything). Anyway, I came across this video of a woman on a pole today. It's just a flash of her life, her exploring what she can do, and, of course, above all else, it's fascinating because it's beautiful to witness that.
I can't figure out if it's possible to embed an Instagram video on Squarespace. Watch the video here.
Tally the Tall
8 Likes, 2 Comments - Susannah Breslin (@susannahbreslin) on Instagram: "tfw it takes you an hour to shave your legs 🤡👑💅🏻🛀🏻🦄 #tallgirlproblems #tallgirls #tallgirl..."
This is the latest installment from my Instagram art series featuring Tally the "Tall"-sized Barbie. (Really. That's how she is billed on the packaging.) Here, she is lamenting how long it takes to shave her long legs. Truth! I should've taken off her clothes and put her in the tub. Next time, I'll do better.
The Latest, The Greatest
If you haven't already, check out some of my recent posts over on my Forbes blog.
I wrote about a subscription box service for ... strippers. I interviewed a woman who got cancer -- and then got an obscene grill. And I shared my thoughts on Netflix's "I Love Dick."
Related to that last, I enjoyed Alexandra Schwartz's more negative and cleverly cutting evisceration of "I Love Dick" in the New Yorker.
She writes:
"That manifesto-like tone is typical of the show. In moments like this, it lands with cocky charm. Mostly, though, it seems as if Soloway and the women of her writer’s room (to her credit, she insisted on an all-female script team) sat around spit-balling sound bites to print on T-shirts or Women’s March posters."
Ouch.
More Tall Girl Problems
3 Likes, 1 Comments - Susannah Breslin (@susannahbreslin) on Instagram: "tfw you try on a full length gown 😭😡🤢👑🔥☄️💥🥃💣💊🕳 #tallgirls #tallbarbie #tallgirlproblems #sixone..."
On my Instagram feed, I'm exploring #tallgirlproblems with my #tallbarbie from Mattel's Barbie Fashionistas line. In this installment, Tally demonstrates what it's like when you try on a full-length gown and it doesn't even reach your knees. How will she get through prom? And who the fuck is tall enough to be her date?
#tallgirlproblems
1 Likes, 2 Comments - Susannah Breslin (@susannahbreslin) on Instagram: "tfw you order shoes online 😡👠⁉️💥😪 #tallgirls #tallbarbie #tallgirlproblems #barbie..."
I recently bought one of Mattel's Barbie Fashionistas. They come in petite, curvy, and tall. (Oh, and original-sized.) I bought tall, because I'm six-one. I thought I might experiment with exploring some #tallgirlproblems through the adventures of my #tallbarbie on Instagram. You can follow my exploits -- or should I say Tally's exploits, for that's her name, on my Instagram feed. Future installments could include having to get short people stuff from high shelves, dating when you're the height of a giraffe, and never being able to find pants that are long enough to cover your ankles. When you've got #tallgirlproblems, everything's a stretch.