Books › Shit, Actually
Shit, Actually
304 pages
A hilariously sharp, feminist reexamination of the nostalgic movies we love, proving you can adore a cultural touchstone while still roasting its glaring flaws.
What it feels like
This collection of essays reads at a brisk, highly entertaining pace, fueled by giddy irreverence and razor-sharp wit. The mood is simultaneously nostalgic and piercingly critical, inviting the reader to sit on the couch and lovingly roast the cinematic touchstones of the past forty years. The prose is outrageously funny and brutally honest, dissecting beloved blockbusters with a feminist lens without ever losing its sense of playful adoration for nostalgic trash. It is an emotional journey of realizing the media we grew up with is deeply flawed, yet learning to laugh at it without letting it off the hook. This book will absolutely delight pop-culture junkies, feminist critics, and anyone who loves to overanalyze the plot holes in their favorite childhood movies.
- Mood
- playful
- nostalgic
- critical
- outrageous
- Tone
- irreverent
- brutally honest
- incisive
- giddy
- humorous
- Pace
- brisk
- Themes
- pop culture nostalgia · feminist film critique · reexamining cultural touchstones · loving nostalgic trash
- The writing
- Razor-sharp, outrageously funny, and piercingly incisive, blending brutal honesty with giddy irreverence.
- The arc
- Moves from fond, nostalgic remembrance of beloved films to a sharp, hilarious realization of their glaring flaws and cultural misrepresentations.
- Who it's for
- Pop culture enthusiasts and feminists who love to lovingly roast their favorite nostalgic movies and dissect cultural touchstones.
Content notes
- profanity
About the book
"New York Times opinion writer and best-selling author Lindy West was once the in-house movie critic for Seattle's alternative newsweekly The Stranger, where she covered film with brutal honesty and giddy irreverence. In Shit, Actually, Lindy returns to those roots, reexamining beloved and iconic movies from the past 40 years with an eye toward the big questions of our time: Is Twilight the horniest movie in history? Why do the zebras in The Lion King trust Mufasa - who is a lion - to look out for their best interests? Why did anyone bother making any more movies after The Fugitive achieved perfection? And, my god, why don't any of the women in Love, Actually ever fucking talk? From Forrest Gump, Honey I Shrunk the Kids, and Bad Boys II, to Face/Off, Top Gun, and The Notebook, Lindy combines her razor-sharp wit and trademark humor with a genuine adoration for nostalgic trash to shed new critical light on some of our defining cultural touchstones - the stories we've long been telling ourselves about who we are. At once outrageously funny and piercingly incisive, Shit, Actually reminds us to pause and ask, "How does this movie hold up?", all while teaching us how to laugh at the things we love without ever letting them or ourselves off the hook."--Back cover
Reexamines iconic movies from the past forty years to identify laugh-worthy plot holes and fictional misrepresentations in such esteemed blockbusters as "Forrest Gump," "The Lion King," and "Top Gun."
Description from Open Library.
Books like Shit, Actually
See why they match
ShrillLindy WestA hilarious, battle-tested manifesto for taking up space and refusing to apologize for it.
How to Date Men When You Hate MenBlythe RobersonA hilarious, commiserating romp through the exhausting contradictions of desiring romance in a patriarchal world.
Wow, No Thank You.Samantha IrbyA laugh-out-loud, unapologetic ode to the exhaustion of getting older, leaving the house, and having a human body.
Hood FeminismMikki KendallA fierce, necessary dismantling of mainstream feminism that demands we look at survival, not just privilege.
Furiously HappyJenny LawsonA wildly tangential, laugh-out-loud manifesto on fighting crippling depression with weaponized absurdity.
Trick MirrorJia TolentinoA razor-sharp, dizzying plunge into the funhouse mirror of modern internet culture and millennial self-delusion.