Sunday Smörgåsbord #051
Revisiting Death Becomes Her, starting 'Little White Lies', and feeling white hot rage. Plus Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen on his own Succession-style psychodrama.
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Hi friends, and welcome to Sunday Smörgåsbord #51.
This week’s feels a little subdued, partly due to the post-holiday blues, but mostly thanks to just how depressing the news has been this week. There are a few moments of light relief in this week’s edition, but some coverage of the Gisèle Pélicot rape case unfurling in Avignon. If that’s too much for your Sunday, I totally understand - please skip this edition.
What’s raised my spirits has been the comments and love on my Friday post about my darling, glamorous, generous, hilarious Nanna. Thank you for all the lovely words, nudges and virtual hugs. It’s vulnerable putting out how you feel about the big things - thanks for making it easier.
And finally, it’s now September (scream), most schools have gone back and the supermarkets are already dusting off their Halloween decorations. Before we know it, we’ll be hearing the dulcet tones of George Michael on ‘Last Christmas’. If you still have some resolutions you’re keen to check off, don’t forget to revisit my recent post on smashing your end-of-year goals. You have 114 days to take even just one tiny little step in the right direction. And if you’ve already done so, I’d love to know what that looked like in the comments.
Love,
Emma x
🍳 Recent servings, in case you missed them…
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📰 Features & Podcasts
NB: [PW] signifies a paywall, though some providers allow you to read a set number of articles for free.
‘France’s rape case: the week that put a nation on trial’, The Times [PW]. There have been many articles in the news this week about this shocking case, marked for the terrifying banality of its evil as much as the audacity. More than eighty men are alleged to have raped Gisèle Pélicot whilst she was rendered powerless, drugged asleep by her husband. Most of these men lived in her local area: they include a nurse, prison guards, a journalist, firefighters. Only three of the eighty plus men refused to rape her. And not one of them alerted the police. Every so often a case comes along that moves you so much that all you can do is hope that it marks a turning point. Judging by the seeming disinterest by most male commentators and indeed the French judiciary, political players, and press, I sadly doubt it. I’m thankful that brave women like Ms Pélicot are nevertheless willing to stand up and be counted: she has waived anonymity so that 'the shame changes sides’, onto the fifty men who are on trial for rape alongside her ex-husband.
‘Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen: ‘I’m rolled out to cut ribbons and go on TV’’, The Times [PW]. Gisele Pelicot’s fight for justice, the murder of Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei and the Grenfell Inquiry finding that all seventy-two deaths could have been avoided made for a depressing news week. So thank God for Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen to bring a bit of light relief and loveliness to the world:
“We were rattling round our six-bedroom manor house like dried peas in a luxury tin, so why not consolidate into a homestead?… The view from my dressing room is like the opening scene from Beauty and the Beast, with this cast of minor characters — the Amazon driver, the dog walker, the Uber Eats man, the vegetable deliveries. They’re all on some fad diet.”
‘Post Office campaigner Alan Bates marries partner on Richard Branson’s private island’, The Guardian. And because the week’s news really has been that horrendous, please also let me have Richard Branson officiating the wedding of Alan Bates, Chief Thorn-in-Side of the Post Office during the last twenty years. I always knew that if you don’t ask, you don’t get, and turns out that applies to last-minute surprise nuptials as much as cheeky requests for a (well-deserved) free holiday!
🎨 Arts, Culture & Entertainment
The Perfect Couple, Netflix. This glossy, gorgeous series is a near-perfect cross between Big Little Lies and White Lotus (Working title: Little White Lies?) I’m three episodes in and know that this is the sort of series I’ll be done with by 10pm tomorrow night. It’s that perfect mix of too much money, posh houses and objectively awful people, all served over ice-cold barbs with a healthy splash of bitter(nes)s. I’m hoping at some point we get a scene which explains the slightly incongruous, Tik-Tok-esque opening number.
Death Becomes Her, dir. Robert Zemeckis (1992). Well, this film makes The Perfect Couple look like Father of the Bride. The last time I watched Death Becomes Her was about twenty years ago, and revisiting it on the plane home from Mexico I mentally filed it under ‘Films my Mum probably shouldn’t have let me watch when I was eight’ (along with Pretty Woman). Lord, I probably shouldn’t have watched it on the plane, judging by the amount of times Meryl Streep’s neck gets twisted around. There’s blood, there’s gore, there’s a lot of latent sexuality, there are killer dresses and there’s Isabella Rossellini flanked by two-half-naked men and a couple of Doberman’s. Despite Goldie Hawn and Meryl Streep being as electric as ever (alongside Bruce Willis in a rare comic role - who I’d totally forgotten was even in it) the comedy pales in comparison to the amount of special-effects-make-up. Classic nineties showing off. The funniest part? Meryl Streep playing a desperate old-has-been when she must have only been around forty-three. You were only just getting started, Meryl!
That said, I have a feeling there may be an uptick in Gen Z watching the film now that Sabrina Carpenter’s new video for Taste plays homage to it (maybe her Mum also introduced it to her aged 8!?). I’m preferring it to Espresso, anyway.
📺 What have you seen lately that’s worth a read, watch or listen? Let me know in the comments.
💌 Substacks
‘Not all men - but how many?’ - Invisible Women
This article by activist and writer Caroline Criado-Perez reminded me of the essay I recommended back in Sunday Smorgasbord 47 by
on ‘What I’m doing about Alice Munro’. The horrendous truth of it all is that abuse is banal in its regularity - and has been for hundreds of years. That doesn’t mean we should accept it, or forget trying to curtail it - we should fight it with all our might. But I believe our best chance of doing so successfully is to recognise just how mammoth a problem it is and how systemic and protected this abuse is. We also desperately need men (who are also victims of sexual abuse) to be as angry about it as we are. If you’re a man I’d love to know: are you angry? And if not, why not?
That’s it for this week. I hope you find something in this list that sparks joy or curiosity.
If you’ve got any recommendations on articles, podcasts, Substacks or shows for me to dive into, please drop them in the comments. Until next time!
❤️ Thank you for reading. If you liked this post don’t forget to hit the heart to let me know and help others find my writing.
📮 And if you’re not yet subscribed, all editions of Sunday Smörgåsbord are free forever. Sign up for free and get next week’s in your inbox.
How did I miss your last post. Must go back and find it. My favorite line is "now a warning."
I think Death Becomes Her was the start of my lifelong ‘broken bones’ phobia, tbh…