FREELANCE WORK HIGHLIGHTS
All my work for The Untitled Magazine: https://untitled-magazine.com/author/jason-levy/
THE UNTITLED MAGAZINE: THE HARMFUL PRECEDENTS AND DOUBLE STANDARDS OF TENNESSEE’S NEW ANTI-DRAG BILL
"In the last half decade or so in the United States, with every cultural step forward seems to come two steps back in the realm of queer rights. Following Tennessee Governor Bill Lee’s confirmation on Monday, Feb. 27 of his intentions to sign a bill that would effectively criminalize public drag performances in front of minors, the action was signed into law three days later. Intentionally vague, frustratingly hypocritical, and at its core anti-queer propaganda, the law is slated to go into effect on July 1 of this year, a month in advance of national Pride Month."
THE UNTITLED MAGAZINE: “JUMP, DARLING” SHOWS HOW FAR QUEER NARRATIVES HAVE COME, BUT DOESN’T QUITE STICK THE LANDING
"I’ll say one thing for Phill Connell’s indie film Jump, Darling straight away: it is frankly refreshing to see a gay-boy-in-a-small-town storyline that doesn’t take the To Wong Foo or Pricilla approach. That is to say, despite taking place in a small Canadian country town east of nowhere, the film’s flamboyantly queer protagonist does not stick out like a sore thumb in the sense of his sexuality or beliefs. Those films, while influential in their time and undeniable classics in queer cinema, have served their purpose, and it has been time for a new kind of story to be told in this space."
HEARBY.COM BLOG: MUSIC IS EMBARRASSING, AND THAT’S WHY IT WAS GREAT FOR MY MENTAL HEALTH
"When I moved at 18 years old from Bergen County, New Jersey to Boston for my freshman year of college at Northeastern University, I opted to live in what the school termed an LLC, or Living Learning Community. These LLCs were dorm buildings specifically centered around students with a particular subject or activity of interest, like technology or charity work, and were designed to break the ice amongst new students and foster miniature communities in their new home. It was a no-brainer for me to apply for the music LLC, despite not being a musician myself."
THE UNTITLED MAGAZINE: ST. VINCENT’S “DADDY’S HOME” IS POIGNANT, UNCOMFORTABLE, AND ABSOLUTELY SUBLIME
"Where reinvention in the world of pop music may lie in an artist’s fleeting interest in a particular genre, artistic movement, or trend, for St. Vincent it is more a matter of choosing a new genre, aesthetic and tone that match a new aspect of her life she wishes to bare all. Clark is no stranger to changing it up based on those aforementioned interests, but what she succeeds at so remarkably with new album Daddy’s Home, even more so than previous LP MASSEDUCTION, is pinpointing the exact sonic mood that matches the story she wants to tell, while creating an end product so distinct from her previous work yet at the same time no less dynamic or personal."
THE UNTITLED MAGAZINE: DEAR SKEPTICS, “MONTERO (CALL ME BY YOUR NAME)” IS JUST AS GROUNDBREAKING AS EVERYONE SAYS
"Upon first hearing the opening line from Lil Nas X’s music video for new viral single “Montero (Call Me By Your Name),” you might think the sentiment on the generic side. And it many ways it is. The message to embrace your flaws and summon a state of nirvana within to the point where you really can “just be yourself” has certainly been played out both in popular music and every other happy-clappy Disney movie you care to name. That on-the-nose messaging, coupled with the general acceptance of queer themes in music over the last half decade or so, fuels the skeptical argument that Montero is not the incredible statement early critics have deemed it. Here’s why they are oh so wrong."
THE UNTITLED MAGAZINE: THE ART WORLD IS NOT AS PREPARED AS IT SHOULD BE FOR BREXIT
"Four and a half years since Britain officially voted to leave the European Union in May of 2016, the two parties have reached an agreement, which was subsequently accepted by Parliament, regarding upcoming trade and travel guidelines. On Friday, January 1, 2021, these new rules will be instituted, effectively beginning the true Brexit in earnest. This will by no means be the end of Brexit in the news, but it certainly has ended what for many years appeared to be a Sisyphean process. Despite years of run-up towards the new rules however, the art world in Europe will surely see fractured relations due to ill-preparedness."
THE UNTITLED MAGAZINE: WE ALL KNOW THE GRAMMYS ARE OUT OF TOUCH, SO WHY DO WE STILL RAGE OVER SNUBS?
"Another year, another round of ire and backlash over the Grammys. Hardly fertile ground, even for 2020. Last week, the official 2021 Grammy nominations were released, and instead of the usual communal “meh” or “huh?” that has typically followed the announcement in the last half decade or so, this year people are angry. Yet again, the Grammys have proven themselves to be run by a voting collective completely removed from the popular zeitgeist, selecting their nominations not based on any criteria of quality or cultural significance, but rather elitist principles of what makes 'good music' or worse yet, who’s paying them."
THE UNTITLED MAGAZINE: WITH TRUMP GONE FROM THE WHITE HOUSE, WILL POP MUSIC BRIGHTEN UP AGAIN?
"No one would argue the immense changes in political rhetoric and culture the Trump administration has caused, regardless of where your support lies. Tides have changes; curtains have been pulled back and forth, communication is different. There is one aspect specific to pop culture however from the last presidential term that harkens back quite eerily to our last Republican administration, and that is the protest music."
THE UNTITLED MAGAZINE: THE SHOW WENT ON AT MILAN FASHION WEEK WITH DIVERSITY AND BODY POSITIVITY REFRESHINGLY FRONT AND CENTER
"Against the odds of a global pandemic, Milan Fashion Week went predominantly as planned. Italy, one of the biggest initial hotspots for the COVID-19 virus earlier this year, the first European country to impose a lockdown and at one point the country with the most coronavirus-related deaths, certainly demonstrated its ability to recover better than the US with Milan Fashion Week’s strict guidelines and precautions."
THE UNTITLED MAGAZINE: AMERICA WAS NEVER GOING TO BE READY TO SEE TENET IN THEATERS
"Christopher Nolan’s Tenet was simply put, not the grand American “Return to the Movies” Hollywood was hoping for. With a staggering $200 million production budget, Nolan’s most expensive to date, the film has only made back a paltry $3.4 million in the states. Despite perfectly satisfactory reviews, Americans were just not motivated enough (or perhaps implicitly de-incentivized) from taking the big step back into the wilderness, despite the film's resounding success throughout the rest of the world."
THE UNTITLED MAGAZINE: DEAR HOLLYWOOD, WHITEWASHING IS ABOUT MORE THAN JUST CASTING
"It would be churlish to say that Hollywood’s diversity problem has made no progress since the golden age of Hollywood. TV shows like Pose sport the biggest transgender cast of any scripted show in history (with most actors being of color), box office smashes like Crazy Rich Asians highlight the lives of East Asians and Asian-Americans, and generally, actors of more races, body types, and gender identities are considered for major roles. But despite these advancements, the issue of whitewashing in Hollywood has made fewer steps towards the ideal than we would like to admit, and these programs and films tend to be exceptions, not rules."
THE UNTITLED MAGAZINE: WHAT MAKES A QUEER ICON?
"A cursory Google search yields few resources attempting to accurately define what makes a queer icon, well, iconic. And there’s a good reason for that. Whats makes a queer icon is at the same time simple and incredibly difficult to define. One one hand, its is easy to use blanket terms like “glamorous” or “camp” and to describe queer icons, but many do not explicitly fall into any specific category. Some act and sing; some are socialites or political figures; some aren’t even queer themselves. Several are declared icons posthumously while others seems to emerge pre-iconified. There is no one defining factor, rather an aura an individual must exhibit to obtain the coveted status."
THE UNTITLED MAGAZINE: WHY BROADCAST TV HAS FALLEN OUT OF FAVOR
"While the Primetime Emmy’s do not mean everything (often getting notoriously snubbed can actually be better for PR and viewership, just ask The Wire or Orphan Black), they certainly are a good indication of clout. This year’s Emmy nominations saw a slew of pleasant surprises among many major series and acting categories, from Zendaya’s well-deserved Outstanding Lead Actress nod for Euphoria to Outstanding Comedy Series noms for Issa Rae’s critical darling Insecure and completely left field mockumentary What We Do In the Shadows on FX. One thing majorly missing from many major categories were broadcast television shows, with only a single one, NBC’s The Good Place, nominated among the sixteen hopefuls between both Outstanding Series categories."
THE UNTITLED MAGAZINE: BILLIE EILISH’S NEW SINGLE “MY FUTURE” ILLUSTRATES HOW YOUNG ARTISTS HAVE THRIVED DURING LOCKDOWN
"Billie Eilish hasn’t let a lockdown slow her incredible momentum, releasing her newest single “my future” and its accompanying music video on Thursday. The song is stylistically the Billie the world has come to know and adore, but with a jazzy production reminiscent of the early 2000’s work of R&B mainstays like Corinne Bailey Rae that sets it apart from her previous ballads.
THE UNTITLED MAGAZINE: THE SNUBS AND SURPRISES OF THE 2020 EMMY NOMINATIONS
"In spite of the global game of Disaster Bingo this year has been, the 2020 Emmys are a go to air as planned on September 20th on ABC. The ceremony, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, saw its list of nominees announced early Tuesday morning, with many categories reflecting the new nominee selection rule changes announced earlier in June. But even the all-time high of eight nominees in the comedy and drama series and supporting acting categories has left room for a myriad of omissions and left field picks."
THE UNTITLED MAGAZINE: HBO MAX’S “LEGENDARY” PROVIDES THE SENSE OF QUEER INCLUSION THAT “RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE” DESPERATELY NEEDS
"The historic last couple months of racial equality protests and worldwide pushes for government reform have shone an uncomfortably bright light on the prejudice within the queer community, amongst other social groups. Queer culture is too often unconsciously defined as “white gay male” culture; from gay bars in major cities to homosexual representation on television. HBO Max’s Legendary, while not providing all the answers, is a definitive statement of counterculture to the box that queer culture is too frequently put in."
THE UNTITLED MAGAZINE: EXPECTATION VS. REALITY: “HAMILTON” ON DISNEY+
"To the average American consumer, the idea of speculating on the upcoming Hamilton live-captured Broadway film probably seems perplexing: of course it will be good! Lin-Manuel Miranda’s 2015 magnum opus, documenting the story of one of the US’s formative figures from humble beginnings in the Caribbean to first Secretary of the Treasury and Founding Father, was to put it lightly, one of the biggest runaway sensations in Broadway’s history. To bring the magic of that historical 21st century success story to the big screen in its original stage form without alteration would surely leave no room for additional criticism."
THE UNTITLED MAGAZINE: WHAT HAS PROTESTING ACCOMPLISHED SO FAR?
"As a decisive counterpoint to those verbally lashing out against peaceful protesters, below is a non-exhaustive compilation of some of the worldwide accomplishments directly brought on by under two weeks of protesting. They are small, baby steps towards the many larger goals of Black Lives Matter (like defunding the police, holding cops more accountable and providing more protection and support to Black communities, amongst others), but nonetheless important starts on the road to change."
THE UNTITLED MAGAZINE: ORVILLE PECK, LIL NAS X, AND THE DECISION TO EXPRESS QUEERNESS
"Orville Peck, groundbreaking LGBTQ+ country artist, is the newest in a long line of celebrities to be labeled “private” or “enigmatic,” and the first some time to truly embody the term. Pop culture in many ways seems to have lost their grasp on the definition of the word “enigmatic” in the last two decades. Banksy and Pussy Riot are enigmatic; the fact that both make conscious efforts to hide their identities for the sake of art or safety, respectively, has become part of their personas."