To watch and watch for: Week of Feb. 2

The first week of February is cold but promising; students are regaining their academic footing as the spring semester starts, and others are looking forward to the warmth the rest of the month will bring as Valentine’s Day approaches. Regardless of your relationship status, if you’re seeking any form of comfort from the harsh snow and wind this week, we have media recommendations for you to sink your senses in.

Before the rampant romanticism of Valentine’s Day takes over, consider watching a queer and subversive take on the pursuit of romance in Harry Lighton’s directorial debut Pillion. The film stars Harry Melling as Colin, an introverted and timid gay man, and Alexander Skarsgård as Ray, a captivating and handsome biker, who enter a strict BDSM relationship after an initial hookup. Pillion is truly funny but unapologetically sincere in its depiction of sexual desire and pleasure while still offering space to examine the complexities of a relationship within an unconventional, vulnerable dynamic.

Unusual examination or, specifically, the means of interrogating in unexpected ways is beautifully demonstrated in Language as Liberation: Reflections on the American Canon by Toni Morrison. For the first time, the lectures from Morrison’s time as a tenured Princeton professor are collected in one volume to be read. These lectures are subversive in their own right with profound reflections on the American understanding of race, and through Morrison’s words, you encounter the redefining of the American literary canon with utmost wit and rigor.

If you’re longing for love, or just yearning in general, listening to the new Joji album will be an exercise in rumination, but a worthwhile one. Piss In The Wind has some released singles, such as “Pixelated Kisses,” featuring his usual gritty alternative R&B formalities like grinding synths and booming drums, but others, like “Love You Less,” have a shoegaze-inspired texture. Once this upcoming studio album is fully released, we can expect a melancholic picture of failed love captivated in a dream-like, fragile manner reminiscent of the exact uncertainty a relationship brings.

Maybe, you’re looking to experience a variety of emotions outside desire. Through the University’s own Witness Theater group, you can experience laughter, drama or both by attending its Witness I-Show. The Witness I-Show features four selected student-written performances in Arellano Theater inside Levering Hall. There are showtimes for the entire weekend: 8–10 p.m. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

More suggestions are below if you want to venture elsewhere:

To watch...

Pillion, directed by Harry Lighton — Feb. 6

Dracula (2025), directed by Luc Besson — Feb. 6

Whistle, directed by Corin Hardy — Feb. 6

Solo Mio, directed by Charles and Daniel Kinnane — Feb. 6

The Strangers: Chapter 3, directed by Renny Harlin — Feb. 6

To read...

Language as Liberation: Reflections on the American Canon, by Toni Morrison — Feb. 3

Art Cure: The Science of How the Arts Save Lives, by Daisy Fancourt — Feb. 3

The End of Romance, by Lily Meyer — Feb. 3

Clutch, by Emily Nemens — Feb. 3