Maria Koby

I cried my eyes out. I can’t stand people saying she was yet another pop star addict. First, she was unique jazz soul singer. Second, she was a vulnerable genius with a deep unhealed trauma ( eating disorder) that was likely caused by her despicable father. Third, it’s disturbing to make fun of her mental health and addiction. Shame on paparazzi, shame on her father, shame on ugly Late Night old farts making fun of her. Amy was so deeply misunderstood by many. She was a genuine artist, overwhelmed by the music industry pressure to constantly sell and perform. Towards the end, it was obvious, that Back to Black was triggering bad associations and conjuring up bad memories of Blake… She needed therapy so badly. She needed to heal... I will always love you, Amy Winehouse!

I found it one of the most relatable movies I’ve ever watched. I don’t think there are many movies out there examining the human psyche and exposing and challenging the conformity of our existence. It’s a beautiful and existential movie. Must we all have solid careers, especially if they don’t make us happy? The protagonist is restless about her journey. I find it extremely natural (as a European, haha) to endlessly ponder over my life in an existential, dramatic and ironic, almost comic way. The agony of intimacy is also something I relate as a woman. We go through phases of romance and relationships. It’s an infatuation phase, a sweet agony — when you’re carried away by your feelings and a feeling of physical attraction. It might be all an illusion, a distortion, and an art material. It’s all fleeting. Julie is an artistic testament for visceral things in our lives — spontaneity, intuition, introspection, ambiguity, passion… In the end, she does a big deal of reflecting, not without empathy and flaws.

Inventing Anna is the kind of show you binge-watch during the dark cold weekend in NYC or elsewhere when you’re feeling off or under the weather. But it’s not The Sopranos. It’s not a masterpiece, It’s just entertaining. The plot is non-linear; it gets more interesting as you hit “play next episode”. Too many people are quick to judge, stuck in the primitive narrative of Black and White and missing a point that life is complex, messy, tragic, sad, ironic, and interesting. Anti-heroes are so much more riveting than fictional heroes or one-dimensional Wonder Woman with a Barbie body. So enter Anna, a female protagonist-a with balls, a weird, not necessarily pleasant accent, and criminal talent — and people flip. I see a parallel between Anna Delvey and Elizabeth Holmes sams. On the surface, you can’t compare AD and EH. Lizzie is an American Ivy League princess from a privileged loving family. The entire world was rooting for Elizabeth Holmes, while Anna was just an average-looking immigrant girl. But the princess and the immigrant commoner have a few things in common — both gals excelled in the art of scheming and convincing the rich to fund their delusions under the pretext of saving the world and making the world a more beautiful place. Sure, Theranos was a scam of massive proportions. ADF remained just an obscure illusion. But both gals worked hard and dreamed big. In fact, the defense for both girls tried to establish that they’d been genuine about their intentions to make the world a better place. There’s no story without a very preggo Viv and Neff — that’s the duo I’m rooting for. Neff is a breath of fresh air, a complex vibrant multi-dimensional creature, looking beyond good and bad. Italians have this expression I love, simpatico, to be simpatico, means to have a likable personality in a universal sense. Anna’s is not likable, her portrayal even played by a brilliant and stunning Julia Garner doesn’t evoke any sympathy. The way she insults her lawyer, or talks to Viv about her clothes speaks volumes about her shallow, not-simpatico personality. Everything about her is anti-charismatic. Off-screen, the real Anna Sorkin had offered to reveal a real Chase for ten thousand dollars. She doesn’t show genuine humility or remorse for her actions while complaining about her pro-longed ICE detention. I find Elizabeth Holmes more captivating and even inspiring in a dark, twisted way. In the show, Anna throws a phrase during a pillow talk with Neff reluctant to quit her service job to pursue her film career, “Leap and a parachute will appear.” That’s the only thing I like about Anna — her audacity. Oh, and it was Steve Harvey who said, “ If you want to be successful, you have to jump, there’s no way around it. When you jump, I can assure you that your parachute will not open right away. But if you do not jump, your parachute will never open. If you’re safe, you’ll never soar!”