Angelica Jade Bastién
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angelicabastien.bsky.social
Angelica Jade Bastién
@angelicabastien.bsky.social
Critic and Essayist, New York Magazine. Southern broad. https://linktr.ee/angelicabastien
Pinned
I wrote about how Brad Pitt has effectively albeit transparently used F1: The Movie and its press tour to rehabilitate his image, in order to obscure the violent allegations about abuse toward Angelina Jolie & his current estrangement from his six kids, @vulture.com. www.vulture.com/article/brad...
Brad Pitt Is Fooling You
The F1 press tour has been a carefully attuned charm offensive meant to obscure Pitt’s alleged violent behavior toward ex-wife Angelina Jolie.
www.vulture.com
Reposted by Angelica Jade Bastién
“Political prescription isn’t the point; teasing out the humanity of these people is.”

An incredible critique by @angelicabastien.bsky.social’s via @vulture.com that looks at the faults of ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER without negating the agency of its Black actresses.
Black Actresses Are Carrying One Battle After Another
Teyana Taylor, Chase Infiniti, and Regina Hall propel the film’s most conflicted ideas, for better and worse.
www.vulture.com
November 24, 2025 at 6:44 PM
Finally. My big 2800 word essay about One Battle After Another and its black women characters is live. www.vulture.com/article/blac...
Black Actresses Are Carrying One Battle After Another
Teyana Taylor, Chase Infiniti, and Regina Hall propel the film’s most conflicted ideas, for better and worse.
www.vulture.com
November 24, 2025 at 6:09 PM
Reposted by Angelica Jade Bastién
Stop whatever you're doing and START procrastinating...by listening to the latest Reading Writers. It's a really fun one, with the scintillating Lauren Michele Jackson. Expect talk of dirtbag women protagonists, Alexander the Great, and hot cheetahs. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/r...
Setting the House on Fire: Lauren Michele Jackson on Nettie Jones’ Fish Tales
Podcast Episode · Reading Writers · 11/12/2025 · 56m
podcasts.apple.com
November 12, 2025 at 2:07 PM
Reposted by Angelica Jade Bastién
"In the conception of shows like “Succession” and so many others, the wealthiest are their own worst enemy. But anyone outside their exclusive, robber baron bubbles — people who might pose a serious challenge to their power structures — is apparently of no narrative interest."
This piece is so honest and astute. I immediately subscribed to the newsletter after reading this.
TV and film of the moment aren't going to galvanize anyone. But stories closer to home just might

This week’s newsletter. Read! Subscribe! It’s free!
November 19, 2025 at 1:10 PM
Reposted by Angelica Jade Bastién
one of the best movies ever made
November 14, 2025 at 3:31 AM
This piece is so honest and astute. I immediately subscribed to the newsletter after reading this.
TV and film of the moment aren't going to galvanize anyone. But stories closer to home just might

This week’s newsletter. Read! Subscribe! It’s free!
The hollowness of Hollywood’s rich people stories
TV and film of the moment aren't going to galvanize anyone. But stories closer to home just might.
buttondown.com
November 19, 2025 at 1:07 PM
Reposted by Angelica Jade Bastién
@angelicabastien.bsky.social thank you, for the madwoman archetype 🤗

Rereading #bitchplanet, deriving #strength and focusing my #anger
November 16, 2025 at 4:56 PM
I’ve got a newsletter coming out tomorrow for my The Feminine Grotesque column about the horror film “The Ugly Stepsister”. I hope y’all enjoy it.
November 14, 2025 at 12:33 AM
Reposted by Angelica Jade Bastién
NEW: @propublica.org investigated the Chicago apartment raid where kids were zip-tied and citizens detained for hours. They find:

- NONE of the arrested were criminally charged
- NO evidence the building was "filled with TdA terrorists."
- ZERO legitimate reason for DHS to rappel from a Blackhawk.
November 13, 2025 at 2:08 PM
Reposted by Angelica Jade Bastién
“I’ve spent my life studying my profession & I’ve come to feel that one lifetime is not enough. When it works well there is something shamanistic about it, but in order to invite that, for lack of a better word, inspiration into your life requires a tremendous amount of discipline”

HBD Ethan Hawke
November 6, 2025 at 4:51 PM
Reposted by Angelica Jade Bastién
One of my kids requested more Hitchcock films in our diet so we just watched NOTORIOUS and I can't believe I hadn't read this Criterion essay from @angelicabastien.bsky.social until now: www.criterion.com/current/post...

Great piece on a great movie!
Notorious: The Same Hunger
In this pitch-perfect noir romance, Alfred Hitchcock explores what happens when the masks we wear in the world clash with our innermost desires.
www.criterion.com
November 6, 2025 at 12:26 AM
Reposted by Angelica Jade Bastién
Like every time I think I understand the depths of depravity of American slavery, I see another story that seems like beyond the worst of any horror writer’s imagination
November 3, 2025 at 4:55 PM
Reposted by Angelica Jade Bastién
Has anyone worked up the net worth of Cuomo’s parents vs Mamdani’s? Why does this weird narrative of a professor and a filmmaker as wealthy elites continue? Do they think Mira Nair made Marvel films or something?
Another abominable editorial from the Wash Post
November 3, 2025 at 5:11 PM
i had a great double feature halloween movie night with friends last week and got to introduce them to this banger. long live the queen, tiffany valentine boxd.it/bAmqxB
A ★★★★ review of Bride of Chucky (1998)
And this is when I fell in love with the Chucky franchise. Hot Topic coded like a motherfucker. I mean that with love. Much to be said about how much more fun Chucky and his franchise are when it goes...
boxd.it
November 3, 2025 at 4:59 PM
Reposted by Angelica Jade Bastién
Outstanding: The Magnificence of Tony Todd in "Candyman" (1992) and "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" (1995) by @angelicabastien.bsky.social

angelicabastien.substack.com/p/the-magnif...
The Magnificence of Tony Todd
In honor of the actor's passing I wrote about his tremendous and remarkably different performances in "Candyman" (1992) and the "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" 1995 episode "The Visitor".
angelicabastien.substack.com
October 27, 2025 at 9:38 AM
Reposted by Angelica Jade Bastién
🎙️ON AIR:

We're talking with music critic Kelefa Sanneh and pop culture critic @angelicabastien.bsky.social about why traditional criticism should endure, even when everyone has a platform.

❓Where do you turn for reliable reviews?

📻 Listen:
When Everyone’s a Critic, Who Should You Trust? | KQED
We talk to pop culture critic Angelica Jade Bastién and music critic Kelefa Sanneh about why traditional criticism should endure, even when everyone has a platform.
buff.ly
October 27, 2025 at 5:00 PM
A short post with a fun Letterboxd horror list of what I am watching this season. angelicabastien.substack.com/p/a-wild-let...
A Wild Letterboxd List for Horror Lovers
If you're a paying subscriber you get to check out this private Letterboxd list I made of what I am watching for this year's spooky season and beyond. Enjoy.
angelicabastien.substack.com
October 21, 2025 at 1:23 PM
Reposted by Angelica Jade Bastién
There’s a lot in here that deserves a pull quote, but this is the most egregious. I need people to recognize the gravity of the situation here in Chicago;
October 8, 2025 at 2:42 AM
Reposted by Angelica Jade Bastién
"she recounts anecdotes about long-dead colleagues as if they happened yesterday. There’s the one about Marlon Brando, who called her, out of the blue, to ask where she’d got her chin done"

omg, love her always and forever
October 3, 2025 at 8:48 PM
Reposted by Angelica Jade Bastién
RIP Jane Goodall. I feel like it's shortchanging her legacy to focus only on her work with chimpanzees when her compassion extended to ALL animals. One of the best ways you can honor & continue her legacy is to incorporate more plant based meals into your life. ❤️ news.janegoodall.org/2017/04/28/w...
Why I Went Plant-Based (And Why We Should All Eat Less Meat)
Dr. Goodall went plant-based after confronting what that meat represents: pain. Since, she learned more reasons why the work to #eatmeatless is important.
news.janegoodall.org
October 1, 2025 at 11:00 PM
Your girl has a limited edition newsletter about stardom, through history and beyond just Hollywood, @nymag.com. I’m getting into the art, the gossip, and just how a star becomes legend. Here’s the announcement, subscribe today! www.vulture.com/article/new-...
Introducing New York Night School: Performance Studies
A five-week course with critic Angelica Jade Bastién examining stardom throughout film history — in and outside of Hollywood.
www.vulture.com
October 1, 2025 at 1:16 PM
Reposted by Angelica Jade Bastién
the authoritarian techbro cult wishes to subjugate humanity - the good news is that these are pathetic creeps and we can beat them
Larry Ellison envisions a surveillance state in which techbros rule. '“Citizens will be on their best behavior, because we’re constantly recording and reporting everything that is going on,” Ellison said in an hour-long Q&A during Oracle’s Financial Analyst Meeting last week.'
Larry Ellison predicts rise of the modern surveillance state where ‘citizens will be on their best behavior’ | Fortune
Oracle's Larry Ellison believes citizens and police alike will be under constant surveillance of each other.
fortune.com
September 28, 2025 at 11:57 AM
Reposted by Angelica Jade Bastién
I'll be moderating this Brooklyn Bookfest panel with novelists @jasondiamond.bsky.social, Denne Michele Norris and @katiekitamura.bsky.social. I hope you can join us.
Alexander Chee will be part of
"Family, Unraveled" on Sept 21 at 4:30 PM.

"All families are complicated, with legacy, personal choices, and societal expectations shaping or breaking the bonds that hold them together."

@alexanderchee.bsky.social

brooklynbookfestival.org/authors/alex...
Alexander Chee - Brooklyn Book Festival
Discover the literary work of Alexander Chee.
brooklynbookfestival.org
September 18, 2025 at 3:11 PM