Endulging in Schadenfreude
Watching terrible people, social climbers, and soothing 19th-century things.
Hello there,
Did you know that Germans have created some 1,200 new words to describe the pandemic? They’ve come up with different ways to describe masks (an “everyday mask” vs. a “spit protection umbrella,” for example), lockdowns and social distancing measures, among many other things. There’s Spuckschutztrennscheibe (a type of clear spit protection screens), telefonische Arbeitsunfähigkeitsbescheinigung (confirming an employee’s illness with a doctor and their inability to work, by phone) and Wirtschaftsstabilisierungsfonds (coronavirus relief funds for businesses). While not a particularly sonorous language, one of the linguistically pleasing things about German is its incredible specificity.
Which brings me to today’s topic of schadenfreude.
It’s not a feeling one wants to readily admit to, but given all of the terrible things happening around us and all of the people in power who have caused catastrophic harm without facing consequences during the pandemic, it can be soothing to indulge in this sensation.
Watch
Succession (HBO) is my number one pick for schadenfreude watches. It’s a fictionalized tale about the family that owns Fox; it’s very dark but often incredibly funny, and witnessing the suffering of these unrepentantly terrible characters is the entertainment equivalent of eating a brownie sundae. I cannot wait for the next season.
The Crown (Netflix) may seem like more of a wealth gawking type of show, given the huge production values, but to me it’s a schadenfreude watch. Sure, the filmmakers may try very hard to humanize the royal family, and they do a very good job getting the viewer to feel some sympathy, but there’s an awful lot of suffering happening perpetuated by the characters.
Search Party (HBO) is an almost too-dark comedy that I almost always feel slightly guilty watching. It’s about a group of hipster New York friends whose lives are turned upside down after they decide to try to find someone they know from college who disappeared. All of the characters are obnoxious or oblivious or uniquely horrible, and the writers come up with continually creative ways for them to get their just desserts.
Red Penguins (on demand) is a hilariously terrifying documentary about a group of awful American businessmen who tried to bring a U.S. version of commercial hockey to Russia after the fall of the USSR. You will feel bad for no one.
Also, a correction and an update from the laughter therapy issue: Party Down is available on Hulu, and!!! Starz announced a limited revival of the series.
Read
I’m not exactly sure how to classify White Ivy, because it’s not exactly a schadenfreude read. It’s a coming of age story about a Chinese-American girl who’s a skilled social climber, and her journey to stop at nothing to become rich. It will make you feel guilty for feeling sympathetic to an unsympathetic main character, yet it’s the quickest read I’ve had in a very long time.
[Full list of TV, movie and book recommendations here]
Follow
I love the Modern Farmer account on Instagram. I followed them religiously pre-pandemic, but I’ve appreciated them even more being stuck inside in a city for the past year. They are just very good at finding very pleasing content.
Do
I know so many people who have taken up or ramped up crafting in quarantine: knitting, pottery, woodwork, painting, the works. I’ve watched them post their creations on Instagram with a mixture of awe and jealousy. I’m notoriously unskilled at crafts, but I finally relented and bought myself the most millennial of embroidery kits. I’m pretty bad at it, but it’s very calming and forces me not to look at a screen, and that’s all that matters. I’ll share the mangled creation once I finish it.
Until next week,
Rachel