Angels in America
Any long time follower of my blog will know how much Angels in America by Tony Kushner means to me. I saw this play almost three years ago at a key point in my life. I hadn't decided if or what I was doing with regards to going to university. I wasn't even that bothered about seeing Angels in America, but after seeing it, well it changed my life. Angels in America is a play set in 1980s New York and it follows a group of people who ended up becoming connected. It tackles politics at the time and the AIDs crisis. It also has themes of magical realism and humanity in it. I remember being sat in the cinema, seeing it as a live broadcast, and being blown away by it. I had never seen anything like it before and I wanted to create something just as epic. I've already mentioned how it changed my life, but it sent me down the direction I find myself on now. I wouldn't be studying creative writing if it wasn't for this play.
Lady Bird
Lady Bird also had a similar influence on me. I saw it in February 2018, six months before I was due to go to university. Lady Bird is in a similar situation, she too is about to leave home and move away to university. It captured the complicated yet loving relationships parents and their children can have. Greta Gerwig instantly became a favourite writer-director of mine. She brings such humanity to her work and it was nice to see something created by a woman for once. She will be someone I admire for many years to come. Lady Bird herself is a deeply flawed character, yet it makes her relatable. Greta's characters all felt real. It was a beautiful film and one I think about a lot.
The Shadowhunter Chronicles
I was going to put Harry Potter for a book that influenced me, but with everything JK Rowling has done, I'm not sure I can do that in good conscience. It is cliched of me to pick the Shadowhunter Chronicles by Cassandra Clare. They are not the most high brow examples of literature, but they certainly shaped my life. I have always been a reader, but the movie and books from this world opened my eyes to things I didn't even know existed. These were the books that made me fall in love with reading in a way I didn't know was possible. They're fun and fluffy. They were there for me during the darkest part of my life and I will forever be grateful for stumbling across them.
Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency
I had never been a big TV watcher until I stumbled across Dirk Gently. I actually have a post all about how much Dirk Gently means to me. Similar to The Shadowhunter Chronicles, it was something that introduced me to a wide world of TV that I hadn't ever thought about. I'm now considering pursuing a career in writing and working in TV. I'm not sure I'd do this if I hadn't found this show by accident. I'm still very sad that it never got a proper ending and it looks unlikely that it would ever be picked up for a final season.
There are obviously tonnes more stories that have inspired me to become the person I am today, but these four are the central ones to who I am.
Carenza :) x
