Culture Shift is a weekly newsletter curated by the HuffPost Culture writers and editors.
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This week we're talking about the 20 new books you're going to want to read this fall, the advice columnist telling women it's okay to not shoot for the moon, an artist taking on campus sexual assault, the election satire so spot-on it's frightening, two of our favorite new podcasts, and emoji for book nerds.
An Advice Columnist For Women Who Are Actually Doing Just Fine For Themselves
You know that motivational poster every guidance counselor had? Maybe it had funky typographic art, or a sweeping landscape photo featuring twinkling stars. “Shoot for the moon,” it urged sullen high schoolers. “Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars!”
Ours is an aspirational culture. You can be anything you want to be! Maybe do something about that hormonal acne. If you dream it, you can become it! They make very effective over-the-counter tooth-whiteners these days. The sky is the limit! Get your piece-of-crap life together before it’s too late to become an astronaut.
The American dream, right?
Advice maven Heather Havrilesky, who writes the “existential advice column” Ask Polly at New York Mag’s The Cut, isn’t sold. For her, this “you can do better” attitude is more of a modern societal plague, an endless contest to be smarter, funnier, skinnier, have more well-curated Instagrams and more Twitter followers. (Read more here.)
20 New Books You’ll Need For Your Shelf In Fall 2016
September, October, November and even December are coming: Stock up on autumn’s new page-turners. (Read more here.)
An Artist ‘Passes Out’ On Fraternity Lawns To Shine Light On Campus Sexual Abuse
In one photo, a woman dressed in tulle appears passed out on a green lawn, red Solo cups flanking her lonely outline. In another, a figure is shown sprawled facedown beneath a messy beer pong table, not a concerned person in sight. Their faces are obscured, their bodies still, and only one subtle bit of scenery hints as to where these women lay helpless ― an ominous Greek letter hanging above a doorway.
Artist Violet Overn, a recent New York University graduate, recently created the photos, part of an ongoing series not-so-subtly dubbed “Fraternity Houses.” She is the subject of every photo, though she never really shows her face. In each, she can be seen laying down on various fraternity house lawns affiliated with the University of Southern California, appearing as though she’s passed out. The grueling images, reminiscent of crime scene photos, are sharp reminders of the fact that one in five women are sexually assaulted in college. (Read more here.)
This Satirical Election Novel Is So Spot-On It's Frightening
Nathan Hill’s book is the uber-timely media and political satire novel the 2016 election needed. (Read more here.)
The Wild, Too-Real Dating Show That Came Before ‘The Bachelor’
Before "The Bachelor," there was a rawer form of reality TV, one that spawned from dirt-cheap budgets and fans’ willingness to make their dating exploits public in exchange for laughs and momentary “fame.” These shows ran on their promise of candor, but their true-to-life structure, absent of narrative tension, might’ve been what eventually did them in. There was “The Real World,” of course, and “Big Brother.” Later, there was “Next,” and what might’ve been the pinnacle of truly real reality dating television, “ElimiDATE.” (Read more here.)
Getting Your S**t Together, With An Audience
Two podcasts, “Bad with Money” and “Complete Me,” make personal tasks public. (Read more here.)
These Are The Young Black Women Making Art About Mental Health
It’s OK not to be OK. This is the mantra behind “Unmasked Women,” an art exhibition exploring the current state of black mental health for young women in the United Kingdom. Nicole Krystal Crentsil, a 24-year-old assistant project manager from north London, was inspired to put together the show, frustrated by the lack of resources available to young women when they need it most. (Read more here.)
12 Emojis For Book Nerds We Desperately Wish Were Real
Because even avid readers get lazy when it comes to texting. (Read more here.)
Netflix recommendation of the week!
Need help figuring out what to watch on Netflix? Here's what our editors have to say about "Narcos": "They say you shouldn't judge a show by its theme song, but here we go: it's hypnotic, intriguing and a perfect of encapsulation of the entire series, which follows the rise of Colombian kingpin Pablo Escobar and the DEA agents tasked with taking him down. Give yourself a full day when starting this show - it begs to be binge-watched."
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