I
lovea goodalgorithmI do.Somecreativepeoplearecynicalabout
theincreasingrolethesesoullesspatternsofdataplayinshapingour
culture.Butina worldofevermorebewilderingchoice,I’mhappierfor
analgorithmtoguidemethana humancritic.Humancriticsaredriven
bytheirownpowerfulsubjectivitywhichhasbeenshapedandnurturedbya
completelydi�ferentsetoflifeexperiencestoyourown.Plus,halfofthemare
justtryingtowritewhattheythinkmightcomeacrossascoolorsurprising
enoughtogetthemnoticed.�eyhavetheirownagenda.Andby“they”,I
obviouslymean“we”.Trustme,I’vebeenbashingoutthesesortsofcolumnsall
overtheplaceforyearsandhaveneverreallyhadthebestinterestsofthereader
atheart.HowcouldI?I don’tknowwhatsortofthingyoulike.
Once,inthemid-noughties,I wrotea frivolousanddisrespectfulreviewofa
PetShopBoyssingle.Why?BecauseIthoughtIcouldextractsomecheaplaughs
outofit,that’swhy.Ithashauntedmeeversince.PetShopBoysareoneofthe
bestpopbandsofthelast 40 years(NB,rememberwhatI justsaidaboutmy
opinionsnotcountingformuch– youdon’thavetoagreewithmehere).I think
I’vegrownupa bitsincethenbutif you’rereadingthisNeilandChris,I aman
idiotwhoisnotworthyofwritinga singlewordaboutyouroutput,eithergood
orbad.
Anyway,backtoalgorithms.WhatIloveaboutthemisthattheyencourage
contentplatformstogiveusmoreofwhatwelike.TVshowsusedtobe
commissionedonthewhimoftellyexecs,whoareevenbiggerwankersthan
ushacks.Now,theyaregeneratedbydataproducedfrompreviouswatching
habits.Net�lixlooksa�terusthisway.
Forinstance,theyareawarethatsu�ficientpeoplelovedtheFrenchshow
aboutashowbizmanagementfirm,CallMyAgent(whichI’vewrittenabout
herebefore),tomakeanotherEuropeancomedy-dramasetinsidea glitzy
mediaoutfit.
AndsowegetLove&Anarchy,setinsideaSwedishpublishinghouse,
withthesamepatternofdivaclients,dysfunctionalagents,businessintrigue,
fancypartiesandsex.AsinCallMyAgent, thepersonalmalaiseofthecentral
charactersissetinvividcontrastagainsttheglamorousveneerofthemedia
world.ItbeingSwedish,thereisanabundanceofdeeplyexplicitscenes
scatteredthroughLove&Anarchy(theprotagonistisa stressed-outmumwho
masturbatesalmostconstantlytohelpnumbheranxieties).
Soitisfunny,sexyandexcitingbutalsopainfulandpoignantandtrue.
�eworldinwhichitissetis,ultimately,neitherherenorthere.�ewritingis
exceptionalandnoalgorithmcaneverrecreatethat.Iamhookedonthisshow
andstronglyrecommendit.But,ofcourse,myopinioncountsfornothingand
you’dbebettero�fmakingyourownmindup.Love&AnarchyisonNet�lix
@DelaneyManSwede success
The algorithm machine at Netfl ix is taking good
care of Sam Delaney and his niche taste for
European comedy set in glitzy mediafi rmsTV
Scand and deliver
Love & Anarchy is
anaddictivewatchAs a Big Issue supporter, you have spoken
of your fondness for your vendor in
the past.
I really understand what it is to not be able to do
your job at this time. It’s frustrating and lonely
and uncertain. And on top of that, as a Big Issue
vendor it’s not just about your work, it’s about
your life. So I encourage people to subscribe if
they can’t buy from their vendor, because it’s such
a wonderful, supportive community. We can’t
lose that. We have to support vendors now more
than ever.
Mank is on Net�lix from December 4
Possessor is out now
Interview: Adrian Lobb @adey70
FROM 30 NOVEMBER 2020 BIGISSUE.COM | 43
Photo: Ulrika Malm / Net�lix