The Second Coming
or: I Will Arise And Go Now, And Go To Substack
Life on Twitter this last fortnight has felt a little apocalyptic. Of course, it’s very silly to compare the chronic mismanagement of an app owned by a billionaire manchild to the end of the world but in some ways it’s more than apt. For instance, when I think of apocalypses I think of W.B. Yeats and his famous poem, “The Second Coming”. Here’s the first few lines:
Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world
I think you have to admit that sounds uncannily like our timelines over the past few days. But while the Decline Of Twitter has proven riveting to behold, this post isn’t about Twitter — it’s about what might come after it. At the end of The Second Coming, Yeats asks a question:
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?
Well, William, I have an answer for you — The Primary Cinema Newsletter! Born out of simultaneous desires to maintain some form of the precious personal connections I’ve made on the bird app, and to share longerform thoughts and analysis on my favourite medium, cinema — this newsletter will a be a means through which I will share well thought out criticism on topics ranging from The Sincerity Of Steve Martin to The Missed Opportunities Of Hot Tub Time Machine 2.
While a newsletter was always on my long term agenda, the process has of course been accelerated by the uncertainty around Twitter (I’m staying there for the time being but who knows what’ll happen next?). As such, there will be an element of “learning on the job” with this venture. For example, I won’t commit right now to a definitive release schedule but I can say I intend for the posts here to be well researched, well written, and regular. I’ll settle into a routine over the coming weeks and inform you then on what to expect (please trust I will not spam your email).
Lastly, let me offer a sincere “thank you” to those who subscribed, it means an awful lot and I promise I’m gonna pull out all the stops and produce my very best writing for you 🤓.
Expect an essay early next week,
Gavin