“Have you seen ____? No? You need to watch it.” 

Isn’t it annoying when someone recommends something to you? You’re telling me I have to spend my free time engaging in something I don’t already like? And then I’ll have to report back on my thoughts and feelings? No thank you. 

A few days ago, I received the following messages from one of my best friends.

“U NEED
to watch something ASAP
It’s called Samuel
Animated short 
21 episodes 4 minutes long
I know you will adore it”

I love this friend more than basically everything on earth. And yet when I read these messages, my first thought was “hmm, yeah, I probably won’t.” It wasn’t until she messaged the next day to follow up that I realised I hadn’t even considered watching it. The recommendation went in one eye and out the other. Isn’t that embarrassing? I trust this person with my life, but not with my free time? 

The irony of my hesitation to watch recommendations is that I am one of the top ten most annoying recommenders on the planet. I suppose the New Radicals were correct, you get what you give (this sentence is so stupid and makes no sense but it makes me laugh, let me have it).

So, I had to set myself straight. I sat down to watch an episode of Samuel. And wouldn’t you believe it, I adored it. 

Samuel is, without question, one of the greatest pieces of art I have ever experienced. I can’t think of anything else that ticks every specific Jame box; incredible, simple and quirky animation – tick; a hilarious and poignant and devastatingly authentic coming of age story – tick; a script that makes me scream in pain – tick. Does this sentence grammatically make sense? Eh. I have reached my limit, I literally do not care anymore. 

The show filled me with a joy that only a very small handful of shows/movies/games/albums do each year. Art so great, I feel truly alive. My spirit lifted for days. Even when I wasn’t thinking about the show, the dopamine remained at a constant flow. I felt inspired to drop everything and create. That is the power of great art. 

One of the (MANY) things that sucks about being a grown up (I’M DOING OKAY I’M JUST TIRED) is that we spend most of our week doing things that we require to live but don’t make us feel alive. We work, we cook, we exercise, we sleep, repeat. The things that give us life – time with friends, time experiencing the world, time engaging in art – are things we can’t do every day. 

Because Samuel made me fall in love with the fact that I am alive in the world, all I wanted was for the people I love to experience the same feeling. I wanted to sit my friends down and watch it with them. I love my friends and love that they are alive in the world with me and need them to experience the same love for being alive. 

Last month I witnessed Lucy Dacus singing True Blue. I’m still coming down from the high. You know that line? “It feels good to be known so well.” That is a lyric of all time. I feel so lucky to have friends who know me. Being recommended Samuel is another example of that. 

I know you will adore it. 

Not, “you might like this!” or “I really enjoyed it.” I know you will adore it.

When you recommend something to someone, and you so passionately feel that they will enjoy it. It’s so much more than another recommendation. You’re saying I know you. I love you. 

That being said, sometimes you are recommended a dud! And my final takeaway is that the friend who recommends something bad doesn’t actually know you. They should be cut off from your life. Hope this helps. Just a little okayjamedotcom today. The end. 

On a less melodramatic note, Samuel and Nirvana the Band the Show the Movie are two things that I have recently adored and have inspired me to create. They’re both so simple at their core, yet achieve one hundred times more than films and tv shows that have one hundred times the budget they do. I adore them so much and would recommend them to anyone who needs a little inspiration to get back into a creative project! I gotta finish the Peanuts piece and make one million dollars.