Our Second Annual Zelda Awards!
Happy New Year from your friends at Anti-Heroine Media! Even though it feels like we’ve been stuck in a time loop since 2020, we’re looking forward to this symbolic fresh start and exciting new projects on the horizon.
To celebrate the new year (and offer a distraction from the doom scrolling), this week we’re bringing you our second annual Zelda Awards—our favourite media picks from the past year to keep you company through another tough winter.
But first, if you need a refresher, please read about the history of the Zelda Awards at this link!
Without further ado, here are your winners for the 2021 Zelda Awards (and once again, they are mostly 4 way-ties).
Favourite Anti-Heroine Social Media of the Year
Ashna's picks: I love interacting with brands that embrace a human voice. Two stand-outs are the encrypted messaging app Signal and my favourite digital artist platform, Procreate, on Twitter. Both are masters of memes, innuendos, and pop culture referencing (the triple threat!). The Nap Ministry Twitter and Instagram account is also such an incredible resource for self care and activism. Reminders to rest are always welcome (and necessary).
Hayley's picks: Kind of random but the Sour Patch Kids and Dictionary.com Twitter accounts are so much fun and illustrate how to engage with current events from a branded perspective! Also the Chicken Shop Date web-series is so, so good.
Favourite Anti-Heroine Movies of the Year
Ashna's picks: I cannot get over these bad-ass women-led casts: The Old Guard, Booksmart, and Moxie. My 2021 must-watch animated movies are the short film If Anything Happens I Love You, and Luca. Marvel also exceeded my expectations this year with Spiderman: No Way Home and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
Hayley's picks: I watched a LOT of horror this year (check out our Feminist Horror Watchlist here—still very much appropriate for the festive season) and my favourite new releases were Saint Maud, the Fear Street Trilogy and The Night House (genuinely so scary). Zola, based on that viral twitter thread from 2015, also borrows from horror conventions and is a hell of a trip. Looking for something very silly, surreal, and a whole lot of fun? Watch Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar or Bad Trip. Surprisingly good Nicholas Cage performance? Watch Pig. Gorgeous visuals and Dev Patel? Try The Green Knight. A killer anti-heroine narrative on motherhood? Watch The Lost Daughter. A slow burn feminist western with a heartbreaking Kirsten Dunst performance? Enter The Power of the Dog (this one was my favourite of the year!).
Still to watch: Titane, Petite Maman, Bergman Island, Plan B, In the Earth.
Favourite Anti-Heroine Directors of the Year
Ashna's picks: Olivia Wilde, Deeyah Khan.
Hayley's picks: Jane Campion, Issa Rae, Cathy Yan, Janicza Bravo, Crystal Moselle, Rose Glass, Chloe Zhao.
Favourite Anti-Heroine Television of the Year
Ashna's picks: Sex Education, Valeria, Pretty Smart, Cobra Kai, Grace and Frankie, Never Have I Ever, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Hayley's picks: What We Do In The Shadows, Succession, Insecure, Squid Game, Infinity Train (RIP), Dickinson, Insecure, We Are Lady Parts, Betty, Ted Lasso, Midnight Mass, Ghosts, This Way Up, Starstruck, Never Have I Ever, Taskmaster, The Great and Pen15.
Favourite Anti-Heroine Albums of the Year
Ashna's picks: Phoenix by Charlotte Cardin.
Hayley's picks: Blue Weekend by Wolf Alice.
Favourite Anti-Heroine Songs of the Year
We had so many that we decided to make you a playlist instead. Play it on loop with our Ultimate Period Mix!
Favourite Anti-Heroine Podcasts of the Year
Ashna's picks: There’s a common misconception that creatives are not good business people, that’s why I love Girls that Invest. Conversational financial literacy with 0 mansplaining, sign me up!
Hayley's picks: The White Saviors podcast about the WE Organization, Let’s Talk About Myths Baby, The Bechdel Cast (as always!), and of course, WEE Talks.
Favourite Anti-Heroine Reads of the Year
Ashna's picks: Tech buffs like me need to subscribe to Wired’s newsletter. My favourite pieces are this New York Times op-ed about “lying flat” and this piece from Bitch Media that unpacks how our first love stories and heartbreaks often involve our friends.
Hayley's picks: For pop culture buffs, I really love Hunter Harris’ newsletter “Hung Up”, for social media insights Rachel Karten’s “Link in Bio” newsletter is great, and I really love all of Roxana Hadadi’s film criticism! Books-wise I loved Beautiful World, Where are you? by Sally Rooney (how millennial of me!).
Also, I may be biased, but Ashna’s blog post “Building a Feminist Workplace, A (Whole) Year Later” is a damn good read.
Favourite Anti-Heroine Self-Care Practices of the Year
Ashna's picks: Binging TikTok (FYI: this app is responsible for 80% of my Spotify 2021 wrapped), wearing those eclectic statement pieces at the back of my closet, and finally, doing a very deep material cleanse. It’s true—out of sight, out of mind!
Hayley's picks: Does mainlining two seasons of The Great British Bake Off in three days count? Also Hilda on Netflix and all of the Studio Ghibli movies (especially Kiki’s Delivery Service, Totoro and Spirited Away).
If you’re looking for any extra cozy content this winter, also check out The Anti-Heroine Media Guide to Comfort TV and The Anti-Heroine Media Galentine’s Day Watch List.