It’s a new year and the weekly #TDVFridayRecommends series is back. This week we have a book and a new series to talk about: Velvet Dragonflies by Billy Chapata and Disney+ series Chasing Waves.
Welcome to a new series on The Daily Vox: #TDVFridayRecommends. It’s the Friday Recommended series. Every Friday, we are going to be sharing something we would like to recommend or unpack to our readers. This could be a book, movie, restaurant or even an event.
Chasing Waves
Disney+ has just released an original documentary series, Chasing Waves which shines a spotlight on Japanese surf culture. The eight part series started streaming on Disney+ from January 12. The show looks at the people and places that are defining Japan’s reach in the global surf culture. In 2021, surfing made its Olympics debut at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. In the wake of this, the series aims to highlight the unique surfing culture of Japan. Chasing Waves follows surfers from the country as they prepare for the Olympics – exploring the concerns and dreams as the event draws closer.
This is part of the charm of the series – that it is a character-driven documentary series. It follows the different athletes from various backgrounds as they try to do what it takes to succeed in the international surf industry. Above all the series wants to show the importance of surfing in Japanese culture. The docu-series features extraordinary pro surfers Mahina Maeda, Yuma Takanuki, Sara Kohrogi, 2021 Olympic Silver Medalist Kanoa Igarashi and Australian-Japanese surfer Connor O’Leary.
If you are looking for a show that is a deep dive into an interesting topic, this is the series for you. It is the perfect watch without unnecessary tension or dramatics. And if you’re a sports enthusiast or just love human stories, it’s definitely going to keep you captivated.
Velvet Dragonflies by Billy Chapata
If you’re more of a book person than a television person – especially a poetry lover – this is the recommended book for you. Billy Chapata’s poetry collection Velvet Dragonflies is an inspiring and soft collection of poetry which came out in 2022. Chapata is a Zimbabwean writer and author based in Atlanta, Georgia. His work focuses on the concepts of love, healing and growth through poetry, storytelling and narrative. He had two other books: Chameleon Aura and Flowers on the Moon. In this book, he guides readers through the path of self-love. The book is divided into five sections: “Viscose,” “Koigu,” “Damask,” “Charmeuse,” and “Landing”. Each section represents a different stage on the path to self-love and respect.
If you’re looking for something easy but deeply profound to read, this is the book for you. You can take your time with the book or read it all in one sitting. It all depends on what you take out of the book as you read it. All of it might resonate with you or only some of it. But there will definitely be something that will stay with you after finishing the book.
