Offline Algorithm
002 - OFFLINE ALGORITHM
An anti-scroll collection of newsworthy things we watched & read this week.
Umnia El-Neil
Umnia El-Neil is a British-Sudanese culture opinion writer and Shonda Rhimes TGIT Graduate.
Film
SPOILERS: I have now also watched Twinless, James Sweeney's perfect crime.
An incredibly self-serious demon twink comedy, the film Michel highly recommended from Tribeca has finally made it to my eyeballs.
Offline Algorithm
001 - OFFLINE ALGORITHM
An anti-scroll collection of newsworthy things we watched & read this week.
Film
ARCHIVE: F1: Boomer Propaganda
For the glossy Hollywood Treatment of the world's most glamorous extreme sport, Kosinski asks the question: Should we bring back Brad Pitt Blockbusters? (Spoilers: No, thanks.)
Watchlists
Creators that will make you smarter in 2026
Editor's Note: This is a soft-pilot test of "Offline Algorithm", a new (separate) newsletter we're putting together at OBSCURAE to keep you updated and informed without the doomscroll. It may be a teensy bit more overtly political than you're used to us
Preview
Analogue is in, so here's some offline inspo
From London-based book clubs to my friend's novel, I think we're all gonna benefit from a little analogue-ing of our lives in 2026. Here are some suggestions to get you started...
Opinion
Charli XCX and the hierarchy of chasing cool
In a recent Substack post, Charli muses on cool as a protective mechanism around an artist's control and integrity, cultural miscommunication and facsimile, ubiquity and the concept of passionate creation. I want to propose that something deeper is at play.
To all the new Aficionados!
We saved you a seat...
Opinion
UMNIA's Ins and Outs for 2026, culturally speaking.
It's shaping up to be a very cool, and very offline, year for a lot of people. My two cents, should you be interested, are enclosed.
Opinion
Elon Musk froze culture and we must unfreeze it.
The reason for forever sequels, Billboard Chart freeze, nostalgia pop, COVID Denial and the rising price of RAM is all the same -- and we cannot let it continue if we want to survive.
Deep Dive
we actually can retire Euphoria.
Gen-Z, Purity Politics, Sydney Sweeney, Creepy Old Men™, Embarrassing Boyfriends, The Epstein Files, Olivia Nuzzi, Generational Infighting, Eddington, abuse, and Sex on Screen. Also Nick Fuentes.
Film
Move over Eddington, "Wake Up Dead Man" is the defining political satire of 2025
Analysing faith as it manifests within America, Johnson once again used the masterful and time-tested device of the whodunnit to try and comment on why "we're all so divided".