Life & Culture

The Best Another Man Features of 2019

Featuring interviews with pop and underground cultural figures: from 21 Savage, Akala and Ashton Sanders, to Matty Healy, Peter Berlin, Werner Herzog – plus the young activists calling for change, justice and acceptance

The last year of any given decade is a time to reflect on where we have been and we are going. As we look back on the best stories of 2019, we see ourselves on the cutting edge of a brave new world. On one side, we see the gathering storm and on the other we draw strength from the courage of youth and the wisdom of elders. In these stories, we bear witness and are encouraged to soldier on...

1. Ashton Sanders in His Own Powerful Words

As a young black boy growing up in California, Ashton Sanders’ passion for art made him an outsider – a position he finally embraced to transformative effect when he broke barriers with his portrayal of a withdrawn gay teen in Moonlight. For the Spring/Summer issue of Another Man, Sanders shares his journey from misfit to leading man.

2. What Happened to Josh Harnett?

Anointed Hollywood’s golden boy, Josh Hartnett owned the early 00s. Then he disappeared after turning down roles in superhero films. 2019 marked Hatnett’s return to the silver screen – Trey Taylor’s feature is a look back at the actor who had it all, then walked away.

3. Unravelling the Myth of 1990s Photographer Davide Sorrenti

Fashion photographer Davide Sorrenti, Mario’s younger brother, was only 20 when he died in 1997. His death, wrongly attributed to a heroin overdose, marked the symbolic end of the ‘heroin chic’ aesthetic. Speaking to Jack Moss, filmmaker Charlie Curran discusses his seven-year odyssey to make See Know Evil, a documentary exploring Sorrenti’s complex legacy.

4. Matty Healy Interview: the 1975 Frontman on the Band’s New Stage Show

The 1975 have transformed arena shows by combining theatre performance and modernist installation into a cosmic whirl of artful extremes. Matty Healy speaks to Tom Connick about his desire to become a cartoon, pushing the boundaries of live shows into new realms perfectly suited to the era of Instagram.

5. In His Own Words: Charlie Heaton Tells His Stranger Things Story

As the third season of Stranger Things hit our TV screens, Charlie Heaton looked back at unintentional stardom playing the shy and awkward Jonathan. Drawn to darker roles, Heaton reveals that he is looking to branch out into different styles, even comedy, parts that would make him – and us – excited to get up in the morning.

6. 21 Savage: The Artist is Present

The American dream and nightmare collided for 21 Savage in 2019: he kicked off the year at the top of the Billboard 200, only to be arrested by ICE on February 3. Unlike so many who have been unjustly targeted and imprisoned, Savage was released. His case is ongoing and he is understandably reticent to speak, his saga, as told by Thomas Gorton for the Autumn/Winter 2019 issue of Another Man, is a Kafka-esque tale of our present age.

7. Tim Blanks: Why It’s Time to Believe in Magic Again

As the logical conclusion of modernism casts us towards the apocalypse, Another Man’s senior contributing editor Tim Blanks argues it is time to put our faith in magic and celebrate the profound, unfathomable realms rooted in the natural order of things in order to save the planet.

8. A Blisteringly Frank and Triple X-Rated Chat with Peter Berlin

Porn star and “photosexual” Peter Berlin opens up to Ted Stansfield about his life as a libertine, cruising the streets of San Francisco during the 1970s. Along the way he fell in love with the image of himself, creating a portfolio of erotic self-portraits he now shares with the world.

9. In His Words: Akala’s Path to Political Awakening

Speaking to Ted Stansfield, rapper, writer, and intellectual Akala debunks the Western myth of meritocracy in the new book, Natives: Race and Class in the Ruins of Empire. He shares his journey growing up in Britain mixed race, discovering the fictions white culture uses to uphold their systems of oppression and supremacy.

10. Cover Story: The Young Activists Calling for Change, Justice and Acceptance

For Another Man’s debut digital cover story, young activists from New York and London centre issues of race, gender, and sexuality in contemporary political discourse. Freedom and resistance meld to speak truth to power in a fight for the human rights, inspiring us to always remember: one person can change the world.

11. How Lawrence Blair Became Bali’s Swashbuckling Rock’n’Roll Adventurer

In the 1970s, Dr Lawrence Blair and his brother Lorne set out to chart the last remaining Sulawesi’s Torja tribe. What began as a single trip funded by Ringo Starr became a 19-year odyssey around the globe documenting the last wild gardens of the Earth for the BBC series Ring of Fire. Speaking to Xerxes Cook, Blair shares the wisdom he earned along the way on his unforgettable mystical adventure around the globe.

12. Werner Herzog: “My Films Are Not Art”

Bavarian filmmaker Werner Herzog has amassed a cult following for his wildly philosophical ruminations, unorthodox approach, and hilarious takes. He describes himself as a soldier and a poet, but an artist he is not. Speaking to Michael-Oliver Harding, Herzog talks about Meeting Gorbachev, his latest subversive slice of cinema.