Ariana Grande’s new album drops on March 8th (Yep that’s International Women’s Day. Coincidence? I think not). The album’s titled “eternal sunshine”, a shoutout to the 2004 movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind directed by Michel Gondry and starring Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet. This film, a favorite among critics, explores the complexities of memory and identity, themes that often echo in Grande’s work.
Grande’s well-known admiration for Carrey, whom she famously termed as her “first celebrity crush” on The Tonight Show, is more than a fangirl moment. The connection to themes of existentialism and nihilism can be traced back to “Sweetener,” Grande’s previous album, that already hinted at this philosophical depth. The album juxtaposed light, sweet pop with undertones of resilience and the search for meaning in chaos – almost a nod to existentialism’s core tenets. Now, with “eternal sunshine,” it seems Grande is diving deeper into these complex waters.
The Truman Show, peeling back layers of superficiality to reveal the nihilistic truth underneath, sort of parallels Grande’s artistic journey which, juxtaposedly, inverted the stark reality back into a surreal, beautiful bubble. Like, she isn’t just playing with existential themes; she’s living them, making her music a reflection of life’s more profound and often perplexing questions.
Sweetener aesthetic (left) vs. The Truman Show (right). btw, the reference of staircases, as Ariana Grande said, was also inspired by Monument Valley.