SCÈNE 20. Tahirah Hairston, Writer and Founder & Editor, Ridiculous Little Things
Spectral romance: Two eccentric souls dance with their demons in an Echo Park boarding house.
For the 20th edition of Mise-En-Scène,
—writer, content strategist, creative director, and founder and editor of one of my favorite Substack newsletters, —pulls us into the intimate, askew world of Charles Burnett's The Annihilation of Fish (1999).Fish is a film that, like a rare astronomical event, has finally emerged into public view after 25 years in distribution purgatory, allegedly caused by an oddly malicious review in a film trade that I won’t dignify by linking here. Now restored in 4K and analog 35mm by UCLA Film & Television Archive and The Film Foundation, with a release by Kino Lorber and Milestone Films and accompanying blurbs by Burnett champion Martin Scorsese, this mature romantic comedy stars the late James Earl Jones wrestling demons both literal and figurative. (I should confess here that despite not living in the U.S. and being unable to attend any of the recent theatrical screenings, I managed to track down a version online thanks to some crafty cinephile friends. Tell me you wouldn’t do the same…)
In
, Hairston explores what informs her taste and talks with others—including writers, artists, and stylists—about how they develop their own. She maintains meticulous Taste Logs documenting what she’s seen, read, and tried (or tried on). I love following along with her Instagram Stories where she’ll often post thoughtful deep-dives on a specific filmmaker (for example, Michael Haneke), going through their oeuvre and highlighting what common threads she sees, as well as querying her followers for their own observations. Her attentiveness to nuance makes her selection of Charles Burnett's work entirely natural.In The Annihilation of Fish, Burnett, the contemplative filmmaker behind Killer of Sheep (1978) and To Sleep With Anger (1990), brings his signature humanistic touch to this story of two eccentric souls: Fish (Jones), a Jamaican immigrant tormented by an invisible demon named Hank, and Poinsettia (Lynn Redgrave), who’s fresh out of a relationship with the long-dead composer Puccini. Despite tackling weighty political and social themes in his work, Burnett is not a flashy storyteller. He honors the truth of his characters and their moments together, and lets those moments unspool with no sentimentality, moral righteousness, or gimmickry. The result is a story that, despite its fantastical themes, transcends whimsy and lands somewhere closer to the grounded magic embedded in the texture of our everyday lives.
The central setting in Fish, a charmingly dilapidated Victorian boarding house at 998 West Kensington Road in Echo Park, becomes a character unto itself, with Burnett and the late producer Paul Heller reportedly spending a year searching for the perfect location that possessed the right look and spirit. Run by the droll widow Mrs. Muldroone (Margot Kidder, very funny in this role), the house becomes the unlikely stage for the tender romance that unfolds between its peculiar tenants.
Up ahead, Tahirah Hairston’s selection captures what she calls "a lovely metaphor for love": two people navigating their bewildering realities, yet finding connection and solace in their shared struggle. Tinged with just the slightest magical realism, it's a testament to Burnett's genius that a premise so unconventional can yield something genuinely moving.
Afterwards, read on for TAHIRAH HAIRSTON RECOMMENDS for her personal mise-en-scène.
WRITER AND RIDICULOUS LITTLE THINGS FOUNDER & EDITOR TAHIRAH HAIRSTON ON FOLIE À DEUX IN CHARLES BURNETT’S THE ANNIHILATION OF FISH (1999)
I've been doing a personal project this year where I try to watch all of a director's films, and I'm doing that right now with Charles Burnett, who is one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. In The Annihilation of Fish, I think this [still] perfectly captures what the movie is about: two people fighting with their own individual demons, but in it together, which I think is a lovely metaphor for love.
I've never seen a movie quite like this one, where the premise is so off-kilter but the execution is so tender. It really touched me as an aspiring screenwriter to see how to make a comedy without making your characters and their issues what you're making fun of. Charles Burnett is a real humanist.
TAHIRAH HAIRSTON RECOMMENDS
Dying for Sex (2025) on Hulu.
Tahirah says: This was one of the best television shows I've watched in a long time.Vintage Burberry trenchcoats.
Tahirah says: This has led me down a rabbit hole and I've learned about Burberry fabric compositions, which styles of coats are from which era, and how to differentiate that by the labels.Death of an Artist podcast.
Tahirah says: Such an important podcast that digs into the consequences women pay for men's behavior. (Nat’s note: The first season on Ana Mendieta riveted me and led me to a densely reported book, Naked by the Window by Robert Katz, which I recommend everyone look into if you’re into Mendieta and the ‘80s New York art scene, pre-gentrified SoHo, and true crime. While I heard that Emmy Rossum wanted to develop it into a limited series for the longest time, ultimately America Ferrera got the rights. Let’s see if it pans out!)Little Simz.
Tahirah says: I loved her in Top Boy and SAULT, but I'm just now getting into her music.
Demo New York.
Tahirah says: I just had the most lovely meal there: Lobster au poivre with fries, after having an awful meal at this dinner with a famous Instagram chef.
Thanks for being here! Follow Tahirah Hairston’s sharp cultural observations on her Instagram (@tahairy) and subscribe to her Substack
.A new edition of Mise-En-Scène will be out soon. Until then, comment and/or DM me (@natisagee and @yourmiseenscene) with who or what you’d like to see here next.
May your demons be mostly friendly, may your kooky neighbors become dear loves, and may your particular reality find its perfect companion.