Los Angeles County has officially told the girls to keep their masks on indoors and continue to exercise precaution. So, I truly cannot express enough how much I need everyone to chill out and stay at home for a while. I’m not saying forever, just until this pandemic fizzles out. With that being said, I’m sharing three shows that will not only pass the time but learn you a lil somethin’ along the way.
1. Little Fires Everywhere – Hulu
Reason #1: The show uniquely highlights the Black experience in the most subtle ways
You know that one black friend you grew up with or the one black family on your street? Chances are the characters in Little Fires Everywhere are representations of that lone black person that you may think about when a new police shooting occurs. The show manages to cover microaggressions as mundane as the Black protagonist being ignored by her white friend at a birthday party to something as complex as one of the Black character’s work being plagiarized for a peer’s college application.
Reason #2: You won’t see the ending coming.
HBO series finales have done me wrong a few times over the past several years. We don’t even need to discuss Game of Thrones or the fact that The Undoing finale was literally the ending that everyone saw coming from episode one. However, Little Fires Everywhere debunked all of my theories with an ending that truly solidified that this a phenomenal show.
2. Lovecraft Country – HBO Max
Reason #1: It explains how terrifying racism TRULY is with unfortunately, no exaggerations
I consider myself relatively well-versed in the whole racism thing. What I don’t consider myself well-versed in is the horror genre. So to say I underestimated how scary Lovecraft is would be a HUGE understatement. I even went so far as to start a review club at work not knowing that I would struggle to get past episode 3.
What I appreciate about this show is it won’t let you say “Racism wasn’t too bad right? That was like 50 years ago.” There are eerie parallels from a creepy sheriff oozing in racism on episode one to white people forming a mob to terrorize a boarding house full of black people. On top of all of the ridiculous paranormal/sci-fi elements, by the time you finish this show human-eating alien-bears, demons and live zombie-dolls will look like nothing in comparison to racism.
Reason #2: It’ll spook the blissful ignorance right out of you and you’ll learn something new
3. Parts Unknown – HBO Max & Hulu
Reason #1 (and the only reason you’ll need to watch): It evaluates privilege
I could talk about Parts Unknown for days. But since I’ve already summed up my love for the show, I’ll spare everyone. Being confined to the walls of my home I’ve started watching travel shows again as a form of escapism. However, one thing that every travel show misses that Anthony Bourdain addressed is privilege.
Bourdain didn’t travel exclusively to popular tourist destinations like Paris, Rome or even Bali but to places with checkered stories past and present. The travel-GOAT visited Egypt in the height of Benghazi’s reign. He goes to Nigeria and discusses how the British rule still affects the social and economic climate of the country (something we’re seeing play out even more now through SARS.) He visited Haiti after one of the largest earthquakes in modern-history devastated the country.
When I think about Anthony Bourdain and his unfortunate passing, I always think about how a person born into privilege, as a white male, must have been deeply troubled once exposed to a world where people will pay thousands of dollars on one goal-leaf adorned dish while children in Brazil frequent the local trash dump for their next meal. As we all continue to quarantine, feeling inconvenienced by the pandemic, I highly recommend watching Parts Unknown to truly put into perspective how blessed you are.
As you all can probably tell, I LOVE television that makes me think. So if you end up watching the shows above or have show suggestions, leave a comment below!