Being Geek Chic is a blog about one woman navigating the male-dominated industries of production and tech. It's written by Elizabeth Giorgi, Founder, CEO and Director of Mighteor - one of the world's first internet video production companies. Learn more about Mighteor here.
Did you spend your entire weekend binging Master of None? I did. And if you were planning on being a normal human who goes to a job and lives a normal life tomorrow, I suggest you call in Ansari and spend the day with it.
Without being spoilery, let me give you the low down on what you’re missing. Master of None is about a man in his 30s living in New York as he navigates the world of career, dating and family. With a hefty ass side dose of race, gender, sexuality and class. What I appreciate is that the show takes on these impossibly challenging topics with such ease, you’d swear the jokes were about socks. But nope. These jokes are about race relations. GLBT issues. Gender equity. You laugh so hard, you almost forget to wince.
Put simply: Master of None is a surprise and a delight and a refreshing challenger in a media landscape that routinely reduces people of color into tropes and jokes. But not only that, it both lets us in on the joke and pokes fun at humanity for just sort of continually being part of the problem.
And that’s what is brilliant. For the average person, it’s opening the door into the issues and letting you see inside without ever judging or saying: “only really smart PhD’s in gender and race relations are welcome here.” We’re all welcome. And we should be racing through that damn door.
This gets me to a larger point, which is: thank goodness for new distribution models. Without the emerging platforms like Netflix and Amazon and Hulu investing in new content, we wouldn’t even have these shows. But why the hell not? As I worked through each new episode, I found myself wondering: why doesn’t this show work on a network? I can’t see why it can’t.
The average prime time viewer on the major networks is older, less internet savvy and is comfortable with what’s on right now. But if the big three continue to cater to this audience, they won’t even have an audience in a few years, which should worry them a whole hell of a lot more than people pirating their programming. Instead of making shows like Undateable Live (AKA Unwatchable Live) - which continues to draw on the same worn out stereotypes of generations of television just making it more impossibly challenging to watch by making me watch it live - they should be investing in the very kinds of stories that Ansari and crew are offering. My friend groups look a hell of a lot more like those seen in Master of None than those seen on most network shows. And our conversations ring true as well.
There will be a day in the not so distant future where we look at brands like CBS and equate them with the likes of Lifetime. The storytelling is so absurdly basic and blasé, it’s not even worth watching other than in some kind of campy, satirical way. And this is where Master of None seems so obviously fit for the future. Sure, it’s great for Netflix and the audiences there, but it could be profoundly beneficial for a wider public who hasn’t been challenged as often or as sneakily.
Think about it: it has all the trappings of a “buddies living in the big city” narrative structure with the dating and the career and the friendships. No one is particularly successful and everyone is relatable. It relies on regular laughs like sitcoms do, not often going more than 3 minutes without a laugh line. And it brings in a cast of side characters, like parents, to relay larger cultural contexts about the time we’re living in and the natural paradoxes of time passing. One can’t help but see Dev’s parents in Manhattan as similar comic relief to the likes of Jerry Seinfeld’s mom and dad in Florida.
So what’s all that damn different? The stories are more sophisticated. The writers are culturally hip and constantly conscious of it. The commentary is biting, but not hammering. And the cast isn’t primarily white. To me, what’s different is that the networks just don’t know what America looks like. Netflix does.
I will happily continue to watch Master of None and it’s brethren of awesome, original content on Netflix - but I can’t help but wonder if the Big Three aren’t taking note.
Did you know that you could curate an entire weekend’s worth of feminist friendly movies from your Netflix account? In fact, it’s possible. Think of it as your At Home Feminist Film Festival. No badges required.
You’d be surprised how many films there are for all ages, if you know where to dig. But to prevent you from having to do the work, I’m simply going to do it for you and hope you take advantage of my obsessive movie watching habit.
This is your curated Netflix Feminist Film Watch List organized according to who can watch it… aka, what’s age appropriate. There are also a couple mini-series or docu-series on here, because they are formatted more like a documentary film anyway, so you’re getting those too. Win! More to watch!
For Grown Up Feminists:
For Budding Feminists or Feminists of All Ages:
I fully intend/want to keep this list updated, so if you know of something I’ve missed, let me know in the comments and we’ll get it on here. I’m all for collaborative feminist curation.
Nerds are a weird breed. We do things… compulsively. Impulsively. Repeatedly. Obsessively. We just, embrace our lives with a certain verve that could lead to regrets.
You know what I mean. Mountain Dew induced gut rot regret on a Wednesday morning at work from a long-night of binge watching Doctor Who on Netflix the night before.
Here are the things I just refuse to regret as a nerd:
Why write this? Well, because I want to get beyond just not regretting these things. I want to … celebrate them. So awesome. Take those slightly embarrassing nerdy things you do and turn that on its head. Instead, shout it out and be weirdly parade-levels of proud.
So what if you’re almost 30? Or maybe past 30? That doesn’t mean you have to stop having slumber parties with your best girl friends and lust over each of the Avengers and their respective “qualities.” Let’s just say, I’m pro-girls weekend and especially pro-long nights spent trolling Netflix. But if you want to curate and craft the perfect evening of binge streaming with your be-boobed besties, I suggest checking out these titles:
In a World
I don’t think it is intellectually possible to dislike this movie. Lake Bell is freaking amazing in it as a woman who is trying to become the official trailer voice of the movie industry. You know… the “in a world… where…” dramatic movie trailer intro voice that tells you what is about to happen? Yeah, it’s girl power and media and relationships and it charmed my freaking pjs off.
Advanced Style
If I am 5 percent as cool as these women when I’m old, I win life. Seriously, this documentary is full of joy, fashion and truth. Can you really ask for anything else from a film?
Much Ado About Nothing
Shakespearean romance drama with a little Clark Gregg and a lot of Joss Whedon directing and just a general rad vibe? Yeah, that’s this movie. It’s weird and silly and fun and worth it.
Top of the Lake
This 7-part mini series will take up one whole night of your girls weekend, but it’s message about women of all ages: children, teenagers, women in their 20s, mothers, widows, elderly women, dying women - it just resonates hard. It’s emotional and transfixing and beautiful. Definitely keep the Kleenex close by for the finale.
Nell
And while you’re being emotion, maybe swing back to the 90s and watch Nell. What a beautiful, bizarre and important movie starring two much younger, crazy talented actors. You know, Jodie Foster and Liam Neeson. This movie still gets me.
Pretty in Pink
Turn all those FEELS into giggles with an 80s chaser from Molly Ringwald. Honestly, this movie doesn’t get the accolades, but it does perfectly capture the troubling realities of high school love triangles.
It’s Christmas season, which means CHRISTMAS MOVIES! I think I like Christmas movies more than tinsel and only slightly less than the cookies. They’re right in the middle there. If you’re looking for something to watch, here’s what you can find on Netflix now:
You can read the rest of my list over on Apartment Therapy. It includes great cookie baking background movies and more. Check that out here.
