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.
It’s super rare for a show to come along that I wish I made. The truth is that most of my favorite shows are ones where I just want to escape into them. But the honesty and rawness of Catastrophe grabbed my heart so hard.
Plus, Catastrophe is just damn funny. In every way. And if you have Amazon Prime and you can watch it, just go ahead and quit what you’re doing and go watch it. It’s real and honest and it feels good to watch. I’ve watched it three times. I know.
Kudos to Rob Delaney and Sharon Horgan for writing and acting in something so damn good.
Want to find more things to watch on Amazon Prime? Check out this post I wrote about 10 Comedies you can also catch with Prime.
We still have a few more months before Game of Thrones returns to our screens and who knows when George RR Martin is going to get his next book finished. And while we can watch some of the kick ass characters on other shows (Hi, Natalie Dormer, love you!) - it’s just not enough.
Here’s a few ways to survive:
Soak yourself up in the fun facts about the show so that you can totally use to impress your friends:
Play games inspired by the show:
The new Game of Thrones online game by Microgaming, immerses fans in the mythology of the show. Imposing castles, misty backdrops and fire-breathing dragons are all part of the adventure. It’s not available until Dec. 2014, but that’s only days away! You can find online locations featuring this game at Microgaming Tribune as well as other nerdy betting games.
Get immersed in the books from the series and beyond:
My brother is a HUGE fan of the books and he is always giving me the details on what’s different between the show and the text. I mean, there are six freaking books to read! And a brand new universe with an encyclopedic volume to give you behind-the-scenes facts. Also, don’t forget about all the show’s art books.
Go Outside and Enjoy Winter like a true Northerner:
There’s something about putting on a pair of snow shoes and wandering through the woods that truly makes you feel like Jon Snow could be your brother. I’m a huge believer in embracing winter to survive it and perhaps putting on your best fake fur and throwing on a fuzzy winter hat that makes it all feel more bearable.
Last week I hoped Lestrade would be given a chance to redeem himself before season 2 came to a close. Well, my wish came true. When Elementary excels, it’s because they’re focusing on relationships. Between Holmes and everyone else, yes, but also specifically when the people in Holmes’s life intersect and can teach one another something about working with, living with or even dare I say, being friends with the detective. For the first time, we see one of Holmes’s previous partners and current partners butting heads, but it may not be for the reasons you’d expect.
Holmes and Watson agree to let Lestrade stay with them while he seeks out his next job. Offers are flying in from all over the world and yet he drags his feet in making a decision. After coming off like a bombastic egotist last week, Lestrade is considerably more humble in light of his employment choices and confides in Joan that he doesn’t believe he will be able to live up to expectations. He thoroughly believes he was never more than an average detective. But as Joan points out, there’s no such thing as an average partner when it comes to Sherlock. He only tolerates the best, even if they look average alongside him.
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Every week this month I’m looking at one of the ladies from NBC’s Hannibal and analyzing their style. For this final post I’m looking at Hannibal’s psychiatrist Dr. Bedelia du Maurier. Bedelia was one of the most interesting characters in season one because she was one of very few people whose loyalties remained ambiguous throughout. While it was strongly hinted at that she knew more about Hannibal’s real identity than she let on, the extent of that knowledge was never revealed. Bedelia’s style is, fittingly, very different from most of the other female cast members as she almost completely eschews intense patterns and sticks with solid, bold colors. Her style is put-together, almost unnervingly so, presenting a professional and distant facade to everyone who approaches her.
Bedelia owns one of the most iconic pieces of fashion seen on Hannibal, a red wrap-around shirt that hangs off her figure perfectly. If you’re looking to channel her style then this is a must buy.
Although consistently professional, Bedelia’s wardrobe is also subtly sexy. She wears a lot of figure hugging mini and pencil skirts that show off her legs as she sits and listens to her patient.
To help her legs really make an impact Bedelia lengths them with killer heels. She tends to keep the style and colour simple to let the heels do the talking.
Bedelia often uses belts to maximise the impact of her waistline. This is a cheap and effective way to alter your wardrobe and give yourself a great figure.
We have seen Bedelia in a few dresses when she wants to change from her usual suit style. These too keep to her simple, form fitting style and avoid strong patterns. The cut of the dress is often the most design it needs.
To finish off her outfits Bedelia often wears classic suit jackets. This is the one place we have seen subtle patterns creep in to break up her outfits. Here’s some items we picked for her:
Wallis Red Plain Wrap Blouse: (£33)
Paule Ka Stretch Cotton High-Waisted Pencil Skirt: (£135)
Saint Laurent Classic Janis 105 Platform Pump: (£516)
Dorothy Perkins Black Basic Waist Belt: (£7)
Issa Short Sleeve Viscose Jersey Wrap Dress: (£385)
Next Black and White Jacket: (£45)
Sophie Brown is one of the core contributors over at GeekMom and so far the only Brit, which sometimes makes her feel guilty for not being a bigger fan of Doctor Who and Sherlock.
She is a die-hard X-Phile who loves cross stitching and baking cupcakes whilst marathoning sci-fi shows on Netflix. She is also an occasional cosplayer, spends far too many hours reading and writing X-Files fanfiction, and is attempting to learn Latin this year. You can email her at [email protected], especially about anything X-Files related, but be prepared for a very long answer.
Find her on twitter @easyqueenie.
