Representation on Television (Okay, well. Netflix.)

      Due to the fact that I am a lazy, god-forsaken college student, most of my classless hours are filled with staring at my laptop. Kinda like when I'm in class. I'll most likely lose my eyesight at 25, if we are going to be truthful with ourselves. Anyway, Netflix seems to be the national pastime these days and I am completely fine with that. This is because I'm a lazy, god-forsaken college student, as aforementioned.

      Because I consider myself someone in the forward-thinking and -moving 21st century, I have found myself enjoying more and more of the original shows that are offered. For example, Orange is the New Black is a pretty rad show. Most of the Netflix-trudging users have these shows to break through if they want to get through other lesser known shows. It's almost a rite of passage; much like the weather or the Mets of the days before Netflix, these shows are almost like stock conversation pieces.

"Oh? You got Netflix right? Anyway, remember this time on Breaking Bad.." 

"Ah yeah, Piper is literally the worst character ever written." (she actually is pretty terrible, let's be real)

"Sense8 actually makes no sense at all." 

      Before I get far into the highs and lows of representation of a handful of shows that I'm vaguely preoccupied with, I'd like to mention that there may be SPOILERS. These SPOILERS will have to do with the new Netflix original SENSE8 and the not so new Netflix original ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK. Don't shoot the messenger, rip yours eyes out before you read. Or just stop. I can't really control ya. 

      We can start with the good ol' classic Orange is the New Black first because it pretty much sits on the fence with me. While the show is completely notorious for being led by a group of women, featuring many women of color, gender, and sexuality (see: Laverne Cox and Ruby Rose), it falls completely flat when it comes to representation of men. Men of any color, of any gender, of any sexuality. OITNB pretty much features mostly white guys who are driven by sexist, homophobic, racist comments and are usually horribly dumb. While a lot of people (mostly men, see #notallmen) try to portray as this as a feminist show, it's really not. Feminism is the advocacy of equal rights for all genders, races, sexuality, ages, etc. which includes even these horrible officers in an all female prison. And the psychotic family members that seem to be reduced to punchlines or villains. We might as well have just made the women 2D much like Piper. Just make them a bunch of Pipers. Ha. She's a terrible character. Okay, next. 

      Sense8 is one of the most pretty shows I've seen in my life. Briefly forget the fact that in their 8 main characters, 4 of them are POCs, 3 of them are not heterosexual, 4 are women, and 1 is trans. Just forget it. It's such a gorgeous show. Filled with fantastic color, gorgeous cinematography, and wondrous acting, Sense8 is literally one of the best written shows I've ever watched in a 24 hour span. 10/10, would avoid sleep to watch. Ok, so. These characters, am I right? 

   
      These characters each showcase the difficulties of life but somehow remain around to show the fight for pure humanity. There's also a lot of really great reference cinematography and horribly long scenes are are almost ethereal. And I need that in my life when I'm trying to distract myself from actual work such as this very blog post. Sense8 is that good. It just made me confess to my own procrastination. 

TL;DR Watch Sense8 and worship it, honestly. 

Amy Schumer and Feminism

People often judge me for the following facts:

1. I rarely find comedy funny.
2. I rarely find women funny.

No, I'm not cold-blooded. I enjoy laughing just as much as the next guy. And no, I'm not sexist. In fact, I'm quite the opposite of that. Women just choose far too often to make jokes that fit inside the box they've been placed in by our culture and media. I became so fed up with female comedians saying exactly what society expected, that I was very hesitant to watch a clip from Inside Amy Schumer, a sketch comedy show on Comedy Central. However, my sister gave me very little choice and I was presently surprised to discover that she is quite clever and hilarious.

The difference between Schumer and other comedians is that all of her sketches have an underlying feminist message, if not outwardly in your face about it. I would have to agree with Willa Paskin, who argues that "Inside Amy Schumer has become the most consistently feminist show on television, a sketch comedy series in which nearly every bit is devoted in some capacity to gender politics." The feminist tone in her sketches is so powerful, because she uses an on-screen satirical persona where she is the opposite of a feminist and rather an insecure, slutty, self-hating woman. This persona is what drives her feminist messages home.

Some of my favorite sketches are the ones where her and her girlfriends are talking. She uses the setting to hit hard on ridiculous habits too many women have. The following two sketches are based on real-life behavior, only blown up to insane and hilarious proportions, to accentuate the "humble" way women are encouraged to behave. Both videos also end in dramatic exaggerations of how it feels when somebody changes up the dialogue.

"Compliments" - aka the sketch about women's inability to take compliments.
http://www.cc.com/video-clips/iitfpm/inside-amy-schumer-compliments---uncensored

"I'm So Bad" - aka the sketch where female food shaming is more important than their other despicable behavior.
http://www.cc.com/video-clips/zaezg7/inside-amy-schumer-i-m-so-bad

Not all of her sketches are about small behavioral habits. Many of them get into some serious topics of double standard. Take, for instance, her sketch "A Very Realistic Military Game," which starts with her boyfriend switching accounts, feeling confident that she would ruin his rating, followed by his scoff at her decision to play as the female character. Her boyfriend warns her that the game is a more realistic version of Call of Duty, but we don't understand what exactly that means until her character is raped by a commanding officer (which, of course, her boyfriend doesn't believe).

"A Very Realistic Military Game" - aka the sketch that succinctly, clearly, and hilariously explains the injustive that women face in the modern world.
http://www.cc.com/video-clips/ac9kui/inside-amy-schumer-a-very-realistic-military-game

The last clip I'll share with you is "The Foodroom," a parody of Newsroom's creator Aaron Sorkin. This sketch is spot on in regards to many aspects, including sped-up dialogue, manufactured crises, and, most importantly, Sorkin's view on gender. As Amy so eloquently puts it in the sketch, "A woman's life is worth nothing unless she's making a great man greater."

"The Foodroom" - aka the sketch that features the only and only Josh Charles
http://www.cc.com/video-clips/wj1lk2/inside-amy-schumer--the-foodroom-

So yes, I have finally found a comedian that inspires me. To make funny content that carries the weight of a message in a more serious piece is what I consider pure genius.