Whenever I feel down or unhappy, I find myself searching for an escape, a distraction from all the negative thoughts or worries in my head. I crave getting invested in the interpersonal stories in other people’s lives, which comes to serve as a break from my own troubled mind.

Reality TV has cured my desire for escapism as I drench myself into the saturated, ~cheeky~ and charming world of Love Island (Season 6 if we are looking for specifics). Love Island centers around a group of “islanders” who come together in a villa to embark on a summer of dating, matchmaking, romance and ultimately a relationship, as new individuals enter every week. The show is paced at such a steady speed, with five episodes airing a week, providing the viewer the luxury of developing a dedication and care for the contestants and their relationships. I find myself thinking of the cast at such random points of my day, at times it even feels like they are my friends and I miss them! How is it that I feel so invested in these random British individuals from a reality tv dating competition show? Perhaps because I crave chaos and revel in their “banter”. Perhaps because with the way the show is formatted, it feels impossible to not be attached to Demi’s bad luck, or Shauna’s self doubt or Sianese’s pride or Paige and Finn’s connection. But also, perhaps because they know exactly what they are doing and I am exactly the type of person to fall for it.

Zola

Electric, alive, chaotic, sizzling. Zola pops off the screen, feeling larger than life with mesmerizing performances and theatrical direction that adds a layer of self awareness to the chaos. I was most intrigued by the humanization of the performances, even as they were coated with a layer of exaggeration. The dynamic that was constructed between Zola and Stefanie felt like such a power trip with Stefanie organizing the chaos and Zola feeling like an outsider to the disarray. The framing device of the film utilized voiceovers of Zola’s commentary while also focusing on her realistic and blunt reactions. This felt like a very effective choice as despite the mayhem, it was clear who’s story we were focusing on and following due to the enhanced directorial devices.

The scene that stood out the most to me was when Stefanie, played by Riley Keough, softly and tentatively asks X, played by Coleman Domingo, if she could have some of the profits she made from her sex work, in which he intends to keep. Keough’s performance entailed such a moment of vulnerability and a side of this character that we had not yet witnessed, creating the character to feel so much more complex and human than the poppy and abrasive caricature. This scene and Keough’s performance serves as a character shift as the character goes from being one of the villains in the scheme to actually being a victim herself.    

note:
see what others think of Zola here

Sarina Freda is watching:

The Wilds 

This piece is called: The Basics Really Do Get It.

Teen drama is not a genre I have spent any time with, at all. I missed my Degrassi window, and by the time it died, I had already identified myself as someone above it, someone not willing to spend my precious time on such a mind numbing scheme of a show. At 12 years old I thought I’d rather spend my time watching high-brow things like Pawn Stars and Cake Boss. I had only thought a fool would spend their time deep in the emotional throws of these hot adults playing kids. And as a young adult I have found that to be especially true with this contemporary iteration of the genre with Riverdale and Sabrina. It has been so easy to claim I am above it all. But. There really is something to it, I gotta say. The Wilds is one of the first YA/teen dramas I have ever watched in full. The show is essentially about a group of girls who are on a flight to a therapeutic retreat, when they crash land on an island and have to find a way to survive. Lord of the Flies meets Lost, but Gen Z gals. The show’s structure is such that each episode centers around the backstory of one of the girls, we get to see who she is and who she was and why she needed this therapy. Literally every theme of teenage girlhood is touched upon over the span of 10 episodes. Some inlude, but are not limited to: eating disorders, sexual assault, queerness, suicide, racism, and daddy issues. And although a few (a few) moments were in the cringe world, I found myself losing myself to these girls and their stories. Actually crying and actually laughing and actually wanting to throw up (in a good way). It’s all so very simple. Performance wise: challenging. Suspense wise: thrilling. But ultimately: simple. There is something beautiful in the simplicity. You do not need to work very hard to watch this show, it’s incredibly accessible. And I kind of only want easy things. My gCal is hard, but The Wilds is easy and that makes me feel good. It may be basic, but it is pure.

And it’s easy to think that it was created solely for the capitalist agenda of Amazon’s streaming service to increase their youth audience. A scheme. Yet behind the simple facade is the truth that many of these twitter stans are speaking to: this show is essentially entirely made of girls. Not women. Not even young adult women. I’m talking GIRLS. Just girls. No boys. Not one. (yet). Is that not insane??? And I can't help but think about what I was watching when I was 15 (not 12), when I could have used some strong and powerful female influence. I was on The Office, Parks and Rec, How I Met Your Mother, Arrested Development, Breaking Bad, House of Cards, and of course, MTV’s Girl Code. Some of it required reading, some of it very much not. And! Essentially no teenage girls (with the exception of Maeby). So the fact that this show even exists, that teenage girls/people can see themselves on screen like this, taking up this much space and holding the power they do without any reservations, is nothing short of inspiring. So thank god for The Wilds and thank god for teen drama. Filling a void I never thought I needed filled.

Kate Berlant and John Early Shorts & 555

Also been revisiting these.

They are just so good. They are geniuses. America’s favorite clowns. May they never stop. It’s exciting to see what they were making seven years ago on Youtube and to track their continuously growing careers and also how their artistic voices have changed and maintained.