What We’re Watching…ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK

Last week, Sara Giustini and I posted our conversation about Master of None then I mentioned on social media that I was FINALLY watching the new season of Orange is the New Black.

Two things came out of that comment:

First, Sara’s reply “I’ll be curious to hear what you think about the new season…” motivated me to delay items on my “To Do List” and binge my way through Season 5 of Orange is the New Black.

Second, media scholar and generally wonderful person Sharon Marie Ross chimed in saying she wanted to know what I thought about the new season. With that comment, I discovered that Sharon was actually one of Sara’s professors!

Small world and all that, but let’s get down some serious talk about the most popular series on Netflix with Sara and Sharon Marie.

What We’re Watching…Master of None

Over lunch recently, my friend Sara Giustini and I compared notes on what we’re watching. It was not only fun but illuminating! Sara and I are both filmmakers and critical consumers of media. As we were about to leave the table, both of us wanted the conversation to continue.

So…here goes!

Mary: There are lots of binge-worthy shows out there — and I never feel caught up — but I did recently watch the second season of Master of None in one sitting. I liked it.

Sara: Master of None is one of my favorites. I absolutely loved the first season, and I enjoyed the second season as well.

Mary: I’m like you. I enjoyed the second season, but I felt the first season was stronger. I absolute LOVED “Indians on TV” for dealing with stereotyping in casting and “Ladies and Gentlemen” for dealing with gender microaggressions. These are such politically-savvy episodes. Honestly, I think I still remember both of them with more clarity than episodes from the second season even though I just watched it. Hmmmmm…

Sara: I really liked the “Parents” episode, too, because Dev (Aziz Ansari) and Brian (Kelvin Yu) interact with their immigrant parents in ways that are revealing to the characters and to viewers.

Mary: I totally agree with you! That one is a very stong episode, too.

Aziz Ansari as Dev in Master of None