TV & Movie Recommendations!

Recently, I've been watching more TV and movies than usual. This is because my partner Ryan is really fun to watch shows with. We chat and make comments while watching, and afterward we reflect together and analyze the things that most interested us.

One result of this is that I now have lots of shows and movies to recommend!

Here are some of my favorite things that I've watched recently.

Most of these are available on Netflix.

Atypical

Atypical follows the story of an autistic teenage boy (who loves penguins) trying to make sense of crushes, family, etc. It also follows his incredibly hot sister (pictured), what it's like for her to have an autistic brother, and her love and family life.

Big Mouth

Big Mouth is a heartwarming coming-of-age story about a few middle schoolers who are going through puberty. The show features their "puberty monsters" (pictured) who tell them to do questionable things like freak out at their parents, orgasm at inappropriate times, etc. Includes some great scenes of girl sexual empowerment.

Black Panther

This movie was great. I'm not that familiar with super hero comics, but Black Panther stood on its own. Not only is it an entertaining, engaging action movie with complex characters, but it also explores some really interesting questions about poverty and aid. Also, the costume, hair, and makeup design is outstanding.

Queer Eye

I did not expect to like this show nearly as much as I did. I had never seen the original Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, but I expected this to be a totally shallow guilty pleasure watch for me. But that was before I fell in love with Antoni, the show's chef (pictured). He has a ridiculously cute smile, but more importantly, seems like a genuinely nice person who cares about the guys that the group is trying to makeover. Also, he wears a Strokes band T-shirt in almost every episode.

Actually, all of the Queer Eye guys seem to genuinely want to help the guys they're making over live more fulfilling, successful lives. Even Jonathan, who I found annoying at first, more or less won me over by the end of the season.

The show also delves into topics of race, police brutality, connecting over political differences, and the varying ways that straight and queer guys express their gender (there's a cute scene where one of the more butch Queer Eye guys is teaching his more femme colleague to pose for a camera, and vice versa). While a makeover show isn't going to address these issues as carefully or in-depth as a more serious show or documentary would, I actually thought they did a pretty good job (other than sometimes being condescending to the guys they were making over).

Possibly my favorite thing about this show, though, is how the Queer Eye guys express affection physically, both with each other and with the guys they're making over. They kiss on the cheek, hug, pat on the back, etc. to show affection and to offer comfort. A lot of the guys they're making over seem uncomfortable with this (to varying extents), and while I think it's important to respect people's bodily boundaries, I also think they are doing a powerful thing by breaking down the walls around men and touch. I think it's possible to push people to overcome this discomfort, while also refraining from touching people when they seriously do not want to be touched, and my hope is that the Queer Eye guys are careful about navigating this fine line (though I can't tell from watching the episodes, which are, of course, edited).

(This section is much longer than the other sections because I just finished watching this show, not because it's better than the others.)

American Vandal

I didn't expect to like this show very much either, but I ended up being so into it! It is a mockumentary about a high school senior, Dylan, (right) who is accused of spray painting penises on dozens of teachers' cars in the school parking lot. Dylan is known among his classmates and teachers to be not only a trouble maker, but specifically a notorious dick-drawing vandal. While he admits to being a regular drawer of dicks, Dylan is adamant that he is, in the case of the cars, innocent. A sophomore at the school, Peter (left), decides to take up his case and make a documentary that explores whether or not Dylan was involved in the crime.

What's great about this show is how accurately it portrays teenagers. They're each complex characters, some more likable than others, and watching them felt so true to the experience of being a teenager.

This show also does an amazing job of mimicking a true crime expose, like Serial. I was on the edge of my seat at many points throughout the season.

Easy

This show follows a different group of people each episode, and as the show goes on the people start to meet each other.

My favorite episode is about a teenage girl from a Christian family who is mad at her parents. She starts to take an interest in Christianity and finds that some of the messages resonate with her, but is frustrated by the hypocrisy of many Christians. This episode was really relatable for me because I became a devout Christian when I was a teenager, and had some bad experiences with religion.

Another thing I loved about this episode was its depiction of a passionate teenager. When teenagers find a cause that is important to them, they will often throw themselves fully into fixing it, because they're generally less jaded than adults and are more likely to believe that things can be changed. Watching this episode was a helpful reminder to myself that things can change, and I should go all in when I care about something.

Also, this episode has some great body-positive and sex-positive moments.

Love

This is another show with very real characters. That's mainly why I like it. It follows Mickey and Gus, two 20-somethings living in LA and trying to figure their lives out. They meet when Mickey is fighting with a cashier at a gas station convenience store in an attempt to convince him to let her pay via IOU. Gus comes in and offers to pay, which is a relief because the cashier was not having it.

The show follows Mickey and Gus as they get to know each other, which is a messy process.

Masters of Sex

Masters of Sex is a show about Masters & Johnson, a real-life sex researcher duo starting in the 50s. I was excited when I heard about this show because I learned about Masters & Johnson in college, and am fascinated by human sexuality. The show discusses human sexuality, sexual dysfunction, homosexuality, etc. The personal lives of the characters can be a little dramatic, and I found Bill's character to be frustratingly unlikable for most of the series, but Virginia (Lizzy Caplan) is super hot, and they do explore some interesting stuff in their personal lives as well.

That One Episode of Black Mirror That Wasn't Too Disturbing For Me

I wish the rest of this show wasn't so upsetting, because I loved this episode and would love to watch more!

The episode tells the story of two young singles who meet on a dating app in a futuristic world where dating is done very differently. I liked the characters and thought the concept was interesting, but I don't want to give too much away, so I'll stop here.