A Case for Not Binge-Watching
Erica Rhodes usually isn’t much for reality TV, but she’s been losing herself for hours sheltering in place with episodes of “dumb reality stuff” like Netflix’s “Love Is Blind.” But even in the age of quarantine, there are some shows the actress and comedian doesn’t like to binge.
She likes Jerry Seinfeld’s “Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee,” (Netflix) but prefers sipping episodes, sometimes as a palate cleanser if she’s deep into something else. “Black Mirror” (Netflix) is also on her watch list but partway through every episode she thinks the same thing: “This is really good and well done and makes you really think, but I can’t take it all at once. I can do one at a time every once in a while.”
Stay-at-home orders mean more binge-watching than ever. Companies like HBO and Apple TV+ are making large portions of their catalogs available free, hoping viewers will do just that. But for many who have endless options at a time when they’re seeking connection, this is the right time to savor each episode, dissect them with fellow fans and take things one at a time.
We Want to Hear From You
What have you been watching in quarantine? Is there a show or film you think has been overlooked and is a must-see for others? Tell us what’s been on your screen while you spend time indoors, and we’ll feature a recommendation in a coming piece in this series. You can also email us at voices@wsj.com and include “streaming” in the subject line.
At the moment several new series are releasing episodes weekly, rather than all at once, creating opportunities for communal experience. Among them, Hulu’s “Little Fires Everywhere,” based on Celeste Ng’s novel of the same name about two mothers from different backgrounds, which has its finale next week. And there’s “Mrs. America,” from FX on Hulu, about the opposition to the Equal Rights Amendment, which debuts Friday. (See more below.)
Jason Mittell, professor of media studies at Middlebury College in Vermont, made a beeline for Twitter after watching the latest episode of “Better Call Saul”( AMC), the “Breaking Bad” spinoff that focuses on Walter White’s shady lawyer. The series drops Monday nights. Shut indoors, with no sports to watch and no escape from depressing news, Mr. Mittell says this is the perfect time to embrace the old-school tradition of consuming episodes of TV shows at the same time as everyone else.
“We want these sort of rituals of togetherness,” he says. “This sense of: We’re all consuming the same thing together at the same time and we can have a conversation is really lacking with no sports, and news being really depressing.”
Kerry Washington co-stars in the Hulu series ‘Little Fires Everywhere.’
Photo: HuluThere may be other benefits to slower watching too. Consuming episodes daily or weekly leads to “higher levels of enjoyment and better ability to remember what happened than bingeing did,” according to Jason Lodge, an associate professor of educational psychology at The University of Queensland in Australia, who co-wrote a 2017 paper, “’The Impact of Binge Watching on Memory and Perceived Comprehension.”
“We think this might be a similar phenomenon to what is called the spacing effect,” he says. “Spreading out exposure to new input over longer time frames leads to better learning. In the case of TV series, the effect also appears to extend to how well the series is enjoyed.”
Chaim Caron, a Wall Street Journal reader thinks “Midnight Diner,” (Netflix), an anthology series that centers around a chef and his customers, is one series that is better not binged. (See more below.) He says he’s watched the first season twice, but is not yet halfway through the second yet. “I am in no rush to see them all,” he says. “I am not eager to arrive at the point of having seen them all for the first time.”
Four Picks to Add to Your Queue
This week we talk with makers of two new series, offer a recommendation from the singer Jewel, and another from a reader.
New This Week: ‘Mrs. America’
(Hulu)
Newly released movies and shows
Dahvi Waller, the creator of “Mrs. America,” says making the series has allowed her to accomplish two things at once: create a political drama that has women as its central protagonists, and tell a story about change from the perspective of the opposition.
“Normally when stories are told about social change movements,” she says, “they’re told from the point of view of the progressive leaders, and very little is included about the leaders of the backlash to those social change movements.”
“Mrs. America,” a limited series that premiers today, tells the story of Phyllis Schlafly’s efforts to stop the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment, as well the team of feminists who supported it. It stars Cate Blanchett as Schlafly, Uzo Aduba as Rep. Shirley Chisholm, and Rose Byrne as Gloria Steinem.
Ms. Waller, who grew up in a house in which everyone she knew was a feminist, says the experience of making “Mrs. America” gave her both an added appreciation for the women who advocated for the amendment and those who pushed back.
“If you were raised to believe the most important thing you could do with your life is to be a stay at home wife and mother and you do that and you do that well,” she says, “and then one day you’re told that’s not good enough, you are now invisible, no one cares what you do—that is very upsetting.”
An Expert Recommends: ‘Miss Americana’
(Netflix)
Jewel, the platinum-selling singer and songwriter is hosting “Live From San Quarantine” concerts Thursdays at 3 p.m. PT at twitch.tv/inspirehouse to raise awareness of mental health issues. Here, she recommends a documentary on her watch list (condensed from an interview).
“I went from being homeless to selling a million albums a month for something like 14 months. It’s a level of fame and pressure and recognition that is slightly traumatic and that very few people can relate to. So, it was really fun to watch ‘Miss Americana,’ a documentary about Taylor Swift, and see how she handled it and how she’s giving back and how she is owning what she’s done. Something she talks about in the film that I think everyone can relate to is that she felt like she had to hide her own power, for being the mastermind of her own business. A lot of women feel this need to hide our light and be less powerful, to say things like ‘I’m no expert, but…’ And I think every single human can relate to trying to downplay or diminish their power, their strengths, their intelligence, their speed, whatever it is, to try and get approval and to be nonthreatening. That’s something Taylor dealt with that I’ve dealt with. It was beautiful to see.”
A Reader Recommends: ‘Midnight Diner’
(Netflix)
Chaim Caron, a reader in Cleveland, is watching “Midnight Diner,” a fictional anthology series set in Japan that centers on a chef and his customers. Two seasons are available on Netflix.
“My ex-wife introduced me to this show, which is in Japanese with English subtitles. She didn’t tell me anything about it. She just said: ‘Here’s something you might like’ and we watched together. So I had no expectations or pre-knowledge of any kind. Which was perfect because I discovered it on my own. I don’t want to say too much because I don’t want to ruin the discovery opportunity for others.
The action takes place in a small diner in Tokyo that opens every night at midnight. The owner/chef narrates the series but he stays in the background, leaving the foreground to his customers. Each episode features a different customer dealing with an emotional crisis and a dish that is central to their life.
There is a strong sense of melancholy that runs through the series, but also a lot of humor. It is slow-paced by American standards, and introspective. I loved the series immediately, but its emotional depth struck me gradually, and I grew more connected to the series over time. Somehow, watching it makes me feel more connected to humanity, which might make this a great show to watch right now, when we are physically isolated from humanity.”
New This Week: ‘Home’
(Apple TV+)
Newly released movies and shows
“Home,” a new series that premieres Friday, explores the innovative, and sometimes odd, structures of dwellings around the world.
The series invites viewers into homes and lives of people who pick their homes either by choice or by necessity. In an episode set in Sweden, a young woman lives with her family in a house built inside a greenhouse. “We just want to show the world that there is an alternative way to live—and it’s a good one,” she says in the episode. In another, set in Mexico, an impoverished family receives a 3-D printed house. “We don’t need more normal,” says a member of the project team. “We need more homes.”
Doug Pray, an executive producer who also directed two episodes, says the creators weren’t trying to create another way for viewers to gawk at the weird, luxurious and unattainable. Rather, he hopes viewers come away not thinking that they need more home, but that they can do more with the home that they have.
“It’s not about running off to build your dream home somewhere else,” he says. “It’s not about importing outside ideas. It’s just about: what do we have right in front of us that we can enrich, that we can use better to a better end?”
Icons by Rob Wilson
An episode of ‘Home’ that takes place in Sweden features a family that lives in a house within a greenhouse.
Photo: AppleShare Your Thoughts
What have you been watching in quarantine? Is there a show or film you think has been overlooked and is a must-see for others? Join the discussion below.
Copyright ©2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiemh0dHBzOi8vd3d3Lndzai5jb20vYXJ0aWNsZXMvd2hhdC10by13YXRjaC1mZW1pbmlzbXMtYWR2ZXJzYXJ5LXBoeWxsaXMtc2NobGFmbHktaXMtYS1zdGFyLWluLWh1bHVzLW1ycy1hbWVyaWNhLTExNTg2OTc3MzI00gF-aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cud3NqLmNvbS9hbXAvYXJ0aWNsZXMvd2hhdC10by13YXRjaC1mZW1pbmlzbXMtYWR2ZXJzYXJ5LXBoeWxsaXMtc2NobGFmbHktaXMtYS1zdGFyLWluLWh1bHVzLW1ycy1hbWVyaWNhLTExNTg2OTc3MzI0?oc=5
2020-04-15 19:10:58Z
52780722507079
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar