Media Diet - Late Summer Edition

I have fallen behind on sharing the series and movies I have been enjoying. I would like to become more regular with writing these kinds of posts like Jason Kottke, who writes his media diet posts quarterly, if not more often. I have been watching stuff a little more frequently now with my girlfriend but not bingeing shows as often as I used to do.

Here is a quick rundown of shows I have watched this year, in no particular order:

1 in 7641 & I Love Filipino (Netflix)

I have been in a relationship with a Filipina nearly 1.5 years now, so my interest in the Philippines is growing stronger by the day. These two mini-series are both different and similar.

I Love Filipino focuses on the modern culture of the country. Each episode is about a certain aspect of the culture: food, music, sauces (which is a big thing with Filipino food), and more.

The history of food and its cultural influence has always been of interest to me, even more so after eating more Asian food. Canadian food culture (in my opinion) is a blend of all different cultures with nothing that stands out to be uniquely Canadian besides Nanaimo bars, butter tarts, and poutine. The food in the Philippines has a rich history which I love hearing about. Sisig (pork belly, onions, calamansi) was discovered by a kitchen accident and has become incredibly popular, questions about what is the national dish of the country (adobo or sinigang) and more debate about whether lechon (spit-roasted pig) was an idea stolen from Spain or given to Spain during their colonization.

This conversation is also a big part of 1 in 7641, which is a fast moving series from Kyle Jennermann. He’s a Canadian YouTuber who has lived in the country for over 13 years now. Each episode focuses on a different aspect of Filipino culture as well, but it touches more on the local culture and how history has touched the country. It talks about the Spanish influence, the American period, World War II and Japan, and other influencers from China and Korea. It also travels the country a little more than I Love Filipino (the 7641 is in reference to the number of islands in the Philippines).

If you have any interest in the country or southeast Asia in general, I strongly recommend watching either or both series.

Your Friends and Neighbours (AppleTV+)

This was a delightful surprise of a series. Jon Hamm (Mad Men being one of his most well-known shows) plays a divorced father of two teenagers. After he loses his job, he is forced towards illegal work to maintain his wealthy lifestyle. A black comedy full of intrigue and laughs. Definitely a show to add to your bucket list this fall/winter.

The Bear (Season 4, FX/Disney+)

The Bear has been one of my favourite shows since season one. The frenetic pace of the action around a slower moving plot full of rich characters has been wonderful. The language used, and how it is delivered, is perfect in my mind. It reminds me of shows like Succession and Deadwood that relied heavily on characters and language more than plot to capture attention. It definitely takes some time to appreciate the characters, and it is not a show for everyone, but I love it.

The latest season was quite good and had a healthy mix of ensemble episodes with episodes focused on one character or relationship which created an even deeper appreciation of the show for me.

Severance (Season 2, AppleTV+)

It took three years of waiting for another season of Severance, but the wait was worth it. This is how I described it after watching the first season:

Definitely a binge-worthy show about the work/life balance with a touch of dystopia and a slowly unraveling onion of a mystery show. Absolutely fantastic.

That onion was further unraveled in this season with a few episodes dedicated to discovering more surrounding the mythology of the show, and the build up of the personal relationships. Certain episodes felt magical to me with the way the directors combined a stylized portrayal of the characters and the strong emotions they were displaying. This season may not have been as strong as the first (always difficult to match the experience of something new and fresh in a sequel/second season) but I still quite enjoyed it.

American Manhunt: Osama bin Laden (Netflix)

I wasn’t too keen on watching this mini-docuseries. The events of 9/11 are still brought up now and then (especially with the anniversary approaching next week) but it has largely fallen to the side as an important event in recent history. I would argue that the election of Trump in 2016 has cast a larger shadow in culture/media in the last ten years than the decade after 9/11.

The first episode was really difficult to watch for obvious reasons. The rest of it was very well done and pulled together a lot of different people that were involved in finding Osama bin Laden. There was quite a bit of information shared that I wasn’t aware of: starting with The Sisterhood (a group of female CIA agents who identified and tracked Osama years before 9/11); a devastating attempt at collecting information from an informant in Afghanistan that resulted in a suicide bomber attack; and, the breakthrough that led to the discovery of bin Laden’s home in Pakistan.

More Options

Beef (Netflix) - another black comedy between two characters who’s first meeting is one of them getting cutoff by the other in a parking lot. A lot of fun.

A Man in Full (Netflix) - reminded me a bit of Succession, focused on a wealthy businessman who’s life is unravelling quickly. Worth a watch.

Foundation (AppleTV+) - based on the Isaac Asimov series of books, this show is growing on me. It’s a science fiction story about an Empire growing too big and on the verge of collapse, and Foundation, which was setup to preserve human history and culture after the collapse. An epic science-fiction show.

Slow Horses (AppleTV+) - adding this year because the new season is coming out towards the end of the month. Excellent, excellent black British comedy with one of the most disgusting yet brilliant characters on TV. Must watch.