Anyway the wind blows; doesn't really matter...
By Alisha Giampola (writer/performer)
It's only a week till the election, guys. Can you/your stash of bourbon make it till then? What about the very likely resulting fallout of angry racists who feel disenfranchised? Or worse, the opposite of that? A lot of people are feeling some major existential dread this week, and you can really feel it here in New York City, safe haven for liberal intellectuals who already live with a taco truck on every corner and are here to tell you that it's fantastic.
May I recommend trading in your very real and valid current concerns for some terrifying television diversions? Here are the things I'm most excited to watch on TV this month, no matter what happens on November 8th... AND YOU CAN TOO:
BLACK MIRROR - SEASON 3
OMG, you guys, this new season of Black Mirror is so deeply unsettling. I questioned my own existence like twelve times during the first episode. If that's not enough to make you want to watch, let me also tempt you by saying that this season contains the only genuinely heartwarming episode of this show that has probably ever existed. I teared up three times watching it, and I literally cry at nothing, you guys. Baby animals, emotionally manipulative commercials, Schindler's List, nothing gets to me. But the episode titled "San Junipero"? Get ready to feel like you just watched the first 15 minutes of Up, basically. There's also an episode during this season that is one of the best criticisms of the horrors caused by xenophobia and war that I've ever seen. I guess what I'm saying is, have you got a case of modern existential dread? Black Mirror has got your catharsis right here. And by right here, I mean that humanity has teetered off the delicate edge of empathy and fallen into the abyss of meaningless self-absorption and nothing really matters anymore. The Germans probably have a word for that.
WESTWORLD
Have you been enjoying Game of Thrones but wish it had a lot more nudity and way fewer humans? Behold, Westworld. Based on a 1973 Yul Brynner film of the same name (yes, for real), and hopefully not destined for the same fate as Lost, I have big hopes for this new SciFi thriller that is making use of technology that Spielberg could only dream of in 2001 when A.I. came out. I know de-aging CGI is getting to be old hat at this point, but the Benjamin Buttoning of Sir Anthony Hopkins during the episode where his character flashes back to thirty years earlier was actually my favorite special effect so far in a show literally bursting with special effects. If you'd like to take a break from your everyday angst and introduce yourself to the very real possibility that our existence is nothing more than a manipulation of code in some kind of universe-sized digital reproduction of actual sentient life, tune in to HBO on Sunday nights at 9.
THE FALL
Gillian Anderson, aka, Literally Everyone's Dream Girlfriend, returns in Netflix's season 3 of The Fall. Thing is, we already know whodunnit- although we only semi-kind-of know whyhedunnit (probably daddy issues, as usual) -and there's lot of interest in how the show will handle the ultimate punishment for its misogynistic, sadistic, but somehow weirdly sympathetic serial killer male lead. Will he be killed off quickly? Will the entire season devolve into a slow court drama? It's either going to be awesome and the end of the story, or too slow and ending on a slightly boring cliffhanger that no one really cares about tuning into another season for. (The title of this spoiler heavy article makes me feel like it's gonna lean toward awesome, but I'm only on episode 3, so I'm not reading it yet LALALALALA.)
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So... that's it for today... except that I have one more reccomendation: if you partake in no other media this week, partake in this episode of This American Life. And definitely listen to this song, which made my day this week. I guess let's just all meet back here next Wednesday if the USA is still a thing? Haha, just kidding, kind of.
Seriously though, would you all just do me a solid and exercise your democratic right to vote on Tuesday? And read up on your local government, and propositions, and all that good stuff too. Because remember, the President is like when you do your makeup and everyone is like: "Oh wow! You look great today!" But the rest of your representitive government is like when you take really good care of your skin long term and don't get wrinkles. Obviously it would be fantastic if we could have both all the time, but ultimately we all know that second thing is the most important.
ALISHA GIAMPOLA is an NYC based actor/teacher/writer who is trying to take better care of her skin.
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