1. Anne with an ‘’e’’:
It would take too long if I were to sit down and explain how amazing this show is. Aside from the casting being spot-on, the aesthetics being true to the period, and the intriguing premise of it, Anne with an E is very complex.
The main character, Anne, who dealt with neglect and abuse from a very young age finally finds a family. But she is confronted with many other issues, common at that time.
Sexism, racism, homophobia, prejudice, education, love, friendship, family, beauty, Anne fights against the unjust world with her greatest gift, her words. She cannot stand for something she thinks is wrong and she won’t be silenced either. She slowly comes to the realization that she is perfect the way she is and that she doesn't need to change for anyone.
Anne made me love being a woman. This show taught me that I do not need to be more ‘’like a boy’’ to make men acknowledge me. I just have to be the greatest I can be for myself only. I don’t need to prove myself.
“No one but you is allowed to dictate your worth.” and “Don’t go feeling you have to do something because people expect it”. I have to be my own person and then, only then, I will love myself. Even as a woman, daughter, friend, lover, I am still myself. I don’t need anyone to be whole.
But I will surround myself with amazing people and live a happy life while being appreciated by many. I won’t let anyone tell me that I can’t do something. And I will put my all into everything that I do. This show helped me be in love with myself.
2. Reply 1988:
I could not stop crying after I first watched this series. It made me feel so many beautiful things as well as this tormenting need to hug my parents.
Reply 1988 is a Korean drama that focuses on five neighboring families and their relationship with each other. It’s about youth and community, love and friendship. It is an incredibly accurate representation of healthy relationships between parent and parent, parent and child, sibling and sibling, lover and lover, friend and friend.
What made me the most emotional was the fact that the creators of this masterpiece were trying to tell you “LIVE!”; live outside your own mind, make memories, laugh as loud as you can, love without fear, talk about your feelings, express your sadness and pain. But don’t forget, be kind.
When I watched the last episode, I was feeling the most beautiful pain I had ever felt. Growing old is a terrifying thing, but they made it look so peaceful.
That perfect picture of their youth from back in 1988 will always be stuck in time. It will never disappear. All the love that filled the alleyway where everyone lived warms up the pavement even today. Being able to remember is so inconceivably delightful, yet we take it for granted.
This show is also very funny and entertaining in general. It filled my heart with so much joy each episode and it took me out of my darkest state of mind.
I will never stop recommending it and I can say, with a hand on my heart, that it was one of the things that made me the happiest I’ve ever been.
The casting is perfect, the acting is lovely, the plot is well structured and very well-paced, an all-around amazing watch.
3. Strangers from Hell:
This show made me rethink my writing style as I was watching it. It’s terrifying in a silent, subtle way. Strangers from Hell is a thriller/horror drama that focuses on the life of an aspiring writer who just moved into a shady apartment building.
The fact that the main character is also a writer made me question every single scene they filmed from his perspective. We tend to stock things in our brain the way we want them to be, not the way they actually happened sometimes, therefore I thought he would be an unreliable narrator.
If I was right or wrong, that’s your decision to make.
For the first few episodes, I was trying to put tags on the characters: “antagonist”, “protagonist”, “another antagonist?’’, “okay? he looks insane”, “is he the protagonist tho?’’. Quick spoiler, you can’t do that. This show made me think that we are born good and we turn evil on the way. Strangers from Hell is full of gray characters with questionable morals who do even more questionable things. But for what?
Entertainment?
Boredom?
Pure malice?
Why is it that I can’t feel bad for any of them when they’re hurt?
I was scared for my sanity. Would I do this if I were put in the same situation?
Then I thought to myself, “I want people to feel things just as intense as this with my words.” This series was a great inspiration for me. The only things I could compare it to would be either Hannibal or I Saw the Devil.
I learned great things from these three wonderful pieces of cinematography and I advise everyone who is interested in these themes to check them out.
