6A — Friday, September 9, 2016
Arts
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Does binge-watching
help or hurt viewers?
By ALEX INTNER
Daily Arts Writer
I have a mixed relationship
with binge-watching.
A fad that started with the
release of TV shows like “24” on
DVD in the early 2000s and was
popularized by streaming ser-
vices like Netflix, binge-watching
has become all the rage. Still, as
a TV viewer, I have an up-and-
down relationship with the idea.
On one hand, when a story is com-
pelling, it’s hard to stop myself
from pressing play on the next
episode. On the other, there are
times where I wish I would take a
step back and reflect on what I’m
watching.
This past week, I watched the
entire first season of Netflix’s
“Stranger Things.” The eight epi-
sodes feature the perfect com-
bination of storytelling features
for binge-watching: introducing
elements of a mystery, twists and
turns that changed the course
of the show and a series of nasty
cliffhangers that push you into
the next episode. It’s a show that’s
perfect for the Netflix model and
is compulsively watchable. It ben-
efits from the momentum that
watching multiple episodes at a
time brings.
For every show I find irresist-
ibly binge-able, there’s a show I
wish I hadn’t rushed through.
I watched the second season of
FX’s “Fargo” over the course of
three days so I could include the
show on my best-of-2015 ballot.
As I made my way through the
episodes, I found myself long-
ing to take a step back and just
think about what was happen-
ing. “Fargo” tells its story in a
way that services a week-to-week
viewing in how in unfolds its
character arcs and stories. But
instead of looking at each step
along the way, everything blend-
ed together.
Yet, with some series, it’s
impossible to avoid watching
them on a binge. The biggest
example of this is “Orange Is the
New Black.” It seems that with
every release of a new season,
the race is on to finish every epi-
sode before you stumble upon a
spoiler from a friend or Twitter.
It took me a week to work my way
through the season, and I was still
unable to avoid finding out about
the key death at the end of the
show’s fourth season. The dra-
ma’s fourth season, in particular,
is one that would have benefited
from taking a step back to process
each step, as it built a story with
strong themes and some strong
character arcs.
Yet, binge watching is a nec-
essary part of my television diet.
During a semester, it’s hard for
me to keep up with more than
a few shows at a time. During
breaks, I take advantage of my
time off to watch as many shows
as I can, moving from show to
show at a rapid pace. It’s easy to
go from “Stranger Things,” to the
back half of the second season of
“unREAL,” to “BoJack Horse-
man,” to working through “The
Get Down” in the span of a few
weeks. It’s how I can get to even
a tenth of the massive amount of
scripted shows out there.
Ultimately, my issues with
binge watching could just come
from a lack of self-control. (What’s
to stop me from taking a break
between episodes?) But, with so
many spoilers out there and hav-
ing the next episode right there
ready to play, it’s hard to avoid
just powering through a season’s
episodes. The TV industry is
slowly changing to encourage this
type of viewing. This is not only
because of Netflix’s success with
the model but also because of how
networks are starting to push for
the rights to stream every episode
of a season during a show’s run in
an effort to encourage viewers to
catch up quickly.
But, the question remains:
does binge-watching hurt the
television I watch? The answer
seems to be a mix of yes and no.
For series like “Stranger Things”
or “24,” it enhanced the momen-
tum of the storytelling to see it
without breaks or something
separating it. For “Orange Is the
New Black” or “Fargo,” a little
more space between episode
would have been appreciated to
sort out the shows’ deeper the-
matic development. So, there
doesn’t seem to be a right answer
to whether or not to binge watch,
which only makes my feelings of
love and hate toward the practice
even more unclear.
“Are women funny?”
Of course, you jerk.
By KELLY MARTINEK
Daily Arts Writer
I hate hearing that women
aren’t as funny as men.
Women
make
me
laugh
every day. My mom, my sis-
ter, my best friend, my favor-
ite Twitter accounts and my
favorite authors are all funny
women. The shows I’ve been
binge-watching on Netflix all
summer are female-driven TV
shows, helmed by strong, funny
women. I love “How I Met Your
Mother” and “The Office,” but I
also love “The Mindy Project,”
“30 Rock,” “Girls” and “Jane the
Virgin.”
So don’t tell me that women
aren’t funny. Don’t discredit the
work of Tina Fey, Amy Poehler,
Lena Dunham, Mindy Kaling,
half the cast of SNL, the cast
of “Bridesmaids,” every female
screenwriter and showrunner
who creates the funny male
characters you love. I could
go on, but I’m not going to (for
now).
Women are funny, and I love
female writers and female-driv-
en TV, but I can’t help but notice
a difference in my own prefer-
ence when it comes to stand-up
comedy. At this point, Netflix
knows what I like: Bo Burnham,
John Mulaney, Louis CK, etc.
Netflix is smart enough to rec-
ommend “Shows With Strong
Female Leads,” but only sug-
gests comedy specials by male
stand-up comedians. In fact,
there’s about one comedy spe-
cial by a female comedian for
every five by a male comedian
on Netflix anyway, so maybe
I’m not the only one who feels
this way. There just isn’t a single
woman on the list of stand-up
comedians I can actually say I
watch and really enjoy.
As in every situation, I hesi-
tate to blame myself. I want
to find female stand-up acts I
enjoy, but every time I watch
one, I find the comedian fits into
one (or both) of these categories:
Somehow More Sexist Than
Male Comedians: Sure, male
comedians say some pretty
awful things about women (I
don’t like them, either). But
when women do it, it just feels
like, come on girl. Let’s at least
be on our own side. If you have
to resort to making fun of your
own gender — our helplessness,
our sluttiness, our appearances
— how funny are you really?
These comedians recycle the
same topics: gynecologists, mas-
turbation, being old and unmar-
ried. It feels like I’ve heard it
before, and it all just feels a little
misogynistic.
Just Gross: This one isn’t just
for women either. Joking about
something like abortion, anal
sex or STDs gives an act shock
value, which makes these topics
a really easy way for comedi-
ans of any gender to get a laugh
out of their audience. But it just
feels like cheating. I get it, a lot
of comedy is really vulgar, and
maybe that’s just not my thing.
It feels like a crutch used by
comedians who aren’t funny
enough to get a laugh the hard
way. One of my favorite stand-
up comedians is John Mulaney
(“The Comeback Kid”), not just
because he’s funny, but because
he’s funny without resorting to
the shocking. It’s situational,
observational comedy, and that
takes more talent than telling
dick jokes.
One of my least favorite
stand-up acts is Amy Schum-
er. I like her on Twitter and
in “Trainwreck,” but as much
as I want to like her stand-up
routines, I just don’t. Her jokes
are
almost
constantly
self-
deprecating. She says she’s fat;
she says she’s loose; she says
she’s a drunk. She mocks her-
self and her gender and even
when she does make me laugh,
I find myself asking, why is this
funny? It’s cheap humor that
relies on the taboo.
I admire funny women. I want
to watch female comedians per-
form stand-up and I want them
to make me laugh until I can’t
breathe and I want the jokes to
be about something other than
getting a pap smear or giving a
blow job. I’m just asking female
comedians to be better. But this
relies on audience response, too.
So now I’m looking at you, audi-
ence: don’t only think women
are funny when they’re making
fun of women. Don’t only think
women are funny when their
comedy is crude. Don’t only
think men are funny when their
comedy is crude either. Respond
to smart humor. Respect women.
Respect yourself. Demand bet-
ter stand-up comedy.
TV NOTEBOOK
California MC still
haunted on new EP
‘Prima Donna’
By MATT GALLATIN
Daily Arts Writer
Vince Staples has never been
one for linearity. He can jump
between
dejected
soul
and
inspirational
activist,
often
within
the
same
track,
even the same
line.
Density
and expression
are far more
important than
moving
from
point A to point
B – a double-
edged sword that Staples has
wielded skillfully in releases
past and now present.
This was clear on the closing
track of Staples’ masterful debut
album Summertime ’06, stating
“Next time on Poppy Street…”
and cutting off not 45 seconds
into the track. The effect keeps
us on edge, ready for what’s
around the corner, an allusion to
the frenzied and dangerous life
on the Long Beach streets that
Staples portrays. Never mind
that the teaser never material-
izes in full on Prima Donna; Sta-
ples continues where he was cut
off with a claustrophobic atmo-
sphere and vigor to match that
of his debut.
For those even vaguely famil-
iar with Staples, Prima Donna
will play as immediately famil-
iar. The production, though this
time handled by a wider scope
of producers (including Brit-
ish electronic artist and singer
James Blake), fits squarely with-
in the scope of Summertime ’06.
Even the track titles can cause
chronological confusion: Was is
“Loca” or “Loco” which was on
Summertime? Haven’t I heard
this line before?
While some artists can be
dragged by redundancy with
this kind of repetition, Staples
manages to use it to further his
politically charged work. That it
becomes difficult to distinguish
musically between his work
today, a year ago or two years
ago rehashes Staples’s protest:
the police brutality and systemic
racism he dealt with then hasn’t
changed so much today.
Perhaps it has even gotten
worse. The most noticeable pro-
gression on Prima Donna is in
Staples’s tone, which can sound
more downtrodden and dystop-
ic than anything he’s released
before. The EP opens with a
croaking spoken word segment,
simply repeating “I’m gonna let
it shine” over and over, distant,
like a man sitting in a dark corner
cupping a fledgling flame. And
then, “Crack!”, we’re shot into
the first legitimate track, “War
Ready” — on first listen the jolt
can actually frighten you. Sta-
ples is apt at capturing his audi-
ence’s attention with these kind
of musical breaks, intruding on
silence and moments of lull with
loud noises and sudden transi-
tions, forcing you to pay closer
attention and disallowing casual
listening. The third Andre 3000
verse from “ATLiens” is sampled
to start the track, and his words
from 1995 are eerily in line with
those from Staples, nearly 20
years later.
The jump between downtrod-
den and optimistic that Staples
uses liberally is clearest on the
transition between that first full
track “War Ready” and the next,
“Smile,” an upbeat, guitar driv-
en anthem. He acknowledges
the distress voiced just before,
but looks up and tells the world
– and himself – “… when life gets
hard / And you just think / You
wanna end it all / Smile for me.”
Prima Donna also finds Sta-
ples experimenting with differ-
ent flows and rhythms, clearest
on closing track “Big Time,” a
testosterone-fueled gang boast
produced by James Blake. He
stretches his voice to a higher
pitch and bites the pulsing beat,
similar to Detroit rapper Danny
Brown’s cadence. It’s one of his
most successful street anthems
to date, and one of his most
adventurous. The beat could
easily drown out less consuming
rappers, but Staples controls it,
making it bow to him.
And again, this release ends
with a teaser: “Next time on
Poppy Street… .” This glimpse is
far darker than the last though,
with rainfall in the background
and a scared voice asking “Hello,
is anybody there?” Whether
these teasers somehow mate-
rialize onto Staples sophomore
LP or not, the message is clear —
there’s no time to wait.
Vince Staples is
back and bleaker
ALBUM REVIEW
A-
Prima
Donna
Vince Staples
Def Jam
NETFLIX
“Nancy Jo, this is Alexis Neiers calling.”
TV NOTEBOOK
Staples sounds
more dystopic.