"The Get Down" is one of the best shows on Netflix, and frankly one of the best shows in recent years. It is being slept on and for some reason, no one is talking about it. "The Get Down" has become one of my favorite shows to date, and here are five reasons why you should watch it.
1. Music
The music in this series is phenomenal. The series focuses on the Bronx in 1977, when disco and hip-hop make a crucial collaboration. "The Get Down" features both original music and classics from the 70's, letting its viewers feel a sense of nostalgia and get to fall in love with new music.
2. Cinematography
This series, along with being thought-provoking and revolutionary, is also extremely beautiful. Graffiti has the connotation that it is dirty and something to wash away. "The Get Down" flips that connotation on its head, and reestablishes what this art form was meant to do: express and provoke feelings. Along with this, the use of imagery, sunlight, and lights from the clubs really express the emotions the characters feel in the scenes. As supervising producer Nelson George says to Salon, "I think the things that make this show unique and separate are precisely because we illustrate. We don’t do poverty porn. We’re showing the joyous side of it and the sense of possibility." They are telling a beautiful and colorful story about creativity, through music, words, and graffiti. Baz Luhrmann tells the story of love, friendship, solidarity, and perseverance through color and positivity.
3. Characters
The characters in this series are realistic, empowering, flawed, and human. The main characters are younger, like the ages of millennials today. These characters are supporting each other through the arts, and they are all diverse. Most are people of color, but they are not stereotyped. The lack of "poverty porn" goes along with the fact that many people in the Bronx back in the 70's owned their own businesses. They weren't Rockefellers, but the got by. Though the show contains violence and drug use, it shows it through the lens of coming-of-age youth in a time of uncertainty and revolution. The characters have each of their own passions and loves, making them so real, that they feel like you're part of The Get Down Brothers.
4. Representation
This is one of my favorite parts of this show. There is representation for women, Latinos, African-Americans, and for the LGBTQ+ community. Many shows out there claim that their lack of representation is because of the time period that the show is set in. The 1970's were not the best time for any of these communities, yet "The Get Down" gives these communities an accurate and strong voice.The women are treated as human beings, with struggles that are not just about being oppressed by men. People of color are shown through a human lens, something that many other series fail to do. The stereotypes fall away, and what is revealed are the everyday lives of these kids in the Bronx. They're not all poverty-ridden: they have hopes, optimism, and are empowered by their struggles to be better. The LGBTQ+ community has much needed representation. In the scene shown above, Dizzee (played by Jaden Smith) goes to a secret party. There, many LGBTQ+ people are celebrating who they are, the majority of them being of color. This brings into light that much of drag culture as well as disco culture has been formed by Latinos and African-Americans. "The Get Down" shows the real history of the different communities. It shows their pain, but it also shows their love, passion, and creativity; all three that we need now more than ever.
5. Thought-Provoking Content
Politics, love, opportunity, violence, drugs, education, poverty, corruption, and religion are all topics of conversation in this show. This show is one that focuses on the hard-hitting issues that many are afraid to talk about, and those that usually do don't get it right. "The Get Down" allows you a space to think about your own life, your own opportunities, and what you're doing to get there. These characters become confident in their creativity and in turn begin to create themselves. The characters are hilarious, emotional, and talented, and I have fallen in love with them. The show brings up topics that were important in the 70's, and are becoming increasingly crucial to talk about now in the 21st century. So do yourself a favor: fall in love with "The Get Down" as I have.
