After a long wait, the world of Sense8 is finally coming back on December 23 with its Christmas special. For those of you who are not aware of Sense8, it is a science fiction Netflix series about eight people around the world who can telepathically and empathically communicate with each other, also known as sensates. Among the struggles to keep this ability hidden from the outside world, they also have an agenda to escape from the main antagonist, Whispers, who tampers with the sensate powers.
The Wachowskis have found a way to lay a very simple foundation in a very intricate and complex idea. When you watch the show, you feel intrigued and touched by the power that these sensates have. How many times have you felt like telling someone, can you please just read my mind? Well, look no further! This show brings some comfort and hopefully awareness to how some people in this day and age may feel around the world.
If you have not already immersed yourself into their world, let me bring it to you with 8 reasons on why you should watch Sense8 on Netflix.
1. Exploration of the Sexual Orientation Spectrum
Fortunately, after years of fighting for different types of love and identities, we have finally found some solid ground. Sense8 takes it one extra level by adding not only just a homosexual character, but also a transgender homosexual. In the video above, you will witness the stories of these two characters as they channel each other’s memories and pain. There is a closeted gay character in the show, which demonstrates how different cultural values can restrain people from being authentic.
2. We see finally see stories in color, and by color I mean diversity.
Diversity. The stereotypes are definitely present in the show, but above that, you see different people only being themselves and living their life. In this scene, we have Kala from India and Wolfgang from Germany as they experience each other’s country, weather, and opinions. For many people, it is difficult to verbally share how your culture makes you feel or how your heritage has shaped you, so why not simply vicariously live through it? With the exception of Kala and Wolfgang who have super powers, their dynamic presents how critical it is to be both sensitive and curious about other people’s history.
3. Fight scenes are much cooler in this show.
Part of being a sensate also signifies that these characters can essentially inherit each other’s physical and intellectual abilities. For example, in this scene, one of the characters Sun of Korea is a boxer, and in this dangerous scene with Capheus from Kenya, he essentially inherits Sun’s fighting abilities. Confused yet? Watch the scene.
4. The love stories seem real.
What does that mean? Wasn’t "The Notebook" a real love story? Well, this is a bit different. Since these people can feel each other’s emotions, the relationships are upfront, particularly with one love story between U.S. native Will and Iceland native Riley. These two characters have your typical romance, but their love seems connected in a more unconventional yet authentic way. Watch the show to find out what I mean.
5. Making the strange familiar.
One of the predominant aspects was open-mindedness. The way to stay unprejudiced often times is correlated to understanding the way somebody feels. The main premise of this show involves eight complete strangers who get to know each other on every personal level. This idea also evokes the idea of acceptance. As a fan of this show, I think it helped me realize how important it is to both listen and comprehend others regardless of your relationship status with them.
6. MEN finally feel the MENstrual Struggles.
In this scene, Lito from Mexico senses Sun’s menstrual cramp pain and all of the emotional burdens that follow.We have Lito experiencing Sun's time of the month. As women, it is challenging to sometimes explain our irritability surrounding our periods. It is definitely reassuring to witness that television finally captured and empathize this type of role reversal. This scene is meant to be funny, but this man finally feels the pain women endures five to seven days each month.
7. On that note… A man also gets pregnant.
Not quite. In this scene, you see Will feeling Riley’s very painful pregnancy, not just emotionally but also physically. One of the aspects that I love about the show is how it incorporates normalcy into a more intimate level. While the context of the scene is a bit more intense, this scene diffuses some of the tension. Men do not get pregnant, but here, Will empathizes with Riley’s past by experiencing it himself.
8. What’s Up? The 4 Non-Blondes
This scene truly captures the essence of cohesion within this cluster of sensates. It is a feel-good scene that binds all of the characters in a great musical number. This is also one of my favorite songs now, “What’s Up” by the 4 Non-blondes. On top of the lightheartedness of the scene, the song epitomizes what the show stands for. This show has an unconventional way of story telling, but it brings an idealistic version of what reality should be like. Of course, as humans we cannot possess the abilities that these sensates have, but we can definitely try to empathize with each other.
