Netflix and Hulu: Binged.
During quarantine, catching up on movies and TV shows was a big part of our daily routines. Shoutout to all of us who made Netflix and Hulu worth the monthly subscriptions. After our few-month binge, we’re giving you the top five movies and TV shows released this year that you need to check out for yourself. With not much going on socially, why not use some of your spare time having a movie night with the girls?
Normal People
Normal People is an Irish drama television series that came out on Hulu this April. The show follows a girl named Marianne and a boy named Connell during their time in secondary school (high school) and continues to their time at Trinity College in Dublin. As they become more involved, the more complex their relationship becomes.
The two come from very different backgrounds—Marianne is the studious yet outspoken girl in school that everyone isolates. She comes from a broken family; her abusive father has passed away and her mom is extremely dismissive. Connell, on the other hand, is very well-liked at school. He is a star athlete that came from a single-parent household, and his mother was employed by Marianne’s mother as their housekeeper.
Throughout the beginning of the series, Marianne is constantly bullied in secondary school, and even though Connell has had a relationship with her, he stays silent. Their journey continues as they run into each other in college, not expecting to see each other again after graduating high school. From their second meeting, the story of an even more complex relationship commences.
Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich
Many know the name Jeffrey Epstein and its negative connotations, but some don’t know the story behind the name. Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich is a Netflix documentary series that was released in May and consists of four episodes that are based on the book Filthy Rich: A Powerful Billionaire, the Sex Scandal that Undid Him.
This series tells the story of how Jeffrey Epstein used his stature, wealth and power to commit heinous crimes. Ten to 20 of the assault survivors are interviewed, many of whom were key individuals in the federal criminal case against Jeffrey Epstein. These episodes tell a horrifying narrative that simultaneously captures the voices of the survivors. It gives a look at how perversely twisted the justice system is (now-deceased sex offender got away with child sex abuse and sex trafficking for years). To top off just how compelling Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich is, this series was the ultimate closure for many of the survivors.
All the Bright Places
This movie was released in February, but the young-adult fiction novel of the same name that it’s based on was first released in January 2015. This movie tells the narrative surrounding the life of a girl named Violet and a boy named Theodore who are dying to escape their small town home life. Violet is fairly well-known at school, but what most do not know is that she has survivor's remorse.
Theodore, on the other hand, is labeled the “freak.” He’s the boy at school who’s obsessed with death and suffers from depression. They are paired together for a school project that requires them to travel throughout Indiana and see important and unusual sites. The wandering begins and helps them both get to better places mentally and eventually catapultes them into a romantic relationship. This movie tells the story of the upsides and downsides of two recovering teenagers who find a sense of peace and strength within each other.
Athlete A
Athlete A, released in June on Netflix, follows a team of reporters that works for The Indianapolis Star as they work together to investigate the sexual assault claims against USA Gymnastics—specifically Larry Nassar. “Athlete A” was the name given to the anonymous athlete who was the first to report the Olympic doctor Larry Nassar. The identity of “Athlete A” finally came out as Maggie Nichols, a collegiate gymnast at the University of Oklahoma. This was the first public disclosure throughout decades of abuse by Nassar. USA Gymnastics was so focused on protecting the brand instead of the well-being of the girls.
While training for the Olympics, the girls would travel to an isolated ranch in Walker County Texas named Karolyi Ranch, where many cases of sexual assault took place. The owners of the ranch, as well as many of the members of USA Gymnastics, turned a blind eye to what was occurring. When the girls tried to complain, they were ignored or asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement. Many of them knew that asking questions would result in them not being selected for the Olympic team. On July 11 of 2017, Larry Nassar pleaded guilty to federal pornography charges and was sentenced to at least 100 years in federal prison. Nassar assaulted 300-500 girls, many of whom were minors, during his time working for USA Gymnastics.
Cheer
Cheer is a six-part TV series that was released in January on Netflix and follows the nationally ranked Navarro College Bulldogs in Corsicana, Texas. Navarro College is a 9,000-student community college about 50 miles south of Dallas. Their team is coached by Monica Aldama, who cheered in college at the University of Texas. She accepted the coaching position in 2000 and started building up the program to slowly become one of the best in the Nation.
As a sport, cheerleading slowly developed from boosterism to a highly competitive sport where tens of thousands of people participate.Cheer’s six episodes follow the journey of the 40-member team as they prepare to compete in the National Cheerleading Championships in Daytona Beach, Florida. The Bulldogs have won fourteen National Championships as well as five “Grand Nationals” titles.