I am almost mortified by how much television I’ve watched the past few weeks… it’s a lot. I had zero mental energy to read and instead just opted to let myself relax and watch a lot of shows. The great thing is now I have a ton of recommendations! Happy I could do the “research” for you
THE VOW (HBO)
I am hooked on The Vow– HBO releases new episodes every Sunday and we’re about halfway through the season. So plenty of time to catch up. It’s about the “self-improvement” group NXIVM (aka cult). You may remember hearing about this on the news because it involves celebrities like Allison Mack. I’m fascinated by cults so it’s no surprise I’ve been into this series. It gets pretty intense… the basic of the group is a multi-level marketing (MLM) group but then escalates into a full-blown sex cult. Mind. Blown.
16 and RECOVERING (MTV)
I mentioned this show in my post on Friday but I had only watched the trailer. This weekend I caught up on the first three episodes and, wow, it’s such a powerful show. It documents the lives of students at a high school dedicated to substance abuse recovery. The opioid crisis is such a huge issue across the country– particularly for young adults. The show can be really difficult to watch at times, but I highly recommend it as it sheds a lot of light on a not-talked-enough-about problem.
LOVE LIFE (HBO)
A few of my friends recommended Love Life to me and I’m really glad I watched it. It stars Anna Kendrick and follows her character Darby’s love life through her twenties. The script is fantastic and pretty relatable. The first couple episodes felt a little flat to me, but then I was hooked. Each episode delves into a different “chapter” of her love life, as well as those of her friends. There are new beaus and some repeats. Overall, it felt very on the nose to me.
THE SOCIAL DILEMMA (Netflix)
Mike and I watched this together. The whole thing is about the dangers and pitfalls of social media. I have to admit that I was hesitant to watch it considering my job is social media. (I worried I’d watch it and want to throw my phone in a large body of water and then move into a cabin in the woods.) At times I was pretty horrified by my own self-reflection of social media usage (both past and present), but the documentary covers so many important and relevant topics that EVERYONE faces right now.
It didn’t make me want to quit my job, but it did make me reevaluate what I want my “relationship” with my phone to be and how I can better suit my experience for my own mental health. And I REALLY, REALLY appreciated the documentary’s perspective on how social media has played into politics in recent years. It was very well done. Everyone should watch, but especially if you have kids in your house too!
THIS IS PARIS (Youtube)
W. O. W. My sister in law recommended this to me and it blew my mind. I didn’t even realize Paris Hilton was putting out a documentary but it’s incredible. Whatever you think about her… you need to watch. I’ve always considered her THE original social brand and a super savvy businesswoman (she has a multi-billion dollar licensing business). But wow. This documentary takes you on a journey that will make you respect her in a whole new way. I was sobbing by the end of it, honestly. It is powerful, and though I obviously don’t know her, I’m so proud of her for doing what she’s doing.
