Hello my field daisies!
Netflix is the future of visual media. Seasons of TV shows at your disposal with no commercial breaks! Endless archives of movie genres… Documentaries, stand up comedy, reality TV… You name it, and Netflix most likely has it. I always lament when a show or movie isn’t on Netflix. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind got taken off of the site, and I was devastated.
Me:
Netflix:
This new found freedom of choice brings out a new form of watching: binge watching. A binge watcher gorges on a show, watching episode after episode without pause, submerging themselves in the lives of the characters. Binge watching is so easy to do on Netflix. When the episode is over, the next one is waiting for you in the bottom right hand corner, and if you don’t click ‘back to browse’ in 15 secs, the next episode plays automatically. Oftentimes I don’t plan on watching another episode, but I get so dazed after watching I don’t remember to click away when the episode ends. And before I know it, I am sucked back into another episode of OITNB, forever glued to my seat until the season is finished.
I believe the binge watching culture has aided in the success of Netflix originals such as Orange is the New Black. There is just a delicious joy of having the whole season available to you from day one. Sort of like listening to an album, albeit if an album was like 13 hours long.
So a funny story:
My two best friends and I all agreed that we would watch the new season of OITNB together. But each time we got together, one person would sheepishly say they’ve already watched up to so and so episode, so the rest of us would have to catch up to her.
Day 1:
Friend 1: Hey do you want to watch OITNB?
Me: Umm… I already watched up to episode 3…
Friend 2: Damnit Daisy!
Me: Sorry sorry… just watch them tonight and tomorrow we’ll watch it together! I promise I won’t watch anymore!
Day 2:
Me: Hey let’s watch OITNB tonight!
Friend 1: …
Friend 2: …
Me: What?
Friend 1: I haven’t started yet…
Friend 2: I’ve already watched up to episode 9.
Me: kdlajfl;kdcmewoawodfclmaslk.
In the end, we didn’t end up watching the season together. But that’s what was fun about it. Some of us would know more than others, and we would encourage the other person to catch up, saying oh you have to see what V does to Red or why didn’t the German Dad knock before walking in?
Every magazine I’ve picked up has something about OITNB in it: People StyleWatch had Taylor Schilling, who plays the main character Piper Chapman, in their “This Works” section. Entertainment had OITNB in their top five must watch. Time did a cover story on Laverne Cox, who plays Sophia Burset, the first transgender person to be featured on their cover. The list goes on and on.
I am so elated that a non-traditional TV show is getting so much media coverage. If you haven’t watched OITNB, I highly recommend it. You can check out my first impression of the show here.
I still have yet to watch the last episode! It’s a hour and a half long, long enough to be a movie. 10 days after the season was released, and I am already on the last episode… That’s the curse of binge watching. After the season is over, you’re left with this big gaping hole until the next season comes out. I want to savor this last episode as much as possible.
Love ya’ll and thanks for reading!
Hope you have a daisyish day!
[…] be in some serious debt. My tastes change with each day and maybe it has something to do with the binge watching culture, but after I play an album or playlist on playlist for weeks on end, I am ready for something […]