I like to watch television shows while doing other tasks, like eating lunch, painting, creating our weekly grocery shopping list, and, most recently, completing that Magic the Gathering cube I mentioned in an earlier post. I only follow a handful of shows that are still in syndication (Grey's Anatomy, Station 19, This Is Us, and I most recently started following A Million Little Things); I rewatch a lot of old favorites (Seinfeld, Will & Grace, Modern Family, Parks and Recreation, South Park), and I just recently got into watching Frasier in its entirety for the first time (I saw a LOT of random episodes as a kid, but it's nice to watch it in chronological/plot order... I *love* the Niles/Daphne unrequited-until-it-becomes-requited-in-season-7 love subplot). I don't actually have a TV or cable; we use a projector and watch Hulu via the Nintendo Switch and Netflix via our DVD player. Every time I log in to one of those streaming services, I get bombarded with suggestions for shows they think I will enjoy (which are almost always completely laughable. I will most definitely NOT enjoy watching "Toddlers and Tiaras") But the other day, I was given the suggestion to watch "Call Me Kat", a new show starring Mayim Bialik. I have always loved Mayim Bialik, for a number of reasons, so the show piqued my interest and I decided to watch. I definitely don't "love" the show, but it is cute, with sufficient humor and likeable characters, and I have continued to watch each newly released episode.
What delights me about this show is that it represents someone like me. I have always supported the effort to have mainstream media like TV and film represent a diverse variety of people. I agree that it is important for viewers (especially kids, but really anyone!) to be able to see a superhero, an astronaut, a scientist, an everyday family on screen whose image looks like them. Like most people in society, people of color, women, LGBTQA+, and disabled persons are individuals who fall in love, raise children, enjoy shopping, traveling, and gardening, and experience the rollercoaster of malaise and joy of life, as all humans do. So why aren't there more mainstream shows that represent this diversity of reality?
Interestingly enough, all of the shows I like to watch happen to have a decent amount of diverse representation. Grey's Anatomy and Station 19 both feature people of color and LGBTQA+ people in relationships and women as doctors, firefighters, and leaders. This Is Us is tackling some heavy issues of racism. A Million Little Things features a young boy coming out as gay and going on a date at the arcade with his crush. Shows like these normalize the experiences of our increasingly "minority-majority" world.
I also recently watched two new Christmas movies with diverse representation that I was impressed with. The Netflix Original movie "Jingle Jangle" is very specifically and distinctly NOT a "Black Christmas story", but a Christmas story that happens to star Black people (I suggest reading this very powerful article about it: Jingle Jangle and the Power of Representation). And while the Hulu Original movie, "The Happiest Season", isn't perfect and has some problematic moments, it does center around a lesbian couple going home for the holidays and was the first LGBTQA+ Christmas movie from a major Hollywood studio.
Personally, I've never felt particularly underrepresented by characters on TV and film; I've been lucky enough to see several examples of strong female lead characters in mainstream media. But I don't think I've ever said, "OMG THAT IS SO ME!" after watching a character on TV like I did yesterday while watching episode 3 of "Call Me Kat." The episode itself has a kind of convoluted and complicated plot, which I won't spoil for you, but at one point, Kat is spending the night at a hotel and hosting a great party, "the kind of party I usually hear about the next day and wish I had been invited to." She tells her friend (crush) Max, "I can't stop smiling.... It's actually hurting my TMJ a little bit. I am really gonna need my mouthguard tonight. Oh, I forgot to pack it. I need to run home and grab it. If I sleep without it, my TMJ triggers migraines."
*I* just got diagnosed with TMJ last year, *I* wear a mouthguard when I sleep, and *I* get migraines, especially when my TMJ is acting up. I have never, ever felt so represented on TV than I did in that moment. Having TMJ and migraines and wearing a mouthguard was a actual plot point in a TV show! And it absolutely delighted me.
Another moment of delight in this show happened back in episode one. Kat often breaks the fourth wall and speaks directly to the audience. In one monologue to us, explaining her reasoning behind wanting to wear her favorite green pants suit to a wedding even though people make fun of it, she says, "I've just never been obsessed with fashion. And I don't appreciate those shows where fashion experts accost people on the street and tell them how hideous they look. If I had one of those shows, I'd call it 'Wear What You Want'." She then pretends to interview a woman on the street:
Woman: Yes.
Kat: Are you comfortable?
Woman: Yes.
Kat: Do you care that other people might not like it?
Woman: No
Kat: Great. Wear what you want!
Then later in the episode, Max asks Kat if she wants to grab dinner.
Max: Why?
Kat: 'Cause I just threw this on for work.
Max: Are you comfortable?
Kat: (nods)
Max: Do you care what other people think of you?
Kat: (shakes head)
Max: Then let's go.
I love that this has been a recurring theme on the show so far. Mayim is not a blonde-haired, blue-eyed, stick-thin, perfectly manicured model. She is a brown hair, brown eyed, not-skinny, not drop-dead-gorgeous, very realistic-looking woman who is smart and capable, and wears what she wants.
Mayim Bialik not only plays a smart, nerdy woman on this new show, she actually IS a smart, nerdy woman real life. In addition to being a talented actress, she holds a Ph.D. in neuroscience from UCLA (she also has a minor in Jewish Studies from her undergraduate studies... *I* have a Jewish Studies minor from *my* undergraduate studies), and it was just recently announced that she will be a guest host on Jeopardy. (*I* also host a game show called Jeo-Party, albeit just with friends on zoom 😄)
Mayim describes "Call Me Kat" as a show about a "dynamic, exceedingly eccentric and really life‑loving kind of woman trying to be happy finding herself and seeing what happens along the way. In a recent Forbes interview, Mayim discusses her journey from actress to neuroscientist and back to actress again: “Life is not always what you think it's going to be.” These themes and her character really speak to me and represent who I am, especially at this moment in my life. It is comforting, and oh-so-very delightful.
With delight,
♥Jamie
(PS: In the spirit of full disclosure, I would like to admit that I have never watched the Big Bang Theory even though I know Mayim Bialik was in it. I would consider adding it to my list of shows to watch, but it's only available on HBO Max. 😖)
No comments:
Post a Comment