Hi, Internet! So at Princeton I'm part of an eating club (long story, it's kind of a co-ed frat house where people eat all their meals, just don't worry about it) known as the Princeton Quadrangle Club, or Quad for short.
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| We have credit card bottle openers. It's a cool place. |
Anyway, within this social organization, I have been dubbed Quad Minister of Culture. And you know, many people have said to me, “Joseph, Quad Minister of Culture, I have so much free time over this, our winter holiday break, and I want to fill it with media that is both highly entertaining and of artistic merit.” I applaud this sentiment, and wish to assist them, and now also you!
Ok, that’s a lie. No one asked me. But I’m going to tell you ANYWAY!
Ok, that’s a lie. No one asked me. But I’m going to tell you ANYWAY!
What follows are some recommendations from me that are hopefully at least one step beyond the "obvious" ones you’ve probably had thrown at you a million times (you know, Citizen Kane, Casablanca, Moby Dick, blah blah we get it, they're great works of art, and we're terrible people if we haven't gotten around to them yet).
You haven’t seen the Godfather? What's wrong with you?
My main criterion in recommending anything on this list is that I consider these pieces of media to be worth your time, and I mean that in every sense of the phrase. Even if you don't fall in love with these things the way I have with most of them, I think you'll get enough out of them to justify their runtime. But I hope you love them. Also a consideration, and probably more importantly, they are all easy to obtain legally online at the given links. (FYI, within the categories there isn't any particular order; I think beyond a certain threshold of quality it comes down to personal taste more than anything.)
You haven’t seen the Godfather? What's wrong with you?
My main criterion in recommending anything on this list is that I consider these pieces of media to be worth your time, and I mean that in every sense of the phrase. Even if you don't fall in love with these things the way I have with most of them, I think you'll get enough out of them to justify their runtime. But I hope you love them. Also a consideration, and probably more importantly, they are all easy to obtain legally online at the given links. (FYI, within the categories there isn't any particular order; I think beyond a certain threshold of quality it comes down to personal taste more than anything.)
I use the phrase “worth it” way too many times in this article. Says something about our capitalistic frame of mind where the discussion is always "Is it worth my time?" not "Is it good?". But that's a post for another day...
TL;DR: Wow, OK I started to write this list with just a couple thoughts for movies and TV shows but I just kept thinking of things to add and it obviously got a little out of control. Prepare for a long post. Also, please comment below if you have recommendations as well, or want to share your thoughts on something I included. Here we go...
No more whitetext. This post is long enough as it is.
TV shows:
I begin with TV, given that binge watching is swiftly becoming the defining media consumption mode of our time. Just a note: many of these are animated because most of the live-action TV shows I might recommend on Netflix are a longer-than-just-break commitment (looking at you, West Wing) or not easily available for free legally and in their entirety online (Orphan Black). Also, I'm assuming most of you have/have access to a Netflix account, but there are a couple that don't require it, like the first:
Over the Garden Wall
Two boys are lost in a strange wood and trying to get home. Funny, dramatic, thought-provoking, and beautifully animated with amazingly high-caliber voice actors, it's only 10 episodes of 11 minutes. Shorter than most movies. Make the small time investment and just go watch it. Free on Cartoon Network's website.
Avatar: The Last Airbender
Man, this show is good. A lot of people are aware of it because (as you may have noticed, seeing as you're currently on the internet) it has a pretty devoted fanbase, and it had a terrible movie adaptation made by M. Night Shyamalan. It’s been taken off of Netflix, but fear not! All three seasons are on Amazon Prime, which if you don’t already have you can get a one month free trial of, or a 50% off subscription as a student, and trust me, it’s worth it.
Coupling
Did you know that before Doctor Who and Sherlock, Steven Moffat was in charge of creating basically the British version of Friends? It’s true! Coupling is a six-buddies-in-the-city sitcom, and it’s very funny (but be aware, if memory serves it’s somewhat raunchier than Friends–British TV is a lot more lax about censoring sex humor than American).
Futurama
A masterpiece in the form of an animated sci-fi sitcom about a delivery boy from 2000 living in the year 3000. It’s very funny, but also has the ability to punch you in the gut with real, intense feels every once in a while. On the longer side out of these recommendations, but still doable in a week-or-so-long winter break binge.
Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood
If you haven't seen much anime, this is one of the best English-dubbed shows out there, and completely accessible to newcomers. If you have seen a lot of anime, you know I started by agonizing whether to put this version or the original FMA on here, but the decision was made for me by the fact that Brotherhood is only on Netflix until January 15, so if you've seen the original and have contemplated checking this out, know that it’s very different but also very good (also the same total length), so watch it now before it’s not available anymore.
Firefly
This is breaking my self-imposed rule about recommendations you've probably heard a million times, but if you haven’t seen Firefly yet, now is the time. One of the best ensemble shows in recent memory, with razor sharp humor, memorable characters, and great action, this is not a series to miss. Also, it’s only one season long (which is sad, but makes it easy to devote the time to watching. Then rewatching. Then watching a third time. Browncoats forever!)
Black Mirror
This is also breaking one of my rules, in that I have yet to watch it, but it’s my next binge (along with some of the Miyazaki films I’ve missed out on so far. Yes, I'm aware how pretentious that might sound.). It’s a sci-fi anthology show (in the vein of The Twilight Zone), and between some glowing reviews from critics I respect and the fact that there are only 6 episodes, it’s almost certainly worth a look.
Batman Beyond
Most people my age probably watched Batman: The Animated Series, as well as Justice League and Justice League: Unlimited, so they know how good the DC Animated shows could be (all of those are great for rewatching now that we’ve grown up, btw. So much of the humor went over our heads as kids.) This show was a little less universally known. Years in the future, Bruce Wayne has retired as Batman, when a teenager stumbles upon the Bat-cave and steals a technologically advanced Bat-suit. Eventually, he takes on the mantle of Batman in this futuristic Gotham. The standout here is the mentor-mentee relationship of old Bruce Wayne and the new young Batman, as well as the show’s blending of updated original villains with the totally novel in the new rogue’s gallery.
Bonus Batman recommendation! If instead of dark cyberpunk future Batman, you feel like watching an excellent, colorful, and funny love letter to The Silver Age of comics and the campy history there, watch
Batman: The Brave and the Bold
Webcomics:
MS Paint Adventures
There are two main stories/”adventures” on this site, written by Andrew Hussie. The one I suppose I'd recommend first is Problem Sleuth, because it's shorter, completed, and you can get used to/see if you like the author's sense of humor before tackling his giant magnum opus (sort of like recommending someone A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man before escalating to Ulysses. Yes, I'm aware how pretentious that sounded. Just assume I'm usually aware of how pretentious I sound and don't care because I'm actually being sincere. Yes, including that sentence, too.).
Problem Sleuth: http://www.mspaintadventures.
BUT, if you want to jump in to the deep end right away, the one that is still updating is called HOMESTUCK, and it is long. I still think it is worth it, but I will admit this is the one recommendation on the list that I will not maintain is, for everyone, worth it in a time-invested-to-amount-
Homestuck: http://www.mspaintadventures.
LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT HOMESTUCK LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT HOMESTUCK LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT HOMESTUCK
Movies:
Snowpiercer
There is a reason critics won't shut up about this movie. It had a very limited release so not many people saw it in theaters, but now it's on Netflix and EVERYONE should see it. I can't put it much better than one critic, who said "You can enjoy Snowpiercer as an inventive, exciting action film or you can really dig in deep and explore the meanings and arguments that [the director] Bong has woven throughout, fine and subtle threads that elevate Snowpiercer to another level." Also, Chris Evans is amazing in it.
Team America: World Police
You may have heard about the massive cyberattack that Sony Pictures recently suffered, which started out funny as some embarrassing/amusing emails and interesting scoops about upcoming movies were revealed. It quickly stopped being funny when a lot of employees’ personal data was released and it turned out it was almost definitely perpetrated by North Korea, upset about the upcoming comedy The Interview, in which Seth Rogen and James Franco are recruited by the CIA to assassinate Kim Jong Un. It became downright awful when the hackers followed up by threatening terror attacks at any theater showing the film, causing distributors to back out and forcing Sony to cancel its release. Afterwards, some theaters wanted to show Team America: World Police (which also goes to a fictionalized North Korea) in protest, but Paramount pulled those screening rights as well. So, there's never been a better time to fire up this comedy classic and in some small way tell North Korea that our creative expression will not be stunted by threats of violence, because this is AMERICA (F*#K YEAH!).
Don Jon
Joseph Gordon Levitt writes, directs, and acts in this depiction of a porn-addicted, womanizing, New Jersey bro. It has pretty good characters and comedy, along with some interesting stuff to say about our relationship to media of various types. We’re going to be seeing more behind the camera from JGL in addition to his continued acting, so check out this directorial debut and see what he’s got to offer.
How To Survive A Plague
This is a great documentary about the AIDS epidemic and activism, which mostly focuses on the New York City-based groups like ACT UP. It’s really interesting and emotional to watch, particularly as we’re suddenly seeing activism again at Princeton (the “die-in” that happened at Frist a couple weeks ago was also a common technique of one of the groups in this movie).
Stand-up Comedy:
I don’t really think a long description is needed for these. I think they’re all funny routines. You can check the Netflix summaries, but if you feel like watching some stand-up, you’ll probably like them.
John Mulaney–New in Town
Bo Burnham–what.
Demetri Martin–If I
Donald Glover–Weirdo
Mike Birbiglia–My Girlfriend's Boyfriend
Audio Storytelling:
I don’t do the podcast thing very much, but the one I can wholeheartedly recommend is The Moth. It’s a live-recording storytelling event that happens periodically in major cities, and the best are put out as a podcast, but you can also just listen to them online at
Things you’d have to buy/exert more effort/have other subscriptions to access (but are totally, totally worth it):
Community (Hulu Plus)
One of the best modern television comedies, which has been canceled (because of executive mismanagement) and then dragged back from the darkness by the sheer enthusiasm of its fans multiple times. #sixseasonsandamovie
OR buy it at http://www.amazon.com/Pilot/dp/B002OPYUSM
The Wire (HBOGo)
Maybe the best TV series ever, by the estimation of many, many critics. Not an unreasonable conclusion, in my opinion.
Happy-Go-Lucky ($2.99 rental on Amazon Instant)
A great romantic comedy, with clever humor and a lot of interesting character stuff going on.
http://www.amazon.com/Happy-Go-Lucky-Nonso-Anozie/dp/B00BP4VWRU/
Orphan Black (1st Season free w/ Amazon Prime, for now the 2nd costs $$$)
A British sci-fi show about a young grifter who learns that she is (early-show spoiler, highlight to read) one of many clones from a corporation's experimentation. Most reviews focus on the main actress's performance as a bunch of different characters (and Tatiana Maslany is PHENOMENAL in it, to be sure), but its other characters, writing, and cinematography all deserve praise as well.
Special note on Literature:
Unfortunately, all books pretty much fall under the umbrella of either not free or not available immediately online. Many public libraries and universities have ebook lending programs, but I don't know your local availabilities, so I can't make many assumptions about what's free for you to get. You could always physically go and support your libraries, too! Anyway, for this reason and others, book recommendations will be saved for another post, I think.
(I can, though, point out that one of my favorite authors is Neil Gaiman, who has put a bunch of short stories on his website to read for free at http://www.neilgaiman.com/p/Cool_Stuff/Short_Stories)
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Believe it or not, I'm having to restrain myself from adding more stuff at this point, but I really think it's time to finish and hope at least some of you out there get something out of this list. I spent entirely too long on it, guys.
Minister of Culture signing out.
