FILM & TV

REVIEW | How ​One Day at a Time​ is changing the sitcom game

It's hard to describe just how important this show is - but I'm going to try and do it anyway.

One Day At a Time - Season 2 | Official Trailer [HD] | Netflix

WARNING: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS LOTS OF SPOILERS

TV is a powerful medium. It's also an ever changing one - what used to be impossible on major networks is made a reality by online streaming services like Hulu and Netflix. These new forms of TV have given voices to voiceless sections of American and other parts of the world beyond our wildest dreams. Still, even with all of these amazing shows, none of them have managed to capture such a specific, yet entirely relatable picture of modern day America than One Day at Time.

One Day at a Time is a reimagining of a popular sitcom of the same name from the 1970s. The original show ran for nine seasons and followed the life of a single mother, Ann Romano, struggling to raise her to two daughters and give them an amazing life. The new show is very similar, but takes a lot of really amazing liberties. The new series is about a Cuban-American family, Penelope (played by Justina Machado), an army Vet and nurse, lives with her mother, Lydia (played by Rita Moreno), and her son and daughter, Alex and Elena (played by Marcel Ruiz and Isabella Gomez).

There are some similar elements - the character Dwayne Schneider appears in both shows - and there is at least one storyline that is a little similar. Still, these are not the same shows - and they shouldn't be. The strength of this new One Day at a Time is it's focus on modern issues, and it's fearless and honest depiction of a multi-generation Cuban-American family.

It's difficult to decide just what to focus on when talking about this show's groundbreaking elements. Do you talk about the fact that Penelope is a war vet and suffers from PTSD? Or do you talk about the show's beautifully written and incredibly relatable storyline about Penelope's young daughter realizing that she's a lesbian and coming out to her family? And you can't forget the heartbreaking story of grandmother Lydia's time escaping from a Castro-controlled Cuba? I can't decide!

I think the genius in all of these elements rests in the show's ability to seamlessly incorporate them into a sitcom format - and maintain a sense of comedic honesty without being offensive or melodramatic. One minute, Alex, the young son of Penelope, can be doing a project Cuba, and Lydia can be having the time of her life. And then, you see her change - and suddenly she is unable to continue. As the episode progresses, she tearfully reveals that she was forced to leave her big sister in Cuba when she immigrated through the Pedro Pan program (because her sister was too old).

It's powerful, and one of the most intense pieces of TV I've ever seen. Not only is the writing brilliant, but Moreno is a powerhouse - leading the scene with expert intensity. And the show gives everyone a chance to shine. Isabella Gomez acts Elena's coming out story beautifully - and honestly, it was the first time I'd ever felt a television show captured a true queer experience. Marcel Ruiz got an amazing storyline involving racism in season two. And Machado's PTSD is a constant cloud that looms over her Penelope - and her story of struggle and coming to terms with her illness is nothing short of brilliant.

Of course, the show does have a few issues here and there that are nitpicky at best. While all of these elements are amazing - they can get a little preachy - but I feel like that's what a sitcom is. It's in your face and doesn't require the subtlety of a show like Breaking Bad. There's sometimes where I feel like they don't go far enough - especially in terms of Elena's queer storyline. But, that could also be due to how used to pain and trauma TV loves to give to queer characters. Maybe we're past the point of torturing our queer teens and should I accept that.

In the end, One Day at a Time is brave - and that separates it from a lot of its TV contemporaries. It's honest, and unafraid to the make the viewer feel uncomfortable while also making them laugh. It's very small, minor issues are overshadowed by the relevant and thought provoking storylines that manage to hit all the marks without too much drama or unneeded pain for the characters. It's a beautiful show - and I implore you to please go and watch it.

You'd be doing yourself a favor.

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Gaming

VIDEO GAY-MER | Butterfly Soup is the Fun Portrayal of Queer Teendom We All Need

It's so hard to find queer games that are not only accurate portrayals of gay teens, but are also hella fun. This is one of them.

Oh man.

Not going to lie guys, I'm kicking myself in the head for not getting to this title sooner. Most of you have probably heard of Brianna Lei's Butterfly Soup, a visual novel that took the gaming world by storm last year. For those that haven't, it's about four queer Asian-American teens attending their first year of high school in California.

It's astounding writing, characters, and overall depiction of Asian American queer teens have led to other sites like Polygon, PC Gamer, and Kotaku calling it a stand out game of the year. And, after playing through most of it, I can see why.

Listen. I don't like visual novels half the time. Even something like Dream Daddy, which I loved, gets incredibly boring. I suffer through them, because it's where a lot of queer content gets produced It's not because they're bad, I just have a specific taste and I don't want to spend three or four or ten hours just reading text on a screen. But, I was happy to do it with Butterfly Soup, because it's just so fun.

And that should be a given, right? Dream Daddy was fun, wasn't it? And so was Gone Home (which isn't necessarily a visual novel, but close enough)? And Life is Strange (which also isn't necessarily a visual novel, but again, close enough)? That's true, but I think what separates Butterfly Soup from them is that has a sense of honesty without taking away the humor and light-heartedness at all and making it either super campy or super depressing.

As much as I love Gone Home, it focused a lot on the negative experiences of queer youth. You hear a lot about how it's main character struggled with both her identity and helping her partner. While this is a very honest representation of what a lot of young gay folks through - it's not the only experience that we have.

We have a community and we have a lot of queer friends, and often times we surround ourselves with other queer people. That's what happens during the entirety of this game. You are dropped in on the life of a young queer girl and her other queer friends. You see how they interact, and how they find love - and while it does have moments that can be on the serious side - it never gets sad or weepy. We never see these characters go on long monologues about how they can't accept themselves and how they'll never be happy.

This is accomplished through Lei's decision to give the player no control over the story. You occasionally get a few dialogue options, but in the end, you see what Lei wants you to see. You are on a guided tour of the story - not a participant in it. So, you aren't mired in finding extra stuff here or there (although, there are some extra observations you can make when prompted). So, while I did find myself getting bored, Lei managed to reel me back in with some pretty choice story-telling techniques that even AAA titles can learn from.

Throughout the game, you are treated to flashbacks, which show the four main characters' friendship through the years, instead of just one specific point of time. Each one makes the characters more dynamic and provides and insight that informs previous scenes. It's not disjointed and it's all connected.

And aside from the main cast, we are treated to actual diverse characters of different races and sexualities. You have people of color, you have a trans character, bisexual characters - and even if they aren't big, they're still real. Even in a lot of queer-themed visual novels, you usually only get a lesbian or a gay man's story - and while this story does focus mainly on a relationship between two women - we still get a solid cast of fleshed out characters that are not exclusively gay and cisgender.

As I play through - I'm just smiling and relating. I don't feel sad and I don't feel that same sense of, "Man it's so hard being gay," that so much media gives me. That kind of media is important, we should always remember/be reminded of the struggle that people - especially young people - in the community deal with. But it's also important to show that it doesn't always have to be that way. It is possible to be young and happy - even if you're struggling, you can find people who loves and accepts you.

Butterfly Soup is a special game - it uses fun characters and brilliant storytelling to give you an honest and non-sad portrayal of a diverse group of young, queer women in a time where it's very difficult to be a young, queer woman. While it doesn't offer a huge variety in terms of gameplay, it weaves something that leaves you smiling and cheering and laughing.

Please, please, please go play it. You can get it for free right here - and make sure you leave Brianna Lei a damn good review when you're done.

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