Newsletter Roundup: To Watch
Art by Joe Webb.
We are strong believers that good movies, documentaries and TV shows can educate, entertain and help spur people to action. They can even help you in finding mindfulness online. We hope you find one or all of those things in this roundup from our founder Liza Kindred’s popular weekly-ish newsletters. (Subscribe below!)
Documentaries, TV Shows and Movies to Aid in Your Self Care 🙏
TV Shows:
Grace and Frankie - Netflix
This show makes me laugh, makes me excited to get older, and offers a great hit of Southern California culture.
And I love Jane Fonda. In fact, I was once interviewed to possibly be in a documentary about people whose lives she has changed. I guess I am not obsessed enough to have made the cut, but I am obsessed enough to tell you that story. Here's to role models at all ages!
Little America - Apple TV
I was absolutely charmed and deeply touched by Little America, a limited series on Apple TV. Each episode is a completely different story of one specific part of an immigrant's American journey, inspired by real people. They are all wildly different–in scope, cinematography, and of course, experience. It's a journey to watch and a pleasure to see.
Do yourself a favor and watch the trailer right now.
The Babysitters Club - Netflix
This series was a delight to watch. It talks about the hard and real things that can happen in life but in a kid appropriate way. It covers such topics as; grief, diabetes, transgender rights, boundaries, stepfamilies, racial identity, women’s reproduction and of course friendship.
Honestly, kids and adults will both enjoy this one.
The Golden Palace - Hulu
In honor of Betty White: The Golden Palace, a Golden Girls spin-off, where three of the ladies buy a Miami hotel and Don Cheadle and Cheech Marin join the cast. (!)
Maid - Netflix
The buzz about Maid on Netflix is quite well-earned. I thoroughly enjoyed the bestselling memoir that the series is based on (Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive).
The creators of the show have done a thoughtful job of handling complex issues like trauma, class, race, and poverty–and, especially, the places where those things intersect. Plus, I was a struggling single mom for a lot of years, so I saw a lot of myself on screen. Which, you know, feels validating!
Acapulco - Apple TV
Acapulco is a fun and sexy show about a resort in Mexico in the '80s. Visually, it's a riot (the fashion, the music, the decor!), and the acting nods to telenovelas, which makes it a fun watch. And I love that it, as Rolling Stone put it, "flips the script on whitewashed storytelling."
The Wonder Years (2021) - ABC
The new reboot of The Wonder Years centers around the coming-of-age of a young Black boy named Dean. It offers a welcome hit of 60's nostalgia (the music, the fashion, again!) as well as wonderful storytelling that invites us to rethink both the past and the present. (The show opens unexpectedly strong, too–the first 30 seconds of voiceover had me like "Oh, hey now!")
Physical - Apple TV
Physical is about a woman who channels the self-loathing from her eating disorder into being a star aerobics teacher. (Trailer here.)
"What happens when you grow up internalizing the idea that judging yourself is normal and quieted only with excessive effort?" (Atlantic)
While the show itself is quite heavy, something that really stands out to me is how accurately it portrays the self-loathing inner monologue that so many of us have. This inner monologue is the first thing that many of us meet when we begin a meditation practice, and is often why we're afraid to be alone with ourselves. (With thoughtful practice our inner voice can become a kind one!)
(Content warning: eating disorders,)
Only Murders In The Building - Hulu
Yes, I got on the Only Murders in the Building bandwagon. It stars Steve Martin, Selena Gomez, and Martin Short, who have delightful chemistry. It's about true crime and podcasting, and it's set in a fancy NYC apartment building. It's about as fun as a murder mystery gets. (Watch the trailer here.)
Shine On With Reese - Netflix
Shine on With Reese is a series on Netflix in which Reese Witherspoon shines her spotlight on other amazing women. She basically just visits them and then tells them why they inspire her, and they respond by, well, being inspiring as sh*t. After the first two episodes (Dolly Parton and Ava DuVernay) I basically had to force myself to take a break so I could let it all soak in. It's that good.
Gentefied - Netflix
Gente-fied was one of my fave things I watched all year. It takes a nuanced look at how gentrification is changing things in LA, in a super smart (but also somehow hip and fun?) way.
It made me realize that America Ferrera has become one of those actors who I just "trust"–meaning I will watch anything she is attached to because she makes such wonderful choices in projects. (She's the producer of Gente-fied.)
Schitt’s Creek - Netflix
If you want to watch a distracting show, I recommend Schitt's Creek, no matter how terrible the pilot is. :) As the series moved along the characters really endeared themselves to me. I loved seeing how they grew together and also moved forward in their individual lives. It was a real treat to be a part of.
Also: ugh, David!
Work In Progress - Showtime
Work In Progress is a charming show about "a 45-year-old self-identified fat, queer dyke" that is full of sweetness, heartache, and lol-worthy moments as she tries to find enough reasons to live past when her almond allotment runs out. It's sweet, really.
(Content warning on this one: suicide.)
Queen Sugar - OWN TV
Hey, if you are not watching Oprah’s “favorite show in the world” you are missing out! Queen Sugar, directed by the incomparable Ava DuVernay, is in season six for good reasons. It's a beautiful, sensuous drama set in the sugarcane fields of Louisiana, and it features an extended family of complicated, relatable, loving humans. It's a show to savor.
The White Lotus - HBO and Reservation Dogs - Hulu
Have you been watching The White Lotus? It's a pretty searing look at wealth and privilege, but it manages to also be funny, sexy, and smart–and the fact that it's set in a stunning luxury resort in Hawaii just adds to its watch appeal. (Also, the intro is pure art.) 🌺🌊
Another great new show is Reservation Dogs. It's about indigenous teens, and is filmed on location on a reservation in Oklahoma. It's written by and stars native talent, which is wonderful. It's funny and I have already learned a lot about contemporary Native American culture. I very much recommend it!
Ted Lasso - Apple TV
Sorry, but Ted Lasso is as good as they say it is. Listen, there is nothing appealing about the description of the show. I relented to watch one episode, and I was like, huh? Then I watched one more and I was like, damnit I love it so much.
And now I am obsessed with a sports show? About a naive midwestern dude with a mustache? In Britain? That is based on a character that was invented for a TV ad? I can't explain it, I just know love when I feel it.
Queer Eye in Japan - Netflix
If you haven’t heard, a few years ago Queer Eye went to Japan and it is worth watching! The producers seem to have gotten the message that we wanted to see more genuine, heartfelt transformations and less forced stuff. I'm not crying, you're crying.
Movies:
My publisher asked me to take my "feel good" movie recommendations out of my book because they said they wouldn't age well. I disagree. 😉
Here are the movies worth considering if you need a nice break:
Last Holiday (see below)
Moana
Goonies
Clueless
Inside Out
Here are even more movies that I recommend:
I watched Troop Zero because it has both Viola Davis and Allison Janney in it and I thought it was going to be kind of Troop Beverly Hills-ish, all of which I am fully here for.
But it turns out that it is a freaking adorable movie about a badass young girl (keep your eye on this Mckenna Grace actor, she was fantastic) and her attempts to contact the aliens. Forget that it sounds weird; it is so good. Watch it, you will be so glad you did!
(Watch on Amazon Prime.)
"You wait and you wait for somethin' big to happen... and then you find out you're gonna die." –Queen Latifah in Last Holiday.
Watch it if you haven't yet! Watch it again if you have.
(Watch on Amazon Prime or YouTube)
Peanut Butter Falcon is a movie starring Shia LeBeouf and newcomer Zack Gottsagen, an actor with Down Syndrome. The movie is great and you should definitely watch it, but I want to share what I learned after: that the film was made my two men with zero film experience or connections to fulfill a promise they made to their friend Zack to help turn him into a movie star. It took them five years and many stars aligning to do it, and I'm so glad they stuck with it. It's also beautifully cinematic.
(Watch on Amazon Prime or Vudu.)
Love and Mercy is not a doc; it's a dramatization, but it could be lumped with them because it is about a true, heartbreakingly beautiful story. I literally did not care about The Beach Boys, but it was so well rated, I gave it a chance. And holy crap, it's a beautifully told story about mental illness, genius, and love.
@Zola: The Real Story Behind the Greatest Stripper Saga Ever Tweeted :: If you read the thread on Twitter, you already know how epic this story is. If you haven't read it, pay close attention as the story unfolds. It's all true, but don't believe a thing.
(Watch on Hulu.)
Meeting the Man: James Baldwin in Paris - In which a white filmmaker idiotically tries to get the Black artist to separate his identities as writer and activist. The film is known for being a battle of the wills, set in Paris 50 years ago.
(Watch on Mubi.)
Documentaries:
Kid 90 is a documentary that Rolling Stone called “both a giddy, innocent time capsule and an intense cautionary tale.” Indeed!
It was produced by Soleil Moon Frye, the star of Punky Brewster, using a trove of very private home movies she made of herself and fellow child stars like Leonardo DiCaprio and Corey Feldman and Sara Gilbert, all just… hanging out, getting high, being kids.
It is both a personal coming-of-age story, and a reminder of what was both gained and lost when teenagers started curating their entire lives for the camera. Watching it evoked a deep sense of nostalgia in me, coupled with the melancholy of being a girl in a man’s world.
(Watch on Hulu.)
This New York Times exposé about how touch is sometimes abused in yoga madeg huge waves in the industry. It's a conversation way past overdue, and I'm relieved that is finally happening.
I thought I more or less understood what Stonewall was, but a documentary from PBS showed me how much I had to learn.
As infuriating as it was to watch (and it is deeply disturbing to see how we treated gay and trans people only one generation ago), I actually ended up feeling really amazed at how far we've come. Part of ally-ship is educating ourselves. Give it a watch! And then get out and fight.
(Watch on PBS.)
The Claudia Kishi Club on Netflix is 17 minutes of pure joy for anyone who grew up reading The Babysitters Club. It's a heartfelt tribute by a coterie of Asian American artists, but let's be real: everyone knew that Claudia was the coolest one. She had all the candy, the rad grandma, and the best outfits, too. Watch when your heart needs a little pick-me-up!
(Watch on Netflix.)
This documentary makes a fantastic case for Fred Rogers as a modern day saint. This is a must see! Truly a beautiful story that will hold your heart gently.
(Watch on HBO or Amazon Prime)
Ram Dass was an enormously influential and deeply beautiful human and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to sit in meditation with him before he passed. A documentary about his relationship to his impending death, Becoming Nobody, is at once beautiful and uplifting.
(Chose how to watch here.)
You can also stream a short (31-minute) documentary on Netflix, called Ram Dass, Going Home.
Thanks for everything you did for all of us, Baba. You were an inspiration in life and in dying.
I learned so much from the documentary, Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am. I felt deeply inspired and will definitely rewatch it. It was so cool to learn more about her–I knew she was a legendary writer; I did not know about her incredible other career–and to see so clearly how the paths she forged are so vital today. I highly recommend watching it!
Social Media Videos:
The Lineup - Cut
I'm semi-obsessed with the Lineup YouTube series from The Cut. The broad strokes: strangers are asked to guess one thing about other strangers based on appearances and small talk. It could veer into judgment, but instead it lands solidly in a place where good people have their minds expanded and it's super fun (and mind-blowing!) to watch! Some of my faves:
Guess What I Netflix (this one made me lol)
If you haven't already listened to Lil Naz X’s cover of Dolly Parton’s song Jolene, treat yourself.
Everything Is As It Should Be - Kylie Murphy
This (9-minute) short film about mindfulness in the pandemic, Everything Is As It Should Be, made me legit laugh-out-loud multiple times. It was made during quarantine by young filmmaker Kylie Murphy, and I strongly suggest you watch it.
(This is how she made the film over Zoom–pretty clever!)
A Word: Alopecia - Ayanna Pressley w/ The Root
Representative Ayanna Pressley revealed that she is bald (from alopecia) in this beautiful and emotional video for The Root. I was hopping in my seat and snapping my fingers when she said:
"I'm not here just to occupy space, I'm here to create it."
Visibility matters. It matters when we fully occupy space as who we are; it gives permission to others to do the same. May we all feel safe enough to do that.
Catatumbo Lightning:The Neverending Storm - a short film by Jonas Piontek
Nature is an enigma; just go with it. “Lightning tourism” is a thing that is possible because lightning storms strike this town 300 days a year. (NYT article)
AI, Ain’t I A Woman? - Joy Buolamwini
In a world of increasing reliance on algorithms, while the Silicon Valley elite promise better judgment through machines, our very human biases are getting encoded deeper and deeper into our technology. Who will stop it?
This devastating spoken word video is a project of MIT scientist and poet Joy Buolamwini, who also founded the Algorithmic Justice League. (You can also find her excellent TED talk there.)
30 Years in the Making - Renault Car Ad
This is pretty dang heartwarming (and barrier breaking.) 🌈🚗
Look for the Helpers - Fred Rogers
It seems like this advice is applicable again and again and especially when hard things happen in the world. Always, look for the helpers, said Fred Rogers. If you look for the helpers, you will know that there is hope.
How to Simplify Your Life - The School of Life
This short film has suggestions on how to simplify our lives.
"What registers as anxiety is typically no freakish phenomenon. It is our mind's logical, enraged plea not to be continuously and exhaustingly overstimulated."
I love this because so many things–anxiety, anger, etc–make sense! They use a cute napping metaphor to explain why we need to rest sometimes. (I don't agree with them saying we can't change the world–indeed, we must–but the rest is spot on!)
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