Many students have spent their summers indoors intoxicated by Netflix content.
This summer was a particularly fruitful one for the company with new seasons of the charismatic Orange is the New Black and the addictive Narcos, as well as new additions such as 1980s thriller Stranger Things and Baz Luhrmann’s newest innovative The Get Down.
Stranger Things was the only thing anyone could talk about. The nostalgic feel to the show, playing homage to Stephen King and Stephen Spielberg, as well as bringing back the queen of the 1980s and 90s Winona Ryder made people go gaga.
Combine that with amazing child actors, an enticing plot and the ability to stream every episode after the other, how could it be a failure?
I was obsessed, my family was obsessed and my friends were obsessed. Season two is already in the works and no one can wait.
However, Luhrmann’s ingenious creation is swept under the rug, which is a great injustice. I have been infatuated by Luhrmann’s directing skills since I watched Moulin Rouge at far too young an age.
The music, the colours and the whole spectacle of his works pulls the audience in further and further. His ability to make nineties Leonardo DiCaprio even more attractive in Romeo + Juliet is Oscar worthy in itself.
As soon as I heard that Luhrmann was tied to a Netflix show, it was on my must watch list. However, The Get Down is unlike most Netflix shows with its first season being split in half. Therefore not all the episodes are immediately available to stream, there are six available right now.
Although Netflix’s sweetheart Stranger Things and The Get Down could not be more different in plot or tone, they have some similarities. Both are set in the past, with The Get Down being set in the seventies, while Stranger Things is an ode to the eighties. Both shows have amazing young actors heading up the ensemble cast. Both have absolutely amazing soundtracks. And of course both are addictive.
While Stranger Things is a homage to the Sci-Fi genres of that era, The Get Down pays tribute to the glory days of disco and the development of hip-hop in the 1970s. Baz Luhrmann’s manifestation of the Bronx, intertwined with beautiful music and colours while exploring racism, drugs, religion and sexuality turns the heat up compared to the slow burning thriller that is Stranger Things.
To compare two completely different shows is almost impossible. To say which is better is a matter of personal opinion. Stranger Things made me sit on the edge of my seat and keep a look out for monsters in the dark, while The Get Down made me want to sing and dance and occasionally cry.
Both shows are absolutely breathtaking and I cannot wait for Netflix to give us even more on demand goodness.
Bronwyn O’Neill
Image credit: the-get-down.wikia.com
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