The Three Shows and Movies You Need to Watch During the Pandemic

Photo credit: CNet 2020

Despite what media outlets and Wall Street analysts might have you believe, there is no way to predict the future. 

You won’t meet a soul who hasn’t encountered unexpected problems at one point or another, and the longer we are on this earth the more Murphy’s law rings true. 

In other, less profound words, s*** happens. 

Life’s proverbial road bumps happen fairly often in one form or another, and thankfully as humans we are without a doubt the species best adapted to handling these road bumps. We are earth’s golden child so to speak when it comes to overcoming adversity. 

Sometimes through sheer determination we drive over the road bump at 40 miles per hour, as is necessary when our backs are against the wall. For instance, when given a cancer diagnosis we need to act fast, put our pedal to the metal, and fight with every ounce of energy towards defeating a relentless disease. It will be bumpy without a doubt, but at times necessary. 

Other times we overcome the road bumps with cunning wit, using the bump’s back end to propel us toward a new destination as is the case with a career change. 

Finding commonality between our own road bumps and those experienced by others spurs empathy. By and large, no two road bumps are exactly identical, and those that are impeccably indistinguishable rarely occur simultaneously between groups of people outside of the context of support groups. We generate understanding through observing others road bumps and imagining what it would be like to drive over them.

Unfortunately for the 7-plus billion people on the planet, 2020 has given new meaning to the allegorical road bump. The road bump spans across the globe. It is bigger and more jagged for some, but without a doubt present for everyone. People have died, jobs have been lost, and unlike Arnold’s Terminator, many won’t be back. 

Much like how older millennials and Gen X’ers encountered the broken job market spurred by the financial crisis of 2007, younger millennials and the oldest Gen Z’ers are now forced to navigate a job market that is more dead than Toys R Us. 

We’ve been raised by overly pampering Baby Boomer parents telling us to ‘make the most of ourselves,’ and that ‘we can accomplish whatever we put our mind to.’ This sounds good, but simply isn’t true, and COVID-19 has forced many to reevaluate their definition of success. 

To put it frankly, the pandemic has made it easy to feel like a lowly, underachieving loser. Job prospects are slim, many young adults in their mid to late 20s are moving back in with their parents, and high school aged kids are making millions on Tik Tok videos.

It really makes you wonder “what the hell am I doing with my life?” 

Thankfully, there are shows out there that lift some of the self-criticizing burden off of our shoulders.

Yes, TV is meant to entertain and thus distract us from our life, both the good and the bad aspects of it, but when the world has seemingly stopped spinning by and large perhaps it's best to not overthink the joy we obtain from television. 

Below is a compilation of the three best titles to watch when you are feeling unsure of your own self worth, and shows that will hopefully instigate some relaxation when burdened by the harsh realities of desiring to achieve more. 

In other words, these shows will make you feel better about yourself.

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia

If you’ve been living under a rock for the past few years and haven’t gotten a chance to watch this comedy about a gang of five narcissistic ‘friends’ that own a bar together, you are doing yourself a disservice. 

It’s Always Sunny is the anti-Friends, essentially depicting the worst parts of humanity in the most hilarious way possible. In many respects, the group is the most mature during the first and second season. Being older, Frank Reynolds (Danny DeVito) is clean shaven, has groomed hair, and grounds the rest of the gang from some of their more shallow behaviors. 

By the 14th season he’s an old senile racist who has sex with prostitutes and shares a bed with Charlie Kelly (Charlie Day), a rat-bashing janitor who may or may not be Frank’s son (he refuses to undergo a DNA test). 

From lying, to setting each other on fire, to orchestrating elaborate ‘productions’ to mask ulterior motives, these misfits don’t hold any punches, and in some instances literally slap each other repeatedly, as is the case when Dennis Reynolds (Gleen Howerton) is coerced into becoming a male prostitute at the behest of Frank.

As the show progresses, the character’s back-stabbing and sadistic behavior intensifies, with Dennis transforming into a full-blown psychopath and sociopath as his manipulative antics and sexual exploits become more apparent. 

If all else fails, at least you aren’t as messed up as this sad (yet hilarious) group, and that is a win in our books. 

Love

Being a Judd Apatow production, you know going in that Love is going to be an idiosyncratic and hilarious creation containing outlandish yet quick-witted conversation, all of which will make you second guess what you thought was funny.

The show focuses on two young adults in their early 30s who are navigating the vast yet seemingly empty and daunting metropolis that is Los Angeles. Both find themselves on the wrong side of 30 with seemingly little direction both in regard to their careers but also in their personal lives. 

Gus (Paul Rust) is an insecure wannabe screenplay writer who works as an on-set tutor for a cable TV show and gets regularly ridiculed by showrunners and writers alike. Mickey (Gillian Jacobs) is an addict and low level program manager for a satellite radio show who hates her job. Both are desperate to work their way up the ladder, but appear to be weary of truly trying to succeed. 

The beautiful thing about Love is that it calls into question where people “should” be at certain points in life. Throughout the course of the show’s three seasons we see that both characters mature and grow into themselves through the development of close friendships and personal relationships. 

Yes, friendships are lost throughout the course of the show, but lessons are learned and acceptance of one’s personality is gradually obtained through trial and error. This is one of the most refreshing aspects of the show, as it is becoming increasingly easy to shy away from self development with social media and traditional media beckoning for our attention to the 24/7 news cycle. 

Nothing in this show is forced, and there is a refreshing feeling of acceptance as the two grow into themselves and their current situation as a means of personal growth rather than giving into the “hustle” culture that seemingly dominates the youth mindset of today. 

In a city where the stench of desperation runs rampant, Gus and Mickey focus more on bettering themselves and their commitment to one another rather than trying to be someone that they aren’t. Through these efforts the characters subsequently become more confident in their ability to better their careers one step at a time. 

With COVID calling people’s ideas of success into question and causing many to take a hard look in the mirror, Love serves as a reminder that if we make the most of what is given to us and focus on building bonds with those in our lives, sometimes our deepest aspirations do come to fruition, or at least we get what we truly need most - a sense of belonging. 

Waiting... 

Waiting... came out in 2005, so many younger folks probably don’t remember the days when the film aired cyclically on Comedy Central throughout the late 2000s. This raunchy and vulgar gem stars Ryan Reynolds and Justin Long as two waiters working in a franchised restaurant called Shenaniganz with little life direction. 

Monty (Ryan Reynolds) is perfectly content working in the restaurant business even as his 30s rapidly approach. He knows the ins and outs of the business and is able to party and fornicate like he is still a teenager with a bright future. Dean (Justin Long) enjoys the camaraderie and lifestyle as well, but is in his mid 20s and is beginning to see his former high school classmates land corporate jobs with bigger paychecks while he struggles to make it through college as a part time student. 

As viewers we get the sense that Dean is more than capable of making it through college, and that his shortcomings are due more to a lack of motivation rather than any lack of intellect. 

His long overdue quarter-life crisis hits when he is offered the assistant manager position and is forced to confront what he wants out of life in addition to the notion that he is an underachiever, not due to any shortage of ability, but instead an absence of direction. 

It is almost as if those working at the restaurant don’t want to deal with the hardships of real life adulthood so they bide their time in the mini-society that is the restaurant's social ecosystem. 

Whatever the reason may be, there are dozens of times where you will be laughing out loud at the absurdity of the movie, at times even idealizing the lack of stress that seasoned restaurant workers have to deal with on a typical day. 

All in all, seeing the internal battle that takes place within Dean’s head as he confronts adulthood is something we can all relate to, and reminds us that we are not alone. We have all had moments of clarity that strike us down to the bone. We’ve had, and will continue to have moments in which we realize that we are not who we want to be, and moments that shake our identity. 

Towards the end of this juvenile chronicle Dean is offered an embarrassingly large tip from an old classmate, to which he responds by returning the tip and quitting his job. While dramatic, it serves as a pivotal point in the fictional character’s development, and a single moment of clarity which most of us will never have. 

Once the decision to quit had been made, the only option that is left for Dean is moving forward, and thanks to Justin Long’s masterful acting we see him lighten up as if hundreds of pounds of weights had been lifted off his shoulders. 

The film, and Dean’s juncture as depicted in the movie, serve to remind us to not grow stagnant or risk self-loathing, and that hard work is more satisfying in the end despite the unknowns that may be associated with personal growth. It also provides a refreshing take on life during our mid 20s, and one which subtly states that we are not stuck in our current situation, no matter how dire - sometimes we just need to be pushed. 

Living through a global pandemic, with or without a steady job, will make you question some things. It will make you take a long look at your life leading up to the present and question your choices moving forward. 

Self reflection is good, and frankly it is by and large a skill that the world had seemingly put to the wayside up until March of 2020; However, self-reflection is not intended to morph into a paradigm of self-criticism. 

We all have aspects of our lives and our personalities that we would like to change, but it is important to put those improvements into perspective. Hopefully the titles listed above help accomplish exactly that.