Jump to content

Type keyword(s) to search

Master Of None - General Discussion


  • Reply
  • Start Topic

Recommended Posts

This ep was maybe a tad too much on the preachy side. But it was funny that going public with the emails was dependant on whether Dev can get some of that Friends money.

 

All that talk about "there can't be two" reminds me of the complaints over on the Walking Dead forum that "one black man enters, one black man leaves". Well, now it is true that black people have gotten past "there can't be two" status, at least on that show.

 

There are all kinds of movies and TV shows produced in Asian countries I can watch when I want to see my fellow Asians on the screen (some of it is on Netflix too). So I guess I'm not that bothered about the lack of Asians in US stuff. Now Hollywood wants more of the international market, so it seems they're sucking up to us by putting more Asians in. I don't think they care about diversity, really, it's all about the money. They'll go with whatever makes them more money, that's all.

Link to comment

Dr. Jenner!

 

I liked Denise in this.

Denise: "I didn't think you would actually do it, I always thought of you as a really principled guy."

Dev: "Aw thanks"

Denise: "I don't think that anymore."

Bwaha!

 

I lost it when Dev explained to the husband they should take turns leaving because it would be awkward to be in the elevator together.

  • Love 2
Link to comment

Heh, I loved how the episode started with Dev being unable to decide what to eat and where to eat and then what to order when he got there. That's basically the story of his life at this point.

 

One issue the show hadn't come back to since the first episode is: does Dev actually want kids? And does Rachel? That's a big relationship deal-breaker. Why hadn't they ever seemed to talk about that? Is one year and then some into a relationship too soon to even broach the subject?

 

It makes a huge difference, because there's no rush to get married if you never want to have kids. You never have to worry about running out of time to be fertile. You can get married at 40, 50, or never, screw what society thinks as long as it works for you. Your don't lose your freedom for a minimum of 18 years to life (you know, in case one or more of your kids have unforeseeable issues and require a carer for the rest of their life). You can still be spontaneous. It's immensely liberating.

 

A lot of people seem to just go along with what everyone else is doing or fall into parenthood accidentally, when this is one of the most life-altering, irreversible decisions a person can make, and really deserves far more research and contemplation than what to eat for lunch.

  • Love 9
Link to comment

Thank you for starting this thread, Ronin Jackson

 

Television can show us a new point of view or validate an existing one. Right now, Master of None is validating a point of view that white partners are more desirable.

 

Hmm.  That article gave a lot of food for thought.  On the one hand, I agree that media depictions of desirability can be very powerful influences, especially for the young.  I haven't watched past Episode 3 yet, so I'll have to take everyone's word for it that the white woman Dev ends up dating for the rest of the season is portrayed as desirable.  If there's no counter-balancing portrayal of desirable minority women, then I can maybe see where the article is coming from, in terms of claiming that we're being shown that white partners are more desirable.

 

On the other hand, the logician in me constantly retorts, just because one object is shown to be appealing and the other object isn't seen, doesn't logically imply that the first ranks above the second.  But, maybe I should just stick with the first hand as a rule of thumb for thinking about how other people think.

 

I've come to the conclusion that online dating is a lost cause... and it's disheartening to think the primary reason for this is my ethnicity

 

While I agree the actions of the masses can be disheartening, I also believe that like-minded, intellectually open and honest people cluster together, and that those people would be far less likely to rely on such crude rules of thumb.  The trick is finding out where they are, but once you do, I imagine you won't have the same kinds of issues.

 

I'm glad Alan Yang addressed it as something that future seasons may deal with

 

Yes.  This makes me happy.

  • Love 1
Link to comment
He should have just taken Brian. Though, Brian kind of deserved to get ditched for teaching Dev that whole "ticket got taken" thing.

 

So far, Brian's sort of a self-involved inconsiderate asshole - much more so than Dev.  Then again, I find that interesting - although I do hope he becomes more nuanced a little later in the season.

  • Love 1
Link to comment

This show has been good at avoiding stereotypes, so I am glad they did not give everyone in Nashville a strong country accent. Only the BBQ guy which I guess makes sense. The store manager and hotel guy did not have accents which I am glad to see.

Link to comment

Sexism and sexual harassment are such an engrained/accepted thing to deal with which is what makes it harder to change because it's considered normal behavior. A prime example is this small exchange in the pilot episode of My So-Called Life:

Brian: So, what happened? Right, like you're not gonna tell me what happened. Chase?

Angela: These guys started hitting on us.

Brian: What? Like, sexual harrassment?

Angela: Like guys.

  • Love 2
Link to comment

The article points out the coupling of Peralta and Santiago on Brooklyn 99 as a coupling with one white person - LOL, do they mean Samberg?    I was going to say that's a great pairing of 2 different minorities, but I guess Andy Samberg is supposed to be playing (Latino?) and not Jewish.  Wikipedia tells me that Peralta is a Spanish surname.  I was thinking it was supposed to be Italian!

 

 

Given that Bradley Whitford is Father Peralta, I am pretty sure he is white and Jewish (not that BW is Jewish but he has played it before and they have mentioned that Jake is Jewish.) And Meliss Fumero is Cuban.

 

 

I don't watch that show, but I just wanted to point out that many Sephardic Jews have Spanish last names, so it's very possible that those characters are Jewish.

  • Love 3
Link to comment

I liked his behavior in the drugstore and about the Uber and everything, but he didn't call her to find out how she was feeling the next day or anything (I've never taken Plan B, but doesn't it cause quite a few uncomfortable side effects?), so I'm not sure quite how awesome to feel he was. I guess if it's a one night stand and everyone knows it, there's no obligation, but it kind of felt to me like some follow up would be polite after the Plan B.

Isn't it just a double dose of the regular pill?

  • Love 1
Link to comment

Yeah, this episode hooked me. Being child-free by choice, I definitely related to Dev and his friends. Hanging out with kids is cool for like an hour, but then I need the parents to get them the hell away from me!

Agree with your post, I can't handle kids except for very short amounts of time.

More than that, I love your user name! What happened to Zima? I used to LOVE Zima, and I remember feeling so cool drinking it!

  • Love 2
Link to comment

Isn't it just a double dose of the regular pill?

Probably TMI, but I took it back in the 90s after a condom with my now-husband broke. Back then, we had to go to the Emergency Room for it. I spent a terrifying 4 hours waiting to get into a doctor, getting more and more terrified of being pregnant as each minute ticked by.

I had zero side effects whatsovever.

I did play it up and got super pampered that weekend. A candle-lit hot bubble bath was drawn for me, and in the tub I got a now discontinued vegan Kiwi-Strawberry Ben & Jerry's sorbet. So not a terrible memory.

Eta: Oh yeah, back then, the prescription was not called Plan B. It was called RU486, which had us in tears, we were laughing so hard. The laughter gave me such bad hiccups I had to think of terrible things to stop laughing because I was afraid I would throw up the RU486. And yes, I was actively trying to 86 any pregnancy!

Edited by Shelby
  • Love 1
Link to comment

I guess the Urban Dictionary definition of Indian Mother doesn't apply to this episode

Indian Mothers

Over bearing matriarchial figures who want you to be desperately unhappy in your life because you won't be able to live it the way YOU want- no, everything in your life has to please THEM.

Melodramatic, melancholy and depressing (if not depressed themselves 95% likely) Indian mothers push their children too hard and want you to be either:

1. A doctor

2. An engineer

3. A lawyer

4. A dentist

Hysterical when accused of a fault, stubborn and demanding, they will make you do all the chores and then criticise you and tear you personality to shreds...so that you won't HAVE a personality. They want to grind you down into a conforming indian guy/girl to carry on the stupid traditions and culture that have been running for 9482429 years. People get with the program!

Highly critical and suspicious, if you have ever smoked, taken drugs or had sex, they will find out.... somehow and if you ever dare to date anyone from outside your race.. GOOD LUCK you'll need it!

They will kick you out of the house or cut you off if you don't follow their plans for you. Great at manipulating and using emotional blackmail.

they're such indian mothers...they don't let their kids go out and they make them study all the time, even at night.

Link to comment

I remember when Aziz was here (Nashville) filming this episode, so I was very interested to see how it would turn out.

 

Super cute episode, but Hermitage Hotel is not cheap. I thought the flight was $50, not whole episode.  I like how how they just wanted to take a nap because that's always what I want to do after I spend hours walking around Lower Broad.  Also, him wanting to get some BBQ sauce is true to life; people are always asking me to buy some sauce of some kind and send it to them.

 

I also liked how Rachel was understandably pissed about not being able to go the recital, but didn't want to end the burgeoning relationship over it.

Link to comment

Grandma Carol singing "You Go To My Head," a song that I've been obsessed with ever since I saw Corrina, Corrina all those years ago made me cry.  Yes, Grandma Carol!  You sing that perfect song.

  • Love 2
Link to comment

I watch B99, and I'm pretty sure Amy Santiago is Latina and Jake Peralta is Ashkenazi (Jewish) but Jake could be Sephardic, I suppose.

 

B99 also has Andre Braugher's character married to a white male, and Rosa Diaz was the unrequited love object for Boyle (white) and Rosa dated a character played by Nick Cannon.

 

B99 is a great show, and not only for their multi-racial casting.

 

It's disappointing that Aziz had a cop out response to the Asian female issue. I'm surprised, actually. He generally seems to be paying attention to issues.

Link to comment

There are all kinds of movies and TV shows produced in Asian countries I can watch when I want to see my fellow Asians on the screen (some of it is on Netflix too). So I guess I'm not that bothered about the lack of Asians in US stuff. Now Hollywood wants more of the international market, so it seems they're sucking up to us by putting more Asians in. I don't think they care about diversity, really, it's all about the money. They'll go with whatever makes them more money, that's all.

 

You have the right not to be bothered by the lack of diversity in American media just as anyone else has a right to be bothered by it. As a counter to your first point. I am like Aziz Indian-American, and there's a ton of movies made in India... but I am every bit as American as I am Indian... there may be certain cultural familiarity watching an Indian film but I don't think my experience as a diasporic Indian is represented that way, nor do I feel that experience isn't American enough or valid enough not to be depicted in American media.

 

This episode really was on point laying out the issues I had growing up in America with the way media was presented. I remember when Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom came out I was right at the age where all the kids would assume I go home and eat monkey brains. The points in this episode may have come off as preachy but it was the first time any of these ideas were expressed in mainstream American media. Usually when something is addressed for the first time to a large audience, someone's going to find it preachy.  

  • Love 9
Link to comment

It wasn't just this episode. Sometimes this show does stray into "very special episode" territory when it's covering topics clearly very important to the writers.

 

I think their heart is in the right place, though. So when I said, I don't think "they" care about diversity, the "they" I'm talking about are the network execs and people in those kinds of positions. A project like this had to get their okay to see the light of day. And for execs it is about whether there's a market.

 

I'm right there with you on the whole diasporic thing. I do agree it makes for some interesting stories that haven't been told much before. But whether something is depicted in media is hardly ever based on how valid it is (I mean, just look at all the stupid crap on TV).

 

It's awesome when a show like this one can get made. But sometimes there's this sort of forced "diversity" on other shows that's done so badly, it kind of feels like the network put the "diverse" characters in just so people will stop complaining their shows aren't "diverse" enough.

Link to comment

I'm trying really hard to like this show and failing miserably. Agree with Tara's comment that it feels like it's trying to hard. Almost gave up on the whole thing because the kids Dev was babysitting were so obnoxious.

  • Love 1
Link to comment

I agree there can be this inauthentic diversity that's just there for the sake of it, but often those end up being examples of characters "boxed in" by their ethnicity... still I'll take it, and I hope those shows have some success so execs can't use the excuse that the diversity makes their shows too ethnic, a point raised by this episode. I'm not sure how the diversity is more "forced" than the lack of diversity that is the norm. I mean 9 out of 10 new shows only features white leads... does that feel "forced" or is that just the natural state of entertainment and it is only "forced" to cut against the grain? Frankly there are still audiences that feel that way and any example of ethnicity, even "token" ethnicity, can shape and change how the mainstream perceives it. The diversity, is in fact, a closer reflection of real life. I never got the sense that Aziz and Alan Yang are forcing it... the show is diverse because it reflects the lives of the creators and I don't see problems there.

  • Love 2
Link to comment

I was trying to think of a show that I thought had "diversity that looks forced" and I couldn't think of one. I think it's in the eye of the beholder.

 

If you are distracted by the overbearing whiteness of media, you will think that's forced. If you are startled by a sudden expansion of views, that will be what you need to overcome in order for a show to seem natural. Likewise, if you are the sort of person who deals with discrimination and talks about politics all the time, seeing characters talk about it and deal with it like this episode does, will seem natural and refreshing. If you don't really notice it in daily life, the subject will seem odd.

 

Here's a rave review, which supports the perspective that "finally! something we can relate to!" is where the show lines up: http://www.autostraddle.com/master-of-none-sets-new-standard-for-diversity-overall-awesomeness-315726/

 

I felt like this episode was anything but forced. All those shows that never admit anything like this is going on is what is fake to me. I prefer the complex treatment of: "how to react?" over the whitewash of "nothing's happening."

  • Love 4
Link to comment

Possibilities, I guess you don't watch a lot of the crappier CW shows or soap operas. It speaks well of your taste, but not of mine. (What? Those things can be a guilty pleasure! Hee.)

 

To be clear, I like this show. I'm recommending it to people. Preach away my friends! But since we're already watching this show (so we're already the type of audience who would enjoy a show with an Indian guy as the lead), maybe they are preaching to the choir, that's all.

Link to comment

There's no such thing as preaching to the choir when you are talking about mainstream American TV entertainment... especially when the discussion is diversity, the audience is ALWAYS the network executives afraid that the white mainstream won't accept shows with a diverse cast.

  • Love 2
Link to comment
But sometimes there's this sort of forced "diversity" on other shows that's done so badly, it kind of feels like the network put the "diverse" characters in just so people will stop complaining their shows aren't "diverse" enough. 

I remember feeling this way in the era of Friends.  I think there was one Asian woman and maybe one or two black women as love interests, and they seemed to stick out like a sore thumb amidst all the whiteness.

 

but I am every bit as American as I am Indian... there may be certain cultural familiarity watching an Indian film but I don't think my experience as a diasporic Indian is represented that way, nor do I feel that experience isn't American enough or valid enough not to be depicted in American media.

This is an extraordinarily well-stated idea.  I think you should cut and paste this as a comment to every article that ever comes out about minorities in US entertainment, Ronin Jackson.  I'd like to know what you think about characterizing the leads in this show as generic "Asian-Americans", even though they are 1st generation Indian and Taiwanese.  To me, they may have some experiences that are the same, but that also seems like a pretty large pot to throw people in.

 

one of the things I've noticed when discussions about minorities on tv/in films happen is that the majority of these discussions focus on black and Latino characters but almost never Asian characters. For one brief television season, there were three Asian females who were lead characters on television (Nikita, Elementary, and Gray's Anatomy) but Nikita was canceled and Sandra Oh left GA so now we're back to just Lucy Liu (although I suppose you could add Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. to the list).

Yes. I agree with this impression entirely, and I remember loving the fact that the Sandra Oh character was absolutely Asian-American.  There was nothing un-American about her.  I think the first time I noticed a diverse cast that did not seem forced was on Gray's and Community.  (Neither of which I watched very closely.)

  • Love 1
Link to comment

Despite the fact I have followed Aziz's career since Human Giant, I did not realize until last night when he talked about it on Conan, that though he isn't religious his parents are Muslim. It would be interesting if they explored religion in the second season.

  • Love 1
Link to comment

Despite the fact I have followed Aziz's career since Human Giant, I did not realize until last night when he talked about it on Conan, that though he isn't religious his parents are Muslim. It would be interesting if they explored religion in the second season.

 

 

He talked about it on Twitter when he didn't like something Rupert Murdoch said after the Charlie Hebdo/kosher supermarket attacks in Paris:

 

http://www.buzzfeed.com/rossalynwarren/murdoch-probably-doesnt-even-know-who-ginuwine-is#.evjVV2QKv

 

I understood where he was coming from, but I would have preferred a zingy one-off reply rather than the series of #rupertsfault tweets he embarked on.

Link to comment

I remember loving the fact that the Sandra Oh character was absolutely Asian-American.  There was nothing un-American about her.  I think the first time I noticed a diverse cast that did not seem forced was on Gray's and Community.  (Neither of which I watched very closely.)

 

I wouldn't even call her Asian-American because she defied so many Asian cliches. She grew up with a Jewish stepfather and she and her mother had converted to Judaism. When asked to help with a patient who only spoke Chinese, she was all "don't look at me, the only Chinese I know is the menu at Mr. Chow's". The only "Asian" thing about her is that she was an overachiever, having both an MD and a PhD.

Link to comment

Taystee is nowhere near my favourite prisoner, but I thought Danielle Brooks absolutely killed the role as Dev's agent.  I noticed her veering into Sassy territory too so I wanted to know what others thought.  I just thought she was so amazing in the role.... definitely not a stereotype to have a black woman be an agent and direct a man on how to do his career, but her personality sometimes did seem stereotypical.

It's a fine line for me on that one because on the one hand, the character did veer sort of towards the "Sassy" trope, but at the same time, some of those same moments read equally "agents!" as they did "sassy stereotype!" It's only because of the race of the actress and the topic of the episode that it got a little half-cringey for me. So I guess I'm saying I don't know. Edited by theatremouse
  • Love 2
Link to comment
I wouldn't even call her Asian-American because she defied so many Asian cliches. She grew up with a Jewish stepfather and she and her mother had converted to Judaism. When asked to help with a patient who only spoke Chinese, she was all "don't look at me, the only Chinese I know is the menu at Mr. Chow's". The only "Asian" thing about her is that she was an overachiever, having both an MD and a PhD.

Christina is an Asian-American character, that is a fact.  She is an American character of Asian descent.  Her fitting into stereotypes is not what makes her Asian.  I'm going to go ahead and posit there are probably millions of Asian North American people that don't fit into stereotypes, much like Christina. They are still Asian.  She's not some rare exception; she is based in real life.  

 

There are billions of Asian people in the world and they are all of differing religions and speak differing languages.  There are a lot of second or third generation Asian North Americans who do not speak an Asian language.  It happens.

  • Love 6
Link to comment

For me, it's not even so much about preaching, but just about enjoyability. It's absolutely true that media can change people's hearts and thus their minds, the same way all kinds of exposure in real life can do this. But the idea that media is solely for the edification of the closed-minded or ignorant doesn't wash. What about the vast numbers of people who are simply left out and not represented, finally getting a chance to see something relevant or relatable? That has value, too. It's a relief to see something that's not alienating, and which furthers ones own experience or interests.

  • Love 2
Link to comment

I loved it, too.

I recommended it to a friend who I thought would for sure find it as great as we do, but she said she and her husband turned it off partway through the pilot because "it took too long to get out of the bedroom and we hate night scenes because it's too hard to see the people and follow what's going on."

 

She said she might give it another try, after I detailed the well-lit and non-bedroom elements I thought she'd find appealing, but word to the marketing people: not everyone in the potential audience is interested in the sex lives of characters they don't even know.

 

Live and learn!

Link to comment

The mother's deadpan delivery actually kind of worked for me, because I fell out when she said that she spent her first week in the States sitting on the couch and crying. I felt bad about it because that's sad, but the way she said it was so funny to me.

 

I liked it a lot. I'm in the target audience, FWIW. There were some bits from Aziz's standup (that part about how a woman had to go into a pet store to avoid being followed, the part about how long it takes to research the best place to get food). I found the relationship with Rachel really relatable. I can think of a number of couples I know who got married because they were with a person at the age at which they felt they should get married, particularly if they wanted kids (the biological clock is real). I've definitely known women who were like, well, I'm 32, if we break up I have to start over and that means I might not find someone in time to have kids, so let's just do this.

 

I also liked the realism of the couple who married six months into their relationship after finding out the woman was pregnant. Sometimes shotgun weddings work out, but often they don't. Six months is not very long, and babies put a strain on every marriage. My best friend and her husband had been together for five years before their daughter was born, the pregnancy was planned, and they went through a rough patch. So I can see how what's basically a new relationship would crumble after a baby is introduced. Also, what Rachel said in her fake vows about everything being planned out was very similar to what my best friend said when she and her now-husband were talking about getting married - she knew she wanted marriage and kids and was frankly shocked that she was going to get them (she'd had bad luck with men before him), but she also lamented that there weren't going to be any surprises in her life. They were skipping right along: they met, dated, moved in together, got engaged, were going to get married, have a kid or two, buy a house, work, retire ... and the stability of that was comforting but also scary. (And that's how their life has played out so far: they married, had a kid, waited a while, bought a house, and just had a second kid.)

 

I particularly liked the chemistry between Rachel and Dev and Dev and Arnold. I bought both relationships fully.

Link to comment
I particularly liked the chemistry between Rachel and Dev and Dev and Arnold. I bought both relationships fully.

I agree - in general, the casting has been very good on this show.  I also like that Arnold seems to have a social/dating life.  Between his status as a sidekick and his unconventional height and appearance (for a tv star), I think he would have been reduced to some sexless foil on most other shows.

 

Gosh, Dev has a nice apartment.  Go-gurt commercials must pay well.

 

I absolutely loved the parents and the grandparents.  Grandma Carol might be my favorite character.  All of the exaggerated things about those interactions rang true, and I so much enjoyed watching them get addressed head on, instead of turning the characters into one scene cameos.  The conflict between the older ones having a life that goes on even when we don't see them is something I don't think I've ever seen before.  Bring on more family.  Are there any siblings in the wings?

 

I don't think I'd characterize the later episodes as being very funny, although they still had warmth and honesty and characters I cared about.  I wonder how they'll try to walk that line if it gets renewed.  Either way, I'd like more.

  • Love 1
Link to comment
I really want to know if Tickler's in Nashville is a real spot, because I would love to try some of their world famous  White bbq sauce.
Azis did a Q&A on Twitter yesrerday and said it was based off of a white bbq sauce from martin's.

Martin's is crazy good barbeque, best in the area, I think.  It's not downtown, though ... you'd need a car.

 

Here's a link to their online store where you can buy sauce, Febgirl:

 

http://www.martinsbbqjoint.com/shop-1/

Link to comment

Loved this. LOVED it.

 

The guy exercising in the background while Dev and Ravi were weighing options, was great. So funny. "Keep those carbs away from me!

That was the prettiest Indian man if not one of the prettiest men I've ever seen. I mean, I've seen some pretty dudes in my day.

And "Bussa-Buss" (Busta Rhymes/"Athlete Business Partner"?) must be doing well with his new rechargeable battery investments, because he's looking mighty swole. Food is really agreeing with him. 

Edited by wmdekooning
  • Love 1
Link to comment
She said she might give it another try, after I detailed the well-lit and non-bedroom elements I thought she'd find appealing, but word to the marketing people: not everyone in the potential audience is interested in the sex lives of characters they don't even know.

 

A sex scene to open a film or television show to show how "Comedically Wacky" the tone of it is has become such a trope.

 

Bridesmaids, Away We Go -- those come to me off the top of my head besides this one.  I know that's only 3 examples including this show but it always has me rolling my eyes.  I just find it tired.  

 

After Googling it, I see that there are some articles about this!  AV Club cited 19 examples in 2010.  http://www.avclub.com/article/start-with-a-bang-19-films-and-tv-episodes-that-op-46436

Edited by Ms Blue Jay
Link to comment

Maybe I'm just old.  This show is not good.  It trades in corny cliches while trying to be all deep and shit a la Louie.  Noel Wells, who I enjoyed on SNL, cannot act.  Maybe it's the horrible lines she has, or the lack of chemistry with Aziz.  And the character Dev acts like a special needs toddler.  

 

I think I'm just bitter because people are raving about this show, and it's a giant letdown for me.

Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...