Woke

Loved this first season. It captures the anxiety, uncertainty and confusion of having your eyes opened to the world the way it is instead of the way you want it to be. It's an uncomfortable place to be, and every episode this season reflects Keef's fits and starts into the new world. He makes mistakes and questionable decisions. He keeps his anger pushed down only for it to surface in unproductive ways. We see Keef try this season, and by the end, it looks like he might have hit his stride. I'm looking forward to season two.

I expected that it would be low rated because it makes certain people uncomfortable but I liked it. I always thought Lamorne Morris was the funniest in The New Girl.

I'm a Black Man in America. So I can definitely relate to the subject matter. And maybe that's why I don't like the show. I miss the days when Black Shows could just be Good shows without constantly pushing a narrative. It's not that funny of a show. And it's a little heavy handed. But it has some real funny moments. Defintely worth a pandemic watch. And some of y'all need to get of y'all feelings lol. It's just a tv show. Y'all so darn personal about this stuff.

People are reviewing this show negatively in reaction to the title. The "woke" of the show refers to the main character beginning to see formerly non-sentient objects like mailboxes come to life and talk to him. Calling the show Woke was probably a mistake because it's a pretty chill show.. a cross between Wonderfalls and Spaced. I've watched a few episodes, and as far as I can tell the politics are very light, and not really the focus of the show, certainly not in a way that should alienate anybody. I wish we lived in a world where people weren't so angry.

There are a lot of things Woke does right. The cinematography/directing is great; they definitely had a vision and created it. From the color palette to the shots themselves. I particularly like the costume design as well, adding a bit more to each character style.

Where the show seems to falter is the foundation it's based on. The lessons are very heavy handed, which you might expect from the title "Woke" but they still seem to hit you over the head with them. Perhaps to drive them home but it does seem a bit overdone. The writing is okay but I actually find the supporting characters to be the most compelling and entertaining. Blake and T Murph nail their on screen relationship and it's hilarious.

All in all I would consider this a good watch with the homies and a harmless way to approach deep issues about American society as a minority. Does it have its downs? For sure. But it also has plenty of ups to keep you watching.