Review: The Politician on Netflix
8 out of 10
When I overheard my coworkers excitedly discuss how great this show is, I felt compelled to see what made it so great.
Ben Platt, who plays the main character Payton Hobart is incredible! The themes are ingenious, and what I think is some of Gwyneth Paltrow’s best work.
This show dives into details of different aspects of high school life (relationships, LGBTQ, inequality gap, acceptance, and what some think is life or death, others just don’t care about)…kind of like real life as an adult.
My biggest criticism is with Ricardo’s character representing the Latino community. To have that role be dumb and easily manipulated is racist. I wonder how the plot may have differed if he was a white character. It brings back memories of a Cultural Diversity class from my undergraduate years, where we dissected movies and how they portray characters with different racial stereotypes.
I found myself questioning what my coworkers thought was considered great entertainment. Good acting? The plot? Cliffhangers? Let’s be more specific and try to understand why we spend so much time with streaming videos. I encourage everyone who binge watches any series online to question: what makes it good, and why?
