Netflix facilitates women’s talk
IN CELEBRATION of Women’s Month, internet entertainment service Netflix got some of South Africa’s influential women together in the studio for a day for conversations about what inspires them about the women that play leading roles in some of Netflix’s most watched shows.
Featured women in the campaign include singer Patty Monroe, lifestyle blogger Nadia Jaftha, model and photographer Thick Leeyonce, blogger Sadie Torquato, model and TV presenter Minki van der Westhuizen, fashion and beauty editor Nontando Mposo, architectural student Kitso Kgori, TV Personality Tumi Voster, lifestyle blogger Kathryn Rossiter and Top Billing presenter Jeannie D.
The streaming service is ahead when it come to original content that inspires and with characters that most ordinary people can relate to. Whether you are into drama, crime, historical or family stories, there is bound to be a series that you would like.
We see this on Netflix, where diverse female leads have been given a stage to send messages of empowerment and acceptance.
There are strong black women taking charge and owning the stage like never before. From the sexually charged Spike Lee series, She’s Gotta Have It to the leading ladies of sci-fi Altered Carbon, women of colour are being showcased in unique and fully realised forms. While the inmates of Litchfield Prison in Orange is the new Black explore the nuances of living as a black woman in and outside of prison walls.
The queen of clap-backs – Sam from Dear White People – tackles racial tensions at her nearly allwhite Ivy League campus while also struggling with her own racial identity. These shows give us fearless, complicated and flawed characters that unlock a very real truth that women want to see and relatable groups of women supporting each other on screen.
Groups of women who, despite their differences, show that power and influence can be achieved through coming together and having each other’s backs.
These stories are finally being told by women writers such as Shonda Rhimes of How to Get Away with Murder and Jenji Kohan of Orange is the New Black and GLOW.
The group featured in the campaign also got to dress up as their favourite on-screen characters. Styled by Tracy Lee Rosslind and make-up by Lindy Lin, the characters came into real life.
What to watch: 5 Netflix shows that have strong female leading characters.
1. Orange is the New Black: A privileged New Yorker ends up in a women’s prison when a past crime catches up with her in this Emmy-winning series from the creator of Weeds.
2. Dear White People: Set against the backdrop of a predominantly white Ivy League university where racial tensions bubble just below the surface, Dear White People is a hilarious send-up of “post-racial” America that weaves together the universal story of finding one’s own identity.3. The Crown: This drama follows the political rivalries and romance of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign and the events that shaped the second half of the 20th century.
4. Marvel’s Jessica Jones: Haunted by a traumatic past, Jessica Jones uses her gifts as a private eye to find her tormentor before he can harm anyone else in Hell’s Kitchen.
5. Chelsea Does: Comedian Chelsea Handler confronts personal and cultural hang-ups around four topics that fascinate her.