DISJOINTED Takes Impartial, Long-Time-Coming Look at Medical Cannabis
Don't Fear the Binge
First, allow me to explain how my wife @carrieallen and I ended up binge watching the entire season of Disjointed on Netflix in a single day. I have nothing against binge-watching, but I rarely find something enjoyable enough.
I work long shifts as the manager of a recreational cannabis dispensary in Southern Colorado. I have been working especially long hours in the last few weeks. As we live in an extremely beautiful part of the mountains, we see many out-of-state guests in the late summer. Business is good.
Carrie was coordinating a local music festival, so she had her hands full the last couple months as well. And since I have been spending nearly all my free time learning about cryptocurrency... Let's just say no one's been having trouble getting to sleep lately in my house. So we spent all day watching Netflix. Please don't judge us. Or judge us, if it makes you feel better.
I Hope SitComs Never Die
It's easy to forget how lucky we are to have grown up with sitcom television. For those who are unfamiliar, sitcom is short for Situational Comedy. Let me briefly explain. These simple stories tell us, though example, how to thrive in the most complicated social situations we will ever deal with. Through "canned" audience responses, they demonstrate what reactions are appropriate, and when. Perhaps it's no coincidence that when "Reality TV" overwhelmingly replaced sitcoms, the definition of appropriate became considerably foggier.
I'd love to put together a longer post with more of my thoughts about the relationships between TV/culture/society but for now I'm here to review.
DISJOINTED
Finally! A show about weed!
But that's not enough. We've had plenty of stuff about cannabis. Remember all those movies from the eighties and nineties that lovingly depicted stoners as slackers, losers, lazies and buffoons? I've got absolutely nothing against Half-Baked, but with medical marijuana now legal in more than half of US states, I think we can do better.
Cannabis is not a gateway drug. It's a community, a cause, a revolution and a life-changing medicine. This movement deserves a show that is just as likely to bring a new member to the community as to make a lifelong stoner belly-laugh.
It seems like we finally got the show we deserve.
Disjointed, in its ten 27-minute episodes, presents cannabis in nearly every possible light. Not everything is positive, but it's honest. The humor is not at all free of stereotypes, but neither is life. It's a wonderfully impartial, full-spectrum examination. Anyone who is new to cannabis or curious in any way will learn a great deal from Disjointed.
In fact, as an expert who works in the industry, I'm not ashamed to admit that I learned a bit myself. These people did their research.
Don't Worry - It's Not a Documentary
Don't get me wrong. There's some education, but... you'll laugh. A lot. It's freaking hilarious. And since Netflix doesn't have to abide by the abhorred FCC restrictions, cursing is a free-for-all. And we can all agree that potty-mouths make everything funnier, right?
SERIOUSLY, THOUGH
As funny a show as it is, no one can overlook the somber and dramatic undertones. You will cry. If this is a problem, BACK OUT NOW! It won't happen often, but at least once every couple of episodes, they'll hit you with something really heavy. Don't worry, it's over quick and followed by something hilarious every time. These moments may seem hard to watch, but remember: Sometimes the hardest moments for us to watch are the most important for us to see.
VISUAL CANDY
This show is a delight to watch. The actors are fantastic, especially Kathy Bates. There are sudden musical numbers that are over before you had time to ask yourself what's happening. There are extended musical animations a la Pink Floyd's The Wall. Plants talk sometimes. The colors are extremely bright and cheerful, and everyone is smoking weed all the time. It's really just wonderful for a pothead like me.
I really hope you decide to check out DISJOINTED. That is, check it out if you're going to watch Netflix anyway. In all honesty I would prefer that you go volunteer somewhere or spend some time out in nature. Maybe play a round of disc golf. If you'd like other leisure suggestions, follow me.
Images: Free from pixabay.com
(Except this one, this one's me.)
Thanks a lot for reading. Now let's all go make the world a better place!
Haven't seen the show yet @chrisroberts, but now I'm intrigued. It is probably because I don't really watch tv..LOL. Cut cable years ago and rarely stream anything because of bandwidth caps..but I do keep a Netflix dvd acct. You're right, we can do better than Half Baked; which was perfect for its time, but this is a new era..
Cannabis is a gateway to happiness and love if a gateway at all..😆
I think breast milk and formula are gateway drugs; kids start with a bottle and then a few years down the road it's booze.. Absurd logic looks absurd when you apply it to everything.
Shows that integrate cannabis culture are certainly shaping the masses. It alters the perspective. And let's be honest, the immense propaganda and stigmas surrounding cannabis (I refuse to call it marijuana, but that's another discussion..lol) has decades of media that have driven it into the minds of the people and that isn't easy to change. It's never easy finding out what you've always believed was a lie.
It will take subtle, incremental change to alter public perspective. I remember in the mid 90s, a talk show had a young guy with a multi-colored Mohawk talking about how people saw him as a 'punk kid' with nothing good to offer. Then they followed him for a day and it showed how he cared for his younger sibling that had severe disabilities. That made people feel like shit and it should. Don't judge a person based on a fraction of what makes them who they really are.
Wow :) I really appreciate you taking the time to make such a well put-together response. Those are all great observations. Sorry for using the M-word ;) I kind of need to use both words, as I work in the MMJ industry.
I see the effects of all that propaganda every day in my first-time customers. But fortunately, I also see all the good that the industry is doing for veterans, recovering alcoholics and addicts, people with depression/anxiety, cancer, etc. and it makes me really happy. We're on the right track.
Thanks so much for reading and commenting :)
Pleasure's all mine, @chrisroberts. I'll give you a pass this once on the "M" word..haha
I just can't stand the word because it's was designed to demonize the plant, the cannabis plant. Have you ever read Jack Herer's book The Emperor Wears No Clothes by any chance? That makes it hard to comprehend how a medical industry could adopt such a word. The origination of the word was propaganda to evoke fear and provoke racism. Something that you'll notice in the laws - they seldom use the actual plant name; cannabis. Ever wonder why?
I think your work, regardless of whatever name we call this incredible plant, is absolutely essential to health and well being. It does help many people and is safer than any pharmaceutical garbage on the market, in my humble opinion. But... I don't have to tell you; you see it everyday! The future will be bright for this plant and I will be doing my part as soon as my state gets their shit together - or people vote the clowns out. Might have to move..LOL
Earned a follower, brother! STEEM On! 🔥🚀
I just found this series last night, alas with work in the morning I did not get to binge watch, however, I was very impressed with 4 episodes I have seen so far. I think the thing I like the most, so far, is that it is a bit weird, I love the very intelligent and trippy animations, as well as the very random, segway clips. Everything is packaged well, especially for dedicated cannabis consumers.
Yes! I also like the weird random segway clips. I'm pretty sure it's free stock footage to fill in the tiny bits of time needed to complete the scenes. Though, that was only true for TV, because of time slots. Netflix shows can be as long or as short as desired, so really... I dunno. 🙃
Enjoy the rest of the season!
Great representatives I agree with you
Awesome! Thanks so much! :)
Thanks for the recommendation!
🎉🌳🌿💥💨
You're very welcome. And thank YOU for reading :)
I also started watching it... It's so good! I honestly really, really, REALLY don't like sitcoms at all, but this one is awesome! Everything about it, from the Reefer-Madness-Style intro, to the deep psychological moments you mentioned in this post (: I really hope it gets some people realizing that cannabis isn't "the Devil's Lettuce" anymore...
Hubby and I just started watching this show....you're right it's a great show. I could have totally binged watched this one, so I get it.
It would actually be awesome to watch as separate episodes. There were always good hooks and cliffhangers. A lot happens in a few episodes. Thanks for reading :)
I noticed this, it looks kind of good as I like Kathy Bates. I'm not sure if I'll watch though as I'm afraid it's going to have too many "getting high" jokes, but not sure. Peace.
Plenty of "getting high" jokes for sure. They were just funnier than the ones I was used to because they were more real. I liked how they were presented. :D
Thanks for reading!
me and the wife binge watched this show in 1 day as well it was well worth it, be alright if they do a second season
I'll bet they will pretty soon. IMDB makes it seem like they've already filmed more episodes. With some of their other originals, they come out with the second part just a few weeks later. Let's hope ;) I'm not crazy about the way they ended it.
I've seen the first episode and I thought, "But...Cheech and Chong!"
The first episode was actually a bit more cerebral than I expected. I'll try another one and see how it goes.
Resteemed by @steemvote
Sweet I'll have to check this out :)