This month’s VOD and web series picks offer a few different takes on dating in the modern age. With the adoption of social media, smart phones, and apps, navigating the dating world in a sea of virtual pixels is no easy task. There are dozens of dating apps to choose from, and a whole new vocabulary to go with them — terms like “ghosting” and “haunting” are becoming commonplace in our lexicon. The most recent season of anthology show “Black Mirror” even tackled the tech of online dating in “Hang the DJ,” an episode which resonated strongly with audiences and hinted at a not-so-far-fetched future dating app.
And while the internet has made it much easier to connect with people in some respects, it hasn’t been able to do much about unwanted advances or harassment. Articles are frequently published on how to avoid or deal with online harassment in dating apps. This type of behavior, online and off, is so rampant that someone even created a hotline — offering a fake number women can give out if they feel unsafe or disrespected — for when someone just won’t take the hint.
This month’s selections all offer a glimpse into dating and making connections in the 21st century. Web series “Outlandish” takes us through the dating lives of three best friends who don’t quite have it all figured out. Meanwhile, “A Girl’s Guide to Ghosting” and short “The Hare-y Tail of Online Dating ” take a closer look at dating apps, and offer up a few creative ways to handle unwanted advances.
Here are our web series and VOD selections for the month of September.
Web Series
Paige (Kirsten D’Addio) is a young app developer trying to make it in the world of tech, no easy feat in a space often dominated by men. While she’s trying to come up with the next big app, she moves into an old boarding house. Things seem to be off to a promising start, that is until her landlord starts hitting on her. And things go from bad to worse when Paige finds out her room comes with a roommate, one who was last alive in the 1800s.
Tabitha (Mia Fraboni) is the Gold Rush era ghost that has made herself at home in Paige’s room, creating a contentious living situation since each feel the other is encroaching on their space. Despite hailing from two different time periods, the two find common ground, in the form of a crush on their neighbor, and become friends. And after another unpleasant encounter with Paige’s landlord, the pair brainstorm an app that would help women get rid of unwanted advances, and make room for the romantic connections they are actually looking for.
In terms of unlikely duos on screen, the characters of Paige and Tabitha are certainly unique. And it’s precisely their dissimilarities that really bring the series to life. There’s great comedy in how the two play off one another (e.g. Tabitha often asking Paige to explain 21st century terms to her, and weighing in on Paige’s dilemmas with her own antiquated life experiences). The most fun comes when the roommates start to build the app, making choices about color schemes, logos, and content. They envision an app that could change lives, excitedly exclaiming, “If we take the time to perfect this, we could launch a social movement women deserve.”
Creators Jillian Davis and Abbie Steckler parlayed their own friendship into a creative partnership themselves. When talking about the process of creating “A Girl’s Guide to Ghosting,” the two friends described meeting to catch up and spitball ideas for a project which would lead to the inception of the series, saying, “we kept up those meetings in Beverly Hills for close to a year. Still talking about our lives, incorporating the perils of online dating into our scripts, the fear of making something for real shining through as well.” And the result is a web series with a unique and original idea that touches on important themes, and is also great fun.
Watch “A Girl’s Guide to Ghosting” on YouTube.
“Outlandish” – Created by Ariel Julia Hairston
Writer and director Ariel Julia Hairston has created a group of friends who are so relatable you can’t help but see elements of your life reflected in theirs. “Outlandish” follows three best friends, Cami (Kiah Clingman), Summer (Jordan Sherley), and Nina (Camila Florez), as they deal with everything life has to offer, from moments of heartbreak to those moments that catch you off guard. The first episode opens with Nina frantically searching the web for how to get over her ex, which inevitably leads her down a comedic rabbit hole of cyber sleuthing into whom she could be dating now. Let’s just say that doesn’t end well. And while Summer has relationship troubles of her own, we also witness her vulnerability as she lifts the curtain on some of the incredible personal hardships she has faced.
Through the character of Cami we follow a refreshing queer love story that centers on a woman of color. In an interview, Hairston addressed her focus on diversity saying, “As a black woman, I created the web series partly with the intention of tackling the lack of representation of the Queer Black Woman in media and the prevalence of bi-erasure. I also wanted a show that encompasses primarily people of color while still maintaining a diverse feel.”
And the three friends don’t just stick to discussions of their dating lives, they also bring up social justice issues like police brutality and cultural appropriation, grounding the series in reality and speaking to the kinds of real life conversations young women are having today.
You can watch all seven episodes of “Outlandish” on YouTube.
VOD
“The Hare-y Tail of Online Dating” (Short) – Created and Directed by Lillian To
An animated short, “The Hare-y Tail of Online Dating” takes us through the dating life of a rabbit. As she watches a romance on television she scrolls through her dating app, but is only met with explicit messages and photos that reduce her to nothing more than an object. So when she finally receives a message asking her to dinner, she’s ecstatic. But as we see, the date does not go as planned, and reflects exactly the type of behavior she was confronted with online.
“The Hare-y Tail of Online dating” is more than a comedic vignette about dating as a woman — or bunny — today. It also offers an important perspective and sends a message. Ostensibly, when you use a dating app, you have control. You get to set your own filters and swipe to determine whether you want to know more about someone. But often, this is not the reality, and rather than creating a space that offers you autonomy, it leaves little room for recourse when you are met with inappropriate or unwanted messages, forcing you off the platform. Something to consider as we as a society navigate making online spaces safer.
You can watch “The Hare-y Tail of Online Dating” on Vimeo.
