[TRANSCRIPT]
Jerrick Deng: It isn’t a lie to say that people find every possible way to put a screen in front of themselves today. On the bright side is that this era of technology brings endless opportunities to stream movies and shows across a variety of platforms. Which of them to stream on, however, is the question we’ll be asking on today’s podcast. Hello, my name is Jerrick Deng and I’ll be your host for today’s podcast, alongside Sophia Nunez, Hazel Wong, and Samantha Zaifman. Now to begin with our first interview. Okay, so what is your name and grade?
Caleb Chaung: I’m Caleb. I’m a senior.
Jerrick Deng: Well, which streaming platforms do you usually reach out for when you’re going to watch something?
Caleb Chaung: Okay, if I’m watching something…, I use Netflix.
Jerrick Deng: Mhmm…Okay, well, when you do go on Netflix, what is your favorite show or movie?
Caleb Chaung: Oh, I saw the How To Train Your Dragon remake recently. That was really good.
Jerrick Deng: Do you prefer movies over shows or vice versa?
Caleb Chaung: I prefer movies over shows, because you get the whole storyline in like a very coherent package.
Jerrick Deng: It’s like within, like an hour or two hours, right?
Caleb Chaung: Yeah, and then a show, it’s like a longer time investment.
Jerrick Deng: Well, what genres of movies have you been watching then lately?
Caleb Chaung: Mainly fantasy or adventure movies.
Jerrick Deng: If you had to pick one movie or show that was your favorite throughout your entire life, which one would it be?
Caleb Chaung: Kung Fu Panda 2 is, is goated dude?
Jerrick Deng: No, I agree, actually. But how- how did you find out about it?
Caleb Chaung: It’s like, back in the day, when I went to after school, they’d play it, like in between classes and like after my Chinese class…I watched that. That movie… low key banger.
Jerrick Deng: Okay, yeah, I agree. Actually. Well, is there any movie or show that you’ve been told to watch by someone and you ended up loving it?
Caleb Chaung: I got influenced by my dad to watch Naruto, because like when I saw it, watching it, I was like seven, right? I was like, dang it, those ninjas look really cool, right? And then I was like, Dad, can I watch it with you? And my dad was like… “Sure!” And then my mom was like… “Hey, wait, this is way too gory for a seven-year-old.” And I don’t think it was that gory, right? But she barred me from watching it for five whole years, so I couldn’t watch it till I was 12. So then when I watched it when I was 12, it was like, you know, delayed gratification. So I really liked it.
Jerrick Deng: Okay, so that’s an anime show you liked, but is there any other thing that you would like to mention?
Caleb Chaung: Oh, I also got recommended this K-drama…Business Proposal. It’s got the same actor that…voiced Jinu in K-Pop Demon Hunters. Yeah, I thought it was pretty entertaining, too.
Jerrick Deng: Okay, well, I think that’s all we need then, thank you.
Jerrick Deng: So that was an Arcadia High School (AHS) senior who obviously had a really good taste in movies and shows, but I want to hand over the spotlight to Sofia Nunez and her interviewee.
Sophia Nunez: Hi, my name is Sophia, and I’m here with Paula Eccleston. What grade are you in?
Paula Eccleston: I’m in twelfth grade.
Sophia Nunez: Which streaming platform do you prefer or typically reach for?
Paula Eccleston: I usually like to use either Netflix or Amazon Prime, because I feel like there’s a lot of options if you have both of them.
Sophia Nunez: How long do you spend watching your favorite shows?
Paula Eccleston: I usually watch one to two shows, episodes of a show, per day, but sometimes I don’t watch like anything for like a whole week, but I usually watch an hour to two hours per day.
Sophia Nunez: Do you prefer movies or shows?
Paula Eccleston: I think I prefer shows because, well I like movies as well, but shows are less of a time commitment, because you can just finish an episode in 30 minutes, and then you can stop there. And then, if it’s hard to stop a movie in the middle, if you have something else to do.
Sophia Nunez: What genre of movies or shows have you been watching lately?
Paula Eccleston: Lately, I’ve been watching thrillers and comedies, and then I also like action as well.
Sophia Nunez: If you had to pick one movie or show, which one would you choose as your current favorite?
Paula Eccleston: I’d say my current favorite is Severance, because I just watched it, and I thought it was really interesting, and I enjoyed watching it.
Sophia Nunez: How did you find out about this show?
Paula Eccleston: I found out about this show because I was looking for, like, highly rated shows, and that was one of them. And then I read the like the summary, and it looked pretty interesting.
Sophia Nunez: Are there any shows that you’ve been influenced to watch and ended up loving?
Paula Eccleston: Well, I was influenced to watch Severance because like I heard it was really good, and then I ended up enjoying it.
Sophia Nunez: Are there any shows you’ve been influenced to watch and ended up hating?
Paula Eccleston: Yeah, I recently tried watching a show called Secession, because I saw some clips on Instagram. They’re funny, but then after watching the first episode, it didn’t seem that interesting. It wasn’t really something I think I’d enjoy.
Sophia Nunez: Okay, great. Next up is Hazel’s interview.
Hazel Wong: What is your name and grade?
Chloe Htut: Chloe Htut from twelfth grade.
Hazel Wong: Which streaming platform do you prefer?
Chloe Htut: The Criterion Channel.
Hazel Wong: How long do you spend watching your favorite shows or movies?
Chloe Htut: Why like three movies a week?
Hazel Wong: Do you prefer shows or movies?
Chloe Htut: Movies.
Hazel Wong: What genre of movies?
Chloe Htut: I like slice of life, like indie movies.
Hazel Wong: Yes, if you had to pick one movie or show, which one would you choose as your current favorite?
Chloe Htut: All the President’s Men, which is about Watergate.
Hazel Wong: How did you find out about this show?
Chloe Htut: Oh, because Robert Redford died. So I looked up his filmography, and then I watched it.
Hazel Wong: Are there any shows you’ve been influenced to watch and ended up loving?
Chloe Htut: Heated Rivalry, because one of my friends told me to watch it and she’s crazy.
Samantha Zaifman: And this is our final interview for today’s podcast. My name is Samantha Zaifman, and today I’m here with Ryan Parizadeh.
Samantha Zaifman: And what grade are you in?
Ryan Parizadeh: Junior.
Samantha Zaifman: Okay, Ryan, so my first question today is, which streaming platform do you prefer or typically reach for?
Ryan Parizadeh: I would say usually, Netflix is my go to.
Samantha Zaifman: How long do you typically spend watching your favorite shows?
Ryan Parizadeh: It varies. It’s pretty volatile in terms of, like, how I watch it. I don’t really have like, a regiment or like a daily average, but I would say maybe, like, give or take an hour a day. I would say that’s pretty generous. Yeah.
Samantha Zaifman: Okay, so would you say you prefer shows or movies?
Ryan Parizadeh: At the moment, shows. I would prefer shows.
Samantha Zaifman: At the moment, shows, okay, well, what genre of shows have you been watching lately?
Ryan Parizadeh: I tend to go for more. So, like thriller, drama is not really my thing. I think I like thriller a little more, a little bit of like comedy in there too, is usually what I enjoy, like a distinct topic, probably like law, you know, like a good one is like suits, and right now I’m watching Better Call Saul.
Samantha Zaifman: Okay, so if you had to pick one movie or show like that you’re interested or watching right now, which one would you say is your current favorite?
Ryan Parizadeh: Okay, current favorite, Better Call Saul. All time, probably The Boys.
Samantha Zaifman: So, how did you find out about these shows?
Ryan Parizadeh: I mean, friends recommend, like, recommendations. Just you know, YouTube watching videos, people like it, social media, stuff like that.
Samantha Zaifman: Okay, are there any shows that you’ve been influenced to watch and ended up really liking?
Ryan Parizadeh: Influenced to watch? Not really. No one’s ever, like, influenced me into watching a show, kind of,
Samantha Zaifman: Okay, recommended to watch…
Ryan Parizadeh: Recommended, yeah, probably, probably The Boys. I started watching it when it was like, just coming out. My friends recommended it to me, and I ended up loving it a lot, because it was like, I mean, obviously it was, like, one of the first rated R shows that I watched, and, like, the dark humor was like, pretty it was pretty funny to me, so I just enjoyed it a lot. And I still do.
Samantha Zaifman: Well, there are there any shows that you. Influenced or recommended to watch, and you ended up really not liking?
Ryan Parizadeh: Not liking…huh…Honestly… no, not really. I don’t I- I- if I did, probably wouldn’t even remember them. Because I don’t… I don’t usually remember things that I hate that often, in terms of, like, entertainment. I find things that I like more memorable. If I hate something, I just forget about it. Because, I mean, I probably didn’t even get past like, the first episode.
Samantha Zaifman: Okay, that’s fair. So I think it’s safe to say that your friends have given you pretty good recommendations on shows.
Ryan Parizadeh: Yeah, yeah, usually.
Samantha Zaifman: Okay. Well, thank you for participating.
Ryan Parizadeh: Thank you for asking me these questions.
Jerrick Deng: Judging from all of these interviews, there isn’t a single right choice when it comes to deciding on what to watch or what to choose as your favorite show. Maybe the real insight of this podcast is to show that movie culture is rich and complex, and that the only way to navigate it is to experiment and explore to find what works best for you. Hopefully, these interviews and recommendations have helped you find a show that you may love as well.
