Created by Baz Luhrmann
(“Australia”, “The Great Gatsby”) and Stephen Adly Guirgis, The Get Down is a musical period drama produced by Sony Pictures Television for Netflix. The first part of the show’s first season, comprising of six episodes, debuted on Netflix in August. When talking about musical dramas, the first image that comes to everyone’s mind would be that of characters singing their heart out through a piece of classical music, or pop-songs the setting is a more modern one. The Get Down brings more of the same generic content to viewers, with the exception of using rap-music and pulling it off in style.
Set during the 70s, The Get Down is a look at life in the South Bronx area of New York City that witnessed the rise of the rap music industry while the city was on the brink of bankruptcy. The show’s protagonist, Ezekiel “Zeke” Figuero, is a talented young man who has a chance encounter with a small time crook named Shaolin Fantastic while attempting to declare his love to his friend, Mylene Cruz. After sorting out their differences, Shao inspires Zeke to form a hip-hop crew with him. The Get Down follows Zeke and Shao as they try to revolutionize the music industry, joined by Zeke’s friends.
From Left to Right: Shameik Moore (Shaolin Fantastic), Justice Smith (Zeke Figuero), T.J. Brown Jr (Boo-Boo Kipling), Skylan Brooks (Ra-Ra Kipling), Jaden Smith (Dizzee Kipling)
Despite the reputation of its creator, The Get Down has a lot of drawbacks, especially with regards to its plot. The show’s story is filled with events and situations that viewers have already seen numerous times previously in movies and other shows which makes it easy to predict how almost all of the show’s twists and moments will play out. Most of the show’s flaws including weak performances from its cast and some sleazily written lines are apparent from its premiere itself. Although it does improve with each episode, these issues still remain prevalent in some capacity and affect its quality as a whole.
Mamadou Athie plays a young version of the famous DJ Grandmaster Flash
However, the show spares viewers of fatigue from repetitive content and compensates for its deficiencies through its presentation and music. Even with all its flaws, The Get Down is still a very entertaining show. The whole show is presented as the content of verses from a rap being sung at a concert, leading into flashbacks. The show does an impressive job of mixing humor and rap music to its dramatic moments, thereby leaving most of its faults at a blind spot and even makes its many clichéd “underdog victory” moments worthy of applause. An interesting thing about The Get Down’s presentation is how all its characters revere DJ-ing as a sort of martial art which they strive to master, complete with sound effects from martial arts movies. All the scenes which show The Get Down crew jamming together are delightful to watch. Overall, the best part about The Get Down is its great music. The show does a good job of incorporating its subplots neatly into its main plot, which was where Vinyl, an HBO show falling into the same genre that aired earlier this year, failed.
Herizen F. Guardiola as Mylene Cruz (centre) with Stefanee Martin and Shyrley Rodriguez
Apart from its plot, The Get Down’s main issue was the weak performances from most of its cast. Justice Smith, who played Ezekiel, showcased a decent performance. Shameik Moore’s portrayal of Shaolin Fantastic was great as well. Unfortunately, none of the other members of the show’s main cast delivered a performance worthy of recognition. Jaden Smith’s performance as Dizzee was as unamusing as the character he played. Lack of sufficient character development is yet another problem the show faced. The only other notable actor in the show was Giancarlo Esposito who played Marlene’s orthodox father who obstructed her dreams. Though Esposito did a compelling job, his screen-time was limited. Herizen F. Guardiola’s Mylene Cruz also had a story arc of her own, which contributed some good musical and dramatic moments to the show.
Thus, The Get Down is an imperfect but entertaining musical drama that offers a look into the drug addled streets and life in South Bronx while exploring the city’s disco-culture and the birth of hip-hop. It also deals with themes like racism, politics, and the influence of gangsters on the people’s lives, in some amount. The Get Down is a great watch for people who enjoy rap-music and are looking for something to kill their time with. However, it may not prove to be so entertaining if you are looking for a complex, deep drama.
Tags: The Get Down TV Shows
