Since the quarantine began in March, social isolation has been crushing. But it’s also left students with a huge chunk of time on their hands, a lingering feeling of boredom and a craving for escapism. What better than to spend that time on at-home entertainment?
The Roosevelt News assembled a range of responses and interviewed students from around the school on their favorite shows, movies, and music that they watched or listened to since the pandemic started. Replies covered a wide range of genres, moods, and eras, representing the diverse selection of streamed content at our fingertips.
Some of the most popular shows were the F.B.I. crime series “Criminal Minds” and the American adaption of the much-loved workplace mockumentary “The Office.” In interviews, “Tiger King” and “The Umbrella Academy” were also mentioned as favorites.
Across our responses, students seemed to prefer shows to movies. Probably for good reason, as shows are the most binge-able. Perhaps most movies didn’t quite scratch that itch. As sophomore Lucy Mertz put it, “I was looking for shows with lots of seasons.”
However, some classics still proved binge-worthy. Mertz says, “My family, we watched the Harry Potter movies. Yep, all through the eighth.” So, perhaps movies aren’t completely out of favor. Interviewees also mentioned a documentary series, “Pick of the Litter,” a docu-series following a litter of puppies to their adulthood as trained dogs for the blind. Another was BBC’s “Planet Earth,” the sweeping David Attenborough-narrated nature series.
In terms of music, there was a wide range of responses. But as Emma Hogan put it, music “just reminding me of my childhood” was a comfort and necessity with fewer new releases at the beginning of quarantine. Music she had already listened to also came back into her rotation. But at the top for her was undoubtedly One Direction, Hogan said.
Others mentioned One Direction as well, along with the music of the band’s former member, Harry Styles.
With the stress, frustration, and anxiety that a global pandemic implies, many opted for music to sit back and unwind with. Laid back R&B like Frank Ocean and The Weeknd gave students a chilled-out break from the stresses surrounding them.
Others mentioned solo female indie artists like singer-songwriter Mitski and cutting-edge electropop creator Hannah Diamond.
Despite the relatively mellow songs some enjoyed, others chose a different path. As Amelia Fadiman mentions, she’s been into the niche genre folk-punk, including bands at the forefront of the scene like AJJ—whose best-known song “Brave as a Noun” clocks in at just barely over a minute—and others like Ghost Mice and Defiance, Ohio. When asked about her friends’ listening habits, she added two “are really into metal right now.”
It’s not surprising that music and entertainment crossed such a wide variety of styles. Whatever got students through the quarantine was in the end personal. Ways students coped with isolation during the quarantine were different, as were student experiences. So favorite music, TV, and movies proved no different as to the diverse experiences of Roosevelt students during COVID.
