The Get Down Review | spectrum-newspaper

The Get Down (Cinematic Genius)

By Marie Veronic Thomasi

What is “The Get Down” about ?

“The Get Down” is a singular season, coming-of-age Netflix original about rappers, DJs, and singers growing up in the Bronx during some of its most troubling times. It features characters such as Ezekiel "Zeke" Figuero, AKA Books, and many more as we learn about their life stories through different perspectives. Their stories are told by an older Ezekiel (now a famous rapper) rapping on stage to his audience about his life. The show is largely historically accurate and based on real-life characters such as Kool Herc and Grandmaster Flash (revolutionary artists of their time). It has a comic book-esque vibe to it, which also aligns with the 70s-80s time period the show is based in.

It is a show filled with complex characters and enticing story lines that draw you in closer after every minute, so much so that you don’t even notice the hour-long lengths of each episode.

Why do I think it is so great ?

Attention to Detail

This show is not just about the music, it is about the power that Black and Hispanic people had in America when they weren’t allowed to have none, and it is about the troubles they faced during these times in the Bronx, the most memorable one to me being the New York City blackout of 1977, the graffiti problem New York had, and the drug problem as well. The care they took to teach people not only about the history of music, but also African American and Hispanic (from the Bronx) history in general was very innovative and done in a wonderful way. It was done in a way in which you didn’t feel like you were learning; you were just watching a show with a great plot, and they even used real-life clips from some of the monumental events they cover in the show. The historical accuracy down to the clothing, social norms, accents, and almost everything else is perfectly executed.

Music

Although I said this show is not just about the music, music is a very important part of the show (it is the plot). Everything else was secondary, so the fact that they still took so much time to make it perfect is another reason why it is incredible. However, the writing, the voices, and the tracks on the songs that came with this show were just incredible. The fight between the rise of hip-hop and the death of jazz was also perfectly executed, making a show about music that much more enjoyable. There is not a song on that set list that I wouldn’t fight to the death for. Yet, it is not only the original music that came from this show that was amazing, it is all the background music they used. They featured staples of 70s-80s musical artists, such as Misty Holloway and many more, with all their amazing songs.

"What we do here, it's f—ing essential, it's like oxygen. When a true artist sings, they hold back nothing, and when you sing like that it raises the dead"

— Jackie Moreno

Cinematography

The color grading in this show was astonishingly good. It was the perfect depiction of that 70s-80s vibe, and it matched everything that the show was trying to achieve, yet it was not the only stroke of genius this show had when it came to its cinematography. The camera work, the lighting, the editing, etc. Everything was near perfect, which made the show so much more enjoyable (in my eyes)because of the beautiful look that it had.

Everything else about the show was obviously great. It had amazing actors with powerful voices, it was stacked with a Black and Hispanic cast, the direction, production, set design, THE WRITING (oh my goodness the writing), the dancing, etc, all these things were to die for. However, the three major points that sold this show to me are the ones that I focused on in this article.

My Rating!

A solid 9.5/10. I was devastated to find out the show was cancelled after one season (mostly due to budget and backstage issues) because it was genuinely an amazing show and I would have loved to see it have its natural progression and come to its scripted end. So many questions were left unanswered and I wish they would bring it back because it was just that good.