How to Make it in America is a brand new HBO television series that follows young adults chasing their dreams in the fashion industry, art industry, and entertainment industry. We see their struggles and just how hard it actually is. I will be following this series and blogging about it after every episode. The reason I chose this show is because I will be in their shoes one day, chasing my dream to become an actress and hopefully, I will be able to "MAKE IT!"
How to make it in America: the new hit series on HBO has aired about four episodes and has taken me by surprise how on good it has come to be. The show, based in New York City, has two main characters Cam and Ben. They are really good friends who both have a dream to "make it" in the field of fashion. These two young men want to make a line of jeans that everyone will know them for. As we know, many people in this country try to pursue things in the field of the arts, whether it is acting, singing, dancing, modeling or fashion, and it is usually a one in 10,000 chance (or more) that these people are successful at it. Many of us who see it from the outside in just see the fame and success of it all, but not the hustle of actually getting there, so this show gives people that insight of it and how it isn't just one step and you're there. "Making it" can consist of talent and drive but sometimes you're just at the right place and at the right time with people you might've just had familiarity with from years before, well at least this is what has been happening to Cam and Ben.
Cam is of Hispanic descent from Dominican Republic who has lived his whole life in the Bronx. He is very savvy, good looking, and has his way with the ladies. He always has a new idea and usually uses his smooth talk to manipulate Ben into pursuing them. Ben is the complete opposite from Cam; he comes from the upper east side of Manhattan with parents who wished he would be at school studying to be a lawyer, doctor, professor, something prestigious in their eyes. He is shy, not very good with the ladies, possibly because he is stuck on his ex girlfriend but is also good looking. The minor characters who are Cam and Ben's friends are Domingo Dean, who in real life is rapper 'Kid Cudi', Gingy and Rachel who all have pretty successful jobs. Along from us seeing all of the characters in their everyday work stations or trying to find a way 'in' to the industry of fashion, we see how Cam and Ben are always invited to a dinner or party, due to them being friends with people who have high profile connections.
In the first episode we start to see the relationships these two friends, Ben and Cam have and their chase for their dream. They want to make jeans, high-profile jeans that they can seen be worn on celebrities, sold at Barneys, etc. but many problems start to ensue when they don't have sketches, material, and example piece, or the funds. As every episode unfolds, we start to see that in each one, they progress with a step closer; they design sketches, they borrow money to buy material for their example, they try to find a jean maker for their pattern, set up a meeting with a designer looking for the next "best thing" yet the jeans come out messed up when they pick them up; all of the above things are just the beginning for them.
As I watched these first four episodes I fell completely in love with Cam and his drive! He wants to make it, nothing is going to stop him, and when things flare with him and Ben and they get into a fight, Cam decides he still is going to pursue his dream to get his grandmother and himself out of the ghetto. This to me hit very close to home being that I just want to be successful and have my mother set for life, for all the things she has done. I think that the writer wrote this witty little comedy/drama with real life issues and settings; the writer didn't make it seem unreal, but made the characters and the events that occur so real that you feel you're the one that's trying to pursue the lifestyle they want and when a writer, producer, and director could do that, it's a hit show!
Cam and Ben have just only started with their toes in the door, they still need the whole foot in which we can see will happen with all of their friends being successful and them wanting to be right there with them. These two men are on the pursuit of happiness, and nothing is going to get in their way!
.
How to make it in America is only getting better and better, things keep getting scattered so they could fall into place at the end. Cam and Ben ended up setting up an interview to get their jean line looked at, which didn't work but the t-shirt Ben was wearing to the interview (in which he made) impressed the man, now they have to make 300 of them for the big time fashion man to sell in Tokyo.
I am overly impressed with the things that are happening. I feel as though the writers are making it work so well and still keeping it very real. The events and their side stories are catchy and the lingo is awesome; it suits the young generation. I like how the writers do not make it so easy for Cam and Ben to get to their dream so easily and have them face little obstacles in each episode and also take one step forward at the same time; as contradicting as that sounds, that is exactly what always happens. I feel New York was the best setting for this show because the scenery and their way of walking or taking the train to get to places makes it tough, as New York is no easy city to get by in. The incorporation of the city with their lifestyle and the things they do in the scenes makes the show interesting and feel very alive, bold, and as if you are actually there.
Besides the city, my favorite thing in the show is the still shots they usually have in the middle of the episode to give you a summary of something that has happened which makes you understand whatever it is they are talking about in the present; this saves a lot of dialogue in the show, being that it is only half hour long. The last episode that was aired, the still shots were of what was going to happen in the scene, as to fast forward the process and get to the next scene- I didn't like this. For the past other episodes they left it to show you something that happened before. It was party pictures and I wanted to know what was happening in the party because it went into a scene after that I was sort of confused over, this so far has been the first bad critique that I have of the show thus far.
Moreover, I think I can predict one of the side stories which I hate! I believe Ben and Rachel, his ex will get back together and make things very challenging with him and his dream. I also watch the show Lost, and I can never predict the next thing that is going to happen which I like, it keeps you in suspense and they do not give you that many clues, How to make it in America is dropping too many hints and it is beginning to annoy me.
I like that the writers do the complicated things with the two main characters in never leaving us to know the next move in their way of trying to make it, so I expect the same for the side stories because that's the overly dramatic filled parts in the show and that's what keeps us entertained as well. Although this is something that annoyed me in the last two episodes, it did make me a little excited to know that I put the pieces together, it makes me get that much more anxious for the next show. I see that the writers are doing the too helpful hints on purpose though, but I kind of think that I will be way more anxious not having a single clue of what's to come, rather than knowing and wanting to see it unfold. I do wonder what the writers wanted from this and what they made it out to be, probably my second answer, of unfolding.
Now the question is: is it better to know something and watch it unfold or is it more fun to not have a single clue and having to wait a whole week, then it all hits you at one time and you're left overly satisfied? I think I'll let you all know next week when I watch the next episode! Until then, I'll be trying to make it, how about you?
Hi everyone! I'm back at it again. After watching a couple episodes of How to make it in America I think I have grown to understand the writers just a tad bit more. I want to go straight into what I left off on, in post number 2. I left off which the question, "is it better to know something and watch it unfold or is it more fun to not have a single clue and having to wait a whole week, then it all hits you at one time and you're left overly satisfied?" My whole thing with the writers was that they keep giving us these side stories about love, relationships, drama, but they give us too much and then we kind of assume in our head what we think or what we know will happen next. Now, I'm one of those people who like to ask you questions about the movie or show if I know you've watched it before, but I will get terribly upset if after I ask you for a hint or the next scene, you actually tell me. Pitiful right? I guess I just couldn't make up my mind when it came to wanting to know or waiting for it all and then letting the impact marinate.
In the last two episodes, Cam and Ben are back to their usual selves, Cam with the slick talking and up surd ideas and Ben following and getting doubts, yet they pulled through or so I thought. In the latest episode, after getting their 300 shirts made they sat down at a diner and talked about what they think will be next for them, little did they know their 'next' involved their truck that was parked outside the diner to get stolen with the shirts in it. At that point, I jumped up and screamed right with them and wanted Ben to run after the truck and actually catch it. My heart was racing and I was so upset that their shirts they went through hell and back to get, was taken away from them."They could never get a break,"I thought to myself and then I realized my heart was pounding and I was letting my emotions get a part of that show. I also then realized something else; I wasn't expecting this to happen. This problem caused me to forget everything that was happening on the side and stay focused on the main issue at hand. Throughout the whole show I was beyond upset and I kept thinking who would do that, will they catch them, are they going to get their shirts back, and many other different things. This was one thing I did not see coming nor did I have the slightest idea on how it would pan out.
Now, going back to what I mentioned about the side stories that have me thinking that the writers are basically giving us the next scene, I actually see that they really aren't. They are leaving us with bits and pieces and you create your own idea for what you think is going to happen, then we start to assume, and we all know what ASSuming really means. So, just when I think I have it all in head about Rachel and Ben and the love stories behind them and her ex boyfriend, I actually don't. Things were said and done differently and left me feeling a bit frustrated, which I definitely appreciated. All in all, the show is great and my whole theory on thinking I know the next step and stating that they gave me a little too many hints which led me to think I knew how it would unfold, failed.
Bringing it back to my ultimate question on whether I would like to know what's up and watching it unfold or not having a clue and being left overly satisfied, I would have to go with not having any type of knowledge and let it all be thrown at me at once. The feeling that I got in the main plot and the side story left me speechless and dying to see the next episode. I was so anxious to see the next episode that I looked on the "On Demand" for digital satellite to see if there was any way I could get a sneak peek of the episode. Being left like that after a show is overwhelming and means that the show is that great. I have finally seen the last episode, which just so happened to be the season finale and boy was it intense! I want to leave you with a question to think about, "would you risk it all for something that might be the item that can give you the 'all' or would you leave that something that can possibly leave you at a bad standpoint in life, start from the beginning, and work your way back up to the point you are at now?" To find out my thoughts on it and what transpired, you're going to have to come back and read my last post. Until then, I will be trying to make it, how about you?!
My final post: it's a sour yet sweet feeling, something like the feeling I had on the season finale of the show. All this season I have been rooting for Ben and Cam because they were motivated and they didn't take no for an answer, but the last episode really made me feel quite bitter. In the end, the truck which had the stolen shirts was "found;" it was Cam's cousin who stole it and when he told Cam he did it because it was an insurance settlement for him (since the truck belonged to him) he would get a lot of money for the trucks' value. Since he told Cam this secret of his, which he could go to jail for, he told Cam to light the truck up and throw in the match; this way if he goes down, then Cam goes down too. This is where my question from my last post comes up, "would you risk it all for something that might be the item that can give you the 'all' or would you leave that something that can possibly leave you at a bad standpoint in life, start from the beginning, and work your way back up to the point you are at now?" This is a tough question because it makes you think about all of your different options and weighing them out.
I put myself in Cam's position to see what I would do: burn the truck (with possibilities of going to jail if caught), get my shirts back to turn them into the Tokyo fashion designer for a large sum of money, and be on his good list so that I can possibly do more business with him and he relay my skills to other designers or act as if I didn't know my cousin told me about the truck, lose the shirts, and start all over again, which means losing out on the money that went into the shirts and losing the Tokyo business opportunities. I think Cam went with the greater plan that was smarter to him and actually as a viewer and person wanting to be successful, smarter to me as well; he burned the truck and got his shirts. To me this wasn't the smartest move but he did what he had to do to get on with his business and his dreams, something we can all relate to; when the tough gets going the going gets tough. I feel that if he didn't do this, it would've been ten times harder for him and Ben to get that opportunity again and they would have been short money in which they had to repay with interest because it was borrowed.
The decision Cam made was also a self-reflecting one, something he did to not let Ben's mentality down. See, Ben is that friend of yours that makes things seem so difficult, if you have a plan and it gets ruined, the rest of your night is going to be unpleasant because he thinks the world is going to end. I like that Cam has the uplifting spirit and decided this on his own, this shows the go-getter in him, which many people trying to "make it" lack. Being a person that has a serious drive for everything I do in the arts, I know his gut feeling was telling him this is a really bad decision but in his heart, he believed that there was no other way and this might be the choice of making it out of the hood, live his dream, and into the upper east side of New York or staying right there living with his grandmother, while Ben continues to work at Barneys. What would you have done? I believe anybody with the approach of you don't say anything I don't say anything, probably would have thrown the match into the truck also.
Overall, my mind set has not changed, the writers did a phenomenal job this first season and although the season ended with a measly eight episodes, I know the next season is going to be absolutely exciting and intense. The plot has thickened with Cam's dare devil choice. Before this major dilemma, it was baby-like incidents that transpired and got in the way of these two guys fighting for their way to the top, now it's on a much different level with more seriousness and edge. I'm actually kind of scared for Cam now and I think it's awesome that I feel that way because it means that I am in-tune with the characters I am following, which makes the show, dare I say it, 'one of the best I have ever seen!' I cannot wait until season 2, I am entirely too ready to see what things are going to occur and how they will continue their rise to success. It has been my pleasure to inform and analyze for you all, I might just continue blogging when season 2 comes around so stay tuned. Let's hope by that time, I have already MADE IT!