Five series to watch this summer to understand the world around us
The coronavirus pandemic, the war in Libya or the diplomatic conflict between the United States and China are some of the events that show us the thin line between fiction and reality. Summer is a good time to reflect and try to understand the world around us through some of the series we can find on platforms such as Netflix, HBO, Filmin or Amazon Prime, among others.
Fauda shows us the conflict between Israel and Palestine through the story of Doron Kavillio, a former member of the Israel Defense Forces who has been retired for over a year. In the first season, the protagonist of this story has to return to action to try to hunt down a well-known Palestinian activist, a Hamas militant. Fear and revenge are the main characters of a thriller with which we can come to understand one of the cruellest social and armed conflicts of the 21st century. The title of the series pays homage to the word fauda which, in Arabic, means chaos; while in Israeli military jargon it is the term used to refer to the failure of an operation.
The International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) claims that organized crime networks are multi-billion dollar businesses operating in many criminal fields. "These activities can include trafficking in human beings, drugs, illicit goods and weapons, armed robbery, counterfeiting and money laundering," the organization says. McMafia is precisely about organized crime and the impact it has on today's society. This series describes the darkest secrets of a family that lives rooted in fear and lies. The protagonist of this story tries to escape from the ghosts of the past by building his own legitimate business. However, the death of a family member will drag him deep into the criminal world, forcing him to choose between power and his values.
What could lead two young women born in Sweden to want to go to Syria to become women of the Daesh? The Swedish series Kalifat reflects on the phenomenon of jihadist radicalization in societies rooted in the welfare society, as is the case in Sweden. While an agent receives a tip-off that an Islamist terrorist attack is being prepared in Sweden, we see the radicalisation of a group of young people in high school. A series of interwoven stories that invite reflection on the problem of Islamic terrorism.
This mini-series came to our screens in 2019 to revolutionize the way we understand the world. Defined by many as a family 'Black Mirror', this production tells the story of a family through fifteen key years of British society, during which several political, economic and technological changes took place that drastically influenced their destiny. "I don't understand the world anymore. Until a few years ago it made sense. Everything was fine before 2008. Remember when politics seemed boring to us? Now I worry about everything. It's not just the government anymore, it's the banks. They're treating us like algorithms, poisoning the air, not to mention the Daesh. And now, on top of that, America. I never thought I'd be scared. False news reigns, I don't know what's true and what isn't anymore. What kind of world do we live in? And if it's wrong now, what will it be like for you in thirty years? Ten years? Five years? ". With these words, one of the protagonists of this utopia invites us to reflect on the impact of globalization on our lives, as well as on the passage of time.
"To understand what the atrocious means, not to deny its existence, to face reality without prejudice". These are words spoken by the political philosopher Hannah Arendt in the second half of the 20th century, and this is what the journalist and writer Roberto Saviano (born in Naples on September 22, 1979) put into practice at the beginning of the 21st century in his book ZeroZeroZero. Saviano - known for being the author of Gomorrah - explained when he was writing this work that "writing about cocaine is like consuming it. You want more and more news, more information, and the news you find is succulent, you can't do without it anymore? ". The television adaptation of this series follows the steps of a cocaine shipment, from the moment a powerful cartel decides to buy it until the merchandise is delivered and paid for. This series is about the lust for power and the impact that drug trafficking - from Mexico to Italy - has on the world we live in.
