Is it just me, or has Netflix been killing the game for a while now with their original shows? They’re just reeling me in with such promising plots, there’s nothing I can do but watch.
I was wary at first to start watching 3%. Anyone who knows me knows I’m not too fond of western dramas because they can be scandalizing. However, I was looking for a change of pace and came upon this show which caught me with its little blurb about only 3% of the population being able to live nice lives. Something in me just wants to read and watch everything dystopian, no matter how much I actually loathe the cliché.
3% is a Brazilian series wherein the people have a single chance at the age of twenty to prove themselves worthy to live a better life on the Offshore– a place of technological wonder, convenience and comfort. The rest of the population lives on the Inland- slums where they struggle to survive with little comfort other than having children or the hope that maybe they will pass the test.
This show was a pleasant – albeit treacherous – surprise. I didn’t expect the story to be so well written, with characters I would actually root for that weren’t totally dumb and stereotypical. If anything, this show challenges the stereotypes that have become common in young adult fiction, where a ragtag group of misfits (like a jock, a nerd, a pretty girl, a leader, etc.) band together to make a change. No: in this show, everyone is in it for themselves. Despite the niceties that they want to appeal to, every character is in this test with their own interests, pasts and demons. The writers of the show were obviously not afraid of conflict or of seeing any character as too valuable; anyone could be the next one to go.
That’s what keeps you on your toes.
If you haven’t seen this yet, I recommend it with a 9.5/10 rating. There are subtitles available in English, but there are also English voiceovers available if you aren’t a subtitles type of person.
Image Credit: 1.