I finally watched the first two seasons of the Netflix original show, Anne with an E, and it is now my life’s mission to get more people to watch it.
The show is a new rendition on the children’s book series Anne of Green Gables. The series has had many page to screen adaptations over the years, but none as meaningful as Anne with an E.
The first season of the show was released on to Netflix in 2017 and the third season is on its way this year, but this past break I finally got around to binging the series.
Earlier this year, I had tried watching it, getting through only a mere 10 minutes before giving up on it due to Anne, the title character, being too annoying for me to deal with.
But over break, I decided to give it another try, despite not being a fan of period dramas in the first place – I prefer bleak dystopian plots with “strong” female characters, and I am so glad I did.
I soon figured out that Anne’s personality, what I initially considered to be extremely annoying, is what makes her character unique and what makes the show so engaging.
But more importantly, the way Anne deals with the obstacles and prejudices she faces makes the show stand out among other popular historically-based media.
The show, set in 1890s Canada, manages to tackle modern issues in a way that still fits the tone and time period of the show. Anne with an E covers problems of the time like hostility towards orphans and red-heads to more contemporary issues like sexism and homophobia.
Putting these issues into perspective of a past society can increase viewer awareness of how relevant these issues still are.
Despite it being set 100 years in the past, Anne with an E shows that many areas of activism today have existed long before us. While the show is a work of fiction, the messages in it ring true to daily life.
I believe that having these prominent social issues tackled through the eyes of tween protagonists makes the viewer much more empathetic of the matters at hand. This makes the show meaningful to all who view it, because the protagonists are young and hopeful about the world they live in.