Features
Web Series Wednesday – Pineapple
By: Spring Marie Cullen
WHAT? Pineapple 菠蘿
BY: Jane Chow and Peter Rafe
WHY SHOULD I WATCH?
Pineapple follows a group of teenagers at an international school as they prepare for their annual fashion show. The head organizer of the fashion committee, Michelle (Songnia Xiao), convinces the group to change their theme last minute to “Home Kong” to celebrate local culture and to lure in Chinese-American popstar Amber (Hana Wu).
Cultural identity is the big theme in the series with each character exploring what it means to them in different ways throughout the ten episodes. Winston (Ho Long Lee) is a new transfer student to the international school who gets dragged into the fashion committee. As a formally local student, he’s most in touch with his culture that it has Michelle questioning herself and who she is as she struggles to truly connect with Hong Kong. Meanwhile, after a messy quote is leaked to the press Amber returns to Hong Kong in hopes of putting together her next album and learning something about who she is.
In addition to the episodes, there are also an array of other elements that accompany the series such as screenshots from character’s conversations, web searches and pictures also fill the Pineapple series Facebook page. One of my favorite elements of web series is the ability to pair each episode with a little something extra. It gives you even more of an inside look into the story and is a credit to the world these creators built.
The series is beautifully shot and the stories are rooted in truth. From the first frame it’s obvious that co-creators Jane Chow and Peter Rafe can genuinely relate to the content they’ve created. It is a testament to the amazing products that come from those who understand the stories they’re telling and highlights the importance of representation.
Like their site claims, if you’ve ever felt out of place Pineapple is the series for you. Even if you’re just interested in learning about another culture or watching an entertaining teen show, you’ll find what you’re looking for here.
Pineapple will be having their first public screening at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival on May 4th.
WHERE CAN I WATCH? Episodes can be found on the series’ Facebook.
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