Indie Web Series: Sweet and Power
The world wide web has evolved into a platform for sharing experiences that resonate with an audience. It has created a new path that disregards any past methods used for becoming successful in storytelling, as digital platforms become increasingly more accessible each day. The web series Sweet and Power succeeds as a precedent of how our experiences can help the audience have a collective reflection of their own lives.
The web series, created by Carolyn Yuen Marino, explores the lives of four Asian American friends dealing with different topics that affect their lives both individually and as a group. It is presented as a comedy drama with each episode reflecting experiences that affect each character greatly.
The show’s subjects focus heavily on careers, relationships, sexuality, and cultural identity. In other cases, it also tackles how the upbringings of each character affects how they see their culture in America, as conforming in order to survive leads to racism and judgement with fellow coequals. The interesting concept is that all topics depicted on the series stem from the real life stories of its creative team.
The execution of the series becomes an interesting one to see, as the viewer watches the show grow immensely from the first episode to the last in performances and quality. In comparison to other episodes, Episode 1 feels like the test run of what eventually becomes a very likable and resonating show. As the episode serves as an introduction to our main characters the dynamic of their friendship feels a bit off performance wise, with Yuen Marino being the highlight with her rendition of Cici Yuen, who serves as the main perspective for the show.
In what Yuen Marino truly succeeds in the first chapter is getting her message across. This aspect is a prominent quality that continues to dazzle and peak the interest of the viewer, while keeping them engaged in order to see how the series unfolds. The series comprises 4 episodes that range from 10 to 12 minutes and each follow up with a Q&A video, in which Yuen Marino keeps the conversation going for her audience.
This particular aspect of the show is what makes viewers more appreciative and understanding of these chronicles. Yuen Marino dedicates 3 to 4 minutes of discussion with cast members who use reflections of their own life to help shape the storyline of the show. A bold choice that we discover through these videos is that the series does not shy away from depicting the reality of these experiences or qualities of these characters through the same people who embody or have experienced them.
Prime examples of these are found in Episode 1 and 3. The first episode highlights the sacrifice made by Asian parents in not spending time with their children, in order to give them a better life. With the experience ringing true to actor Yeji Kim Sakoda, who portrays Yoona Kang, we see her struggles as a child and how it affected her as an adult embodied by our main character, Cici.
For NoyNoy Inthaphanya, portraying Noy Inchareon was a different story in the third episode titled Girls. This narrative serves as the highlight of the series as Inthaphanya shares her experience as a homosexual in an Asian household. The episode ,written by Inthaphanya, presents an interesting storyline by delving into topics like hypocrisy, acceptance, and love. In a post Q&A video, Inthaphanya expresses that reliving the experience was moving as her mother, Apple Inthaphanya, appears in the episode as her character’s mother.
Sweet and Power premiered on YouTube on September 17, 2018. Dedicated to the Asian American experience, Yuen Marino created this passion project due to the lack of representation of her community in the media. The title of the show serves as a play for the fusion foods created by Asian Americans in order to adapt in the United States.
The web series’ first episode premiered on the digital platform to overwhelmingly positive responses and no less than 38k views. Followers have circulated throughout different social media platforms to support the show. This includes both Instagram and Facebook counting with over 300 followers.
The series came to fruition thanks to a campaign established through Indiegogo by Yuen Marino in the hopes of being part of the collective change for more diversity and representation on tv shows. The series was also showcased at the Northwest Film Forum in Seattle in order to continue gathering funds for upcoming episodes. Yuen Marino has expressed interest in developing this show further on a well known streaming platform.
Yuen Marino was born in Hong Kong and moved to Seattle when she was a year old. She graduated from the University of Washington with a Bachelor’s degree in English and Law, and a Master’s in Teaching. Similar to her character in the show, Yuen Marino currently works as a high school educator and a social influencer/writer for her blog Hey Pretty Thing.
Yuen Marino’s creation proves to be a pondering experience in sharing stories that make audiences feel accompanied and connected to different life experiences. It proves true that during these times of change, crowds will flock to find the stories that encourage all the different circumstances that make us human. Sweet and Power will prove to be the pick for you If you are in the search for a contemplating and relatable series.
