Entertainment
Aziz Ansari Nominated For 2016 Golden Globe
There were a few surprises and snubs during the 2016 Golden Globe nomination announcements on Thursday morning. Where was Johnny Depp in the Best Actor, Drama category? And why was the immigrant drama Brooklyn snubbed entirely? And how about some love for the actors of Spotlight? Though I'm left scratching my head at many of these snubs, one happy surprise came in the form of Aziz Ansari's nomination for Master of None in the Best Actor In A Television Comedy Series category. Others nominated are: Gael Garcia Bernal for Mozart In The Jungle, Rob Lowe for The Grinder, Patrick Stewart for Blunt Talk, and Jeffrey Tamor for Transparent.
While all of these men are worthy competitors, my heart has a soft spot for Ansari, and here's why. Ever since I saw him as the fashion-forward Tom Haverford on NBC's Parks and Recreation, I followed his career. It led me to a comedy show down the street from my house in Los Angeles, where I watched Ansari poke fun at people who refused to call themselves feminists. It led me to his book on life and love, Modern Romance, where I shook my head at every page and thought, 'You just get me, Ansari.' And it led me to the Netflix series Master of None, which Ansari both stars in and writes.
The show follows Ansari as Dev as he navigates life as a millennial in today's dating world. I found the topics he touched on — dating in other cultures, settling down, dating in an iPhone obsessed culture — to be quite similar to his book, but as always, he discussed them with humor and relatable insight. The series opens with Ansari in the middle of having sex with his date, when suddenly, the condom breaks. They pause, get dressed, and run down to the pharmacy for some Plan B... and two Martinelli's apple juices. One episode, "Parents," talks about how children of immigrants who have grown up in the United States often don't understand their parents. Another episode addresses the social implications that come with having children: Can you have freedom and a social life and be a parent? Do you have to choose? Is one better than the other?
Thursday's Golden Globe nomination is only one of many great things that have fallen into place for Ansari since Parks and Recreation closed its doors, and it surely won't be the last.
