Kaiyue L. - Queen's Gambit: Talent vs Hard work

Over break, I've pulled several all-nighters bingeing on Netflix as my way of escaping my personal problems by over-fixating on fictional characters' lives. 

I felt a little skeptical about Queen's Gambit at first, despite hearing really good things about it from my friends (mainstream shows just bores me out of my mind). But with nothing else to watch, I still gave this show a try. I ended up loving it, it definitely surpassed my expectations on multiple levels. 

Based on the novel of the same name by Walter Tevis, the story opens with the young Elizabeth "Beth" Harmon, an orphan in a Kentucky orphanage in the late 1950s, and her discovering her astonishing talent for chess while developing an addiction to tranquilizers provided by the state as a sedative for the children. Haunted by her demons and fueled by cocktails, narcotics, and her obsession with chess, Beth transforms into a skilled and glamorous outcast while rising to the top of the male-dominated world of competitive chess.

However, this show isn't about chess. This show is about Elizabeth Harmon, and her passion happens to be chess. This show is about her journey as a person. We are presented with the desires that are driving her: from having to learn in the basement from the janitor, to the adoptive mom who won’t buy her a chessboard, to being a woman, to not being respected, to not having money, to undermining her own career, all these conflicts, these obstacles that get in the way and force her to make choices. It builds so much character.

This film shows growth, emotional growth, life growth, and growth in Beth's achievements. I like the fact that the film shows that, yeah, natural talent is great and it will get you somewhere, but you still need to put in the effort, time, and hard work in order to make it blossom.

Wc: 308