It’s sale season at the moment and from Black Friday to Cyber Monday, there are a lot of deals going on. Although they are great for us, the consumers, they aren’t so fun for people working behind the counter. As such, here are some movies and TV shows that highlight the horrors of working in retail.
That’s right, this week’s Gizmodo Movie Night is dedicated to all those who work in retail out there who have to deal with customers in all the forms they come this Black Friday.
I don’t want to waste any more of your time so let’s dive in.
Retail movies and TV shows
Superstore
C’mon, you should’ve expected me to include Superstore. It is, after all, one of the best retail TV shows going around. It’s also so fucking funny.
Superstore manages to perfectly capture the ups and downs of working in retail and having to deal with very interesting customers.
In case you don’t know, Superstore follows a group of employees working at a big-box store in Missouri, Cloud 9. They try their best to deal with customers whilst almost everything else falls apart around them.
Working in this store seems like hell but they seem like they’re having a good time, sometimes.
Dina is probably one of my favourite characters on any TV show.
Superstore is currently streaming on Netflix.
Dawn of the Dead
What’s a better metaphor for awful Black Friday customers than flesh-eating zombies?
Whilst Dawn of the Dead isn’t technically a retail movie, you can definitely view it as one. And survivors of working in retail will probably relate to being trapped in a shopping centre while zombies try to kill them.
Dawn of the Dead is about a group of survivors of a zombie epidemic who fortify a shopping centre and live in relative luxury in contrast to the chaos outside.
There are a lot of explicit and implicit nods to retail consumerism in this movie. It’s also somehow a very accurate portrayal of the late-stage capitalist machine we are all currently stuck in.
Dawn of the Dead is currently streaming on Binge.
Rostered On
You may not know about this little Aussie retail TV show but you need to.
Rostered On encapsulates the pain, trauma and probable need for therapy for those who work in retail, especially in Australia (read: unnecessarily angry customers).
Shaun is a worker at Electroworld and is increasingly frustrated by the rules of the faceless corporation. He also has to deal with very unusual customers and their demands.
The show was actually born in an electric goods store in Geelong and is based on the long-suffering of retail workers.
It’s very funny and very relatable. Oh, and it’s very Australian.
Rostered On is currently streaming on 7Plus.
Shaun of the Dead
What is it with retail movies involving zombies? Maybe because retail workers feel dead inside by the end of their shifts.
Shaun, a salesman, is pretty stuck in his day-to-day life and lacks direction. Which was definitely how I felt when I worked in customer-facing jobs.
Things take a turn however when he has to singlehandedly deal with an entire community of zombies.
Again, I like to think of these zombies as customers. It gives very big “Everyone else called in sick and now I have to deal with this shit,” vibes.
Shaun of the Dead is currently streaming on Stan.
Black Books
Black Books is a retail TV show where the customers aren’t actually the problem (as much) it’s more the owner who is the issue. Wild concept.
Bernard Black is an eccentric bookshop owner which is unusual because he sees little use for people, even customers. All he wants to do is read, drink and smoke. Fair enough.
Manny, his long-suffering assistant and Fran, his best friend, try to make Bernard more social and personable which is like pushing a rock through a brick wall. The attempts are humourous nonetheless.
Black Books is currently streaming on Prime Video.
Gizmodo Movie Night is our fortnightly roundup of movie and TV recommendations for the weekend. If you’re ever stuck and looking for inspiration, check out our list and see what’s in store.
Stay tuned for the next edition of the column and check out our last one which was about climate change films that inspire action.