Posts Tagged: 2010

tv — 2 Comments
7
Dec 10

Five ways to bring The Walking Dead back to life (and I’m sorry about the pun)

The Walking Dead

What a lovably ragtag gang of misfits!

Well, thank God that’s over.

The Walking Dead, in its first season, wasn’t a terrible show. It was something far, far more frustrating than that: an okay show that had the potential to be an incredible show. The series premiere was a wonder to behold– beautiful and eerie, humane yet brutal. And every episode since then did nothing but squander the promise of that first installment.

So I was very fucking relieved to hear last week that director Frank Darabont had fired all of his writers. I’m taking it as an acknowledgment on his part that the show hasn’t been everything it could be, as well as a sign that he has some idea of how to fix that. Much as I’ve complained about the show’s big flaws, I don’t think it’s irretrievably fucked up yet. In fact, if the first ten minutes of Sunday night’s finale proved anything, it was that the show can still be fascinating when it wants to be.

In the spirit of optimism, here are five things I’m hoping Darabont and his freelance staff will do for us next season. (Spoilers for the first season of The Walking Dead ahead.) Continue reading →

tv — 1 Comment
28
Oct 10

“Rocky Horror Glee Show”: In which we realize Sue is right to hate Will

Cory Monteith as Finn in "The Rocky Horror Glee Show"

No, Finn, I don't get it either.

This week’s Glee cemented an increasingly obvious fact: Will Schuester is the single worst thing about Glee. Somewhere along the line, Will has morphed from a flawed but well-meaning teacher to such a complete jackass that he needs Sue Sylvester– Sue Motherfucking Sylvester!– to act as his moral compass. I’ve begun to feel about Will the way Sue does: disgusted. And that is a problem, because the show does not seem to realize that one of its central protagonists has become the show’s nastiest villain. (Spoilers follow.)

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movies — 1 Comment
13
Oct 10

The ladies of The Social Network, and the men who hate them

Mark, Christy, and Eduardo
Talking about sexism in pop culture is our idea of a good time, too!

I’m of two minds on the ongoing “Is The Social Network sexist?” debate. Seeing as how it’s based on a true story, and misogyny is one of Movie Mark Zuckerberg’s traits (I cannot speak to Real Mark Zuckerberg, and henceforth “Zuckerberg” will refer to the cinematic version unless otherwise noted), I’m not going to argue that the movie should’ve been stuffed with awesome female characters. Much as I love to complain about the dearth of interesting female roles in mainstream American cinema, even I don’t believe that a story must necessarily include strong women or else be condemned as sexist. At the same time, there’s little to love about the way females are depicted when they do appear in the film, and it’s not always clear that it’s just the characters who are sexist. (Spoilers for The Social Network follow, although considering it’s based on a well-known true story I’m not sure how much I could really ruin…) Continue reading →

tv — 1 Comment
21
Sep 10

My life would suck without you: a plea to Glee

Glee

Why are a bunch of high schoolers in a cubicle? Who cares? The important thing is that they look good.

Loving Glee has been a singularly frustrating experience. When it’s good, it’s brilliant, poignant, hilarious, and like nothing else on television. When it’s bad, it’s so cringe-inducingly awful that it’s embarrassing to admit you’re actually following this show. I keep watching because so far the good has outweighed the bad, and because despite the occasionally horrendous writing, I’ve come to like and care about the characters. But hot damn, this show needs to pull it together.

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books / movies — 17 Comments
19
Aug 10

Scott Pilgrim faces off against the three evil isms

Scott Pilgrim

Scott and the gang wonder how this is gonna go down.

As you may or may not have read, I love the Scott Pilgrim series– I think they’re lovable, smart, and funny works. I don’t love the movie on the same level, but I nevertheless think it’s a breathtakingly original work of pop art, and a perfect summer movie to boot. So the last thing I want to think about are the ways in which Scott Pilgrim may be a tad problematic in its portrayal of people-who-aren’t-straight-white-men, but what kind of obnoxious humorless feminist would I be if I just let that go? Here we go with another battle: Scott Pilgrim Vs. The Three Evil -Isms.

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