• scissors
    January 3rd, 2011AllieUncategorized

    As my sister could tell you, I have recently become obsessed with two things: Taylor Swift, and the blog Hyperbole and a Half.

    First, T. Swift.  I’m not quite sure what it is, but recently, it seems like hers is the only music I have been interested in listening to.  I’m definitely a sucker for anything catchy that I can sing along to, and Ms. Swift fits the bill perfectly.  Sometimes I’m conflicted about this obsession though, because on the one hand she’s super great to sing along with and seems like a super nice person (not that I’ve watched multiple youtube videos of her on various talk shows . . . ), but on the other hand I don’t know that I totally agree with all of the messages in her songs (why does every song seem to end with somebody getting married?!?!).  Also, the other day, I was listening to “You’re Not Sorry” on Fearless and I was so excited to discover that it’s almost exactly the same as OneRepublic/Timbaland’s  “Apologize” (coincidence?).  I immediately set off thinking I could make a mash-up, only to discover that a few wise youtube users has already done it before me.  For example:

    As for Hyperbole and a Half–what can I say, I saw this post about moving with her dogs, and I was hooked!  Read it, and I swear you’ll be hooked too.  Hilarious!

    Hyperbole and a Half: Read It!

  • scissors
    July 27th, 2010AllieUncategorized

    I really like this Marisa Meltzer’s article from The Paris Review about the lack of sassy teen girls on TV.  Like her, I’ve noticed that the witty, snarky, and sometimes angry teen girls that we got accustomed to seeing on shows like Buffy and Daria in the 90’s and early 2000’s have mostly disappeared from primetime.  This feels especially relevant to me because I’ve been rewatching Veronica Mars in the last few weeks, partly for vague academic reasons and partly because I discovered that you can watch all three seasons instantly on Netflix.  (Yes!)  Though Veronica’s understanding of personal privacy sometimes leaves a lot to be desired, her struggles as the insider-turned-outsider of Neptune, California, and her snarky personality, represent for me an interesting combination of the “super-smart, dry, withering, righteously angry girls” like Daria that Meltzer describes, and the current “heroines whose principal interests . . . are status and men,” as on shows like Gossip Girl.  Through Veronica’s flashbacks to her previous shallow life in which her main interests included keeping the attention of her somewhat dull boyfriend Duncan Kane and staying high on the Neptune High social ladder, we see how those old desires can still influence her new life, even amidst her stone-cold determination to find her friend Lilly’s murderer and her satiric critiques of Neptune’s somewhat absurd social hierarchies.

    I think its important, however, not to just long for the Buffys and the Darias of the past, but to look into how those types of characters might be evolving into something newer and different–I’m not totally convinced that sassy teens have completely disappeared (Nikki Blonsky’s character Will on Huge definitely has some sass in her), and I look forward to seeing how the Daria teen sass legacy will affect future TV teens.

  • scissors
    June 15th, 2010AllieUncategorized

    I really liked in the season finale of Glee, when Mike Chang and Matt Rutherford (never knew they had real names?  Well neither did I.  Thanks, imdb!) finally got a moment after not having spoken very much at all during the entire previous season.  It’s always seemed like they’re essentially just there for their dancing skills and their backup vocals, because they rarely ever speak and never get solos (though that is unsurprising considering that Finn and Rachel tend to hog every single solo).  I say let’s have an episode next season entirely devoted to Mike and Matt!  Who’s with me?

    Mike and Matt finally get a moment

  • scissors
    June 15th, 2010AllieUncategorized

    This has been around for awhile, but I just learned about this rule and I really like the simplicity of it.  The Bechdel test first appeared in the comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For, when one character says she’ll only watch a movie if it:

    1. Has at least 2 women in it
    2. Who talk to each other
    3. About something other than a man

    At the official website of the Bechdel Test, users can submit and read about movies that may or may not pass the Bechdel Test.

    Though this rule was originally meant for films, I think it could apply to TV shows as well, though maybe it’d make more sense to consider each show on an epis0de-by-episode basis, because it’d be surprising to find that a show was never able to pass the Bechdel test.  Then again, as you saw in the video, the list of movies that don’t pass the Bechdel test is surprisingly expansive, for what seems like a pretty simple rule to follow.  Which shows would pass the Bechdel test and which shows wouldn’t?

  • scissors
    June 15th, 2010AllieUncategorized

    Turns out that my spring term classes were a bit overwhelming, but I’m back and hoping to get going again on this blog!  To kick off: Here’s a fun video of Lea Michele and Matthew Morrison from Glee singing at the 2010 Tony Awards, which are always super fun.  Lea’s even singing the same song she sang on Glee, “Don’t Rain on My Parade”  from the musical Funny Girl.

  • scissors
    March 31st, 2010AllieUncategorized

    Here’s an interesting article about the heavily girl-centered tween tv market, with shows like iCarly, Wizards of Waverly Place, and Hannah Montana taking up most of the Disney Channel and Nickelodeon programming.  The author of the article wonders whether this might actually be harmful for boys’ development or whether it just represents a cultural shift where boys are more interested in watching shows about relationships and humor, instead of violence.

    I don’t watch too many of these shows, but it makes me wonder why girls seem more inclined to fixate on role models like Hannah Montana and obsess over boys like the Jonas Brothers, while boys don’t seem to have the same kind of idols.

  • scissors
    March 26th, 2010AllieUncategorized

    So I’ve had Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance”  in my head for like 3 days straight now, which is why I love/hate these Lady Gaga cookies someone made and these Lady Gaga dogs with the Doggie Gaga project.  Super fun and pretty silly!

  • scissors
    March 2nd, 2010AllieUncategorized

    So remember that really cool OK Go! music video with the treadmills?  It was pretty great, right?

    Well this is even better:

    Tags:
  • scissors
    February 25th, 2010AllieUncategorized

    It’s official!  NPH is definitely going to be on Glee, playing perhaps a not-so-nice character á la Dr. Horrible.  Since he’s one of my all-time favorite funny people, this is just getting me more and more pumped for April!

    Also, apparently the Glee kids got to record for The Simpsons!  I might just have to watch it!

  • scissors
    February 24th, 2010AllieUncategorized

    The reunion we’ve all been waiting for!  Angela Chase and Jordan Catalano (aka Claire Danes and Jared Leto) of My So Called Life, reunited once again, at an event in London.  Is it just me, though, or does Claire Danes not really look a lot like Claire Danes in that picture?

  • « Older Entries