Finally, this madness is about to end. Tomorrow the final movie installment of the Twilight Saga premieres in North America with Breaking Dawn Part 2. Finally, the buzz and hysteria over a series of novels that are nothing more than drug store romance with vampires and werewolves will be over. Finally, the story of a bland, cardboard female character that somehow becomes the center of so much drama and angst will end. Finally, I don't have to hear another thing about Kristen Stewart's and Rob Pattison's fakemance.
Several years ago, (it feels like forever) I took the first book in my hands to read because my then pre-teen god daughter would talk about nothing else. Being an English teacher, and a dedicated god mother, I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. I struggled through these novels, drowning in gaping plot holes, unappealing characters and painful dialogue to find out what the heck everyone was getting so worked up over. Obviously being a masochist, I then dutifully suffered through the movies whose special effects and soundtrack could not compensate for the excruciating acting and direction. I came to a conclusion.
It's a young girl thing that stays with some women a life time. It's the need for fantasy. It's a notion that has been around for hundreds of years in fiction, then later, on the silver screen and finally on television and in comics. The notion of a perfect man who will sweep every tender heart off her feet no matter who she is, what she does, how she looks, and where she comes from. It's a destructive notion that, left unchecked, can be one of the major reasons why real men don't get a fair shake, and real women feel unsatisfied for most of their lives. It's a female version of porn.
While some men hide their proclivity for steaming, naughty sex under beds and in closets, women take theirs with them on the subway and to the coffee shop. Used in moderation, it can be an, ummm, handy form of entertainment. Used excessively, it could be the reason women and men have unreal, and untenable expectations about sexual, emotional and committed relationships. These characters never go to the bathroom, or have a bad day, or pick their noses. The men in romance novels and the women in centerfolds bask in their two-dimensional perfection, while the audience feels unsatisfied when they're torn away from that world into the three dimensional one.
What's worse is that it's become so subliminal that we don't even know those expectations have become embedded in our psyches. With the divorce rate skyrocketing, the media splashed with celebrity break-ups, and shows like TMZ salivating at the latest scandal, what is going on with "romantic" relationships? Do they even exist? Sure they can, but real romance only has the trappings and the soundtrack that we choose. Real romance is effort. It's not produced by multi-billion dollar movie, music and publishing companies. It's what we make it. Finding romance beyond the "who does the dishes", the bad day at the job, or the crazy commute home is not as easy as picking up a book or grabbing the remote. It's milking energy to build and keep the mystique of romance after the children's meltdown and before our own.
Maybe it's time that adults take responsibility for their relationships and actually invest the time in them that we do in fantasizing about them. Maybe it's time, as adults, we start building healthy perceptions and expectations about intimate relationships in young men and women, so that they don't enter in them, handicapped by Bellas and Edwards. Maybe it's time to consciously help our young break this really nasty habit. Too many sweets result in cavities and obesity. Too much brain candy will dissolve not only our grey matter but wreck our emotional well-being.
Showing posts with label review. Show all posts
Showing posts with label review. Show all posts
2012-11-14
2012-09-22
Survivor Philippines: The Tribe of Failure
It's difficult making cast assessments based on one episode of a show, one that is heavily edited to portray certain people in stereotypical roles, fitting stereotypical "story lines"; but here goes, as I hack my way through the jungle of editing to find the nuggets of possible truth.
It doesn't take a medium to predict that the Matsing Tribe is going to be tanking early. This is mostly due to the fact that their un-leader, leader who doesn't want to lead but does anyway, Russell Swan can't assess his tribe's abilities and their inability to tell him to go take a long hike on the beach. Now, he's probably a perfectly nice guy, one who made a huge mistake, admitting to it in Tribal Council, but something tells me he won't be able to help himself.
He's lucky. Zane Knight, who went out in a huge ball of fail by underplaying, underlasting, and undersmarting everyone, saved Russ' Survivor life this week. I don't know how many times I need to say this but I will again. Future reality contestants: if you want to play the BIG game, trying to make BIG moves while congratulating yourself about your own GENIUS, you better back it up with two things: a killer ability to save yourself in challenges, and zipped lips. These were the exact two qualities that Zane did not have, therefore earning him the distinction of being the first voted off.
Russ will probably continue for at least another week of life in the game because of two other tribe mates: Roxanne "Roxy" Morris and Angie Layton who risked losing their eyeballs with all the rolling they did at Tribal Council. They tried to pin their predicament on Russ, but he does not carry the sole blame. Instead of standing up to Russ before the immunity challenge, asserting themselves and their abilities, they "stood down" to his non-authority, authority, obeying his directives. His bright idea? Get the one guy on the tribe whose physicality ensured failure to do the running with him.
This tribe seems to have only two possibilities of making it to the merge: Denise Stapley and Malcolm Freberg. They were smart enough to seek each other out as the only two with the brains and strategy in the tribe. This, with their ability to make it through the physical challenges, will give them the best chances of getting out of this cluster of a tribe intact.
With this tribe's state of disarray and dismal un-leadership, Matsing stands a great chance of losing yet another immunity challenge next week and one of Roxy or Angie being sent packing. Russ will probably find the immunity idol because he stumbled on the clue, unlike Penner who found it with purpose. Even with this coveted idol, I doubt Russ's chances of making it to the merge are good. He'll probably not use it or give it away by accident.
These are just my assessments from watching the show. If you want real insider info, then get it from the one, true source of spoilers: Missyae.
Stay tuned for the upcoming blogs:
It doesn't take a medium to predict that the Matsing Tribe is going to be tanking early. This is mostly due to the fact that their un-leader, leader who doesn't want to lead but does anyway, Russell Swan can't assess his tribe's abilities and their inability to tell him to go take a long hike on the beach. Now, he's probably a perfectly nice guy, one who made a huge mistake, admitting to it in Tribal Council, but something tells me he won't be able to help himself.
He's lucky. Zane Knight, who went out in a huge ball of fail by underplaying, underlasting, and undersmarting everyone, saved Russ' Survivor life this week. I don't know how many times I need to say this but I will again. Future reality contestants: if you want to play the BIG game, trying to make BIG moves while congratulating yourself about your own GENIUS, you better back it up with two things: a killer ability to save yourself in challenges, and zipped lips. These were the exact two qualities that Zane did not have, therefore earning him the distinction of being the first voted off.
Russ will probably continue for at least another week of life in the game because of two other tribe mates: Roxanne "Roxy" Morris and Angie Layton who risked losing their eyeballs with all the rolling they did at Tribal Council. They tried to pin their predicament on Russ, but he does not carry the sole blame. Instead of standing up to Russ before the immunity challenge, asserting themselves and their abilities, they "stood down" to his non-authority, authority, obeying his directives. His bright idea? Get the one guy on the tribe whose physicality ensured failure to do the running with him.
This tribe seems to have only two possibilities of making it to the merge: Denise Stapley and Malcolm Freberg. They were smart enough to seek each other out as the only two with the brains and strategy in the tribe. This, with their ability to make it through the physical challenges, will give them the best chances of getting out of this cluster of a tribe intact.
With this tribe's state of disarray and dismal un-leadership, Matsing stands a great chance of losing yet another immunity challenge next week and one of Roxy or Angie being sent packing. Russ will probably find the immunity idol because he stumbled on the clue, unlike Penner who found it with purpose. Even with this coveted idol, I doubt Russ's chances of making it to the merge are good. He'll probably not use it or give it away by accident.
These are just my assessments from watching the show. If you want real insider info, then get it from the one, true source of spoilers: Missyae.
Stay tuned for the upcoming blogs:
- My assessment of the singing competitions: The Voice, X-Factor and the newly rehashed American Idol. Why is this show still on?
- Misogyny and Reality TV
- Skill, Luck, Production and the Mighty Buck
2012-09-20
Survivor Philippines versus Big Brother 14
Both of these CBS reality TV shows packed a wallop last night with one premiering as the other ended. In the ratings department, the 25th season of Survivor topped 11 million viewers with a 7.1, whereas Big Brother, fell short of 7 million with a 2.9 rating. This is not surprising as the latter show's ratings have been disappointing this summer. Yet, despite Survivor being the ratings winner, it has not been renewed past the already filmed season 26 yet, whereas Big Brother has been renewed for season 15.
Both these shows have been in peril with tanking ratings in the past mostly because of the producers (Jeff Probst for Survivor and Allison Grodner for Big Brother). They both adopted a formula of bringing vets (sometimes multiple times) to play with newbies season after season, even though the fans of both the shows have not liked it. It's not fun to watch inexperienced players get mowed down season after season.
But maybe things are not so dire for these shows. The fact that Survivor's premiere numbers are much better than in the past, and that Big Brother 14 ended with a newbie gaining victory over a vet will bring some needed changes in both these shows. While Ian Terry, a fan favorite who charmed almost everyone with his unique personality and heart, won BB14 by a landslide mostly because the jurors respected his smart, clean game, a few Survivors made impressive appearances in the Survivor premiere.
Jonathan Penner, Sarah Naomi Dawson from Kalabaw, Denise Marie Stapely, Malcolm Freberg and Angie Layton from Masting, as well as Micheal, Skupin, Lisa Whechel and Roberta "RC" Saint-Amour from Tandang were six castaways that showed much promise. Penner's love of the game and gratitude to be given another chance were touching to watch; but his strategizing on the island and even before he arrived is what made me sit up and take notice. Michael Skupin is another returning player to watch. His strategy is to take a back seat, going with the flow while poised to make a move. From the new castaways: RC, Stapely, Freberg, Layton and Dawson have made the most positive first impact, some showing prowess in the challenges, others a necessary insight into the others' game play/personalities and others both.
Will this help them to get to the end? We will see. One thing's for sure, this Survivor cast is one of the best, smartest and most compelling in a few seasons, making it a must-see show, one whose ratings will hopefully earn it a renewal.
Both these shows have been in peril with tanking ratings in the past mostly because of the producers (Jeff Probst for Survivor and Allison Grodner for Big Brother). They both adopted a formula of bringing vets (sometimes multiple times) to play with newbies season after season, even though the fans of both the shows have not liked it. It's not fun to watch inexperienced players get mowed down season after season.
But maybe things are not so dire for these shows. The fact that Survivor's premiere numbers are much better than in the past, and that Big Brother 14 ended with a newbie gaining victory over a vet will bring some needed changes in both these shows. While Ian Terry, a fan favorite who charmed almost everyone with his unique personality and heart, won BB14 by a landslide mostly because the jurors respected his smart, clean game, a few Survivors made impressive appearances in the Survivor premiere.
Jonathan Penner, Sarah Naomi Dawson from Kalabaw, Denise Marie Stapely, Malcolm Freberg and Angie Layton from Masting, as well as Micheal, Skupin, Lisa Whechel and Roberta "RC" Saint-Amour from Tandang were six castaways that showed much promise. Penner's love of the game and gratitude to be given another chance were touching to watch; but his strategizing on the island and even before he arrived is what made me sit up and take notice. Michael Skupin is another returning player to watch. His strategy is to take a back seat, going with the flow while poised to make a move. From the new castaways: RC, Stapely, Freberg, Layton and Dawson have made the most positive first impact, some showing prowess in the challenges, others a necessary insight into the others' game play/personalities and others both.
Will this help them to get to the end? We will see. One thing's for sure, this Survivor cast is one of the best, smartest and most compelling in a few seasons, making it a must-see show, one whose ratings will hopefully earn it a renewal.
2012-07-07
Magic Mike and Stone Face
A group of my gal pals and I went to see Magic Mike. What red-blooded, straight woman wouldn't? It's not often that any form of media caters to female sexuality and voyeurism, viewing it as taboo. All hail to double standards.
Although this movie, does in a way, empower female sexuality, in other ways it imposes the male's vision of what women would want. This is reinforced by the fact that both the director (Steven Soderbergh) and the screenwriter (Reid Carolin) are men.
Speaking for myself, most of my friends and most of the audience, we didn't go to the movie expecting a fabulous story line, interesting camera angles and award-winning performances. We wanted to see some delicious MAN. We saw some hot Hollywood males for sure, but within a prudish limit, set by male standards, of course; and the movie lived up to our low expectations of plot and acting.
Most notably, what were they thinking casting and directing Cody Horn as the female lead? Her stone-faced disapproval throughout the movie, killed our buzz. And we saw way too much of her on the screen. Hello? The movie is Magic Mike, not Stone Face Brooke. I don't know if it's her lack of acting skills, or the way she was directed into the role, but suffice it to say, she made us angry. When the credits rolled, and her name and face flashed on the screen, we booed.
By contrast, Olivia Munn's performance and presence was much more empowering and likable, until the script demanded that she turn taciturn and cold. This reinforces the fact that the movie's vision was from the male not female perspective. No woman would have made the casting and script decisions made in this movie. I know for a fact, because we all talked about it at length and in disgust, after the movie. Women fall into two categories in Hollywood: irredeemable bitches, and judgmental but pure bitches. Nice.
Further, the evolution of the story, along with it being hackneyed and trite, left much to be desired, not allowing the characters or the situations to evolve organically. The story left us unfulfilled, wanting more and hating the man who could not give us release. In other words, it was like a bad one-night stand.
The direction tried to fulfill their artistic manifesto with some interesting, though sometimes dizzying, camera work; but again, we didn't go expecting to see Tarantino.
Channing Tatum, Joe Manganiello and Matthew McConaughey redeemed the movie to some extent. Tatum can sure move, satisfying our eyes beautifully along with Manganiello and McConaughey; and that would have been enough to please the audience, but then they had to ruin it with a broken plot, female stereotypes and a cliche romantic formula.
Save your dollar bills ladies.
Although this movie, does in a way, empower female sexuality, in other ways it imposes the male's vision of what women would want. This is reinforced by the fact that both the director (Steven Soderbergh) and the screenwriter (Reid Carolin) are men.
Speaking for myself, most of my friends and most of the audience, we didn't go to the movie expecting a fabulous story line, interesting camera angles and award-winning performances. We wanted to see some delicious MAN. We saw some hot Hollywood males for sure, but within a prudish limit, set by male standards, of course; and the movie lived up to our low expectations of plot and acting.
Most notably, what were they thinking casting and directing Cody Horn as the female lead? Her stone-faced disapproval throughout the movie, killed our buzz. And we saw way too much of her on the screen. Hello? The movie is Magic Mike, not Stone Face Brooke. I don't know if it's her lack of acting skills, or the way she was directed into the role, but suffice it to say, she made us angry. When the credits rolled, and her name and face flashed on the screen, we booed.
By contrast, Olivia Munn's performance and presence was much more empowering and likable, until the script demanded that she turn taciturn and cold. This reinforces the fact that the movie's vision was from the male not female perspective. No woman would have made the casting and script decisions made in this movie. I know for a fact, because we all talked about it at length and in disgust, after the movie. Women fall into two categories in Hollywood: irredeemable bitches, and judgmental but pure bitches. Nice.
Further, the evolution of the story, along with it being hackneyed and trite, left much to be desired, not allowing the characters or the situations to evolve organically. The story left us unfulfilled, wanting more and hating the man who could not give us release. In other words, it was like a bad one-night stand.
The direction tried to fulfill their artistic manifesto with some interesting, though sometimes dizzying, camera work; but again, we didn't go expecting to see Tarantino.
Channing Tatum, Joe Manganiello and Matthew McConaughey redeemed the movie to some extent. Tatum can sure move, satisfying our eyes beautifully along with Manganiello and McConaughey; and that would have been enough to please the audience, but then they had to ruin it with a broken plot, female stereotypes and a cliche romantic formula.
Save your dollar bills ladies.
2012-06-22
50 Shades of Puke
Anastasia Steele might not have a gag reflex, winning the Most Adept Virgin Ever Award, but I do; and it was engaged reading this drivel.
My friend was reading 50 Shades of Grey by E.L. James for a book club she's in; and having heard about it at least twice more that day, I decided to cave into peer pressure and read the damn thing. Damn my weakness! And to further compound this messy situation, I found out after reading the first book, that it was part of a trilogy. Triple DAMN!
Being obsessive compulsive about these things, I simply had to read the other two just to finish this lame story about a paragon and her Dominant boyfriend.
Don't let anyone fool you. It's just another romance novel, following the genre's pattern closely, with some darker than usual elements shrouding the male protagonist, Christian Grey, and a LOT of mind-numbing (and not in a good way) kinky sex. It's never a good sign when I finally had to SKIP the sex scenes to get to the actual STORY, such as it is.
It's as if James decided to go through a checklist of places where she would have her protagonists having sex. Bathroom. Check. Bedroom. Check. Office. Check. Kitchen counter. Check. "Playroom". Check. Elevator. Check. Car. Check. Boat, plane, ocean. Check. Eye roll. Check.
Of course, Anastasia is the perfect woman who for some unexplained reason has no self-esteem or understanding of how BEAUTIFUL she is. At 21, she has not had sex, nor really done anything sexual, including masturbation. Yet. She gives perfect blow jobs, hand jobs, and other jobs as well as being the perfect receptacle for Christian's passion.
Oh. Kay.
The emails between them are witty and funny. I'll give it that; but that's all I'll give it. Erotica isn't supposed to be boring. But. It. Is. The story is contrived. The plot twists ridiculous. The premise laughable. Grey's past is disturbing and not just in the way it's portrayed in the novel. It's disturbing in the way it's NOT portrayed.
This Shades series has brought out my disgust for the fad of the polylogy as a way to score oodles of cash for the publishing house, the media conglomerate making the movies, and the author. I'm all for art being a lucrative business, but money can't be the motivation for a story. Reading these novels whose stories could have been more eloquently and efficiently told in one novel, has become an exercise in futility.
Stay tuned for my next post. Romance: The Horror.
Laters, babies
Laters, babies
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