August 2010
10 posts
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Mad Men and the Emmys
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the episode of Mad Men that aired last night during the Emmys was about awards and awards shows. During the episode, Don and Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce as a whole win an award for the advertisement they made for Glow Coat floor wax. When asked about his feelings, he remarked, “You finish something you find out everyone else loves right around...
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The Times, Women, and Fiction
Novelist Jodi Picoult recently lambasted the New York Times book reviewers for their emphasis on white male “literary fiction”, tweeting, “NYT raved about Franzen’s new book. Is anyone shocked? Would love to see the NYT rave about authors who aren’t white male literary darlings.” Here’s the thing: while I agree that there is a lot of great fiction out...
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Is Glee Popular 2.0?
I have a theory about Glee, the popular television show about a high school glee club co-created by Ryan Murphy: I think Glee is a re-make of his short-lived WB show, Popular. Both are about tensions between popular football players and cheerleaders and regular kids who want to be popular. The school authorities on both shows are often over the top and are rarely helpful. Both shows also...
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The Hunger Games
My copy of Mockingjay arrived today and it was great. I don’t want to spoil anything for anyone who has not yet read this amazing and devastating trilogy (and why haven’t you read it yet???) but I didn’t know how I expected it to end, but I think I’m glad it ended the way it did.
Pluses: everything
Minuses: it’s pretty violent - it might be technically young adult...
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Why I Quit Friday Night Lights
You don’t need to tell me that Friday Night Lights is one of the best written, most honest shows on television. Its Texan milieu feels authentic and is populated by people with real, recognizable, and identifiable problems (as long as we agree to ignore parts of season). And that’s why I quit watching: Friday Night Lights makes me too sad. Yes, Coach and Tammi love each other and...
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No Ordinary Family
I just watched the No Ordinary Family pilot and wow, was it mediocre. I now know why I kept reading rumors that it sucked - because it really kinda sucks. The writing is hackneyed and cheesy; at one point the sentence “in a life short on time I finally found myself fast” is actually uttered by Julie Benz’s speedy mom character. Not only did the writing make me wince, but the...
Sho Talks About Pop Culture
This is an experiment. I’m going to be posting my thoughts about whatever detritus of pop culture catches my eye. Hurray.
