Last night’s episode of Glee, “Comeback”, prompted a few synapses to fire and some ideas to form in my brain.
So today, Tuesday March 1st, 2011, will heretofore be known as “Gleek Out! Day”. Stay tuned for more Glee goodness throughout the day.
Image via Squidoo.
Last night’s episode of Glee had some semblance of a storyline, unlike most of its companion episodes this year.
Santana was ousted by the glee club as a bitch, Puck serenaded Lauren, who refused to be wooed by his misogynistic rendition of “Fat Bottomed Girls”, and Finn attempted to court Quinn at his Valentine’s Day kissing booth.
By far the best song of the night was Artie and Mike’s collaboration on Michael Jackson’s “P.Y.T.”, which I have taken the liberty of embedding below.
Another key story arc was Kurt’s continued infatuation with Blaine, who serenades another man with Robin Thicke’s “When I Get You Alone” (again, below), another standout. Not to worry; although Blaine is rebuffed by his love interest, and Kurt confesses his feelings for his, the two are back being besties before the night’s through.
Don’t you just love how life on Glee comes packaged up nicely with a pretty ribbon on top after forty minutes…?
Related: The Underlying Message in Glee‘s “Furt” Episode.
The (Belated) Underlying Message in Glee’s “Never Been Kissed” Episode.
The Underlying Message in Glee’s “The Rocky Horror Glee Show” Episode.
The Underlying Message in Glee’s “Duets” Episode.
The Underlying Message in Glee’s “Grilled Cheesus” Episode.
The Underlying Message in Glee’s “Britney/Brittany” Episode.
Images via Shulman Says, Soul88, TV Hamster.
Every episode of Grey’s Anatomy carries an “underlying meaning”.
There’s a patient who underwent botched leg-lengthening surgery in Hong Kong juxtaposed with the ability to stand tall and proud. Meredith’s traumatic childhood leads her to defend a small child who shot her dad 17 times to protect her and her mother. And when Addison’s brother, Archer, contracts parasites in the brain, his illness is used as a metaphor for toxic people “sucking the life out of you”.
Last’s night’s “Superfreak” was no exception, paralleling the super-freakyness of a patient with human papillomavirus, which caused his body to grow warts or horns that resemble bark or tree roots, with April’s virginity.
I found this a very hard episode to watch, and scratched myself like crazy after seeing the patient’s condition, which was a similar reaction to Lexi Grey’s. The most disturbing part of the case was when A SPIDER CRAWLED OUT OF THE PATIENT’S LIMB, a phenomenon that made Dr. Bailey “scream like a little baby bitch”, making Lexi feel better.
The other “superfreaky” patient belonged to Meredith and April, who was a 27-year-old virgin with a condom lodged in her lung after practicing oral sex on a banana in preparation for her wedding night. While April thought it was romantic and idealistic and defended her patient, the other Seattle Grace staff ridiculed the patient. A roll-call of everyone’s first times followed, with April claiming hers was on the beach and was very romantic. Much like Steve Carell’s character in The 40-Year-Old Virgin when he compares the feel of women’s breasts to bags of sand, April’s colleagues catch her in a lie, and vilify her for being a 28-year-old virgin. (Now that this has come out, we all just know she’s gonna lose it before the season is over. So cliché.)
But as Meredith says in her voiceover at the conclusion of the episode, even freaks can’t wait for love forever.
Related: Top 10 TV Moments of the Year.
Gun Shot Wound to the Head: Grey’s Anatomy Season Final.
Images via YouTube and Megavideo.
Gossip Girl’s Thanksgiving episodes are always ones to remember.
Season one hosted the first instalment without a voiceover from Gossip Girl herself, Kristen Bell. And last year’s episode dealt with the fallout from Dan, Vanessa and Hilary Duff’s threesome and Lily’s whereabouts the past summer.
However, this year’s holiday chapter fell short of expectations, with it’s surrounding episodes being much juicier. Last week, the vixen Juliet drugged Serena and turned all her friends against her, while Juliet’s beef with the Manhattan socialite is finally revealed.
But “Gaslit” did serve two main purposes, both of which are very promising:
1. Vanessa comes undone and her involvement in Operation Takedown Serena comes out, forcing her out of the city. Ding dong, Vanessa’s dead!
and
2. Blair and Dan join forced to find out what Juliet really wants with Serena. Whilst the two have never been shy about their hatred for one another, as winter passes, perhaps a new-found “appreciation” for each other will blossom along with spring…
xoxo
Related: Let Them Eat Cake… And Wear Headbands.
Gossip Girl Proves There’s No Such Thing As Wonder Woman.
Sexual Healing: Gossip Girl Takes a Page Out of John Irving’s Book.
Pretty But Dumb: Serena’s Tertiary Education Predicament.
Surfing the Third Wave: Second Wave VS. Third Wave Feminism on Gossip Girl.
Ever since I started watching True Blood, I’ve had a hard time believing Sookie Stackhouse as a feminist icon. Sure, she kicks a lot of butt, sometimes seeking danger out herself (taking down the Rattrays when they milk blood from Bill in the car park of Merlottes), is in charge of her sexuality, if that means staying a virgin until the right man comes along, and doesn’t take shit from anybody. But… she’s just so damn annoying!
So is Glee’s Rachel Berry and most of the Gossip Girl cast, and they could be seen as icons of feminism for the texting set. However, instead of whining to her teacher, withholding sex from her boyfriend or plotting revenge against her nemeses, Sookie is just the opposite. She may be blonde, virginal and innocent in every sense, but she is also very much like Buffy Summers, who was created with bucking the horror movie victim stereotype in mind.
As one commenter on True Blood’s Nest points out, “Sookie is brave to the point of being stupid at times…”. While this can be an admirable quality sometimes, it does contribute to her annoyingness.
Speaking of characters who act before they speak, Tara Thornton comes to mind.
True Blood is all about juxtaposing discrimination against the blacks and the gays against the discrimination of vampires. The book True Blood & Philosophy, which I reviewed last week, mentions that Sookie and Tara were both raised—for the most part—by Sookie’s grandmother, yet Sookie is “admired, protected and coeveted by every heterosexual male main character and loved by a sweet, nurturing grandmother” while “Tara is blunt, sarcastic, morose, love-starved and goes home each night to an alcoholic mother” and gets caught up in Maryann’s spiral of lies and magic. Racist stereotypes or social criticism?
And while we’re on Maryann, she seems to embody “certain stereotypes of late-1970s feminism”, both in the clothes she wears (floaty, feminine and ethereal maxi dresses) and the hedonistic, maenadic lifestyle she espouses. Given her obsession with taking down Sam, using Eggs as her partner in crime and erecting the meat-statue in Sookie’s yard (not to mention her “hunter’s soufflé”!), she really embodies the “feminist as man-eater” ideal.
While these are good examples of other, non-blonde/innocent/virginal heroines in True Blood (and while we’re at it, let’s not forget Pam, Lorena and Sophie-Ann), I would also like to examine Sookie in relation to the men of Bon Tempts. Let’s look at True Blood’s Nest again:
“… Bill and various other hot men are always rescuing Sookie from certain death, or so it seems. But remember y’all, it was her that tried to find the town serial killer, not the useless cops. It was her that killed Rene the Killer with a shovel to the neck while the menfolk bumbled around the graveyard uselessly. It was her that decided to go to Dallas in order to get Lafayette out of Eric’s icky dungeon, AND she wanted money and a driveway as part of the deal. Once again the menfolk spluttered and marvelled at her bravery and sauciness, and lusted after her even more for it. She is the mistress of her own kick ass destiny while Bill, Sam and even Eric can only follow in her wake, hoping to be of some use.”
The original title for this post was “What is it With Sookie”, and seriously, what is it with Sookie?! By the end of season three, we have found out that Sookie’s appeal to the “menfolk” may be because of her fairy heritage, not because of her physical attributes or personality traits.
This is unfortunate for Bill, because it is plain to see that he does love Sookie for who she is, not what she can do for him. But I will say that the fairy blood storyline is an intriguing one; did Sookie’s blood allow Bill to crawl, albeit with his flesh charring with each movement he made, to her rescue in the graveyard at the end of season one? Is that also why Eric wants her?
But when you take away their supernatural abilities, Bill and Sookie’s relationship is one with issues that I’m sure a lot of modern day couples face: Bill has old-fashioned sensibilities in wanting to protect his lover, while Sookie struggles with the concept of maintaining “independence in sexual relationships”, which second- and third-wave feminism have told us we must do. Nothing illustrates this conflict (and metaphorical backlash?) than the second episode of season two, when Sookie storms out of Bill’s car after a fight about said independence and protection only to be attacked by a mythical creature for her efforts!
Elsewhere: [True Blood’s Nest] Fangirls Speak Out: Sookie—Feminist Icon?
[Racialicious] True Blood. Tired Stereotypes.
[Feminist Frequency] Beyond True Blood’s Sensationalism.
Related: True Blood & Philosophy by George A. Dunn & Rebecca Housel Review.
Top 10 TV Moments of the Year.
Gossip Girl Proves There’s No Such Thing as Wonder Woman.
Surfing the Third Wave: Second Wave VS. Third Wave Feminism on Gossip Girl.
1. OMGSW: Derek Gets Shot on Grey’s Anatomy.
I spent the season six final of Grey’s bawling my eyes out as Reed Adamson and Charles Percy died, Derek, Alex and Owen get shot, and Meredith loses her baby. One of the best season finals I’ve ever seen.
2. Another Day, Another Gun Shot Wound: Chuck Gets Shot on Gossip Girl.
While season three’s finale wasn’t the best I’ve ever seen, it certainly set the ball rolling for an epic season four thus far (see below).
Chuck issued Blair an ultimatum; Dan was revealed to be the father of Georgina’s baby; Chuck raped Jenny; Jenny went to boarding school; Blair took Chuck up on his ultimatum; Blair found out Chuck slept with Jenny; Serena and Blair went to Paris; Chuck got shot in Prague.
3. Katy Perry’s Chest is Too Ample for Sesame Street.
Sure, Katy’s dress was a little revealing to be prancing around the street named Sesame, but wasn’t it the responsibility of the show’s costume designers to put her in something a little more child-friendly?
4. Airy Fairy: Sookie is a Fairy on True Blood.
What the?! Aside from lots of Eric action and the introduction of hot werewolf Alcide, season three was a confusing exercise in vampirism, culminating in the revelation that Sookie is a fairy, the idea being that her blood is so irresistible to Bill, Eric et al. because it helps them walk amongst the living. (More on Sookie’s allure to come.)
5. The ANTM Debacle.
Well… at least it got Aussie Top Model into the international (entertainment) news. It probably boosted sales for Harper’s Bazaar, with the two finalists on the cover.
6. It’s “Britney/Brittany”, Bitch! Britney Spears on Glee.
In what was probably one of the most anticipated TV moments of 2010, Britney Spears appeared for (literally) a moment on Glee.
7. What Once Was LOST, Now is Found: LOST Finale.
The last ever episode of LOST seemed to ask more questions that it answered, but ultimately was a bit of a letdown.
8. Romeo Serena & Juliet: Serena’s Stalker Saga on Gossip Girl.
GG has always been a guilty pleasure of mine since it debuted in 2007, but it hasn’t always had the greatest of storylines. This season, however, has been one of my favourites, with the mystery surrounding Juliet’s entry into Serena’s life getting stronger each episode. The story arc was resolved in the U.S.’s most recent episodes, but instead of spoiling it for Aussie viewers (which The Scarlett Woman has been known to do *blush*), I’ll wait til it airs here to catch you up on the saga.
9. Sexual Double Standards on Jersey Shore.
Speaking of guilty pleasures, Jersey Shore is the epitome of “guilty” if ever there was one!
Violence, racism, sexism and sun damage run rampant in the show, which seems to have gotten even worse in its second season.
Femme fatale Angelina Pivarnick is vilified for sleeping with two guys in one week, when the men of the house have a rotisserie of women for every night of the week. The resentment of Angelina for being a “single girl” and “enjoying herself”, which she constantly made reference to, comes to a head with a cat fight, a “dirty pad” found on the bathroom floor, and Angelina exiting the house for the second time in as many seasons.
10. The Hills’ Curtains Draw to a Close… But Not Before Lifting Them on Reality TV.
Living vicariously through The Hills’ girls hedonistic Hollywood lifestyles is something I’m really going to miss in 2011.
I suppose there’s always Heidi Montag’s tabloid transgressions and Lauren’s new reality show to indulge in…
Related: Gun Shot Wound to the Head: Grey’s Anatomy Season Final.
The Last Tango… For the Season: Gossip Girl Season 3 Finale.
The Underlying Messages of Glee’s “Britney/Brittany” Episode.
It’s All About Britney, Bitch!
What Once Was LOST, Now is Found?: Lost Finale.
Surfing the Third Wave: Second Wave VS. Third Wave Feminism on Gossip Girl.
The Hills Finale: All Good Things Must Come to an End.
Poor Little Rich Girl: Who Cover Girl Heidi Montag.
Elsewhere: [Jezebel] Jersey Shore: If Men Can Wax Their Eyebrows, Why Can’t Women Sleep Around?
Last night’s episode of Glee marked the final in a three-episode arc about bullying.
In Sue’s final act as principal before she resigns at the end of the episode, she expels Dave Karofsky for bullying Kurt. Jezebel notes that “rather than yelling, ‘William, my hands are tied!’ she promises to stop Karofsky once they have proof that he’s harassing Kurt”—but not before Sue takes to calling Kurt Porcelain, which could be seen as an act of bullying in itself.
Carol Burnett makes an appearance as Sue and Jean’s absentee mother, Doris, who in addition to being Sue’s own “bully”, left the girls to be a Nazi hunter. While Doris doesn’t appear all that bad, it does give some insight into Sue’s present-day behaviour as McKinley High’s student body tormenter. Why was Sue’s mother in the episode, you ask? Because Sue was getting married… to herself! But that’s a whole other can of worms.
In other bullying news, the glee guys start a fight with Karofsky in the football team’s locker-room in defence of Kurt, but stepbrother to be, Finn, doesn’t partake. Even when it is revealed that the attack was Rachel’s idea, “setting the feminist movement back fifty years”, according to Quinn. (It’s no secret that I can’t stand Rachel, but a strong woman like her needs an equally strong man.) In what seems to be another instalment in Finn’s tour of whimping out, he doesn’t want to be perceived as being a homo-sympathiser. But not to worry, he makes up for it at his mum and Kurt’s dad’s wedding, by making a speech about standing up for “Team Furt” (in the tradition of celebrity couplings like Brangelina). And then they “dance their troubles away”.
The wedding also serves as a catalyst for Kurt to break out this memorable one-liner: “I’ve been planning weddings since I was two!”
Oh Kurt, we’ll miss you when you transfer to Dalton Academy…
Related: The (Belated) Underlying Message in Glee’s “Never Been Kissed” Episode.
The Underlying Message in Glee’s “The Rocky Horror Glee Show” Episode.
The Underlying Message in Glee’s “Duets” Episode.
The Underlying Message in Glee’s “Grilled Cheesus” Episode.
The Underlying Message in Glee’s “Britney/Brittany” Episode.
Women in Fiction: Are Our Favourite Fictional Females Actually Strong, or Stereotypes?
Elsewhere: [Jezebel] Glee: Three Weddings & a Furt.
It has been a Gossip Girl-heavy week here on The Scarlett Woman, and today is no exception.
Blair Waldorf is known for her Upper East Side opulence and her stop-at-nothing mindset to become—and stay—the Queen B. But now she’s more concerned with being taken seriously as an academic Columbia student and an “empowered” woman.
And who was more empowered than Marie Antoinette, one of Blair’s idols, whom she adorns her bedroom with images of? While some view her as a decadent, frivolous vixen, others (including me) see her as the ultimate emblem of grace, class and power. Kind of like a latter-day Joan of Arc, but with bigger hair. Plus, she has the same birthday as me.
Both misunderstood in some respects, the vision of Marie Antoinette as everything that was wrong with the French monarchy persists to this day, as does the common perception of Blair as one-dimensionally vindictive and conniving. That’s why she and Chuck make such a good couple!
However, anyone who’s done their research or is committed to the guilty pleasure that is Gossip Girl, will know that this is not entirely true. Accounts of the Queen’s true persona by those close to her say that she was generous, kind and courageous. While the first two adjectives aren’t usually applied to Blair, fragments of her nature underneath all the hating, haute couture and headbands show that she’d do anything for her closest friends, family and lovers.
Marie Antoinette is even alleged to have carried on a sordid affair with Count Axel Fersen, similar to her Gossip Girl counterpart’s on-again-off-again trysts with Chuck Bass.
While the character of Blair Waldorf has been compared to such female fictional greats as Scarlett O’Hara (who also has a penchant for the Queen) and Holly Golightly, who both have certain Antoinetteisms, Blair is one of the only characters who is modelled so closely on the French queen. This is evident most recently in the episodes “Juliet Doesn’t Live Here Anymore” and “The Witches of Bushwick”, in which Blair tries to distract herself from Chuck with macaroons, Marie’s dessert of choice, and decides she can’t be with him until she makes something of herself first.
If Blair does follow in the footsteps of Marie Antoinette, this surely won’t be a problem for her. Who remembers her husband, anyway?
Related: Gossip Girl Proves There’s No Such Thing as Wonder Woman.
Sexual Healing: Gossip Girl Takes a Page Out of John Irving’s Book.
Women in Fiction: My Favourite Fictional Females.
Women in Fiction: Are Our Favourite Fictional Females Actually Strong, or Stereotypes?
The crux of third-wave feminism seems to be the “Wonder Woman” effect, which asks the question, “can women really have it all?”
Last week’s Gossip Girl somewhat addressed this issue, with Blair and Chuck finally succumbing to their undeniable love and giving their relationship another shot. Their only reservations are that Chuck’s hotel, The Empire, will suffer if he banishes his bad boy image by getting back together with Blair, while positive opportunities for Blair, like taking over from Nate’s mother, Anne, as the face of the Girls Inc. foundation, will be jeopardised by the negative reputation of her boyfriend.
While this prophecy turns out to be untrue for Chuck, with his business manager telling him his new-found image might work out for The Empire after all if Blair agrees to attend events as “Chuck Bass’s girlfriend”, Blair is told by Anne that the man in her life might not be a reflection of her, but she will always be a reflection of him.
When Chuck says, “We really can have it all”, Blair tells him she wants to be “Secretary of State, except with better hair” not “Hillary Clinton in the White House ”.
Chuck reasons that they can be like “Brad and Angelina” and “take turns on top” (with two strong characters like Blair and Chuck, I’m sure this is a contentious issue in their relationship!), but Blair says she has to be Blair Waldorf and do something with her life, before she can be “Chuck Bass’s girlfriend”.
While I beg to differ (as long as both partners in a relationship are supportive of one another, they can be successful in their own rights), this dilemma does echo those of powerful women today. As Blair says to Anne, “Should empowered women get to have relationships, too?” A common argument, though, seems to be that powerful women were too busy with their careers that they “forgot” to get married and have a baby.
I’m sure marriage and a baby is the furthest thing from Blair’s mind right now (however, Chuck was set to propose to her last season), but I hope the writers use this development as the catalyst to set Blair on her merry way into the land of success, and potentially reunite her and Chuck at the end of the season. Until then, XOXO.
Related: Has Feminism Failed?
Surfing the Third Wave: Second Wave VS. Third Wave Feminism on Gossip Girl.
Pretty But Dumb: Serena’s Tertiary Education Predicament.
Women in Fiction: Are Our Favourite Fictional Females Actually Strong, or Stereotypes?
Sexual Healing: Gossip Girl Takes a Page Out of John Irving’s Book.
The Last Tango… For The Season. Gossip Girl Season Three Finale.
What’s the best way to get over a lover? Go cold turkey, or develop an aversion by bonking each others’ brains out?
Last week on Gossip Girl, Blair favoured the former, while Chuck liked the latter when it came time to put an end to their on-again/off-again affair.
Their predicament shares shades of John and Franny Berry’s dilemma in John Irving’s The Hotel New Hampshire, minus the incest.
The Scarlett Woman 