female writers – English 1102: Television and Feminism

Tag: female writers

Super Authors

On November 13, 2018

I know that the superpower everyone wanted when they were growing up was to have amazing writing skills, right? No? Well even if that wasn’t the case for you, you still have to appreciate the skills of the ones who did manage to get that superpower, and in order to do this, we will take a more in depth look at episode fourteen from season one of Supergirl.

One thing that is really cool about this episode is that it was both written and directed by women, and out of the entire first season, only two episodes had a female director. One of the writers is Yahlin Chang, and she is a very prolific television writer who worked on several shows including ER and Shades of Blue. She is currently a co-executive producer on The Handmaid’s Tale which has become one of the best dramas currently on television. Another one of the writers is Michael Grassi, and he has worked on quite a few shows that you might have heard of including Degrassi: The Next Generation, Lost Girl, and Riverdale. It is amazing to see how a show that most people would write off as being superficial or frivolous entertainment actually has some incredible depth and talent to it when people choose to look past the surface.

One thing that stands out to me about the writing of the show is how current it is. Now what do I mean by that? I mean that throughout all the episodes the audience is constantly being thrown pop culture, history, and celebrity references that we can relate to on a personal level. From talking about binge watching Netflix to gossiping about celebs such as Jennifer Lawrence, the authors use references such as these to help the audience become more engaged with the story and to relate to the characters by seeing how much they act and talk like we do. For example, Kara tells her sister Alex that she’s always wanted to catch a corrupt cop ever since they binge watched the television show The Wire together. Now I think most people can agree that at some point or another, we all want to escape into the stories we see and get to experience them right along with the rest of the characters. It’s references like these that are thrown throughout the dialogue that help to shape how the audience views the plot and how we experience the action along with the characters on screen.

The actors may be the ones saying the words, but its Supergirl’s writers who are the true heart of the show. They painstakingly craft together scenes and dialogue in such a way as to make the words feel like a conversation that we as the audience get to be a part of. They are the real superheroes.

Writers: The Real Superheroes

Part Of The Resistance: How Broad City Tackles The Current Political Climate

By Faisal Chaudry

On November 13, 2018

In Review Topic 6

Broad City is a show known for its absurd sense of humor that plays well with its demographic of millennial viewers. But with this off-brand sense of humor, the show tends to not cover critical current events that happen around us. That changed when the fifth episode of Season 3, titled “2016,” aired in early 2016.

While Broad City is not usually known as a deep show that tackles current issues on a large scale, the creators Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer decided to chime in by creating an episode based on the 2016 election. This episode is pivotal for the show, not only for its cameo appearance of Hillary Clinton herself, but also because it signifies a tremendous shift of the tone and mood from what the show initially conveyed.

Hillary Clinton’s cameo appearance on Broad City

In “2016,” Ilana stumbles upon the HRC headquarters in New York when she picks up a job being a bike messenger. Ilana adores powerful feminist icons, and she holds Hillary Clinton to an almost deity-like stature, so she decides to quit and volunteer for the campaign. At the end of the episode, Hillary Clinton walks into the room to meet the girls, and Abbi and Ilana, for the lack of better words, lose their shit.

After this episode aired, there were speculations as to why Hillary chose this show to cameo on, but it does bring up a point that relates to Broad City’s unique demographic of young, female viewers. Maybe her cameo was to boost her exposure and likability among young voters, but maybe this appearance was a way for the creators to show their support for her campaign in the upcoming election. Besides the speculation, “2016” was a pivotal episode for the show, but it was not entirely intentional.

Many did not see Hillary losing the election, especially Abbi and Ilana, so when the show came back for a fourth season, Abbi’s and Ilana’s characters surprisingly matured from their pasts of being absurd yet optimistic about the future. This maturity and part-of-the-resistance tone is evident throughout the fourth season, especially in the second and eighth episodes. The second episode of Season 4 opens with Abbi and Ilana wearing the pink Women’s March hats as they guide women through protests to the Planned Parenthood clinic. The eighth episode has Ilana seeing a sex therapist because she cannot have sex ever since Trump became president.

Abbi and Ilana escorting women to Planned Parenthood

Ilana going to sex therapy

These examples highlight the hysteria around the 2016 election, and the results have created a polarized atmosphere where the young people are increasingly resisting and opposing the current administration. Therefore, it is key to note that Broad City has taken a step back from their comedic absurdity in order to shed light on the atmosphere of the country after the election, especially for their demographic of millennial viewers. The show as a result has become a beacon for the millennial psyche of resistance, which makes Abbi’s and Ilana’s characters much more relatable, real, and funnier than before.

Only The Real Ones Will Know

By Faisal Chaudry

On September 25, 2018

In Review Topic 2

One special episode of Broad City that represents its uniqueness in comedic writing is the fifth episode of season two, titled “Hashtag: FOMO.” The writers of this episode are the stars Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer, who co-create and write the show as well as having co-created and written the web-series of the same name.

Abbi and Ilana

Having the main stars write this episode is ideal because much of “Hashtag: FOMO” is Abbi and Ilana scrambling around the city from party to party trying to spend the best time, all while progressively getting more drunk as the night goes on. In this episode, the dialogue is structured mainly around Abbi’s and Ilana’s funny conversations and interactions with others. While there is a writer’s crew and a set script that the Broad City creators follow, the dialogue in this episode is structured in a way that reveals how unstructured the entire show really is. Abbi’s and Ilana’s conversations exude a feeling of familiarity where their perfect chemistry on screen makes the writing flow more naturally. The audience can take it as them improvising their dialogue, but Abbi and Ilana wrote this episode to truly show the natural conversations between two close friends, which makes it all the more relatable to the show’s demographic of millennial viewers. The unstructured feeling of the dialogue within this episode matters because the viewers get to see the true bond of friendship between Abbi and Ilana, which allows the concept of female friendships to be aimed at more than one specific demographic of viewers.

What real friends ask each other

While Broad City strays away from the tropes of typical comedy shows, Abbi and Ilana utilize “easter eggs” throughout the series to appeal to the observant, frequent viewers of the show. “Hashtag: FOMO” has a great example where towards the end of the episode, blackout-drunk Abbi drags Ilana to a underground speakeasy where the patrons receive Abbi warmly. Ilana is bamboozled, and Abbi assumes a persona unlike her named Val, a daring performer with a mid-Atlantic jazz voice who the audience loves. This easter egg refers back to the season two premiere where an old lady shouts “Val!” to Abbi on the subway, much to Abbi’s confusion. The audience does not know the context of Val until later, which shows how Abbi and Ilana write the show as if they are living in the moment alongside the viewers. There is not any dramatic irony between Abbi and Ilana and the viewers, but rather with Abbi, Ilana, the viewers, and the surroundings of the show. As the writers of the show, Abbi and Ilana use these easter eggs to create a more satisfying world where past actions influence future events, almost like real life. That is why “Hashtag: FOMO” is a standout episode of Broad City. The unstructured dialogue and the witty easter eggs create a hilarious episode where Abbi and Ilana find out more about each other than they ever knew.

Ilana shocked at Val

All In One Take

By Faisal Chaudry

On September 11, 2018

In Review Topic 3

After watching the first season of Broad City, the episode that stands out the most for me in terms of its visual design is the eighth episode of season 1, titled “Destination: Wedding.” Right from the beginning, the episode opens with a long sequence of Abbi, Ilana, and some friends frantically running in formal wear down a New York street, late for Abbi’s friend’s wedding in Bridgeport, CT. The opening scene continues in one uninterrupted take, and the camera frames Abbi’s and Ilana’s exhausted faces with the skyscrapers of the city. Broad City usually employs long scenes in each episode because the scene flows more naturally, so the opening scene naturally sets the storyline, and we are drawn in with curiosity to see if the group will reach their destination. It is like we as the viewers are running alongside Abbi and Ilana, making the situation more personal even if we are not physically with them.

Opening scene of “Destination: Wedding”

Another example of these natural long takes occurs within the same episode when Abbi and Ilana board a sketchy bus to Bridgeport. Although Abbi is initially relieved to be on the bus, her relief fades as she observes sick passengers, live animals on the loose, and a tank of frozen fish. The camera takes the place of Abbi’s eyes as the viewer sees the monstrosities on the bus. This perspective camera movement is used in this episode because it elevates the comedy of Abbi’s disbelief without the necessity for dialogue. Instead of hearing Abbi bicker, we as viewers can see what she sees, and subsequently understand her disgust for being on the bus. Therefore, the inclusion of long takes in Broad City, especially in episode 8, helps to make a more natural, flowing, and comfortable scene where the viewers can easily recognize the humor and emotions of Abbi’s and Ilana’s characters.

While Broad City utilizes long, uninterrupted scenes to elevate its humor, the show also uses light to solidify the realistic nature of their situation. In episode 8, the opening scene and the bus scene are normally lit with daylight, implying a passage of time as well as a tone of familiarity with the situation. Abbi and Ilana are late to a friend’s wedding, a very relatable situation to most young people. Also, the color scheme of the show does not pop with certain colors to signify a certain mood. The colors of each scene are relatively neutral, even Abbi’s and Ilana’s dresses in episode 8, because the show is trying to make the lives of these women mimic reality, along with added humor and craziness.

Overall, Broad City has a visual design that plays into the understated yet wacky comedic situations of its two protagonists, Abbi Abrams and Ilana Wexler. Whether they are late for a wedding or having a seriously improvised conversation, the cinematography and direction of each scene exude the natural, realistic atmosphere of these two women’s lives.

Broad City title card

Not Too Broad, Not Too Specific

By Faisal Chaudry

On September 4, 2018

In Intro Post

Hey, everyone! My name is Faisal Chaudry, and I am a Civil Engineering student from Marietta, Georgia. I anticipate graduating with the class of 2022, but you never know what might come up along the way.

I have taken advanced English courses in high school, like AP Language and AP Literature. ENGL 1102 is the only English course that I will be taking at university, and frankly, I am quite relieved. Although I do relatively well in English classes, I always find them to be my least favorite course. I can read and write well, but having required books to read is so demotivating for me. Also, writing essays has always been a constant annoyance of mine, especially timed writings.

looking at you, AP Lit teacher

Despite my general frustration with English, I am excited for ENGL 1102. Rather than writing long, worthless essays and reading extensive novels, I get to watch TV shows for homework!

when your hw is to binge s1 of The Good Place

I enjoy using visual and electronic communication because I express myself more through showing others how I feel or what I believe rather than just telling or writing about it. I struggle the most with oral communication because I am not a sociable person, so speaking confidently is not my strong suit. However, I hope to build my oral skills so that I can interact with my peers throughout this semester.

I am aware of the role television has in perpetuating feminism in the mainstream. I have three sisters who are TV fanatics, so I tend to know a great deal about female-driven TV shows and storylines because they will unsolicitedly tell me everything about what is happening. Therefore, I am somewhat familiar with shows like Jane the Virgin, The Bold Type, and New Girl (not saying I ever watched them).

As for me, I consider myself an aficionado of television. I do not frequently start new shows all the time, but when I do, I will binge it. No question about it. Shameless is one of my top shows right now, and I binged all eight seasons within a month. I also enjoy BBC miniseries, like Sherlock, Luther, and Peaky Blinders, because they have captivating characters and suspenseful story arcs that keep me hooked.

me when Season 9 of Shameless premieres on Sunday

I am choosing to review Broad City for these blog posts because it is a show that I would never typically watch. It seems like the quintessential millennial comedy- a dynamic duo of female twenty-somethings in New York City who get into wacky yet hilarious situations, usually to meet new people or get more money. I have heard countless rave reviews about this show, and I know that it has a uniquely quirky sense of humor that I believe is a refreshing step away from the conventional sitcom. I cannot wait to see what this series has in store for my late-night TV bingeing.

Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer, creators of Broad City

English 1102: Television and Feminism

Dr. Casey Alane Wilson • Georgia Institute of Technology

Tag: female writers

Super Authors

Part Of The Resistance: How Broad City Tackles The Current Political Climate

Only The Real Ones Will Know

All In One Take

Not Too Broad, Not Too Specific

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