free choice – English 1102: Television and Feminism

Tag: free choice

Final thoughts, huh?

There is so much wrong with Grey’s Anatomy, but it works. There are so many incidents of events where, in real life, the interns or doctors could have lost their medical license or even been arrested. Patients are given MRIs with metal inside them and wake up right after surgery. Seattle Grace hospital deals with bombs in patients, gunshot wounds, deadly motorcycle races, train crashes, and so much more. Wow, Seattle must be really eventful!

This aside, I had to look for the bad in the show by reading several “15 Facts About” articles. When I watched the show, my only annoyances were small unrealistic hospital details that longtime patients would know. I was so prepared to complain until I realized that this unrealistic yet realistic world works.

At it’s core, Grey’s Anatomy is a medical drama, not a documentary. The truth is stretched in favor of conflicts between doctors and nurses, relationship drama, and friend squabbles. The focus of the show is centered on this as well as the medical aspect. Without some of the unrealistic elements in the show, it would be boring. For example, when Meredith Grey punctures a heart during surgery and her mistake is found out, she would have realistically been punished much more severely than she was. However, a clever statement from Dr. Burke, who had left a towel in a patient years ago, saved her. It’s not what would really happen, but his clever vouch for Meredith interests the viewers and provides an unexpected resolution to the episode’s conflict. Plus, how fun would it be if the show lost it’s title character in Season 1?

Image result for grey's anatomy season 1 episode 5

RIP Meredith Grey. Almost.

In the end, unless people are in the medical field or experienced patients, little unrealistic things can be easily thrown away for the drama. Who cares if the doctor is present during an MRI if said doctor is considering important relationship decisions? These relationship issues will most likely be an important plot point, not a slightly unrealistic scan.

What Fresh Off the Boat Teaches Us

By Charlotte Harris

On November 13, 2018

In Review Topic 6

As I’ve independently watched and analyzed Fresh Off the Boat, I have learned a lot from this show. No matter how lighthearted the jokes may be, the show still offers a glimpse into the struggles of a child of foreign-born parents as he grows up feeling out of place. So, for this last post, I’ll be looking at what makes this show successful according to some of its top names.

To begin, it’s worth mentioning that Fresh Off the Boat is loosely based on the childhood of the REAL-LIFE Eddie Huang. Yep, that’s right. He’s real, and he’s a TV chef! Cool, huh? As the show was first being developed, his input was taken into very close consideration because, after all, the show is all about him.

One main reason that allowed Fresh Off the Boat to give a different kind of insight into the lives of immigrants is summarized by Nahnatchka Khan, the showrunner.

“It’s told from the inside out, meaning the Huangs are always the ones who are telling the story, not the ones being looked at in a fish bowl and pointed at,” she says. This element stands out in several aspects of the show. The family is never portrayed in a way in which they look foolish. Sure, there are some humorous moments in which the cultural differences come to light (see Jessica and the country club, S1E7), but these are always laid-back, and as confirmed by Khan, this type of joke was intentional.

Another main reason that Fresh Off the Boat has been successful and widely praised is its lack of stereotyping. Yes, Jessica did homeschool her kids with her own version of “Chinese Learning Center,” but this was not presented in a demeaning way. Rather, Eddie presented this whole ordeal (in his eyes) as something Chinese parents do. It was neither harmful nor degrading; in fact, it was presented as beneficial to kids’ roundedness. Constance Wu, who played Jessica, speaks to this aspect in an interview. She says, “Stereotypes are only dangerous when they are used as the butt of the joke, and our writers have taken great care to never write a single joke that is based upon a stereotype.” As a Taiwanese American and a lead actress in the show, her praise of this writing technique speaks volumes.

In a world in which many are quick to judge and stereotype others simply based on appearance, Fresh Off the Boat’s depth in legitimizing Chinese-American culture is extremely refreshing. Here’s hoping this is a trend that sticks.

Sources: http://time.com/3696111/fresh-off-the-boat-constance-wu/

https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/nov/18/how-fresh-off-the-boat-reshaped-sitcom-convention

Jessica said what we were all thinking when we showed up at Tech. Happy almost-end-of-the-semester, everyone!

Friends: To Change Them or not to Change Them?

By James Fan

On November 13, 2018

In Review Topic 6

Over all of my past blog posts, I’ve mentioned the way in which a given element of New Girl, whether it be cinematography, writing, or thematic explorations, change the way in which the main characters of the show are developed. For this last post, I’d like to dive deeper into how Jess, the focus of the show, is portrayed and how her relationship with the other characters is vital in bridging the gap between the absurd hi-jinks in which they find themselves and the grounded, relatable reality of their friendships.

In the episode “Control” (S1E16), Jess compromises the very structure of the friends’ dynamics when she attempts to, and successfully convinces, Schmidt to stop his borderline germaphobe habits just so he stops nagging her over the cleanliness of the loft. However, by bringing Schmidt’s personality into question, Jess throw both the apartment itself and her friend group into disarray, and she has to spend the rest of the episode undoing her mistake.

Schmidt trades in his business casuals for a drug rug. What has Jess done…

Beyond just creating an entertaining plot, this episode demonstrates the significance each characters’ personality has on the functionality of the show. By directly questioning a core trait of Schmidt’s personality, “Control” acts as a nod to the way in which writers craft a character to fill a particular niche in the show: though pretentious and arrogant, Schmidt’s cleanliness and housekeeping rules balance out the much looser habits and general dispositions of Winston and Nick while also grounding the optimism and spontaneity of Jess. The show works because each character fills a particular archetype, and the interaction between these archetypes contributes to the appeal of the show. Thus, when Jess tries to change the personality of her friend, she is also affecting the very fabric of her friend group and the fundamental appeal each character has to the show’s viewers.

While there are many facets to New Girl that can be analyzed to explain how the show functions, it is ultimately the relationships between the unique and carefully planned characters which lends a special charm to the series.

Netflix. “New Girl S1:E16 ‘Control’.” Online Video Clip. Netflix. Netflix, 2018. Web.

13 Nov. 2018.

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.

Into the Darkness

By Yasamin Khorashahi

On November 13, 2018

In Review Topic 6

I’ve talked about both writing and cinematography in Search Party before, but I want to take a moment to explore how those two concepts portray character development in the show, particularly Dory’s character. Our first interaction with Dory is silly and bright. She’s standing on a street corner in New York, contemplating the missing person poster tacked to the nearby telephone pole: Chantal Witherbottom. Obviously there’s something about her that Dory is interested in, since she gets distracted enough to step in dog poop as she is contemplating the poster. That scene is funny, too; an upset pedestrian calls Dory out for it, complaining that she’ll make the “whole MTA smell like shit” if she wears them on the train. This moment is jarring yet humorous, and it anchors the viewer back into reality.

The poor girl has no idea what she’s in for.

Here’s the thing about that scene, though: it’s sinister. We don’t know who Chantal is, except for the short clip of people yelling out her name in the woods at the very beginning of the series. We don’t understand that Chantal, beautiful-crazy-stupid-Chantal, is going to ruin Dory’s life. We don’t know yet that Dory is going to meet Keith, kill Keith, and ultimately have to pay the price for his death. We’re safe, unassuming, just like the way the opening scene plays out. The disheveled way Dory is dressed, the safety in broad daylight, the humorous remark of the pedestrian all lead us to believe that everything is going to be okay.

Spoiler alert: everything is Not Okay And Very Bad. The final scene of the show is in complete juxtaposition to the opener. Dory’s all dolled up: red cocktail dress, sleek and professional hair, powerful red lip. She’s grown up, matured, seen some real messed up stuff. The thing is, though, she’s still unassuming. She doesn’t expect what is about to hit her. There’s irony in the scene. It’s supposed to be triumphant, she’s supposed to be up on stage with a winning political candidate, part of a new team that actually got it right for once. What goes around comes around though, and upon her arrest, Dory is instantly transformed. She’s vulnerable, defeated, restrained. The lighting of the scene is ominous. Even the music is scary. It sets up Dory for the next season: what will happen? She’s lost all her friends, so how is she going to get out of it this time? I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

Look at how dark the last time we see Dory is compared to the first

Finding Power in Powerlessness

By Jadah Peters

On September 24, 2018

In Review Topic 6

In a feminist show like The Bold Type, women empowerment is obviously a focal point. Women are the critical thinkers that make impactful choices. Women are the people in positions of power. Even though the male executive board may be mentioned as being over Jacqueline in ranking, they are not given a face, a personality, or any sort of defining quality at all. Women are what matter. However, only showing women in power is not enough to empower women; it’s not realistic. Even in instances in the show where a female character felt powerless like Sutton after thinking she lost the fashion assistant job, or Jane when she had no choice on the subject matter of her articles, or Kat when Adena chose to try reconcile things with her girlfriend, they were not truly powerless. The show validates this point completely nullifying these moments of weakness with near-perfect solutions to all these issues (Sutton gets the assistant job. Kat and Adena become serious. Jane gets a new job with more freedom). It’s not realistic. Episode 10, finally, truly, embraces the essence of powerlessness. Jane’s final piece for Scarlet is about a rape survivor, Mia, who never got justice within the court system, so as peaceful protest and living art, she stands in public in New York City holding a weighted scale in each hand symbolizing lady justice. The attention on Mia’s cause had severely died down, so to generate support again Kat organizes a livestream event. Digitally plenty of people breathe words of encouragement and support, but Mia is alone. Jacqueline points out how the virtual support means nothing which motivates the girls to leave Scarlet’s big bash to support Mia. Many things happened to the girls that week, that day, but the biggest moment was right then when they stepped up, locked hands, and stood together. Jacqueline sees the girls on the livestream and makes the decision to join them. She takes the weights signifying that she too is a rape survivor.

Jacqueline carrying the weights is my favorite scene out of the entire season. This is what being powerful really looks like.

This moment is so crucial to the integrity of the show. Jacqueline, arguably the most powerful woman in the entire show, had experienced being completely, utterly powerless. The woman who was always sharp in tongue and dress, the woman with absolute confidence, the woman who called the shots, was once completely, utterly powerless. It is equally important to see women powerless as it is to see them powerful because without acknowledging this state of utter powerlessness that countless women find themselves in, it would be completely impossible to build a bridge from that place to a place of liberation. Painting a picture of powerful women is important because it exemplifies what we are working towards, but failing to acknowledge what we’re running away from gives the problem the upper hand, driving us deeper into powerlessness. Jacqueline expressed how she could never go back to normal after that tragedy; she had to adjust and find a new normal. That’s realistic. That’s power.

English 1102: Television and Feminism

Dr. Casey Alane Wilson • Georgia Institute of Technology

Tag: free choice

Why the Unrealistic Everything in Grey’s Anatomy Works

What Fresh Off the Boat Teaches Us

Friends: To Change Them or not to Change Them?

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

Into the Darkness

Finding Power in Powerlessness

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