September 2018 – Page 3 – English 1102: Television and Feminism

The idea of family is one that has been present throughout every episode of Sense8. How could it not, when each character is linked by a bond stronger than that of any sibling or spouse? This is a theme that is often explored by the show’s writers, and comes to the center of the show’s attention in season 2 episode 9, “What Family Actually Means”.

The episode was written and directed by Lana Wachowski, along with her sister, Lilly Wachowski- the duo behind The Matrix, Cloud Atlas and numerous other sci-fi movies and tv shows. In “What Family Actually Means”, the Wachowskis explore the idea of family, and, as the title may suggest, what it really means for people to call each other family. Almost every scene in the episode, save maybe for Wolfgang’s carryover from the bruhaha of the last episode, ties directly into the idea of family. From the beginning of the episode, we see Nomi giving a powerful speech in which she describes how her sister was there for her when she needed her the most, despite having done everything that she could to push her away. This, Nomi tells an unfriendly audience, is what family really means: people who are there for you and love you unconditionally.

As the episode goes on, we see more definitions of what family is, and what it is not. We see Sun’s disgust at a poster of her brother beneath the words “Family is our business”. He had let Sun take the fall or his embezzlement, thus putting himself and the family company over the well-being of his own sister, deftly defying the notion that families look after one another. Will and Riley also uncover additional familial transgressions, as they find out that Angelica sold out members of the other cluster that she birthed to Mr. Whispers to lobotomize. The horror of this is solidified with the apparent suicide of the doctor who had facilitated it over what she had done. Turning back to positive examples of family, the audience is shown how Dani, practically family to Lito, drags him out of his depression and gets him an interview with a Hollywood producer for a film that she thinks will be perfect for Lito. She stayed up all night reading hundreds of scripts because she was dedicated to Lito and determined to get him back on his feet. We witness Nomi’s family, her girlfriend, her sister, and her father all come together to defend her from the FBI agent bursting into her sister’s wedding. For the first time, Nomi’s father stands up for her and refers to her as his daughter. This leads us to another notion about family, that despite internal issues, you always stick together in the face of outsider attacks.

This scene also introduces another aspect of the show’s writing, the feminist devotion to portraying many types of people and their daily realities. In the wedding scene Nomi’s girlfriend calls out the FBI agent for interrupting the wedding just to “Satisfy his male ego”. Additionally, we constantly see the tension between Nomi and her family over the issue of her being transgender. Lito’s career is struggling because he is a gay actor who wants to play masculine roles. We see Kala struggle with gender norms and the fact that a brilliant friend of hers had given up science to become a homemaker. These are all very real issues that people face because of who they are and the show does not hesitate to depict them.

Finally, the reality of grief and loss is depicted as Will loses his father and we see all of the moments that they had shared together and realize that families do not last forever.

Will cannot be there in person for his father’s last moments.

Prison Life and….. Lighting?

By Francis Fataki

Since its inception, Orange is the New Black has been one of the most popular shows on Netflix among subscribers. Although a great deal of the show’s acclaim can be attributed to its writing, the visuals incorporated in the show help foster an element of realism. In fact, the second episode of the first season, Tit Punch, is an excellent demonstration of how well the series’ plot is evoked through its cinematography.

In the beginning of the episode, the lighting creates a grayish color scheme while the camera focuses on two different scenes in medium length shots. This particular segment of the show depicts Red, a well-respected cook in the jail, in a flashback with her husband who encourages her to socialize with some boisterous guests in their shop. The use of shots in this manner allows viewers to observe Red’s customers from her perspective and predict her subsequent actions. In addition to that, the segment’s grayish color arrangement essentially conveys Red’s emotions as she works up the courage to befriend her clienteles. As Red ventures towards them, her facial expressions and body language indicate how uncomfortable and uneasy she is with placing herself in that predicament. The consistency of the color pattern and sentiments in this clip assist in forming a clearer message for the audience.

A great example of how well the lighting establishes the mood would have to be the scene in which Piper visits her counselor. During the visitation Piper requests to be moved to a different prison because of the kitchen staff’s refusal to feed her. The only lighting in the room they are situated in comes from the counselor’s lamp, which is focused on the report he drafts for Piper’s complaints. Since the lamp serves as the only source of light in the room, all of the other areas appear to be either dimly lit or not lit at all. This contrast gives viewers the impression that Piper’s counselor is the only individual who can help resolve her dilemma. In other words, the lighting in this scene was symbolic of Piper’s sole glimmer of hope.

Piper’s meeting with her counselor

Another instance in which lighting asserts the mood occurs when Piper is seen sobbing over her present circumstances. In this segment, the entire room appears to be illuminated; however, Piper arranges herself in such a way that causes her to block the path of the light source. As a result of this, Piper’s shadow comes into view on the wall behind her. The presence of her shadow really showcases how she allows her sentiments to overcome her and essentially detach her from her surroundings.

All in all, the second episode of the first season makes extensive use of lighting and cinematography to captivate viewers. Although these characteristics are integrated into every episode of the series, the scenes in Tit Punch frequently rely on these visual elements to distinguish phenomena and alternatives from one another. The visual design of the show helps define a level of intimacy between the characters and viewers.

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt’s Unbreakable Characters

By Hyunjin Kim

The main characters of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

In terms of gender representation, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt may be one of the most diverse that I’ve seen. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt follows mostly female characters and has feminist undertones – no doubt an effect of having Tina Fey as one of the main writers. Interestingly, the main characters are mostly women comprised of Kimmy, Jacqueline, and Lillian. The only exception is Titus. But even he defies traditional main male character representation with his character being a flamboyant, gay man with traditionally feminine interests.
The story focuses on Kimmy surviving in New York. She makes her own decisions and fuels her own success. Although she makes fumbles here and there because of her naivety, she makes responsible and positive choices that benefit the people surrounding her. Even with her background with the bunker, she never lets her past experiences rule and control her own life, representing a clean break from her captor.
In contrast, Jacqueline’s husband has yet to make an appearance on the show. Yet his decisions appear to have a heavy impact on Jacqueline’s state of being. For example, in the second episode, Jacqueline’s husband is unable to make his son’s party, leaving Jacqueline in distress. The heavy hand he has suggests a large amount of control over Jacqueline’s happiness. The show’s juxtaposition of these two characters highlights Jacqueline’s dependence on her husband. In the future episodes, it would be amazing to see Jacqueline break off from her strong dependence and realize her full potential.
One interesting aspect of the TV show is Jacqueline, a privileged, upper-class woman focused on her socioeconomic status. The show reveals that she actually holds roots in the Native American Lakota Tribe. With Native Americans being one of the most underrepresented groups on television, the show makes an interesting choice by casting Jane Krakowski, a white woman, as a Native American. While this may be a controversial choice, the show makes humorous and purposeful use of the concept to make social statements. For example, Jacqueline thinks that being white and blonde while using her sexuality will elevate her social and economic status (and surprise – it does).

The Thinking Behind the Shots of Grey’s Anatomy

By Shahar Ben-Dor

In Review Topic 3

Grey’s Anatomy has a lot of cinematographic elements that I think are important to be mentioned. Why? Well Grey’s Anatomy makes use of so many different elements with each having a purpose and relevance to the show that when pointed out, make it much more fun to watch the show. Let’s start with the shots.

Each shot in the TV show is carefully planned. Some shots show a wide view of the scene while some shots zoom in to the action. During very intense parts of episodes, the shots are very short to simulate action and a constant shift of focus. Contrary, if the characters are having long discussions, shots are long and steady to give the audience the feeling of being part of the conversation. The length of each shot invokes a certain feeling in the audience along with background music, dialogue, and the position of the shot.

The lighting is also a key element that’s hard not to notice. The entire show seems to be a bit saturated, especially in shots where there is more blood present or more sadness. Most bright shots in the episodes come at the end where Meredith narrates some lesson that she’s learned as an intern. This is to signify a happy ending or “a rainbow within the rain”. These endings normally also show the sun in some way or another to bring a bit of happiness and sunshine into the episode and the show. The dialogue of the characters fades out, grey’s analogue starts, the music fades in, and the episode ends.

The episode of this blog post’s concern is the 2nd episode in season 1. Most lighting effects/shot styles that are present in this episode also play a role in the majority of the other episodes of the season. These tricks are used by the show’s production team to allow for a stronger connection between the audience, the characters, and the show.

Saturated colors in season 1 episode 2 of Grey’s Anatomy

Gotta Love Thanksgiving!

By Sara Nill

In Review Topic 4

Season 2, Episode 9 of Grey’s Anatomy is all about Thanksgiving. It’s pretty simple. This is a day where families typically get together, cook dinner, and eat. However, in Grey’s Anatomy, nothing is ever simple, and this episode reflects that by showing the complex, emotional, and trying day that the many surgeons, residents, and interns face.

Everyone has their own reasons to skip out on dinner. Meredith avoids the dinner because she believes her misery would drag everyone down. Alex didn’t pass his medical exams, and he doesn’t want to tell Izzie. Christina just wants to scrub in or get drunk. Meanwhile, Izzie is upset that she may have to celebrate a day she cherishes so much alone. Thanksgiving is just another complicated day in these surgical interns’ lives.

Delicious, delicious dinner.

This episode supports the theme by showing everyone’s journeys throughout the day. Whether it’s performing surgery on a turkey, pretending “The Nazi” is giving them orders, or talking about cars, everyone spends the day differently. They all face their own struggles too. A day that’s supposed to be for them to all be together like a family ends up being just as complicated as every day in their lives. But, in the end, most of them meet up for Thanksgiving anyways and spend the rest of the night together. The next day, everything returns to its usual drama-filled chaos.

In this show, it seems like there isn’t a single day without drama, deaths, tension, and complications. This episode is no different. It’s just as messy as the rest. Even though this is a surgical drama with highly exaggerated conflicts, it reflects the fact that everyday life can be messy, complicated, and it doesn’t always go right. Using examples from the show, someone could end up at the hospital, have a miserable day, go to the bar instead of going to dinner, etc. These kinds of things happen.

Gender, Relationships, Stereotypes: Being Single and Sufficient

By Zoe Maisel

New Girl does a great job of representing gender equally. In the episode, “Single and Sufficient” the concept of gender can be explored in many ways. This episode is about the “couple’s retreat” that many characters attend, regardless of their relationship status. I believe this would have been a great episode to introduce characters that were homosexual or of genders other than male or female, but the writers of New Girl still did a great job of breaking the stereotypes between the two.

Image result for new girl gif single and sufficient

Both genders react similarly to being single in this epsiode

Equality in Agency: This episode of New Girl gives equal amounts of power to both genders. Robbie, a male, is the leader of his own social group. Jess supports his leadership and is more of a “supporting woman” in terms of the group dynamics. She sends Robbie to do the hard work in separating members who are flirting. However, this male dominant relationship is contrasted by Cece and Schmidt’s decisions throughout the show. Schmidt is often dramatic and angry and Cece is the one thinking logically, making decisions, and calming him down. This is the opposite of the “dramatic female” stereotype. Though the gender spread of this episode is 6 males and 4 females, 3 of the females are strong and important in this episode, as well as 3 males. So the true spread is about even.

Image result for new girl gif schmidt sassy

Classic Schmidt, sassy as ever

Breaking Gender Stereotypes: New Girl’s characterization often defies normal gender stereotypes, especially in the character Schmidt. He is very dramatic and feminine. In this episode, Schmidt obsesses over Nick’s romance novel, talks about the advantages of glamping and how he will never use a sleeping bag, and goes to the spa. These are all stereotypical female activities, and it is good of New Girl to show that straight males can enjoy these activities as well. In this episode, Winston also breaks a gender norm by telling he wants to “be the mermaid” in their activities, even though mermaids are often women.

Race and Gender: There is many interracial couples within the show and not the slightest bit of stigma associated with it. Their race also does not determine their level or femininity.

Gender and Love: There is a lot of talk about relationships in this episode because of the involvement of the group “single and sufficient.” Jess is a part of this group, but the she clearly does not enjoy being single as she struggles to do many couples activities, such as playing badminton, alone. However, there is not a strong correlation between gender and desperation within the group, as all members seem desperate. The stereotype is that women are always looking for love, but Jess tries to defy this stereotype by being “single and sufficient.” In the end, however, the group begins to find love interests, with equal representation in gender, and including Jess and Robbie.

The Quick Cuts and Cinematography Choices in Grey’s Anatomy

By Caroline Turner

In Review Topic 3

The cinematography and filming style across the first season of Grey’s anatomy is uniform. In the third episode, particularly, the same themes are evident. Since there are so many plot lines occurring throughout Greys, there are many, many quick scene cuts. Everything is shot in the hospital and makes use of a very blue and gray kind of color scheme. Additionally, foreground shots create a more relationship-oriented feel.

This episode takes place during a dangerous bike race that sends many people into the hospital. The interns take the chance to argue with one another over who will be able to deal with the nastiest injuries. Because of this particular plot line, shots are quick and cut in and out of each other. Therefore, the opening sequence being a long shot of Meredith in her house (not the hospital) makes it all the more impactful. This contributes to the differentiation between Meredith’s life as a surgical intern and her personal life, particularly her relationship with Derek.

After the first scene in Meredith’s house, Grey’s transitions to the typical quick sequences in the hospital. As the interns hurry to deal with the excess of patients, the cinematography style tends to also hurry through the different shots. A consistent thread throughout these quick scenes is the color scheme.

All the interns wear blue scrubs. The intendings and surgeons also wear different shades of blue. The hospital walls are a dusky blue shade of white/gray. The stark whites definitely fit into the realm of a hospital. Blue is also thought to be a calming color. It helps to create a consistency of cool colors and continuity throughout the changing scenes.

All the characters wear shades of blue.

Also, the director makes use of foreground shots all throughout this episode, along with the others. Such as, when Izzie and Cristina are discussing how to deal with a brain-dead patient, as Izzie talks to Cristina, the side of Izzie’s face is close to the camera and blurred out. This creates an atmosphere of connections and relationships in such a stark environment. The cinematography techniques in this episode are consistent throughout, except for the opening with long shots in Meredith’s home.

Crazy Ex Girlfriend’s Visual Design

By Alexandra Jungreis

In Uncategorized

In Crazy Ex Girlfriend, dark subject matter is often juxtaposed with a cheery tone (example: the cartoon sun in the intro that joyfully sings “She’s so broken inside”). The general color scheme of Crazy Ex Girlfriend provides the same kind of optimistic contrast to Rebecca’s serious mental health issues. Often, light, bright colors dominate the scene. From the setting of the scene (think the bright green walls of the bar that Greg works at, or Rebecca’s white and airy house) to the clothing the characters wear (like Rebecca and Paula’s work outfits), bright colors can be found everywhere.

In addition to providing a cheerful visual tone, color is also used symbolically, especially in the outfits worn by the women of the show. For example, in Episode 6 My First Thanksgiving With Josh!, Rebecca and Valencia display their clashing personalities and methods through the clothing they wear. While Rebecca wears light blue throughout the episode, symbolizing her thoughtfulness and how she strategizes winning over Josh’s parents in order to win over Josh, Valencia wears a dark red dress that connotes her vibrant sexuality and how she uses sex to win Josh over after a fight. In the same episode, Josh’s mother Mrs. Chan wears a light pink sweater which corresponds perfectly to her nurturing personality.

In all honestly, the direction is very standard for a TV show. Quick cuts are used during conversations to display a person’s face as they speak; long shots are usually reserved for a character’s pensive expression as they mull something over or have a realization. Where the show really takes off directorially is during the musical numbers, which are shot in a variety of ways. Earlier in the show, when Greg sings “Settle For Me,” the sequence is shot in the style of ‘3os musicals, a la Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire, with uninterrupted shots of them dancing in black and white. In Episode 6, which features a lovely number named “I Give Good Parent,” however, the show goes a more MTV route, with shots where the camera rotates around a still figure, and shadows are used to convey power and sensuality. The musical number are where the true talent (as well as often the true feelings of the characters) of the show’s cinematography comes out.

Another stunning example of Crazy Ex Girfriend’s directorial versatility

Only The Real Ones Will Know

By Faisal Chaudry

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

How to Write Suspense if You’re Actually a Director

By Yasamin Khorashahi

I want to take a moment to explore suspense as a genre. Alfred Hitchcock, arguably one of the greatest directors of the twentieth century, was a pioneer in the genre and laid much of the groundwork for how suspense is portrayed in a modern context. Hitchcock established a framework for creating suspense. Within that framework he juxtaposes two important points: an informed surprise (dramatic irony) and a twist (an actual surprise). Let us apply these two techniques to explore the writing on S1E6 of my resident review topic, Search Party.

Season 1, episode 6 (The Secret of the Sinister Ceremony) of Search Party was actually written by the show’s creator and show runner, Sarah Violet Bliss, and is one of the few episode of the show she doesn’t direct. Bliss has also written several other episodes of the show, as well as an episode of the Wet Hot American Summer revival, the movie Fort Tilden, and a handful of short films. This episode is an interesting exploration of how she writes suspense, and how it compares to her directing.

Dialogue in the episode is written mostly as conversations between two characters. Through this, Bliss employs Hitchcock’s first tactic beautifully. No one character is given full context about what is going on. Dory and her friends have no idea what this cult-esque dinner party riddled with too many pregnant women is about. No one at Bellow & Hare bothers to tell them exactly what “the Moment” is, so we assume the obvious: murder (particularly Chantal’s). We’ve got the perfect bomb under the table situation until – boom! – Dory accidentally walks in on a live birth.

The Secret of the Sinister Ceremony strays from the forged path of the show and does an excellent job tying up several loose ends. Take, for example, the opening scene of the episode where Dory is making a “crazy wall” in her apartment. At the end of the episode, the wall becomes the major plot point, as we discover the sinister note left for Dory and company in the middle of it: STOP LOOKING FOR CHANTAL. Here Bliss leaves us with the classic cliffhanger ending, encouraging the viewer to dive headfirst into the next episode. Nevertheless, she manages to tie in groundwork established int he first minute of the show. It’s not like Dory makes that crazy wall and it’s never brought up ever again.

Pretend this is Alia Shawkat and not Charlie Day

I think the most compelling thing about this episode is that it’s written how the show is directed, for the most part. Violet Bliss is directing a thriller, and Search Party is her vessel. The direction of this film, while it adds to the general suspenseful mood as one watches, is second to the way that key details are hidden throughout dialogue and character interaction. Every twist and turn has us at the edge of our seats, but we could probably see them coming if we paid more attention to the writing.

Works Cited:

Truffaut, François, and Alfred Hitchcock. Hitchcock. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1967. Print.

Gender in a Women’s Prison

By Adhav Arulanandan

When I first read this assignment, I was wondering how I would be able to write a post about gender representation in Orange is the New Black, a show about a women’s prison where the vast majority of characters are women. And then I re-watched Season 1 Episode 3, which by itself deals with gender enough for me to write multiple posts about it (only doing this one though).

Within the nearly all female cast of characters in the show, both inside and outside of prison, there is a great amount of diversity, not just demographically but also in terms of personality and background. No two female characters in the show so far, who have been fleshed out to any extent, share the same blueprint. The same can’t be said of the few significant male characters, who are either perverted or apathetic prison guards (with the notable exception of Bennett), or boring like Larry (at least I think that’s his name, I don’t know. He’s boring).

“Lesbian request denied.”

The title of this episode is “Lesbian Request Denied,” which lets you know pretty clearly that it is going to deal with sexual orientation. LGBT representation and issues are heavily shown throughout the first three episodes, with Piper having been in a relationship with Alex before the events of the show, the presence of many lesbian inmates, a handful of lesbian sex scenes, and homophobic attitudes coming from multiple characters. In this specific episode, Piper is pursued/stalked by “Crazy Eyes” Suzanne, and Piper turns her down, but not before Crazy Eyes turns in a request for them to be moved in together, which the apparently homophobic Officer Healy strikes down with the line, “lesbian request denied.”

Pre-transition Sophia, a.k.a Marcus, was played by Laverne Cox’s identical twin brother.

But as is the case with many episodes of Orange is the New Black, the focus of this episode isn’t Piper, but the show’s transgender character, Sophia, and her struggles. The arc follows Sophia’s dose of estrogen being reduced and then canceled altogether, leading to her asking her wife to smuggle some in, a request which causes tension between them. As in the first episode, flashbacks help to establish the story of Sophia’s transition and the reason she is in prison. Sophia’s son, Michael, does not cope well with his father making the transition, and reports her to the police committing credit card fraud, which she did to pay for the surgery. Her wife remains supportive through the transition, but not without some resistance to the idea of her getting sexual reassignment surgery. When Sophia asks her to smuggle in estrogen, she bristles at the idea and tells Sophia to “man up.” She also mentions that her decision to support Sophia has led to her becoming distant from her family, which shows their transphobic attitudes, something Sophia will deal with throughout the show.

Sense8 Doesn’t have very much writing for me to analyze, but I’ll do my best

By Schuler Kleinfelter

According to the Sense8 Wikia Episode 3 of Sense8, “Smart Money is On the Skinny Bitch”, like all the episodes in season 1, was written by The Wachowskis & J. Michael Straczynski. J. Michael Straczynski is known for movies Babylon 5 and World War Z. Lana and Lilly Wachowski also wrote The Matrix and its sequels, as well as Bound. They wrote these movies as The Wachowski Brothers, but they are both trans women and now write simply as The Wachowksis. Nomi, one of the 8, is a trans woman, and the Wachowskis likely use their personal experiences to make Nomi a realistic character.

Sense8 stands out to me as having very minimal verbal communication. There is no voice-over or narration, and many scenes feature either no spoken words or only a couple of single lines spoken without responses. For example, the opening scene of this episode features two scared and as-of-yet-unidentified children watching around a corner as a mysterious man cuts open a woman’s skull with a surgical saw. The only dialogue is the girl whispering “Don’t look at him…”

A young girl whispers in the opening scene

One of the 8, in contrast, has strikingly more dialogue than the others in this episode. Lito, a famous actor has three separate scenes, all of which are focused on his dialogue with three other side characters. In these scenes, however, more emphasis is placed on what is left unsaid. Lito trips over his own words when trying to express his emotions to a woman in the first scene, and eventually his boyfriend takes pity on one/both of them and explains what Lito was unable to say. In the next scene the woman explains that Joaquin, who she is hiding from, “had words” with someone, and that her father is in the “import/export” business, once again leaving the real message unsaid.

Despite the lack of dialogue, there is rarely silence in Sense8. Whether it’s the whirring of sawing through bone, the roar of a crowd at an underground fight club, or a piano solo one of the 8 is remembering her father perform — the lack of dialogue leaves the audio track open for other forms of communication about setting and mood.

Additionally, a falling low-note and fading of the audio is often used to indicate that a character (or in this show, a pair of characters sharing senses) is entering bullet-time, a cinematic element originally popularized by The Wachowskis in The Matrix in which heightened perception is represented by other characters and setting elements moving in slow-motion while the camera pans at normal speed. This visual effect is able to be smoothly incorporated into Sense8 due to a lack of dialogue, which would normally have to be paused for a bullet time shot.

Getting Off the Boat Quickly

By Grace Harrison

This episode is written by Nahnatchka Khan. They have also written American Dad! And Don’t Trust the B—— in Apartment 23. While I have not seen American Dad!, Don’t Trust the B—- in Apartment 23 seems to use similar quick dialogue and cutbacks to explain situations.

Since the show is following a family in a sitcom format, most of the dialogue in the show is conversation.
There are callbacks to previous events, such as when Eddie’s grades were delivered and Eddie got caught hiding them by his mother. These callbacks provide context for the scenes in the show.

Report Card Time!

One callback also utilizes voiceover by adult Eddie. This callback is when he is describing what the Chinese Learning Center (CLC) is because the principle is confused when the mother asks about it. These voiceovers by adult Eddie are not frequent in the show, but they are a reminder that the show is set in another time period and is being told by Eddie from the present. The voiceover also is used to explain things people might not otherwise understand, either culturally or about their own family dynamic. For a show revolving around the theme of being a diverse family in a mainly White area, these explanations make sense for the show. Finally, the voiceover serve as a way to share the moral of the episode in the final moments.
References to pop culture are also frequent in the writing. They seemed to be use to show characterization of Eddie, since he is characterized as loving hip hop. In addition, they are used to provide context for the time period.

Eddie the Hip Hop Lover

The show’s writing is fast paced and concise, which seems to fit the speed of the family. Especially, the mother who likes things to be efficient as possible. In addition, since the episodes are only around twenty minutes long, the fast paced script serves the show well as they need to create and resolve a conflict quickly.

‘No tomorrow”, the unpredictable TV Show

By Caio Pumputis

In Review Topic 3

For today’s post I will be writing about cinematography. ‘No Tomorrow’ is my TV Show choice. The TV Show is composed of one season with thirteen episodes. The main scenes of each episode happen at the same place. They change a little bit when Xavier Holliday (the ‘crazy’ guy who says that the end of the world is coming) tries to do his crazy list with Evie Covington (woman who left her “almost” husband to ‘live’ with Xavier and also help him to do his crazy list). Considering all 13 episodes, the show’s shots are short, there is no long scenes in which people talk with each other without interruptions. Conversations are also short and when a debate comes up, there are a lot of breaks showing people’s faces. There is also no dramatic change from one episode to another. The places that the shots are taken are always the same besides the exception that I mentioned earlier. In my point of view, it makes it easier to understand the continuity of the TV show. You can have a sense of where people are and automatically associate them with their respective names. I my opinion, short shots like this are better than long and boring shots. I have not seen any TV shows with long and annoying shots on Netflix.

I do not like to watch TV show at all because some of them are really long and I am always busy. However, ‘No Tomorrow’ has just one season with thirteen episodes. It encourage me to watch and pay attention to every single detail. Besides this positive point in my opinion, the TV show is also unpredictable, I never know what is going to happen which makes me feel interested, and it makes me want to keep binge watching without interruptions. In addiction to these facts, the first ‘page picture’ caught my attention because Xavier looks happy but Evie looks worried about something. The sky with some clouds on the background makes me think that they are ‘going crazy’ when they’re trying to do their list before the world ends.

New Girl: Are Men Too Competitive?

By Matthias Heyrman