September 2018 – Page 4 – English 1102: Television and Feminism

When words fail, fries and wine will do the trick! A few fries might have aided me in the writing of this very blog post…

In today’s blog post, I will be discussing the willful writing of Shonda Rhimes, in Season 1, Episode 3 of Scandal, “Hell Hath No Fury.” First, I will define “willful” so that the word has appropriate meaning within the context of this blog post. The definition of willful I will be using is, “deliberate, intentional, or done on purpose,” rather than, “a strong sense of will or stubbornness.” Throughout this post, I hope to show you that Rhimes’ writing obtains a very deliberate and intentional purpose.

For this specific episode and the entire series, Shonda Rhimes is credited with the writing. In addition to writing Scandal, Rhimes has also written other TV shows such as Grey’s Anatomy and Private Practice. Rhimes is credited with the production of other widely popular shows like How to Get Away with Murder and Station 19. She also wrote Crossroads, a film about singer, Brittney Spears. Finally, last but certainly not least, she wrote my absolute favorite movie of all time, Princess Diaries 2: The Royal Engagement!!! Needless to say, Shonda Rhimes has a very successful, and almost unrivaled, writing career, especially in the female television writer and producer arena.

Now, back to the third episode of Scandal. The dialog in the show is very cold and straight-forward. The characters speak without warm and convey no emotion. I believe Rhimes does this to authenticate Olivia Pope within the harsh, cut-throat environment of Washington and the White House. In this particular episode, Olivia deals with a horrific rape case and yet she shows almost no emotion, and she definitely does not sympathize with the victim. Thus, Rhimes keeps Olivia’s female character from showing “traditional” feminine characteristics to show Olivia can handle the good, bad, and ugly, just like her male peer professionals. Therefore, the harsh dialogue discourages personal affections and reinforces work prioity.

There is no voice-over in Scandal, and I believe that again authenticates the show and its characters. Rhimes would rather have events play out and film the reactions or have the characters voice the plot themselves than have an unknown narrator provide information. The Scandal world is full of strong lawyers and highly successful businessmen, so providing information from a separate, unlinked source would not fit into the rest of the writing in this show.

Rhimes uses silence amongst her characters as a placeholder for emotion. Many times throughout the show, and especially in this episode, Olivia remains quiet instead of demonstrating her own feelings about a situation or scenario. For example, as the rape victim gives her testimony and continuously asks Olivia rhetorical questions, Olivia remains motionless and completely silent.

For this particular episode, I did not notice any literary allusions or callbacks. However, I did notice that Rhimes’ writing aims to put each character in a light of reality and truth. She does not hide Olivia’s cold heart, Quinn’s stupidity, Huck’s anxiety, or Steven’s doubt. Instead, Rhimes almost makes the faults of her characters blatantly obvious, as to appeal to viewers’ sense of reality and relatability.

Silence is Golden: A Look at Dialogue and Writing in Jessica Jones

By Aniket Venkatesh

In Review Topic 2, Uncategorized

The episode I am writing about, Episode 7: “AKA Top Level Perverts”, is written by Jenna Reback and Micah Schraft. Reback has been a production staff member of 7 episodes of the show “Red Window” and 9 episodes for Jessica Jones, including this episode, while Micah Schraft has been a production staff member of and written episodes for several shows, including 3 episodes for Jessica Jones and 14 episodes for Jane the Virgin!

Going back to the writing of episode 7, dialogue in this episode, much like many other components, is structured similarly to the other episodes: short segments of people conversing, Jessica Jones included, followed by long segments of the episode focused on Jessica herself either voiced over at times with certain quotes from Jessica or simply joined with jazz background music as she is either planning out a new idea involving capturing Kilgrave, coping with her traumas of the past, or even just walking around the bustling New York City at night-time. This emphasis on Jessica for the majority of the time in this episode, and others alike, continues to put the viewers in her point of view and empathize with her as she makes each decision and carries out each of her decisions, including her decision to first take the blame for Kilgrave’s murder of her lover in order to end up in a high-security prison to capture Kilgrave, to finding him in the police station and deciding to go with him to save the lives of the people around her.

A standard supermax prison cell, one that Jessica wanted to go to

Silence, due to its continued prevalence in this episode as a large portion of it focuses on Jessica formulating the plan above and making mental decisions, is key in each episode as it allows for the viewers to learn more about her through her mental recollections. One of the things that become obvious is that she never liked her stepmother who took her from an orphanage and initially seemed like a nice person, due to her bad actions and intentions for her actions, something that took several moments of flashbacks by Jessica in each episode for the viewers to notice.

Finally, something that stood out to me about the writing of this episode, compared to the previous ones, is the way Kilgrave is somewhat justified in his actions, especially for his love for Jessica as he declared it when in the police station. He told her that he fell in love with her since she was the only one who was able to resist him to an extent, as in his power of mind control, showing that he admired her physical and mental strength. The writers therefore wanted to present Kilgrave as being somewhat rational, even though very over-the-top with many of his actions, which is definitely a unique idea present in this episode that was not present in previous ones.

Kilgrave before admitting his love for Jessica

Gender Representation in FotB

By Justin Chow

In Review Topic 5

Even though Fresh off the Boat focuses on an Asian family’s experiences when moving to Orlando, the various genders represented helps pivot the plot and creates more intriguing characters in the show. It is shame that despite occasionally having various genders being represented, most of the cast are heterosexual. One of the main characters, played by Constance Wu, is Eddie’s mom. Her impoverished and arduous background helped shape her brutal, power hungry and academic-first attitude. This helps gives an extra dimension to the show by creating a contrast in personality to her husband, Louis, who helps balance her aggressiveness with empathy and submission. Furthermore, this can be depicted as a form of portrayal of strong women.

The main focus on gender representation comes across on the first episode of season 4 when Nicole, Eddie’s close friend, came out gay after inviting him for a Taco lunch. Not only does this help empower the gay movement by giving confidence to the audience of the possibility of expressing out their feelings, but it should also be taken as highlighting the flaws that we have in our current society. As it took Nicole four seasons to gather enough courage to tell anyone, it can be assumed that it is due to the “unnatural” and “flawed” connotations that some communities may brand on the LGBT body that lots of social paradigms have to occur for the LGBT to be fully accepted into the community. The moment after Eddie, who expectedly was shocked as he expected Nicole to ask him out, gave Nicole comfort was perhaps my favourite and empowering scene in the episode.

The GIF above expressing Nicole’s reaction to Eddie’s support is extremely palpable.

In addition to supporting the LGBT community with Nicole’s character, I believe that this TV show also expresses other representational axes in junction to its main entertainment value. As mentioned in my last blog, the communal fusion between Eastern and Western values is especially highlighted in the representative characters. For example, Honey and Jessica, despite being best friends, having very different viewpoints of the world. Although the show effectively represents the cultural differences, the show ought to be criticised for its lack of African-American presence. Other than Walter, there were no other prominent African-American character. Except for this minor criticism, I love how the show gives insights into the life of a typical Asian-American family thus opening people to be more empathetic towards Asian beliefs.

Stereotypes and Writing (The Right way and The Huang way)

By James Peavy

In Review Topic 2

Today I would like to focus on an important aspect of ‘Fresh off the Boat’, its writing. I specifically decided upon episode 8 because it had some good humor/writing and dealt heavily with stereotypes, one of the chief themes of the show.

Episode 8 was co-written by Jeff Chiang & Eric Ziobrowski, two writers who have previously worked as guest writers for ‘American Dad’, and as staff writers for ‘Enlisted’ and ‘Don’t Trust the B—- in Apartment 23’. This track record shows that they are both comedy writers, a claim which episode 8 backs up.

The episode starts off with the classic voice over by Eddie (real Eddie), which is the trademark of the series, and starts us off by stating what this episode will cover, Eddie finding someone at school who he can identify with.

Some of the important dialogue between Eddie and his mother start off the flashback and frame what they both want, Eddie to be a ‘good Chinese boy’ and Eddie wanting to go to the Beasty Boys concert.

The humor is typically scene based, revolving around Eddie and Philip’s interactions, and how all of the faculty at his school thinks that they like each other only because they are Chinese.

In the same manner that Eddie and Phillip are butting heads, Louis and Wyatt, his new greeter, are not getting along as much as Louis expected.

Just like how the Eddie and Philip are stereotyped, so too is Wyatt, a classic all american cowboy character

As usual, the show’s rap allusions keep us grounded in the era, but besides that, no illusions are used to any meaningful effect. The other standouts in this episode are the jokes (and Randall Park’s character). A great example of the humor is the faculty and their interactions with Eddie, specifically the principal. The final scene with Eddie was also a standout with the narration and the resolution of the character tension between Eddie and Walter.

Cookie Pouches and Feeling Sticks

By Wendy Yao

In Review Topic 5

As I mentioned last week, New Girl often flips the script on traditional gender roles. Episode 4 of New Girl centers around Nick’s issues with his body image, an idea traditionally associated with girls and their eating disorders. Hardly ever do we see men in media feeling insecure about how they look or their weight. In this episode, Nick is “delicate like a flower” and incredibly self-conscious about his body weight and image after Jess points out his cookie “pouch” where he keeps his extra cookies.

Jess being oblivious, Nick being sensitive

Throughout the episode, Jess is the person in an aggressive/assertive role, trying to get Nick to talk about his feelings, while Nick is generally on the defensive and avoids the conversation topic. Nick is also passive in that he doesn’t act until he is forced to when someone else acts. This situation flips the power dynamic in which men are the ones who are aggressively pursuing something while the women are either passive or defensive, just like how Nick only talks to Jess when confronted and finally shows aggression by breaking the feeling stick when Jess gives it to him. However, there is little to no initiation from Nick to act until Jess corners him to talk about feelings, and he then just tries to escape the situation as fast as possible.

A similar power dynamic is seen with Amanda, his coworker at the bar who Nick has been trying to hook up with. At one point after another frustrating attempt by Jess to talk about his feelings, Nick shuts her down by saying that what he wants is “meaningless sex”. When Jess disagrees, Nick insists that he does because he is male (that is, because he has a “bing-bong and chickadees”). Yet when Nick tries to do so with Amanda, the one who wants to take it slow is the guy with Amanda asking Nick almost derisively about wanting to cuddle. In traditional portrayals of women in media, they’ve been the people who want to slow down the relationship because it’s going too fast with the guy pressuring them into something they’re not ready for, while the guys have been the ones unsatisfied with mere cuddling that has romantic rather than carnal connotations. In Nick’s case, he’s the one who is insecure and shy, such as when he’s awkward about taking his shirt off before sex, while Amanda is confident in her body and is going after what she wants.

While presented with the classic New Girl humorous flair, this episode brings up important issues about how body image issues shouldn’t be gendered, and New Girl helps to dispel this stigma and the more general problem of confining gender roles.

The Evolving Cinematography and Direction in Kimmy Schmidt

By Lukas Hessler

After being trapped in a bunker for a decade, Kimmy finally experiences the lively world she has been missing out on for the past ten years and the lighting and direction style certainly reflect this situation throughout the entire series. In this post, I will be analyzing the cinematography and direction in the episode titled “Kimmy Goes to a Party!” (Season 1, Episode 7) of Kimmy Schmidt: Unbreakable, and more specifically how this episode provides a stark contrast to those previously in the first season.

Early on in the season, the first episodes are filled with quick, snappy cuts that make the viewers feel almost overwhelmed. This is deliberately done to make the viewer feel as Kimmy does living in the overwhelming city of New York after being locked in a bunker for 10 long, tedious years. However, after Kimmy gradually adjusts to this lifestyle episode by episode, the direction changes as cuts become longer and more problematic situations start to thicken the plot of the series. This episode is filled with suspense as Kimmy attempts to impress a guy she likes and Jacqueline Voorhees faces paranoia regarding a possible affair her husband had. Naturally, this episode is filled with some of the longest shots of the whole series as the characters must face these issues and invoke a sympathetic response in the audience toward the character’s issues (which is nearly impossible to do with the short shots that are common throughout the show).

In regards to the lighting, the show is filled in this episode, and the whole series for that matter with vibrant color as Kimmy is re-experiencing life in the lively New York City after being held captive in a lifeless, gray bunker for the previous 10 years. The costumes within this episode, like all episodes in the series, are vibrant, appealing to the visual eye of the audience. Kimmy is the perfect example of the vibrant color scheme of the show as she is always wearing some sort of clothes with highlighter pink, yellow or blue coloration. Even with the very bright lighting of a show set in New York City, the director makes it an apparent goal to make sure to go the extra mile by creating a vibrant wardrobe and including other items with playful colors to enhance the jubilant, open lighting of the episode to contribute to the warm-feeling shots of the episode.

Even with the bright lighting, this episode is not to unique from the whole series as a whole. The entire series is filled with the aforementioned color schemes and lighting in this episode. With that being said, it should be re-emphasized that the lighting in this series is wholly unique. I have never watched a show that was this visually playful and it truly contributes to the jubilant experience that the show is meant to be for the viewing audience.

Kimmy Schmidt showing her true 1996 kid style with the iconic bright yellow kids button down sweater

The noir cinematography and dark direction of Jessica Jones

By John Ryu

Episode 5 Season 1

As the plot of the show (and this episode) is very dark and serious, the cinematography of the show truly bolsters this tone by using a very dark visuals as well. More specifically, the show likes to use a classic 1940’s noir lighting by using hard light and immediately cutting to high-contrast black and white shapes. Sometimes during important dramatic scenes, the color becomes more saturated or softer during scenes conveying talent. Also, majority of the scenes in this episode took place at night, which I thought was interesting. I think the directors shot the scenes in this way to convey the night as a more warm and forgiving setting unlike most shows, which use the night to convey the exact opposite feeling.

Scene in the show depicting the white-dark contrast in lighting

In addition, the show tends to have long scenes with minimal cuts to purposely include the whole background including the main characters. Rather than having many up-close shots of the characters, the directors purposely included a wide background in many of the shots. Unless it’s an action scene, most scenes seem to have this quality. I think the directors purposely shot the scenes in that way to strongly convey the dark tone used throughout the show.

The episode I watched for this blog didn’t appear to have any distinct/different visuals compared to other episodes in the season. However, the episode did continue to reinforce some of the colors/tones associated with the character Jessica Jones. For example, Jessica Jones’ color on screen always seems a bit de-saturated, which I think supports her steely, cool nature. In addition, when Jessica is interacting with other characters, the scene would often show contrast colors between Jessica and the other character or characters to highlight Jessica. The color often contrasted would be darker and more classic black/white than the color surrounding or reflecting off of the character or characters Jessica was interacting with.

The Perspective of Grace and (of) Frankie

By Rafael Barrientos

Something very important to notice in the Netflix show “Grace and Frankie” is the way it is filmed. This Netflix show focuses on two main characters, and the cinematography is designed to give enough focus and camera time to the two main characters.

Normally, the show focuses on the struggles that Grace and Frankie face. Most of the time they face the same issue simultaneously. The filmmakers use this to their advantage. The newly divorcees tend to confront their husbands (more like ex-husbands) at the same time about the same thing, but in very different manners. The cinematography tends to shift rapidly between Grace and Frankie to parallel and juxtapose the confrontations their going through. This strategy further separates the personalities of the two protagonists, and further highlights the way they serve as foils to each other.

Even in the way they dress, Grace and Frankie are foils.

The show is typically filmed with very bright colors. This probably occurs because although the show deals with very controversial en complex issues, it never stops being a sitcoms. If the show would be filmed in darker colors, it could be seen as a drama or more serious series. However, the show often shifts to darker colors in some scenes to add more value and contrast the tone of these scenes with the overall tone of the sitcom.

One example is when in the end of the second episode, Grace is about to leave Frankie alone in her house. However, she realizes Frankie is not emotionally able to be alone at the moment, and puts her general annoyance to support her comrade. It actually is the first time Grace shows positive feelings towards Frankie in a grand manner. Here the series shifts to a darker, more blue color, to mark the significance of such moment in the series. Furthermore, Frankie remarks that she “is feeling blue”, as to hint to the change in overall colors of the scene.

Here we can see how the scene gets darker.

Jess teaching valuable lessons

By Alex Mealey

I’ll be honest, the first two episodes of New Girl didn’t quite “hook” me, but episode three both hooked me and taught some valuable lessons in the process. Any show that can spread a positive message while making me laugh earns my respect as a T.V. viewer. This episode focuses on two main themes: dealing with past relationships and being true to ones self. I want to discuss the latter and less obvious theme so let’s go!

Having the confidence to be your self is a theme that naturally come’s along with Jess’s quirky personality, however, this episodes shows her, and Schmidt, struggle to do so. When the whole gang get’s ready to go to a wedding, Nick requests the help of Jess to be his fake girlfriend to make his ex, Caroline, jealous. After a couple of drinks Nick begins to fall for Caroline again, Jess begins to make a fool of herself and Winston begins a fight with a child (let’s not dwell on that). Jess, trying to be a good friend, pushes Caroline away leading to an outburst from Nick where he calls her a “ruiner”. Jess is now stuck in a place where the guys don’t want her to be herself, but they got mad at her even when she tried to be different… alright now let’s look at the struggles of Schmidt.

Schmidt, the wannabe lady killer, spends the whole night trying to find a way to “get with” a girl he is supposedly crazy for. But the whole night he ignores the advances of a girl named Gretchen with whom he shares an odd (mainly sexual) connection with.

The only problem is, this girl isn’t exactly his type. Schmidt ends up miserably chasing after a girl with whom he doesn’t connect because she would be better for his appearance and confidence. He ignores his true desires, his true self because he’s worried about the thoughts of others. Also, I know this might be too deep of an analysis of the womanizer that is Schmidt, but I really do believe it was the writer’s intentions to convey this message in parallel with Jess’s struggles.

So what happened?! Well once Jess decided to unleash the weirdness that is her personality, she and the guys ended up having a great time blowing bubbles (don’t ask just watch). And for Schmidt? He ended up getting with Gretchen and I assume he enjoyed it. So once our favorite characters decided to do what they really wanted to do, the results are better for everyone. Sends a pretty clear message and set’s up a theme I think New Girl will relate to in many upcoming episodes. And I promise to keep you updated.

The Visuals Behind Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

By Nikhil Reddy

I decided to analyze the second episode of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt to study the show’s cinematography and direction. The show utilizes a diverse array of takes to enhance the scenes’ ability to convey different moods to the audience. For example, if the scene depicts a bonding moment between Kimmy and Titus or a motivational talk given by Kimmy to Titus, there tend to be fewer cuts and smoother transitions between takes. However, when conflict arises in the scene, the transitions are jarring and the takes are much shorter. This can be noticed in the scene where Kimmy reattempts grounding Xanthippe. The camera quickly cuts back and forth between Xan and Kimmy as Xan tries to verbally attack Kimmy and Kimmy fights back by threatening to expose Xan as a fraud to her friends. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt uses the combination of long takes and short cuts to sharpen the contrast between different moods.

Another interesting aspect of the show’s visuals is the lighting The lighting is always bright in the show, regardless of the setting. Even in Kimmy’s underground loft which she shares with Titus, it is always well lit. I feel that this is in large part to convey Kimmy’s positivity towards any situation. Her personality is always cheerful even when her situation does not reflect this. This can also be noticed in the brightness of her clothes and lipstick. In Kimmy’s confrontation with Xan, Xan tears Kimmay apart for her light up Skechers. This colorful color scheme is also seen when Kimmy throws the birthday party Mrs. Voorhees calls for. Mrs. Voorhees complains that the party color scheme will not match her dress, but the color scheme is predictable as the entire show follows this color scheme. Lighting and color scheme play a major role in the show’s portrayal of Kimmy’s character and that is especially evident in this episode. The party Mrs. Voorhees requested was Kimmy’s outlet to express her personality to the family. It is no secret that Kimmy is not self-conscious, rather she embraces her vibrancy.

Kimmy Schmidt’s colorful clothing choice, a common outfit of hers

The Humanity of the Inhuman

By Michael Zimmerman Lemus

**Spoilers Ahead**

I am now going on my fourth episode of Westworld, and the show does not fail to captivate me. It continues to use amazing acting, intriguing storylines and mystery to enthrall its viewers. Needless to say, it continues to interest me.

One way by which this show continues to captivate its viewers is by incorporating difficult questions into the theme. These themes make us question our morals, our beliefs, and humanity’s futures. Is it right for there to be a theme park for people to satisfy their questionable acts? If the humanlike droids don’t “feel”, does that make void the illegality of assaulting/raping/killing them? Is an act committed in this park against a droid considered to be of the same questionable moral character as doing it in real life? Continually, the show continues to pose these questions to the viewer without giving answers. Ultimately, it is up for us to decide.

A theme Westworld continually addresses in the third episode (and clearly will be throughout the show) is the concept of machines being able to “feel”. While this may seem cliché for a show which involves robotic humans, the way in which it questions it is all the more interesting due to the acts being committed on these robots by the humans. It appears that the writers are leaving it up to us to formulate a belief, but their argument seems to be along the lines of “it depends”. Inconclusive, clearly, but for good reason. It seems that the robots are “learning” how to have human emotions throughout the show, however, is it only because of the programming created by the humans themselves? Is it really original? These questions seem to be the basis of their argument, one which they leave purposefully vague so that we ourselves can determine it.

The show demonstrates its argument through character interactions. We continually see the head programmer interact with one droid in particular, whom begins to show signs of human behavior. This is our introduction to the conflict, as we delve into deciding whether or not this droid is capable of having these emotions. The argument itself is demonstrated again as inconclusive by having characters mention droids cannot feel, while the programmer continues to get attached. If I were to make predictions, I believe this theme will be a major portion of the show. Since the show is about immoral acts being taken out on droids by humans, the question of the morals of these actions being taken out on potentially “feeling” machines will continue to arise. Surely, the show will continue to explore this complicated theme further. And as we move into a world of more advanced technology, it seems all the more relevant.

Can droids feel emotions?

Finding Power in Powerlessness

By Jadah Peters

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.

Getting Out of Prison: Heaven or Hell?

By Zhane' Zimmerman

The last episode of the season…definitely the most unforgettable.

Centered around Piper when the show first began, well this season definitely ended with Piper. However, the characters fans grew to love didn’t have the same fortunate fate as did with Piper. Because of such a complex and compelling plot, this episodes goes through multiple intersecting themes.

Tastyee when hearing the final verdict in court.

We can start by examining one of our beloved characters Tastyee. During the season, we follow Tastyee’s case for a murder that she obviously didn’t commit, however she is put on trial because of the role she played as the riot leader and because fingers were pointed when detectives just wanted out of the investigation. The thing that makes her case so conflicting is that the CO murdered is someone that every fan would agree to have hated throughout seasons 4 and 5, dirty police officers covered up and framed the girls for his murder, and one of Tastyee’s best girls testified against her. It is humbling to know that all Tasha Jefferson (Tastyee) wanted was for her friends justice. Her morals and constant fight for the ‘right thing’ makes an overarching theme for the entire season. It is the idea of family first and in this case betrayed by someone she considered family truly stung but proven in Darwin’s theory of evolution, organisms do not behave for the good of society.

Carol and Barb after they slaughtered each other…

Next up we have Carol and Barb. The season broadcasts their rivalry the entire season leading to both of their deaths in the final episode. Following the shows overarching theme, family first, in episode 13 the girls put aside their differences and attempt to work together to murder the person that double crossed them many years back. They always had a rocky relationship but when it came down to murder they always seem to be on the same side especially since they murdered their own SISTER. Somehow together, they schemed up a plan and made the other inmates think that there was going to be an ultimate battle (leading up to all of their deaths at the kickball game) however they were working together to reveal the good ole revenge scheme everyone loves in dramas.

Blanca being sent to immigration services after being released from prison.

The most horrific ending for a character in TV history (besides Tastyee of course) is Blanca Flores. The role she plays as a character has progressed so much throughout the seasons, she went from being a weird woman who didn’t shower or talk, to being one of the most inspirational characters fight for…her family. However her fate revealed to us another theme the show was trying to convey and that is the idea of harsh reality. Despite how much you try to make something work, there is a possibility that it might not which is horrible but just like Blanca said, bad things come in three. We must be prepared. With every twist in turn in the show, the girls always overcome which is why I’m not worried for any of their progress in the next season of the show.

Writing About “A Small Orange Blur”

By Jadah Peters

In Review Topic 2

I researched Lynn Sternberg who wrote episode 9 of The Bold Type. By research I mean that I did a light Google search, clicked on her Twitter profile, and skimmed through her posts. For a writer, she doesn’t write many of her own tweets; the majority of her posts are retweets, and many of her retweets are political in nature which is unsurprising in light of episode 9’s content. Excluding episode 1, The Bold Type always begins with a voiceover that briefly highlights past events of previous episodes and introduces the main characters, Sutton, Kat and Jane. The voiceover is done by a female whose accent is hard to place. It doesn’t add anything to the story, but I have a feeling it was meant to sound powerful and refined. The voiceover’s only purpose is the introduction in the beginning, so its only value is in setting the tone for the episode, but it’s hardly memorable. What is memorable is the dialogue of The Bold Type; it feels so real and organic. I can see my friends and I having the same conversations, well maybe not the exact same conversations, but the feeling is the same. There is such an authenticity to the dialogue in every episode, and this episode is no different. Where this episode does stand out though is in its external references to the current political climate. With witty comments slipped in such as describing a glimpse of Trump as “a small orange blur” and Jacqueline referring to Trump as “Number 45”, Sternberg sure had her fun expressing her political beliefs.

I thought I might put a picture of Trump here, but I though I’d spare us all that pain, and just add a picture of an orange cat to represent “a small orange blur”.

In addition to subtle and not so subtle jokes, the episode explicitly showcased protests against President Trump. As another angle, this episode also took a softer more personal tone with Adena’s deportation. Of course, I do not know what it feels like to be deported, but the episode did its best in detailing certain aspects of deportation: the uncertainty, the powerlessness, the loss.

This is from when Adena calls Kat to tell her she’s being deported. It’s so sad when people who have nothing to apologize for feel like they need to apologize.

Balancing both the joking element along with seriousness is really a smart way to go about an issue such as this. Even in the midst of Adena’s hardship, a bit of humor surfaced when Kat called the Immigrants’ Rights Hotline and it put her on hold saying “our current volume is extremely high” which is just a humorous way to allude to the massive mistreatment of immigrants in the United States. Another bit of writing with a deeper meaning is when one of the characters says “the president has things totally screwed up out here” in reference to New York City traffic being completely gridlocked due to the president’s visit to the city. I have a deep suspicion that this statement was not only a reaction to some extra traffic in New York City but also to the president’s actions in the United States in general because “the president has things totally screwed up out here” too.

The Mac-&-Cheese Debate: Identity in “Fresh off the Boat”

By Arvin Poddar