English 1102: Television and Feminism

For the fourth Blog Entry, I am focusing on the gender representation within the show. In New Girl, there is a balanced gender spread. Even though there are slightly more male characters than the female characters, the main character is Jess and the show plot is always related to her. Therefore, it balances out the gender representation. However, only two genders, male and female, are represented in this show whereas there are many other genders that could have been represented.

In this show, the two main couples are Jess and Nick, and Cece and Schmidt. In the relationship between Jess and Nick, Jess is dramatic, and Nick hides his feelings. However, this was contrasted in one episode where Nick accidentally says he loves Jess and Jess goes away after giving an awkward reaction. In the relationship with Cece and Schmidt, Cece makes the logical decision and Schmidt follows her decision or runs away from his responsibility. In conclusion, I believe the agency is equally assigned because the characters that makes significant decisions are both males and females.

Jess and Nick

Cece and Schmidt

There are not much of class, disability, and mental illness issues discussed in this show. Since the genre of New Girl is sitcom (situation comedy), the show is mostly in the light mood. Due to this fact, the serious issues in the society are not usually addressed. As I mentioned preciously, there are only two genders represented throughout the show. There is no diversity in sexual orientation. There are only heterosexuals. Lastly, there are characters with different races. However, the race is not really associated with gender in this show, which means that there is no noticeable correlation between gender and race.

In conclusion, although it lacks many different genders, the males and females are balanced in the show New Girl. There are characters which are gender stereotypes but there are also characters which are far opposite of these stereotypes.

Fresh Outta Film School

By Bailey Moore

Fresh Off the Boat has a fresh visual design. The colors are bright, the cuts are quick, and the color scheme is warm. This show is so wholesome that it even reflects in the visual design. The colors are warm schemed, reflecting the warmth of the show and the inviting characters as the series wants to display their family dynamic. This has the effect of carrying over the program’s lightheartedness. There are no gloomy days, dark scenes, or special effects in the show. It is very clean cut and looks bright and cheery even when nighttime scenes are shown.

Image result for fresh off the opening gif

fight like sisters, love like sisters

The show has mostly longer scenes, with a plotline falling over an average to long timeframe, but shots are quick and clean. Conversations between characters are shot with quick cuts between each perspective, ping-ponging between lines of dialogue. Every once in a while scenes are shot differently, like the opening of Episode 7, when the Huang’s are in a mock robbery scene. The opening of the showtimes special edits with riffs and music. The narration is paired with shots, especially when narrating the thoughts of multiple characters at a time, which the show does often. These long takes help the development of the show by allowing for longer jokes and humor with better punchlines and more drama between the characters. Scene 7 also shows a fantasy of Eddie Huang wanting to hit on his crush, who he is intimidated by, by showing her his music taste. In this scene, he gets up to walk back to her and enters a fantasy edit with backup dancers and an autotuned bus driver. More intimate scenes, like one on one conversations between the mom and dad, are shot closer up, leading you into the conversation as if you were there. If it weren’t shot this close, it would feel as though you are observing something private, and may lose engagement with viewers.

the way they look at each other <3

I find the intro of the show interesting cinematographically because it uses unique panning styles and zooms not used in the actual showtime. In the title sequence as well as most of Eddie’s scenes, the music is paired with the style of the shot. Zooms have riffs, sexy scenes have jazz, happy scenes have elevator music and Eddie’s got his 2pac. Is this show Straight Outta Compton or Straight Outta Suburbia?

#Exposed: The Writing in Crazy Ex-Girlfriend

By Ajanta Choudhury

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is a very clever show; its writing is frequently deceptively critical. When speaking about the writing in Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, it’s impossible to ignore the songs; they’re always super catchy and super focused in their criticisms of various issues, from women’s oversexualization to the glorification of mental illness. This is true in the case of the song “Sexy French Depression,” which is featured in episode 7, “I’m So Happy that Josh Is So Happy!”

In strongly playing up the concepts of mental illness being interesting and of girls who are struggling being interesting and quirky, the song ends up poking fun at said concepts and deconstructing the fantasy inherent to them. Take the first stanza, for example:

My eyes are dark from sadness
My lips are red from pain
My bosom ‘eaves with sobs
I’m in a sexy French depression

Each individual line portrays an idealized image of struggle and sadness, and by so strongly embracing the concept that female suffering is sexy, the song is able to shine light on the ridiculousness of the concept, right from the start. The second stanza also deconstructs the concept of “sexy depression”, but in a different way. First, a quick look at the stanza:

I walk, oh, so slowly
I can only breathe and sigh, oh!
My bed smells like a tampon
I’m in a sexy French depression

In this case, the stanza doesn’t play along with depression being sexy. Instead, it shines light on how depression really is, unflattering aspects and all, through lines like, “My bed smells like a tampon.” The song switches through these two approaches, going from wholeheartedly embracing depression’s “sexiness” to exposing depression for what it really looks like, and by doing this, it more effectively gets its point across.

This clever writing isn’t very surprising, considering that “Sexy French Depression” was written by Rachel Bloom and Adam Schlesinger. Rachel Bloom has past experience with the particular style of blunt, oftentimes-explicit comedy, from writing and singing the song “Fuck Me, Ray Bradbury,” in 2010 to singing “My Sex Junk” on “The Sexual Spectrum” episode of Bill Nye Saves the World in 2017. She also has experience with musical comedy—as of now, she’s released 2 musical comedy albums, Please Love Me and Suck It, Christmas—and regularly speaks about mental health issues, having a history with it herself (she has depression, OCD, and anxiety.) As for Adam Schlesinger, he has a broad wealth of experience with songwriting, having written song lyrics for movies, TV, and musical theater.

Works Cited

“Adam Schlesinger,” Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Schlesinger

“I’m In A Sexy French Depression,” Genius, https://www.genius.com/10127238

“Rachel Bloom,” Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rachel_Bloom

Do we have a pattern to follow?

By Caio Pumputis

The show “No tomorrow” is well-balanced in relation with gender representation. We have almost the same number of men and women representing different roles through the show, although women represent the majority of the main cast.

The company in which the story happens is lead by a women. Deirdre is the CEO of the company and one of the main characters of the show. Besides that, more women take important roles through the story. Working at the same company in which Deirdre is the CEO, other women represent important roles through the episodes. Besides the important functions that women represent in this company, the TV show revolves around Evie. She was about to get married, but decided to live a crazy adventure with an unknow man. The facts evolving her attitudes and the way that each episode is going to end up are based on her decisions of what to do about her live.

TV shows always try to please their audience. Thinking about it, I was wondering if the roles were switched, what would have happen? If Evie was the crazy guy and the guy was the one that left his wife to live an adventure with an unknow girl. Would society judge the guy the same way as the girl would if the roles were to be switched?The audience would be different, and different comments would come up. Trying to end with the portrayed gender representation, I think that TV shows should start approaching this matter differently. They should show the opposite of our society, they should end with genders portrayed, they should end with defined roles that you have to take. We should be free to represent whatever we want and not be predefined by our society. Looking up to achieve this result, TV shows can be an excellent way to enforce this idea.

Why the music in the Bold Type is Amazing

By Aaqila Faizer

https://open.spotify.com/user/abcfamily/playlist/6hwwl2PmUAWmuLDg4jaOLM

In Review Topic 6

Music like all art has duality. The Bold Type takes advantage of this duality by using each song to add an extra depth of meaning/emotion to its scenes.

In the finale of season one, the song Quiet by MILAK plays as Jacqueline takes the weights from Mia. Everyone’s silent stance is contrasted against the music’s lyrics, “ I can’t stay quiet”. The repetition of this lyric implicitly reflects Jacqueline’s acceptance to share her story with others. In that same episode, the last scene the music choice reflects the overall theme of the show. While Kat embarks on a spontaneous journey across the world, Jane leaves Scarlett beginning her solo career, and Sutton is dealing with a complicated goodbye the song Living Out Loud by Brooke Candy evokes feelings of hopefulness for all three girls and encourages living life to the fullest by stating “Living out loud, is the only way I know how.”

Songs also play a part in foreshadowing, like during the scene in S1E6 when Kat seems to be causally texting Adena about getting a new idea. While the song Fire in Me by Julia Stone could emphasize the ignition of Kat’s new daring idea, it also helps foreshadow the spark between Adena and Kat’s relationship.

It is an important observation that all the songs used in The Bold Type have a positive vibe to them, the reason according to the show’s music supervisor, Rob is simply to reflect the overarching theme of the show, Empowerment. He mentions that even though there are sad moments, the show is more concerned with

highlighting the triumphs of overcoming the sadness… – Rob Lowry

Overall the songs in The Bold Type are carefully curated and play a significant role within each scene. They are not just background noise, but rather a way to foreshadow later scenes and emphasize the character’s thought process.

PS here is the official The Bold Type playlist for anyone who reads this blog post.

work cited:

https://ew.com/tv/2017/08/29/the-bold-type-music-soundtrack/

https://freeform.go.com/shows/the-bold-type/news/the-bold-type-official-music-guide-season-1

The Huangs GET SHOT

By Frank Ketchum

Fresh Off the Boat takes an interesting turn in season two, episode nineteen. In the beginning of the episode, we see that Jessica is upset because her favorite drama t.v. show will be off air until its next season starts. Following this, the episode’s ambiance gradually becomes more and more dramatic to emulate such a show, which is pretty different than the usual vibe. Usually, the show is very brightly lit and colorful, contributing to a light and very welcoming and easy-to-watch atmosphere. But in this episode, there is more use of darkness and contrast to add to the dramatic effect.

Some scenes in this episode are visibly darker than usual.

This reminds me of some of the shots from an earlier episode in season one where Louis agrees to coach Eddie’s basketball team. Eddie imagines his father playing basketball like an old kung fu movie, with flying fight scenes and dramatic dialog. The writers’ use of cinematography to change the mood or delivery of episodes is an interesting concept in my opinion. It introduces a lot of freedom to the writers’ roles in developing episodes. Writers can, and do, change some of the basic elements of the show from time to time to convey different things. I think this is a pretty unique quality for a show to have, and it seems like this show is a lot of fun on both ends of the production as writers can introduce fun episodes such as these.

One thing that remains constant, cinematography-wise, is the use of many cuts in a single scene. In the context of the viewer, this creates a feeling of a fast pace in scenes. I don’t really know why this would be desirable from a production standpoint, though. This may be a result of a low budget or the inclusion of child actors, so that many takes can be strung together without seeming out-of-place.

Tense, Urgent, Fearful: the Truth of a Hospital’s Environment

By Tanishq Sandhu

(Topic 2)

The episode (and series) is written by Stacy McKee. That has been her primary achievement/occupation since Grey’s Anatomy is one of the longest running shows. She won the Writers Guild of America Award for Television: New Series. The dialogue is usually quick with the camera and dialogue shifting back and forth as the characters even break each other’s statements to start their own. This seems to create a sense of urgency and creates a tense and stressful environment. This is very much needed since it is the norm in hospitals where people need split-second decisions to save their lives and people dying is very common. Silence is usually used to allow the viewers to feel the finality and the depth of what has happened. This is usually after a death, an argument, someone leaving, or anything where there is a negative emotion to be felt. There are a lot of flashbacks usually either related to suffering in the past such as when Meredith Grey remembers how her mom neglected her or when April Kepner and Jackson Avery remember how their happy marriage turned out so badly or also happiness earlier on in life such as when Meredith Gray remembers how much she loved Derek Shepherd and how great their marriage was. The writing really seems to just capture the air and environment of a hospital, the urgency, the hope, the sadness, the desperation, the fear, and even the brightness of a fixed patient. The writer was perfect for the job and I believe is the rightful recipient of the Writers Guild of America Award for Television: New Series. Her writing has been instrumental in keeping viewers hooked for over 15 years with the same show as characters have come and gone. It’s the style of this show that has kept the viewers at bay.

(Stacey McKee is pictured above)

Shooting Fresh Off the Boat

By Charlotte Harris

Good evening, friends! Let’s return to one of my favorite American families and their latest adventures. Well, latest is a relative term, considering that Fresh Off the Boat is currently airing its fifth season, and I’m still watching and reviewing the first season… but that’s beside the point! Their adventures are new to me, and for this assignment, that’s all that matters.

Angles, color, length of shots, and scene/plot complexity are all elements of a TV show that make it both watchable and unique. Fast-paced shows (Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives comes to mind) incorporate bright colors and quick shots. The Good Place uses lighter colors to represent a serenity of sorts. Fresh Off the Boat combines multiple color schemes to convey a complex theme. Lighter, pastel colors are often present when the whole Huang family is together, and these convey a peaceful tone. When the entire family is in the same place (especially in their own home), the “better when we’re together” feeling is almost tangible.

In many of Eddie’s adventures in which he hangs out with his school friends or pursues yet another girl way out of his age league (sorry buddy, somebody had to say it), the color scheme is generally vibrant. Not only is this bright palette attractive to viewers, but it is also indicative of pleasant, happy times for Eddie.

Typically, each episode is Huang-family-centered. The main plot concerns most, if not all, family members. Additionally, Louis always has some trouble with entrepreneurship, and Eddie has a problem with a friend (or a love interest). So, each scene usually lasts for a few minutes, and the scenes that affect the entire family usually last a bit longer than those that only feature one or two. Again, this detail points to the huge emphasis Fresh Off the Boat places on close family relationships.

As I have noticed throughout this entire first season of Fresh Off the Boat, the show really does feature close family bonds. If all roads lead to theme, then cinematography is a highway in this sense.

Nice, pastel-dressed, happy family

“My G” #2 Post on Writing

By Justin Chow

For the TV show Fresh Off the Boat, I could have chosen any episode in any season and it would have provided a general overview of its writing style. However, for the episode I chose, season 2 episode 14, I particularly liked how the storyline goes against Asian convention with Louis and Jessica supporting Emery with his hidden talent in tennis. Throughout the episode, the writers, Khan, Huang, Shah, and Wang, collectively create a light-hearted atmosphere while highlighting the comedic effect of Emery’s sudden rise in fame in the tennis world. This should come with no surprise that the main writer, Khan, has plenty experience writing other comedic shows such as “Don’t Trust the B— in Apartment 23” and “American Dad”.

Khan often use a free-flowing dialogue structure to mimic a natural conversation, thus making it easier to follow. Furthermore, the writers try to avoid utilising advanced vocabulary to make it more appealing to younger participants and it also helps portray across life’s perspective coming a young Asian teenager boy. Interestingly, the characters often express their thoughts out loud to not only exhibit “thinking out loud” characteristic but it helps the audience to decrypt their ulterior motive. This is evidently seen when Jessica inadvertently tells Eddie to move out of his room to make space for Emery so that Emery could more efficiently recover from his physical pain from tennis matches.

Like in any TV show, It is important for the writers to appreciate the perspective and theme the show is portraying across. In this case, it is the significance of mimicking an Asian teenager’s perspective of school as real as possible. They have done a superb job in doing so, with Eddie constantly using vocabulary that belongs in the lexical field of youth. Nouns such as “my G” and “my jam” in addition to portraying across a light-hearted tone, it also allows the show to come across more relatable to younger audiences.

My G, My G!!!!

The Mothers of Fresh Off The Boat

By Sofia Soto-Tredunlo

So I’ve avoided discussing gender in Fresh Off the Boat. I wanted to give the show a chance to defend itself – but I’m low on topics so the time has arrived. Now I have to give a bit of a disclaimer – this show is a satire. It plays off stereotypes for comedy, so it should be expected that some of those are going to seep into gender.

For starters, In terms of screen time, there is only one lead female roll and that is Jessica Huang. The grandma rarely gets screen time and has very few lines. It is only for comedic sake, but it still rings true that females don’t get much time. In this particular episode they got far more time than usual, because it followed the story line of Jessica instead of Eddie.

In this episode in particular the topic focuses on Eddie Huang’s crush on an older girl. All she cared about was dropping out of school to go to beauty school… ok. This is problematic. But they don’t portray all women like this. The only female main roll is the mom, Jessica Huang. She is obsessed with being the best at everything and encourages her kids to be the same. Her determination is so strong that she temporarily quits her efforts to become a realtor because she is worried she will not be the best realtor in the district. So we have a strong female lead. She’s determined to work her hardest and refuses to even be associated with stay at home moms, because she wants to be associated with the image of a powerful working woman. The side characters are stuck in the past. We have the previously mentioned crush. In addition, we have a huge culture of stay at home moms that the show features who are aggressively conservative and look down upon working mothers (bad) but the show frames them in a way that is clear that they are looked down upon for not supporting fellow women (good). In this episode in particular one of the moms tries to encourage Jessica to work hard to accomplish her dreams, while playing the role of a very stereotypical mom.

this is a look into the stereotypical moms on the show

Although the show presents gender through stereotypes, it endorses women being proud of who they are, and supporting other women. In the end that’s the whole message of the show, be who you are.

Visitation

By Adhav Arulanandan

In Review Topic 6

In my first blog post I mentioned that I chose to write about Orange is the New Black due in part to the excellent job the show’s writers do with character and plot development throughout the season. As the season progresses, it gets more and more clear that the relationships Piper Chapman has with people outside the walls of Litchfield are becoming tenuous. While there have been hints since Episode 1, Episodes 5 and 6 are the first in which there are obvious signs of distrust and frustration between Piper and her friends and family. For this post, I’ll be focusing on Episode 6, “WAC Pack.”

In Piper’s first appearance in this episode, she is being visited by her mother Carol, who has already been set up to be a judgmental and distant character. We see both in the interaction between the two. Carol starts off mentioning an event from Episode 5, in which Piper goes chasing after a chicken and leaves Polly hanging on an important business call. Carol does not understand what occurred there at all, and questions Piper’s mental state.

I, personally, believe the chicken was real.

This is one major reason that Piper’s relationships are being tested: a lack of understanding of the world inside the prison. Time flows a lot faster outside Litchfield, and in terms of everyone else’s fast-paced lives, Piper is seen as slowing them down. This is especially true in terms of Piper and Polly’s budding business. Piper wants to contribute as much as she used to, but with all of the obstacles in the way, Polly is doing more are more on her own. This leads to a rift between the two best friends as well, which is only partially patched up by phone call in this episode.

But it is Piper’s relationship with her fiancé Larry that appears to be breaking down the fastest. There is clear distrust between them, and they have not been honest with each other, with Piper failing to tell Larry about Alex being in prison with her, and Larry falsely telling Piper that Alex did not name her in the indictment in a misguided attempt to keep them apart. This comes to a head in Larry’s visit later in the episode, where Piper and Larry have a brief fight about Larry wanting to write an article about Piper being in prison.

Works Cited: “WAC Pack.” Orange Is the New Black Wiki, orange-is-the-new-black.fandom.com/wiki/WAC_Pack.

The Crossroads Between Gender and Race

By Francis Fataki

Throughout the first season of Orange is the New Black, several arguments attached to larger cultural discussions arise. One aspect of the show that aids in its popularity is its representation of gender and race. Now, since the show takes place inside a women’s correctional facility, an overwhelming majority of the characters are female. However, this metric does not discount from the show’s diversity.

A glimpse of the show’s uneven gender distribution

A great example of the show’s ability to display its diversity can be seen through the actions that characters take to alter the course of the show’s plot. In fact, this dynamic appears throughout the entirety of the first season. For instance, in the sixth episode, The Chickening, a few female inmates take it upon themselves to hang a cross, that was made in the prison’s workshop, from the ceiling of the prison’s chapel. In this segment, the women are depicted as assertive, and this portrayal of female characters opposes the manner in which they are presented on shows with male protagonists. In the aforementioned scene, most of the characters were Caucasian, but the show frequently uses segments with other racial groups to steer the direction of the show. During the fifth episode, Imaginary Enemy, a particular focus is placed upon Ms. Claudette, a Haitian inmate. Throughout the episode, several flashbacks of Ms. Claudette are showcased to give further insight into her background. The flashbacks are also used to develop her presence, since she occupies a secondary role, so that she can partake in a larger conflict later in the episode.

Although the show mostly focuses on the female characters, it does highlight the roles of its few male characters. In most of the instances that the men are shown in, many of the decisions they make occur in response to those made by the female characters. This is demonstrated in segments where the guards order the inmates to repair the chapel’s ceiling after breaking it and lock down the prison to recover a tool stolen from the prison’s tool shed. Unlike the female characters in the show, there appears to be no diversity among its male figures. Most of the recurring males on the show are Caucasian, and males of other ethnic groups only appear in flashbacks. The lack of diversity among the men in the show is expected since the number of males that are depicted is fairly small.

The show’s main premise essentially establishes the gender ratio that is maintained throughout the first season and all subsequent ones. Because of the large disparity that exists between the number of male and female characters, the show attributes multiple mannerisms to female characters that would normally be viewed as uncharacteristic in television series with male protagonists. In sum, the combination of race and gender portrayals within the show help foster the central image of Orange is the New Black.

One-Night Stands and Messed-Up Plans

By Wendy Yao

Even before watching episode thirteen of New Girl, I had planned to write a blog post about this episode because I was expecting changes in color schemes to match Valentine’s Day as described in the title of the episode. While I was disappointed by the lack of festivity, there is still plenty to talk about regarding the visual design of the episode and the show as a whole.

When your night isn’t going as planned

New Girl continues to stay upbeat while keeping viewers up-to-date with the daily lives of the main characters. The color scheme of the show generally matches the tone with warm hues that are comfortable and cheery and is usually shot with quick cuts, often shifting camera angles in line with changes in speakers. For instance, there’s soft lighting and brown tones in the furniture and decorations when the camera is focused on Nick and his girlfriend Julia. During Schmidt’s and Jess’s conversation about their Valentine’s Day plans, the camera angle switches to focus on who is talking in the conversation. After the initial warm, earthy tones set in the shared apartment, the color scheme of the episode takes a darker turn to match the time of day and later, Schmidt’s dark mood at being forced to be the third wheel and driver for Jess’s one-night stand.

The darkness makes the abrupt transition to bright office lighting even more jarring as the episode transitions to focus on Nick and intern Cliff (and Julia, in between her phone calls with Ming). While the surroundings are now better lit, the mood doesn’t change much as the lighting lacks warmth and hominess. The only person somewhat enjoying Valentine’s Day in the group of four is Winston who has unwittingly joined Shelby and her girlfriends for a relaxing night in. While Winston is initially disgruntled, he fits in seamlessly with the girls, which the visual design of the episode demonstrates through cheerful, festive lighting and colorful reds. Before the cut to Oliver and Jess, the camera zooms in on Shelby’s face to show how impressed and touched she is with how well Winston has integrated with her girl group.

In this episode of New Girl, the color scheme and lighting match well with the plot of the show and the mood that the show is trying to convey. The visual design provides hints for the audience regarding when things are going well or poorly for the main characters and various experiences with romantic relationships during the evening of a day focused on romance and love. As almost always with New Girl, the episode ends optimistically, though with suspense, showing a scene of the morning after when Cece has hooked up with Schmidt while Jess had narrowly dodged that bullet (and awkwardness) the night before. The audience is left wondering what will happen next as it appears to be the calm before the storm.

The Silence of the Friends

By James Fan

In season 1 episode 15 of New Girl titled “Injured” written by Nick Adams, Berkeley Johnson, and Josh Malmuth, Jess’ friend Nick goes through a crisis of identity when he finds a possible cancerous lump on his neck. While the lump is ultimately harmless at the very end of the episode, the framing of this particularly thematically heavy episode exemplifies the way in which the writing and dialogue of the show as a whole drives both the development of the small circle of friends as well as the juxtaposition of real-world problems with the series’ distinct brand of humor.

The gang shares a tender moment with Nick

The general delivery of jokes and one-liners remains consistent with other episodes, where a character starts a seemingly ordinary thought and concludes their sentence with the punchline. However, it is oddly the few-second pauses in the characters’ speech that act as the most poignant moments out of the 20-minute episode. As the plot and humor are dialogue-driven, these pauses allow the audience to shift their attention away from the progression of events to the details of the characters’ behavior, thus providing an insight into how these friends deal with such a high stress situation: the respites from the friendly teasing and jokes quickly reveals the underlying sadness, worry, and anxiety all 5 of them have for the well-being of Nick. Even after the lump is proven to be benign, the episode continues with intermittent pauses in the dialogue, thus further solidifying how the gang is still in the process of internalizing Nick’s near-death experience.

While the writing, pacing, and humor of “Injured” are all the trademark quality of the rest of the show, the moments of silence in this episode provide the central moments from which the characters are able to develop. When it comes to the writing and dialogue, Adams, Johnson, and Malmuth ultimately demonstrate the potency of writing nothing at all.

Netflix. “New Girl S1:E15 ‘Injured’.” Online Video Clip. Netflix. Netflix, 2018. Web. 6 Nov. 2018.

A Friendship Between Two Broads

By Faisal Chaudry