English 1102: Television and Feminism

The explosive beginning of Sense8 s2e11: You Want War? is dead-focused on the theme of revenge. It features Sun’s infiltration into her brother’s lavish gala, intent on killing him. The ensuing action sequences and car chase feature several moments when the other sensates give their input on Sun’s decision. Wolfgang, the dark killer seems to support killing Sun’s brother, whereas Kala seems to oppose violence in favor of making her brother confess. Will and Riley are neutral, ignoring the issue altogether and purely looking out for Sun’s safety. Through the other sensates, the metaphorical angels and demons on Sun’s shoulders, the authors of the episode present competing views of revenge. Should we seek retribution for past crimes or simply seek to right wrongs?

The show provides context for Sun’s decision through flashbacks to her brother’s very wrongdoings. From pleading with Sun to take the fall for his crimes, to killing their father who was going to turn him in, Sun’s brother is painted as a very clear-cut villain. The only thing bringing nuance to his character is his relation to Sun. At the climax of the chase, Sun decides not to kill her brother. The exploration of this theme of revenge seems to fall very flat in the end. There were a few throwaway flashbacks to Sun’s mother saying “Look after your brother” and her sensei telling her that she is “as gentle as a butterfly”, but overall the final decision was a simple “oh she did the right thing by not killing anyone”. The issue could easily have been expanded on by developing the character of Sun’s brother or by giving more serious consideration to killing him. It seemed cliche and inevitable that Sun would decide to spare her brother.

The episode takes a dramatic turn when Wolfgang is kidnapped by the Biological Preservation Organization. A violent torture scene reveals the identities of Kala and others in Wolfgang’s cluster. The sensates quickly hit back, avenging Wolfgang’s capture with a well executed kidnapping of Mr. Whispers and Jonas- prominent opposition figures. Here we continue to see the sensates pursue proactive revenge. Rather than kill the two, they kidnap them so that they can save Wolfgang and hopefully stop BPO.

The entire episode takes a very proactive view on revenge, where characters choose to fight for each other rather than kill out of anger.

The sensates attempt to persuade Sun not to kill her brother

Car Sales(wo)men

By Landon Eisenhut

One of the greatest strengths of The Middle is its balance in representation/emphasis of characters. Since the show is derived from the story of a Midwest family, fittingly the main role highlighted is the mother. The sequence of events is often correlated with Frankie Hess, and the show does not fail to portray her dynamic character qualities. Although three of the five family members are male, The Middle focuses on the mom’s perspective with the frequent use of commentary.

In regard to occupation, The Middle defies the commonality our group discovered during our gender representation analysis. Rather than stressing Mike’s job, the show keeps most of the attention centered at the car dealership where Frankie is depicted as working hard for her family. This contrasts with the many ABC shows our group investigated for our project. The trend in these shows was to establish the male occupation as the main contributor to the family. The Middle rarely strays from its documentation of Frankie’s career, and it’s refreshing to be given this rather uncommon outlook.

It’s remarkable Frankie is able to manage all of the things she does for her family.

Outside of the Heck family, many of the characters are male, including Frankie’s workplace (Bob, her boss, etc.). However, these characters are typically very flat. In fact, one might conclude that the only truly progressive characters are within the Heck family. I see Frankie and Sue as more dynamic than the males in the family. Because of this, I do not see a notable imbalance in gender. Perhaps more male roles appear, but the divide among the main characters is equitable.

The representation by race in The Middle is atrocious, but one must acknowledge that the show takes place in the Midwest. From experience, I can attest that the show is accurate…like very accurate. As much as I support the widening minority roles to improve the accuracy of TV and movies, The Middle is not at fault for its cast. Also, by design, there seems to be a relatively uniform status across the show. Most characters appropriately fall into the middle class. This is essentially the basis for the show, as The Middle defines what is really important in life.

In conclusion, the authenticity within The Middle is translated to gender. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed watching the Heck family events pan out, told by the most influential family figure, the mother!

New Girl: Ruining Relationships

By Matthias Heyrman

In Review Topic 6

New Girl is a show that revolves around the concept of one woman living with 3 men without anything sexual between them, creating an awkward (but hilarious) relationship in which quirks of each sex gets compared mockingly to the other. There was a healthy dynamic between the characters that worked. However, the writers of New Girl had Jess and Nick kiss in Season 2 Episode 15, Cooler. This may seem romantic, and in the short-term, it adds to the awkward dynamic of New Girl as Nick and Jess try to hide it and move on. Unfortunately, longer-term messes with the dynamic of the characters.

The Kiss that ruined it all Se2Ep15

In a show, movie, cartoon… Whatever… adding a romantic interest between the emotional centre and the more unconventional and independent but favoured character is common. In a classic 5-man band seen in most modern media, this is especially common. Creating a passion between 2 characters that have a spark adds a narrative as their relationship is expanded and explored. However, this does not work as well in New Girl since the entirety of Season and most of Season 2 (yes, even after the kiss) is centred around the tribulations of the relationships of the loft-mates. This does not work as well if two of the loft mates are in a relationship with each other by the end of Season 2.

While I’m waiting for a gif to process, here’s an opinionated description of this plot development. There’s a plot issue. Jess originally joined the loft because she left her ex-boyfriend’s house when he cheated on her. While Jess and Nick as characters are describable as being rather irrational, there’s no logic in the two characters beginning a relationship when they already live together, as this should only lead to Jess having another break-up and having to find another place to live (poor… poor Cece).

Continuing the relationship conundrum: while I watched the show, my favourite part was guessing the characters’ next blunder in relationships. When it seemed that Winston had a stable relationship in season 2, it fell apart. I thought it was a good relationship arc that returned Winston to his original state of Single. Another example of a relationship that completes itself is Cece getting married to… Not Schmidt. The antics in Schmidt’s and Cece’s relationship drove an entire hilarious subplot for much of season 2, and watching Schmidt strive and fail to get Cece back later was hilarious. However, New Girl ended this when Cece was to get married, ending the entire, funny exchange.

Completing a relationship in a show can create an interesting new dynamic. In many cases, the show was teasing the relationship during most of its run, in which case the audience may be excited for the sudden appeasement of their shipping. But in a show like New Girl, which relies on the fact that the characters are individually facing problems that they need each other to solve, putting main characters like Jess and Nick together just bothers the dynamic.

Obadear, Let’s Shoot This Show

By Yasamin Khorashahi

In Review Topic 3

The first 30 seconds of season 2 of Search Party are an absolute masterpiece. Visually, we have a blank (ish) canvas; our protagonist’s face is looking directly at the camera (it’s soon revealed she’s actually looking into a mirror) with nothing else in the shot, save for a splotch of blood on her forehead. She’s facing what’s just happened (haha, get it?). The room feels so sterile.Without audio, this scene is particularly puzzling, especially for a first-time viewer. When you layer in the audio however, you can make the connection that our protagonist Dory has just gone through a very traumatic event. Snippets of recent happenings flash on the screen for a couple of seconds but disappear too quickly to get a sure sense of what is going on.

This inaugural scene sets the tone for the whole season: anxiety and mystery and trauma (oh my!). The camera work is shaky, implying a sense of urgency. The colors are muted (ironically, the only non neutral in the scene is the blood red sweater Elliot is wearing). The camera moves even with the actors, following Dory and Elliot upwards as he pulls her off the ground by her shoulders. There’s a strange intimacy hidden here, revealed deeply through all of these choices. That feeling, however, is immediately lost when Elliot comments about Chantal’s invitation to dinner. Our characters are still in the real world, even though this opening sequence is so dream-like. When I say dream-like, though, I really mean nightmarish. The scene is almost shot like a reality TV show. The camera focuses on the character’s face for much too long, almost uncomfortably close. A viewer could count all of Alia Shawkat’s freckles.

There’s another really beautiful scene in the episode where Drew is playing a melancholy keyboard tune. The room he’s in is blood orange, carpet included. The scene is lit very scarcely, but at the same time there is enough light for our characters to be bathed in a red hue. This scene is quite brilliantly shot, really, since it’s where Elliot, Drew, and Dory decide they are not going to report Keith’s murder to the police. It’s almost as if the redness is making their secret more evil.

One stylistic choice that stood out to me in this episode was the scene where they buried Keith. Remember that Search Party is, overall, a pretty dark show (pun intended). The lack of proper lighting actually bothered me as I’d have to constantly increase my laptop brightness to accommodate while watching. Thus, it’s interesting that in the darkest plot moment of the show, they choose to convey the characters outside. So picture this: four millennials, one freshly down from a coke high, burying a dead man (in a hot pink zebra stripe suitcase) in broad daylight.

Just pretend the suitcase is there too

Search Party is a very serious show, I promise.

I Watched Grey’s Anatomy, So Now I’m a Doctor

By Sara Nill

In Review Topic 2

Shonda Rhimes, the author of Grey’s Anatomy, writes her medical drama in a way that everyone can understand. There is medical lingo and jargon, but it’s not enough to confuse viewers, and confusing terms like necrotizing fasciitis and a hyperbaric chamber don’t distract from the overall plot and story. They’re either used in a way that isn’t integral to the plot, or they’re explained to further the plot. This is consistent throughout the entire show and the episode I chose to analyze.

The mastermind behind it all.

Like much of the other aspects of the show, the writing is fast paced and straightforward. In a hospital setting, especially in the emergency department, doctors and nurses communicate quickly and with urgency, including much of the previously mentioned medical lingo. Although some aspects of the show are inaccurate most likely to create the drama and story rather than make it perfectly accurate, much of it seems realistic. This includes the writing. Also, interestingly, when anything is explained, it’s quick and to the point. The audience requires context, as most of them aren’t doctors, but explanations can’t be so drawn out that it becomes unrealistic. Therefore, explanations of medical terms and procedures are done by “testing” the interns’ knowledge or by quickly explaining it in a few words.

Silence isn’t often used. When characters don’t talk, music or commotion is used to fill those spaces. This typically happens in emotional scenes, like when Meredith had to kill a patient due to the patient being DNR ( some more medical lingo for you! ).

There are voiceovers at the beginning and ends of episodes, usually Meredith speaking her thoughts and teasing the episode in the beginning, and reiterating these thoughts while capping off the episode in the end. However, instead of plentiful voiceovers, Meredith’s thoughts are sometimes spoken aloud to compliment what everyone says out loud.

AKA The Theme of Ladies Night

By Kaleb Gauntt

In Review Topic 4

This is the first episode of Jessica Jones, entitled AKA Ladies Night. It is a good episode to talk about the argument of, because it kinda sets the standard for what the show is about and what the underlying message is throughout the first season. The episode is arguing for the consequences, both physical and psychological, of rape. It shows how one can become trapped in one’s own mind in a sense as well as the eventually the effect that the justice system has on victims. The premise of the episode is all about introductions. It introduces Jessica, Kilgrave, and Hope. In this episode Hope is raped by Kilgrave and later forced to murder her parents. She is overwhelmed by Kilgrave’s power and the legal system is of little help to her especially after such a traumatic event has damaged her psyche.

Hope under Kilgrave’s influence.

This episode argues its point by showing the lasting trauma that Jessica experiences from her encounters with Kilgrave as well as making non-tangible consequences, effects, and concepts of rape into physical things that one can view through the show. Over the course of the show, Jessica and Hope as well as the many other victims of Kilgrave are shown to have to deal with the trauma inflicted upon them. They show the very real affects that such an event as having one’s own minds and bodies overpowered and/or raped can have on anyone of any class, race, or gender. This episode’s argument is carried throughout the rest of the show because that is the whole overarching idea that is presented through Kilgrave’s powers and Kilgrave’s morals. As far as the legal aspect that continues onwards throughout the season, the inability of the police or judicial system to deal with such a matter illustrates the occasional but common enough incompetence that arises through cases of rape while under the influence of another. This is a very real problem in today’s society and Jessica Jones does a rather good job in showing it.

Silence and Emotional Maturity in The Bold Type’s Writing

By Jessica Barber

In Review Topic 2

The season one finale of The Bold Type provided yet another topic of interest that isn’t much discussed in modern television — the lasting effects of sexual violence. In contrast to our class’s viewing of Sweet/Vicious a little while ago, “Carry the Weight” provides viewpoints that aim towards recognition of sexual assault survivors instead of their revenge.

At the very beginning of the episode, the show’s three protagonists, Kat, Sutton, and Jane, are seen running through Central Park. The upbeat music quietens as Jane sees a woman standing under a gazebo-something-or-another (it was weird, okay?), and the focus switches from the three protagonists to the serene woman.

The woman, Mia, holds two weights in her hands, which the audience later learns to be representative of the emotional trauma that she still endures from her assault. Later in the episode, Jane asks Jacqueline, Scarlet’s editor-in-chief, if she can write a story about Mia and her mission. Jane later notes that this story was indeed her first pitch as a writer at Scarlet.

Image result for the bold type carry the weight

Jane and Kat speaking with Mia (middle, right, and left, respectively)

Here with Jane’s writing topics and the implied rekindling of Sutton and Richard’s romance in the elevator, Sarah Watson, the writer of this episode, completes a full circle within the realm of The Bold Type. Watson also wrote scripts for the show’s first and second episodes, “Pilot” and “O Hell No” respectively. However, a key difference in Watson’s earlier scripts and that of the finale is the repeated use of silence.

In this episode specifically, silence is used to portray the importance of certain scenes. Here it is implied that the three women — usually acting upon happy, go-lucky whims, mind you — fully understand the emotional maturity and development that stem from their encounters with Mia, their past lovers, and even with Jacqueline, who decides to finally come forward as a rape survivor, twenty years after her assault.

On a similar note, the theme of extended silence is further mirrored in the episode’s soundtrack. For example, when Jacqueline symbolically takes the weights from Mia, MILCK’s song “Quiet” blasts the lyrics “I can’t keep quiet!”, a nod towards Jacqueline bringing light to her past. The episode later ends with Brooke Candy and Sia’s “Living out Loud”, another play on the breaking of silence.

Overall, writer Sarah Watson effectively wraps up the show’s first season by tying the earlier episodes to the last one. A few more plots are opened, like Kat deciding to go travel with Adena. (Mixed thoughts about Kat to come in the next blog post, perhaps.) But until then, the audience can count on The Bold Type refusing to play clean with what “should be” discussed on television. Watson’s recognition of effective measures that can be used to bring light to and empower sexual assault survivors serves as hope for society’s future conversations on- and off-screen.

Works Cited

Shoemaker, Allison. “We Need The Bold Type, and This Finale Proves It.” AV Club, 6 September 2017, https://www.avclub.com/we-need-the-bold-type-and-this-finale-proves-it-1800019688. Accessed 6 November 2018.

“The Bold Type Official Music Guide Season 1.” Freeform, 2018, https://freeform.go.com/shows/the-bold-type/news/the-bold-type-official-music-guide-season-1. Accessed 6 November 2018.

Jessica Jones’ Unconventional Representation

By John Ryu

Jessica Jones episode 7

As the name implies, Jessica Jones is a show focused primarily on a female character. However the show focuses on a pretty evenly distributed spread of female/male characters. With about 11 main characters on the show, there are 6 female characters. With a pretty even distribution, the show tends to focus on the female characters, with Jessica Jones receiving the most screen time. Rarely, Jessica Jones is not shown in a scene, and when there are other characters in a scene, it is often Jessica Jones interacting with Trish Walker, her closest friend in the show.

Trish talking to Jessica.

Besides screen time, Jessica Jones puts female characters at the center of its focus regarding its plot. Usually, Jessica Jones makes most of the important decisions, and male characters often react to her decisions. Both some male and female characters exist on the outskirts of the show, but unconventionally more female characters drive the plot of the show. This is one of the main reasons I believe Jessica Jones is revolutionary for our time. It puts female characters at the center of its focus while it also uses a good proportion of male characters to add to its plot.

In regards to other representational axis, the show does great on representing other races. In the main cast, there are 2 African-American, 1 Asian-American, and 1 Latino-American characters 2 of which are female characters. However, some of these characters do not have important/impactful roles in the story. With regards to sexual orientation, there is 1 character in the main cast who is portrayed to be lesbian. The show does well with not hiding sexual orientation representation in the show. Although only 1 lesbian character exist, the show does not shy away at showing the character’s relationships with her female partners.

Finally, mental illness is a topic greatly covered by this TV show. With Jessica Jones herself battling through PTSD and depression, the show constantly tackles and deals with issues regarding mental illness. Actually, every episode in the entire season is about Jessica dealing with her past and overcoming her personal struggles.

Writes and Wrongs on New Girl

By Alex Mealey

In Review Topic 2

I’ve been looking forward to writing this one. Today let’s discuss the writing style of New Girl following the 9th episode of season one: “The 23rd”. Episode 9 having a plot line centered around Christmas proves to be the most emotionally provocative episode yet. While at an office Christmas party, the gang finds themselves confronting their internal/external conflicts. This results in an emotional rollercoaster that is powered by subtle but powerful dialogue which we will dive into now! (Prepare for all the feels)

Throughout episode 9 there are 4 main struggles going on.

Jess isn’t in love with Paul and he is (news that is revealed to Paul by a clumsy Nick)
Schmidt is sick of being used around the office for his body
Winston does not feel a sense of belonging in the world of conventional jobs
Cece is dating a jerk

Each of these struggles are relatable but still difficult making them more impactful on the audience. In order to capitalize on these pressing issues the writers of the show use certain tactics to amplify the emotional connection between audience and character. For example, almost all dialogue in this show is shared in an intimate setting between two characters. (3 in the case of Jess, Paul, and Nick)

The writers leave lots of silences between dialogue to let the words resonate with the viewer. There is also no narrator, which is expected with New Girl, but this leaves the watcher without a specific point from which to view these conflicts. A lack of narrator decreases biased viewpoints on the issues and increases the reality of the situation.

The episode concludes with the gang coming together to make, a now single, Jess feel better. They all run around a fancy street early in the morning yelling to get them to turn their Christmas lights on. One by one the lights come on and Jess, along with the gang, are filled with joy. A honestly heart warming scene that brought me pre holiday joy.

One of the writers of this episode, Nick Adams, is also the writer of “How to make friends with Black People” a book on bridging racial gaps in society. Through this process I’m sure he wrote about many interpersonal connections and struggles, similar to the ones portrayed on this episode of New Girl.

In conclusion, the writers of New Girl, like their writing, are subtly good, aspects such as silence, lack of narrator and setting contribute to sympathy of the viewer, and I am now in the Christmas spirit!

Fresh Off the Gender Representation

By Sanjot Singh

Download File: https://sites.gatech.edu/1102tvfem/wp-content/uploads/sites/873/2018/11/ae8e2670-5956-0133-ec50-0aa00699013d.mp4?_=1

Episode 7 of Season One of Fresh Off the Boat is called “Showdown at the Golden Saddle” and is about Eddie trying to get the neighbor, Nicole’s, attention. Compared to the previous episodes in season one, this one gives much more agency to Nicole. Nicole is no longer just a character that reacts to Eddie’s remarks but now also interacts with him. Though Nicole is a more developed character in this episode she is still portrayed as a prize, mostly due to her appealing physical appearance. This is reasonable as the whole show is supposed to be from the perspective of Eddie who is still a young boy.

The show still does a good job of incorporating other active female characters such as Jessica and her best friend Honey. Jessica is the alpha of the family who always makes significant decisions that impact many of the other characters. As Eddie said in this episode, “The tough guy in my family had always been my mom” referring to Jessica. Not only is she a prominent female character, Jessica also facilitates the representation of Asian Americans. Even though the whole show revolves around race representation, Jessica is a prominent character that holds up certain stereotypes while dismantling others.

Even though the show does a really good job of representing the male and female genders, it does not have much gender spread beyond that. There have been zero characters so far that identify with a gender other than these two. However, it is still early in season one so there is a possibility that such characters will be represented later on.

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These iconic nicknames show how Jessica is represented as an equal with Louis.

Grace and Frankie’s Portrayal of Genders

By Rafael Barrientos

The gender spread of the show is pretty evenly sampled. We can see that Grace and Frankie, two of the main characters are females, as Robert and Sol, the other two main characters, are male. Furthermore, we can see that the secondary characters are also evenly spread out. For example, Robert and Grace have two daughters, while Frankie and Sol have two sons. However, Grace and Frankie tend to get more representation and air time than other characters, given that the show revolves around them and their struggles.

These are the four main characters of the show.

The show does revolve about the main decision of Sol and Robert to come out and proclaim their love towards each other. Grace and Frankie do have to react to this decision at first. However, after this main decision, the show turns its attention to decisions that Grace and Frankie make. The show still puts some attention on the decisions made by Sol and Robert, but the main scope is now with Grace and Frankie.

Furthermore, the show connects the genders it represents to many other axes. We see how the two male lead characters are homosexuals, and the two female lead characters are heterosexuals. This allows for representation of multiple sexual orientations. Furthermore we see some representation of mental illness. This is because one of Sol’s and Frankie’s son is a alcoholic and drug addict.

The show however fails to represent some axes. The show does include one African American character, but beyond that, the show lacks proper racial representation. Furthermore, the show focuses on highly upper class characters. So far all of the characters that have appeared on the show belong to very high socio-economic status. Additionally, the show has yet to show any major character with any disability.

Here we see how the cast of the first season is mostly Caucasian.

Although the show has some shortcomings in representations, I think this show represents pretty well the genders it shows.

Second Chances in Jessica Jones

By Matthew Ramberger

In Review Topic 4

Theme is very tricky in Jessica Jones. There is no underlining theme that applies to every episode or the whole series as a whole. However, there are certain episodes that have a theme that pushes the whole episode.

Today, I am going to analyze episode 8 of Jessica Jones. First of all, I need to give context about Kilgrave. He has the ability to command people with his voice, and he has used it to kill countless people and ruin countless lives. Jessica, the main protagonist, is living with Kilgrave, so he doesn’t kill any innocent people. In the middle of the episode, Jessica takes Kilgrave and makes him save two children from an abusive father. This makes Kilgrave and the entire audience think the theme is that “people deserve second chances”.

However, the show surprises the audience by having Jessica drug Kilgrave and lock him up at the end of the episode. This hits the audience hard and establishes the new theme of “doing good deeds doesn’t remove your past crimes”. All of the viewers thought that Jessica was going to teach Kilgrave to use his powers for good and be a superhero, but they shut that down very fast at the end.

Kilgrave trapped in cell

This theme helps relate to the show as a whole. It shows that no matter what good deeds Kilgrave does in the present, it doesn’t excuse all of his past murders and crimes. This also helps relate the show to modern law. You could save 1000 people after killing one person, but you would still go to jail for murder and be remembered as a murderer.

This creates a question about how are people redeemable. I believe some people should get second chances after doing a mistake. They should get the ability to redeem themselves and make good in the world. However, there is a certain point beyond return. People like Kilgrave, who have ruined and killed dozens of lives, do not deserve a second chance. It is hard to tell where the line should be drawn between a second chance and not, but some people deserve another chance to make the world a better place.

Examining the Role of Women in the Labour Force According to the Ideals of Fresh Off the Boat

By Jason Howard

Within this episode, Jessica attempts to leave her life as a stay-at-home mom behind and join the workforce as a realtor. However, after her first attempt at the realtor licensing exam, she realizes that re-entering the workforce will be a much tougher nut to crack than she originally believed. One of the main challenges Jessica struggles with is her inability to accept the fact that she was a stay-at-home mom and has to cope with the struggles of others like her who have difficulty entering the work force. The difficulty within switching between the roles of motherhood to worker have long been a key issue in the battle for women’s equality within the labor market.

Jessica often aims to be the best at what she does, but she gives up easily when she faces opposition.

As the episode continues Jessica pretends to have earned her realtor license so as not to lose the respect of her husband, family, and friends and struggles with the concept of heavy competition within the workforce and her desire to avoid the label of stay-at-home mother. After hiding from her family and friends to pretend to be working she realizes that she will only be fulfilled once she has begun to work and is able to compete with the other realtors in the area.

Naturally this transition is one that must be balanced while Jessica maintains her duties around the home. It is her responsibility to both maintain her children’s grades and academic standing as well as to cook and clean around the house, which places a large amount of strain on Jessica. Due to her desire to work hard and to be better than everyone else however, she is able to overcome these barriers and maintain a healthy work-life balance that is often strained when beginning a new career. This episode highlights the difficult transition of women into the labour force as well as the rough odds of a woman being successful in the labor force when burdened by a family.

The Bold Type: When to be serious and when to take a break

By Evelyn Pike

In Review Topic 3

In most films and TV shows, there is only one, distinct main character. However, in The Bold Type, there are a few significant characters.

Jane, Kat, and Sutton are all best friends and have relatively conjoined lives in the show. When something happens to one character in the show, it is not long before the other women are by her side helping her through the issue. Yet, though they are seen together throughout many scenes in each episode, the writers and producers of the show still make time to capture the separate personal stories of each girl.

By following the girls’ lives in each episode and catching frames of specific events that are unique to each character the viewers are able to understand multiple smaller issues/ controversies brought to light by The Bold Type producers, while also, in the end, comprehending the big overarching theme that was present the entirety of that particular episode.

By piecing individual shots together the producers are able to create a cohesive storyline that the audience is able to follow, however also allowing for relief for the viewers when one topic becomes “heavy” or overwhelming.

The Bold Type - The Bold Type Is Nearly Here! Celebrate With Our Favorite Season 1 Moments - 1021

In this scene of “Carry the Weight,” there is a clear sense of serene seriousness when the viewers learn that Jacqueline is a sexual abuse survivor.

In the last episode of The Bold Type, Season 1 Jane is writing a story on the topic of sexual abuse survivors. Since this is a sensitive subject and can cause strong emotions within the audience of the show, The Bold Type makes sure to cut to different things happening within Sutton’s and Kat’s lives as well. This allows for some comic relief, while also expanding upon other issues facing women in America.

The Bold Type - The Bold Type Is Nearly Here! Celebrate With Our Favorite Season 1 Moments - 1020

This scene is just one example of how the show allows for comic relief.

The Bold Type is an empowering TV show meant to open the eyes of its viewers. The topics that it discusses throughout each episode is more times than not, topics that are not talked about a lot and can be considered delicate. In order to keep their viewers and ensure that people keep coming back and keep listening, The Bold Type has to be tactful in the way it presents each episode subject. They do this by giving the audience time to digest more serious topics brought up in the show during quicker shots of funny or less serious problems that the main characters face every day. Relatable in the way it portrays the women of the show as well as not being afraid to ask the real questions, that is The Bold Type.

It’s all about the MONEY, MONEY, MONEY

By Amanda McAuley