English 1102: Television and Feminism

Dr. Casey Alane Wilson • Georgia Institute of Technology

Tag: #aboutme

FYI: Here’s What You Need to Know About Me

Hello,

My name is Maya Krajeck. I am majoring in industrial engineering, a status I hope to soon change, and I am optimistically (and apparently unrealistically judging by the other blog posts’ expectations on the matter) expecting to graduate in 2022. I have lived in Nashville Tennessee for the past 6 years, however I was raised half in Florida and half in Greece. Due to this bicultural exposure, it is technically accurate of me to claim that English is my second language, and I take no hesitations in blaming my poor grammar on that.

I never truly loved English classes, that is up until my senior year of highschool, yet I always loved literature. I was the socially awkward kid in elementary school who spent recess huddled in a corner over a book. I can vividly remember my nose stuck in a novel as I walked around my house, bumping into furniture and enduring stubbed toes in sake of a good story. You would hope this somehow translated to me being a good listener, however my ears are almost as weak as my mouth. Verbal communication will never cease to be an obstacle for me, with the only glimmer of hope being in my pun and “wit” abilities (which are built completely off shows such as Gilmore Girls, 30 Rock, and Will and Grace). I would love to improve on all elements of “WOVEN” but verbal is definitely a priority. My Greek heritage helped me become advanced in non verbal communications, as our hands are usually saying more than we do. This is my first English class at Tech, and rate my professor makes me optimistic that I can accomplish my goals in it.

I have never before taken an English class which assigned me TV shows to watch. I am grateful for this opportunity, as I consume way too much TV.  I watch everything: Bojack Horseman, Big Little Lies, Game of Thrones, Seinfeld, Girl Meets World (a fantastic feminist show that should be on the list). When asked whether I am a movie or TV person, TV is always the answer.

For this assignment I will happily be watching Murphy Brown, a show I had never even heard of before this class. It follows a headstrong Murphy Brown in her return to journalism after rehab. My interest in this show peaked after ready Stealing The Show and seeing its positive influence on television culture.

Image result for murphy Brown gif

When you get to watch TV for class.

Not Ruining a Space Opera with Boorish Behavior +1.3

Hi everyone! My name is Schuler Kleinfelter, and I’m a Music Technology major. I expect to graduate in 2022, but a victory lap isn’t entirely out of the question. Previously I’ve taken pretty standard English courses. I really enjoyed the analytical nature of AP Lang, and I despised the often-subjective and muddled nature of AP Lit. My favorite part of communication is phrasing and presenting my verbal or written communications in funny ways. I tend to struggle with nonverbal communication, mostly because I overthink it. I’ll spend so much time thinking about how to communicate what I want to nonverbally that I’ll miss my opportunity to actually do so. Hopefully I’ll be able to improve that this semester, although it will probably just take practice over time.

I never had cable TV as a kid, so I pretty much only watched PBS Kids and Sunday cartoons on The CW. I got Netflix a few years ago, and I’ve definitely spent more time watching it than I should have, but I don’t think I’ve ever gone to ridiculous levels with bingewatching. Almost all the shows that I’ve watched have been funny shows, but they haven’t been comedies first-and-foremost. I’ve watched procedural crime shows like Psych and Bones; space operas like Firefly and Dark Matter; fantasy adventure shows such as Doctor Who and The Magicians; fun science shows such as Mythbusters and The White Rabbit Project; and DC shows like Young Justice and Supergirl. I have very little experience with shows in which the main focus of the show is the relationships between characters or with shows in which the comedy is the main focus, because I tend to prefer shows where the comedy and drama are grounded by a central plot (as opposed to shows where the plot is secondary to the drama or comedy). So shows such as Jane The Virgin — where it’s easier to count the characters that haven’t diddled each other than the ones who have — will be new to me.

I have chosen to review Killjoys because it’s a space opera, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed all the other space operas that I’ve watched.

Killjoys Poster Art (click here for original image URL)

For anyone wondering, a space opera is a scifi show set largely in space (who would have guessed?) including elements such as daring adventure, interplanetary battles, advanced weaponry, chivalry, and characters with special abilities. The most famous of which is Star Wars.

Killjoys is about three bounty hunters called Killjoys who chase down warrants throughout an area of space called the Quad which is on the brink of a class war.

Fun Fact: before I decided on Killjoys I was considering sense8, and my title for this blog post would have been “A Sense8tional Introduction.”

Philippe Lamarche in 341 Words

Hi, and welcome to my first blog post. My name is Philippe Lamarche, and I’m a Quebec-born Biology major projected to graduate in 2022. This is my first experience in an English class at Georgia Tech, and there are a couple reasons as to why I’m looking forward to this course. English classes in the past have taught me important lessons that go far beyond the walls of the classroom, and I believe this will be no exception. They have greatly improved my quality of writing, given me valuable public speaking practice, and pushed me out of my comfort zone with multimedia projects. However, my development as a multimedia content creator is far from over, and my gut tells me that I will be getting plenty of opportunities to improve.

Additionally, this class will introduce me to a variety of television shows that will expand my understanding of the genre. I have never been an avid television viewer, so I feel that this is a media outlet that I can learn from. Clearly, people put lots of passion into television shows they produce, so it’s only natural that they would contain insightful themes or interesting comments on the state of society. I’ve picked the television series Jessica Jones in the hopes that it will contain just that. I’m choosing it based on positive reviews I’ve heard from my friends, as well as an interesting premise that I think will keep me captivated throughout all the episodes. It’s a show about a ex-superheroine with a dark past who becomes a private investigator in NYC dealing with people who have remarkable abilities, like herself. The protagonist is really interesting because she is both clearly flawed and clearly powerful, so seeing how she will handle her obstacles in the show should be very interesting. On top of that, she doesn’t seem like the generic strong female lead that we see in certain blockbusters like the Divergent trilogy.

Below is my Common First-Week Video, if you care to learn more about my expectations for this class.

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