English 1102: Television and Feminism

Dr. Casey Alane Wilson • Georgia Institute of Technology

Tag: #theboldtype

The Importance of “Kadena” in The Bold Type

The Bold Type heavily focuses on the lives of three women, Kat, Sutton, and Jane. Therefore it’s no surprise that the majority of the show’s screen time is dedicated to women. However, the time and agency given to two of its minority actresses, Aisha Dee “Kat” and Nikohl Boosheri  “Adena”, make a significant contribution to the overall minority representation on screen today.

Some might question the importance of seeing people similar to them on television, however, representation is crucial for both younger generations and older generations. The Bold Type has contributed to a vastly empty representation sphere, young Muslim women specifically lesbian hijabis. While my life/personality is quite different from Adena my heart leaped when I saw her on screen, tears may or may not have been shed. I found it surprisingly satisfying to relate to Adena and realize how much I had been craving young Muslim representation on tv. It is important to note that The Bold Type was certainly unique with their characterization of Adena and did not make a cookie cutter stereotypically character, rather the show added multiple layers of individuality and complexity to Adena even though at first she was only a guest actor. The actor Nikohl Boosheri during an interview with Glamour stated that

“ If we were going to use pansexually and Islam and merge them together, it needed to feel real…with a character like this you are going to offend some people…I can only do my best to tell this one story.” – Nikohl Boosheri

Representation has a much greater impact when one person’s story is focused on rather than attempt to squeeze multiple stereotypes into one character’s story arc.

Kat’s story arc is also especially notable. The show spends a significant time developing Kat’s relationship with Adena and showing Kat’s path to understanding her sexuality. The show, in my opinion, did a great job representing coming out as an encouraging experience as opposed to a dark and upsetting process that is often emphasized in media. However, as one of the lead roles and a person of color, it was upsetting that The Bold Type, a show known to address relevant topics such immigration, seemly dismissed Kat’s race by never addressing it in season one. However, the show attempted to redeem itself in season two. The episode Rose Colored Glasses, allowed Kat to come to terms with her background while also creating a discussion about being biracial. The Bold Type is just one show in millions however they are helping to contribute to the hopefully expanding representation of women and minorities on screen.

adena and kat

Work Cited

https://www.glamourmagazine.co.uk/article/nikohl-boosheri-the-bold-type-interview

We Can All Relate to The Bold Type

It is hard to believe that a show centered around the lives of three women would be so popular, but as The Bold Type gets ready to air its third season, we can all see that people must really love it! I started watching the show when it first came on television, much earlier than the start of these blog posts. I loved the show before, and I love it now! Just like every other viewer, I was drawn in by the drama and stayed for the storyline. I felt as though I could relate to each of the characters, even when the problems were issues that I had never faced personally, the show made it where I could sympathize, and with a fictional character nonetheless. I think that is the mastery behind the intrigue of The Bold Type. The writers tell a story and present an issue that maybe not every person has faced, but that is portrayed in a scope that allows the audience to draw similarities.

For instance, in the first season, Sutton is faced with a difficult decision of having to choose between her love life and her work and in the end, she chooses her work. The work environment she is in judges her capabilities on who she is dating rather than her actual talent. She should not have to pick between the two, but she has to in order to keep the respect of the people around her.

There are probably not that many people who watch the show that have a story exactly like Sutton’s, but there are a lot of women who are constantly fighting to gain the respect of others simply because they are female. It is a sad truth that though society has come far, there is still judgment and that may never go away completely. Yet, shows like The Bold Type allows women to relate and to know they are not the only ones and people come back to that kind of show. We are all different, but we all deserve the knowledge that life is challenging for all of us and though those challenges are not the same we can still find support, whether in friends, family, or in tv shows like The Bold Type.

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Sutton from The Bold Type

Why the music in the Bold Type is Amazing

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.

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

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

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.

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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.

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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.

 

How The Bold Type Writes About Tough Issues such as Gun Control

In the episode titled “Betsy”, Sutton Brady’s hidden shotgun is discovered by Jane Sloan. Pitched by writer Matt McGuinness the episode intended on showcasing two perspectives on the gun debate but according to the showrunner Amanda Lasher, aimed to approach the often polarized subject with a more personal stance (Britan).

“We felt really strongly about normalizing those conversations about gun ownership and taking it out of the political so we could make progress on this issue…“And as long as we stuck with our guiding light by doing it through the lens of the friendship and the girls’ experience, we thought we would be OK.” – Amanda Lasher ( showrunner )

The episode focused on writing parallel stories of Sutton’s reliance and safety behind her gun and Jane’s distrust and fear for guns. The Bold Type deliberately used a debate like setting by placing a meaningful dialogue between Sutton and Jane while using Kat, Ryan, and Jacqueline as moderators. This structure enables the audience to hear both sides of the argument while also understanding both the characters on an emotional level through the medium of their strong friendship ( that thankfully could not be broken by this debate).

Ryan’s conversation with Jane on this issue is one way the show draws parallels between Jane and Sutton’s differing stance on gun control. Ryan pitches the question, “What do you think will happen with her gun in your apartment?” to which Jane replies, “I am going to feel uncomfortable in my own apartment.” However, Ryan rebuking this statement by saying Jane’s argument is weak and encouraging Jane to try harder to understand Sutton’s viewpoint shifts the conversation back to Sutton’s perspective implicitly hinting that perhaps Sutton too will feel “uncomfortable” in her apartment without her gun.

Although the show often attempts to occur within our reality and while this episode name dropped plenty of current events such as the Parkland and Vegas mass shootings, the episode does not exploit these events. Rather than writing in a traumatic crisis to the storyline, the show explores the issue of gun control in a more small-scale angle through the relationships of its three best friends. It does not stray far from its characters. From having Sutton name her gun Betsy to explaining why Jane is so apprehensive about being near a gun, the show allows its characters to explore the topic of gun control in a more personal level.

Sutton showing Kat and Jane what she likes about skeet shooting

Work Cited

Bitran, Tara. “’The Bold Type’ Boss and Star on ‘Normalizing Conversations About Gun Control’.” Variety, Variety, 18 July 2018, variety.com/2018/tv/news/the-bold-type-gun-episode-sutton-1202872954/.

Voice-overs v. Silence in The Bold Type

If you have ever worked out to one of those exercise videos, you know what I am talking about when I say the person teaching those workouts could definitely have a second job as a motivational speaker. As weird as it sounds, however, it’s actually true. The coaches have a knack for getting people to “keep going” far past the point of when they would much rather give up.

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Jane waiting to find out if she will be sued.

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Sutton speaking to Oliver about giving her benefits.

The Bold Type uses the voice of a cycling class instructor as a voice-over in the episode “No Feminism in the Champagne Room”, as multiple major events are happening in each of the main character’s lives. The instructor’s voice reigns over the images of Sutton as she goes into her new boss’s office and demanded benefits since her new job does not pay enough and she knows that she is worth more than what he is willing to offer. The inspirational voice continued as Jane sits in a conference room facing the threat of a lawsuit from a woman she has written a story on and who is now blaming her for some misfortunate events that happened since the release of the story.

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Kat telling Adena that she wants to be in a relationship after her spin class.

The voice of the coach continues still, from its original source, where Kat is in the cycling class listening to the encouraging words as she is trying to sort through her own feelings of confusion where Adena is concerned.

Words like, “you are here for a reason!”….“test what you are capable of” ….“ the journey is just as important as the destination, so embrace the incline!”… “push through, you are stronger than you think”, are playing in the background of the episode. Though it is an exercise instructor who is originally only speaking for her students, her words are universal to all of the obstacles faced by the girls in the show.

There are also moments of silence within the episode. Set in between louder music, everything will stop in order to bring attention to a few words or one specific event. Like when Kat poured her heart out to Adena, the music played loudly, yet when Adena said she was leaving for Paris to try and fix things with her girlfriend, all music faded away. This happens again when Jane finds out that she has the BRCA gene mutation and is more at risk to get breast cancer than others.

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Jane getting a blood test to see if she has the mutation.

The use of a voice over is typically not used in The Bold Type, however, in this episode, it makes an impact on the viewer, as do the moments of silence. Both affect the emotions of the viewer. Unselfconsciously making viewers feel as if they are a character on the show themselves.

Being Different in an “Accepting” World

Each passing year introduces new technologies to the world around us. Seen also as time continues are the advances towards acceptance of all people, no matter their gender, race, culture, religion, etc. However, even in this progressive age, there are still many instances of prejudice.

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Adena El-Amin

 

The character portrayal of Adena El-Amin within Freeform’s The Bold Type brings attention to the prejudice that is is still prevalent within the United States. Not only is Adena treated unfairly for being a Muslim woman, she is also scrutinized for her choice in sexuality. In one episode, in particular, Adena is walking with her friend, Kat, when her mom calls. Seeing as Adena’s mother speaks their native language, Adena answers in Arabic. Though, as she is walking and speaking on the phone a man rudely yells at her to “…speak English!”, and then goes on to call her a “towel head” when Kat begins to speak out for Adena. In this portion of the episode, the viewer not only sees the harsh treatment Adena receives for simply being herself, but we also witness her fear of authority in the United States when she runs instead of telling the police what actually happened.

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Kat calling for Adena after she realizes that she ran away.

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Adena explaining she had to leave.

Kat is baffled by her friend’s decision to run but later comes to realize that Adena does not really have the same choices as her. All though both women were only defending themselves, because of who Adena is (a lesbian Muslim woman) being right would not have been enough and there was a very real possibility that she would be deported.

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Kat’s Boss telling her that sadly, being in the right isn’t always enough.

 

 

The Bold Type is a show that says what needs to be said. It talks on topics that many people would rather sweep under the rug. Topics like the prejudice that many women still face and how that bias is spread within all social circles, whether that be a man walking past who yells a hurtful phrase, or a policeman who doesn’t believe a woman simply because she is another color. The Bold Type shows viewers the real deal… It is hard to be different and it shouldn’t have to be.

 

 

“Who runs the world? GIRLS!”

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Alex is one of the only male writers at Scarlet Magazine.

…. or at least that is how it is on Freeform’s tv series The Bold Type. Predominantly made up of female characters, having all three main characters be women, this show is shifting the axis away from male-dominated television and into a new direction of strong independent ladies. Of course, there are men within the show, but it is fairly clear that at Scarlet Magazine, a fictional company within the show, men are outnumbered by a mile. However, it is not just the representation of women that The Bold Type brings to the table, but also the many controversial struggles faced by the female gender in particular.

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Jane is just a regular girl trying to figure out her life.

In the first two episodes of The Bold Type we meet the main characters: Jane, Kat, and Sutton, and we see almost immediately that each of these women are facing their own personal problems. Jane, a newly promoted writer, is faced with the difficult task of writing a magazine piece on her “best orgasm”. Since she has never had one, the thought of this task is terrifying and makes her feel isolated as it seems all of her friends have more experience than her and she even goes as far as calling her OBGYN in order to make sure she does not have anything “wrong” with her.

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This is Kat and Adena… you can see the heart eyes from a mile away.

Kat, on the other hand, is extremely active, but yet is facing difficulties in pinpointing her sexual identity as she is starting to have feelings for Adena, a Muslim lesbian photographer (who in herself brings to light differentiability and acceptance not usually seen on television). Being that Kat has only previously had relationships with men, she feels as though that makes her heterosexual and views in the show witness her almost trying to convince herself of this fact. Then there is Sutton who is, for all intensive purposes, sleeping with the boss and in doing so risks her job if anyone finds out.

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Sutton and Richard (her boss’s boss and her bf).

Each challenge faced is different in many aspects, but also similar in the respects that there is a double standard for women, as each character fears judgment that perhaps would not be placed on them where they another gender. The problems brought to light by this tv show are common occurrences for women everywhere, however, it is only on The Bold Type that we see these issues being taken on. The Bold Type shows women that they are not alone in the obstacles they face.

 

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The Bold Type shows women that they are not alone.

 

 

 

Not Too Broad, Not Too Specific

Hey, everyone! My name is Faisal Chaudry, and I am a Civil Engineering student from Marietta, Georgia. I anticipate graduating with the class of 2022, but you never know what might come up along the way.

I have taken advanced English courses in high school, like AP Language and AP Literature. ENGL 1102 is the only English course that I will be taking at university, and frankly, I am quite relieved. Although I do relatively well in English classes, I always find them to be my least favorite course. I can read and write well, but having required books to read is so demotivating for me. Also, writing essays has always been a constant annoyance of mine, especially timed writings.

looking at you, AP Lit teacher

Despite my general frustration with English, I am excited for ENGL 1102. Rather than writing long, worthless essays and reading extensive novels, I get to watch TV shows for homework!

when your hw is to binge s1 of The Good Place

I enjoy using visual and electronic communication because I express myself more through showing others how I feel or what I believe rather than just telling or writing about it. I struggle the most with oral communication because I am not a sociable person, so speaking confidently is not my strong suit. However, I hope to build my oral skills so that I can interact with my peers throughout this semester.

I am aware of the role television has in perpetuating feminism in the mainstream. I have three sisters who are TV fanatics, so I tend to know a great deal about female-driven TV shows and storylines because they will unsolicitedly tell me everything about what is happening. Therefore, I am somewhat familiar with shows like Jane the Virgin, The Bold Type, and New Girl (not saying I ever watched them).

As for me, I consider myself an aficionado of television. I do not frequently start new shows all the time, but when I do, I will binge it. No question about it. Shameless is one of my top shows right now, and I binged all eight seasons within a month. I also enjoy BBC miniseries, like Sherlock, Luther, and Peaky Blinders, because they have captivating characters and suspenseful story arcs that keep me hooked.

me when Season 9 of Shameless premieres on Sunday

I am choosing to review Broad City for these blog posts because it is a show that I would never typically watch. It seems like the quintessential millennial comedy- a dynamic duo of female twenty-somethings in New York City who get into wacky yet hilarious situations, usually to meet new people or get more money. I have heard countless rave reviews about this show, and I know that it has a uniquely quirky sense of humor that I believe is a refreshing step away from the conventional sitcom. I cannot wait to see what this series has in store for my late-night TV bingeing. 

Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer, creators of Broad City

Being BOLD can be really awkward… and I totally get that.

So I read this meme that said, “when you’re smart enough to know you’re awkward but not smart enough to know how to not be awkward”…. and honestly, it was wayyy too relatable.

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The Bold Type encourages viewers to embrace their individuality.

My name’s Eve; I’m an International Affairs and Modern Languages major studying German, but if I’m being real with you, I kinda suck at it. I’m supposed to graduate in 2022, but again, if I’m being real with you, we’ll see how that goes. I like to think of myself as a walking contradiction because I am a public/motivational speaker, in which I can stand on a stage in front of thousands of people and speak, but in small group settings I am reallyyy awkward and I cannot “small talk” to save my life. Hopefully, throughout this semester that will change ( i.e. I’ll become less socially awkward… somehow).
Over the summer, I was here at Ga Tech (roughhh, ik:/) I spent 5 weeks taking 3 classes, each of which are usually taken during a 16 week period. But hey, I figured why not melt my brain with compound stress and get 7 credit hours out of the way, right? Anyways, so one of the classes I took was English 1101. The topic in my class was basically, whether college represented in popular culture is comparable to college in real-life. In this class, we watched tv shows, read scholarly articles, and wrote annotated bibliographies, similar to the projects we are doing in this English 1102 class.
I am choosing to review The Bold Type because not only did I watch this TV show while trying to gain the motivation to continue living while taking classes here over the summer (jk, I promise), but also it is an extremely relatable show that brings to light many controversial topics that impact women across the world, teaching us that even though it’s awkward sometimes, it’s ok for us to take chances, be ourselves, and just live life to the fullest.

 

 

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