TV

Write about "The Marvelous Mrs.Maisel", why its good, and why it should be watched. A relatively simple story, featuring a woman going against what was expected of her at that time, how she struggles against the norms and how she is trying to be independent at a time when women were expected to be accessories to their husbands.

Incest is a fundamental taboo in society. We recognise this for many reasons.

Yet for some odd reason it has begun to rear its ugly head within television, and it does not seem to be demonised as much as one would expect. The perfect example of this is the relationship between the siblings, Jamie and Cirsei Lannister, in 'Game of Thrones.' This is ridiculed within the narrative and by other characters, yet it is shown in somewhat graphic detail in the first episode. They are both very attractive actors and the act, without context is an attractive bit of television soft-porn. How are we meant to interpret this? There are a myriad of other inferences by other characters, often used to symbolise the unhealthiness or negative representation of a character, yet this seems largely undermined by the treatment then of the characters within the narrative as redeemable heroes (somewhat). A recent episode of 'Rick and Morty', already known for its dark humour, but on the pulse cultural reflection, a "Morty" made a wish that "incest porn was more mainstream" – it was a line used to punctuate the scene with humour before one of the "Morty's" leapt to his death. However, this is still an open discussion of incest in a somewhat positive manner.

Obviously, this is a highly contentious discussion and one that needs to be handled carefully. However, akin to the inclusion of "rape fantasies" in much of paranormal romance, it is a concerning trend that should be discussed.

There has been an enduring presence of celibate male heroes in our media. Although these heroes are admittedly scarce, female protagonists that aren't romantically or sexually inclined, are even less common. Discuss the reasons for this absence. Give examples of TV shows and films that feature a female protagonist who has no love interest.

The recent release of the television series 'The Tick' has presented one of the most interesting genre mash ups. With clear nods to the Film Noir style: in the cinematography, the editing, and the structure of the narrative. It is also obviously a superhero show with some strongly comedic and traditional tropes in place: the hero's journey (actually pointed out in dialogue), the abilities of the characters, the motivation of the characters and the various costuming, choreography of fight scenes, etc. that we are used to associating with such texts. The superhero side leans so heavily into the bright, ridiculous world of comic books that it seems outlandish that the elements of the darker, serious Noir style would even work, yet oddly the mash up is remarkably appealing and visually interesting. If this is the new future for television superhero shows then my faith has been restored!

Within the past few years, the way we watch television has completely transformed. Between releasing 15 episodes at once to specialized mini-series with only 8 episodes we are traveling in a new direction. Is this a positive force or negative? How so and who is affected? More creatives are finally being able to produce the shows they may have had difficulty with in the past. But is this all just recycled visual information coming out in a larger quantity? By simply hitting "next episode" are we focusing on the content or having a competition to binge the series in under a weekend?

Thoughts?

The new revival of nostalgic television has taken a darker path. The success of 'Stranger Things' has been a catalyst for encouraging the development of nostalgia projects, however, at its heart it is a dark and disturbing tale. The recent release of the 'Riverdale' series based on the 'Archie' comics has been an interesting progression down this darker road. Utilising the same characters, the television interpretation has developed a show full of murder, death, drugs, gangs and violence all obviously in vast contrast to the actuality of the comic series. Yet this series is resonating with the viewers. It seems that the rose-coloured lens of viewing the early American Dream as a reality is truly dead, yet because of it this is becoming a must view series. Have we as viewers now completely lost our innocence?

Following a Nietzschean line of philosophy: one must be deeply engaged in the world on an experiential level to obtain a respected opinion. Struggle is imperative in this process as it develops our own inner identity; through battling against a thing that we hate we become more akin to the things we love. Here I pose the question: is Girls a TV series we should take seriously on issues like gender oppression, sexual assault and racial division? Has the creator Lena Dunham been through enough social struggle to speak for groups that experience daily marginalisation, when she herself may not typically be considered marginalised?

Netflix has become enormously popular and universally used thereby opening doors to many new series and even having series exclusive to it such as Daredevil, Mindhunter etc… Netflix has revolutionised our watching habits because of this and has made the concept of 'binging' a television series more commonplace. Discuss its impact on not only our viewing habits but in the entertainment industry as a whole.