Is Marvel’s Luke Cage, a superhero of today’s society? In the new Netflix series, Luke Cage is a black, bulletproof man with his only costume being a hoodie and when it is up, it is worn as superman wears his cape in a fight of justice. The significance of the hoodie touched on a real life matter we faced four years ago, in regards to the death of seventeen year old, Trayvon Martin. With all the shootings and killing of black men today, it is important to many that we have a hero that is black. Whether it is real or not doesn’t even matter, it is the point that our youth can watch Luke Cage and see a black hero who actually takes pride in who he is and acknowledges it. I think the series is literally and symbolically trying to make a connection with black people, culture, society, and the issues and injustice certain individuals may face today. Do you think this series succeeds or fails, barely touching the surface in making a connection to society today?
You will have your critics who say that the show is making a statement, which is why the hoodie is his armor; On the other hand, you will have the other side saying the hoodie makes him a stereotypical black man. The real connection lies within how Luke himself is portrayed, when he is not in superhero mode. If he follows the trend of what people think black men are like in the ghetto, then the show is just perpetuating negative stigmas. Now if he takes the hoodie off and is well spoken with a dignified demeanor, then the show is trying to make a statement. – MikeySheff8 years ago
What is the role of pregnancy in the first two seasons of American Horror Story? In the first season, we have the housewife pregnant with a monster that eventually kills her in childbirth. In the second, we have two women pregnant who are pregnant from the same man. There are many factors that make them different, even to the extent that one is black and one is white. There could be interesting "black and white" comparisons drawn between their roles in their lover's life, how they become pregnant, how they handle their pregnancy, etc. What are the implications of using pregnancy as a plot device?
Time travel. It is always something that everyone knows that should not be messed with, but people tend to go with the flow and try to do something about it anyways whether it is leading to the past, present or future. But the one thing, everyone know is once you do it, there is no going back. In characters we have seen throughout films or television, such as Back to the Future, a memorable trilogy well-known for its flying Dolorean that can travel throughout any time with one Doc and McFly changing their own fates as well to those they care for or in the Flash, about a determined superhero who's more than fast abilities can lead him to travel throughout time with the use of the speed force, but by doing that can lead to massive consequences. How important is knowing time travel? Do we already know what consequences can lead to them? Or what becomes of by using it? Or is it something we end up learning can never change on our own?
Amazing topic! I obviously will speak for many, the idea of time travelling has been fascinating me since I don't remember when :) I'm even crazy/naive/not-always-thinking-of-the-consequences enough to believe that it will come true within some 50-100 years from now if it hasn't yet (conspiracy theories and all that jazz)). But it is pretty scary also. There's so much to say about it. And it's a truly relevant issue because there really are many time travel plots among movies and literary works (no TV series come to my mind so far, but I'm sure there are many). Various genres, various contexts, different purposes and causes for travelling through time... There are tender and dramatic "The Time Traveler's Wife" and heartwarming and sentimental "About Time" with Rachel McAdams, there is weedy quirky "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure" of 1989, there is a French comedy "Les Visiteurs" with Jean Reno; the good old "Groundhog Day" and the incredible love story in "The Lake House" are built around some time shifts, even though it's not like the 'traditional' time travelling. And of course the classic book and all the ecranisations of Herbert Wells's "The Time Machine". And so on... But even "Back to the Future" alone can be a grand playground to swing all this topic on. To me, this trilogy is kind of like classics of the whole time travel idea in movies :)
This will surely end up in something great! – funkyfay8 years ago
What makes Gilmore Girls different from other shows? Is it the fast-paced dialogue and the type of humor, how real it feels? Is it how the writers always leave you a little unsatisfied, never really giving you what you want? All the above? Something totally different? Compare the show to other hit comedies and/or dramadies and talk about what sets it apart.
One of the best analysis of the Gilmore Girls that I've heard was "let's speak really, really quickly in short sentences in a very staccato style and maybe people will think we're clever instead of vapid". – NoDakJack8 years ago
I think the blend of drama and humor is one of the defining traits that lead to the success of Gilmore Girls. Often times they are seen mixing their dramatic story telling with a fair amount of comedy that allows audiences to not be overwhelmed like they would otherwise be in a typical drama – shugo8288 years ago
The relationship between Lorelai and Rorie and that of Lorelai and her mother are interesting. Think on this idea of teenage pregnancy and how this affects mother daughter relationships. – britneyann8 years ago
Matt Sautman's recent article on the popular and strange FX series "American Horror Story" and its new sixth season, Roanoke, prompted me to again pose a reasonable question about the program. Mostly, from a narrative standpoint, I've not heard or read any persuasive argument for what makes the series good.
I suppose part of it is contemporary and topical – horror, in the form of ghosts and zombies and whatnot, is a saleable cultural commodity today. But what I don't understand is how the program works narratively. I appreciated the first season, which seemed straightforward by comparison, to what followed and what we're seeing today in Roanoke. Asylum, Coven, Hotel, and Freak Show introduce a complex cacophony of characters, motivations, conflicts, and arcs. Some of the best and most acclaimed TV introduces a full cast and varying conflicts, but the seasons of The Wire or Girls or The Sopranos or Breaking Bad don't push such radical variance in the characters and dynamics.
I wanted very much to enjoy Asylum. But, as an example of the sort of narrative problem in each season I'm describing, Asylum layers horror on horror on horror on horror ad nauseam. As I wrote before, you get an old asylum (sufficiently disturbing), layer on a set of Catholic nuns (again, sufficiently disturbing), layer on demonic/Satanic possession of a kid (right), layer on a transfer of that possession to one of the junior nuns (terribly disturbing), layer on a Nazi eugenics doctor in hiding (um), layer on that the Nazi is breeding scifi monsters and interacting with aliens (what?), layer on an interracial couple and alien abduction (…), layer on a serial killer who decorates his home with human remains (wait), and so on. Add, of course, that the show tries to keep you invested in roughly the same number of characters as the number of the episodes in the season.
Again, I don't see that Coven, Hotel, Freak Show, or Roanoke did anything all that differently, from a narrative convention. Sautman can use it as a pop culture vehicle to critique racial politics in the US, but I would like someone to address the program and its structure, its coherence. I mean it seems as if the writers choose a setting and then have the team brainstorm everything horrible that might occur in that setting, even if those horrible things might not fit the genre evoked by the setting (e.g., devil-possessed nuns and Nazis and
The HBO success "Game of Thrones" brings on screen a wide variety of characters with clear mental issues. From Joffrey's violent nature, which lacks any form of remorse, to Ramsay's damaged personality or Jamie and Cersei's incestuous relationship (also Sansa Stark, Jon Snow and Theon Greyjoy can be interesting examples). It would be fascinating to use psychoanalytical concepts, taken from Freud, Jung or Klein, in order to offer a reading of these characters and their backstories and objectives.
This would be so cool to read and an interesting topic to explore. I'm not an avid watcher of "Game of Thrones" myself, but I think that psychoanalytic theory and concepts can be applied to any fictional character, whether they be literary or cinematic. Freud, Jung, or Klein would all be of course good places to start - anyone interested in researching this would I think also be inclined to check out the work of Erich Fromm (philosopher/psychologist). His work in "Escape from Freedom" is a great analysis of authoritarian, sadistic, and masochistic character-types - theories which could be applied to characters such as Joffrey. – kyletsakiris8 years ago
The new HBO series 'West World' is a striking example of a deeply philosophical reflection of the world we live in. It poses questions regarding the existence of God, who or what is he? Are people able to 'play' God? Is there another world, one which is invisible for us? Or maybe countless dimensions? Are our everyday lives just a meaningless form of existence or is there a deeper meaning to everything? The series suggests that everything happens for a reason and people can, after all, control their own destiny.
Such an interesting topic! The TV series Westworld has gone much further than simply being a remake of the 1973 movie. In the series, we follow human characters but, most of all, we follow the robots and we sympathize with them. We mainly see their perspectives and, sometimes, we even identify with them. The consequences of such a directorial choice are complex. Robots are not presented as others anymore. They have feelings, memories, and back-stories. They are continuously updated in order to satisfy the clients better, in a way that reminds us of the way in which we continuously need to adapt ourselves to the ever-changing external world. Even though these robots are depicted in such a ‘human’ way to us, we also see them treated as objects, as goods by the clients and by their creators. Still, even within their oppressed and objectified position, these robots manage to control their own storylines. In this way, the old motif of the struggle between creator and creature –which recalls Shelley’s Frankenstein– is explore in a new, existential way. Can individuals escape determinism? Can we rewrite a story that has already been written? If not, is there a meaning in our lives?
– CostanzaCasati8 years ago
Every time I watch a TV series, there are always comments from people saying that two characters should become a couple, even though they are portrayed as just friends. I personally don't have a problem with romance, but it seems like that's all everyone talks about when it comes to television. There are even characters that are searching for romance.
In real life, love is not something you feel just because you want to, and while it is fun to ship people once in a while, I find that there are very few who understand the idea of friendship.
What is it about romance that makes such good entertainment? Why can't two people just be friends and be happy with that?
It may also be a good idea to talk about the best way to execute a romance, and what the circumstances should be. – enizzari8 years ago
Difficult to engender narrative energy from just a friendship. Maybe because the power dynamics are too steady, too symmetrical. Generally, dramatic intensity comes from romantic/erotic love/lust, as well as more vertical relationships, ie parent-child, mentor-protege, master-servant. Any number of psychological/psychoanalytic reasons that might be, if you want to go into that. – TKing8 years ago
Considering how much emphasis is put on romantic love in Western society, making characters have a romantic relationship rather than a platonic one raises the stakes of any obstacles that might jeopardize that relationship. Romantic love is often positioned as the ultimate goal of life, so people will go to further extremes to achieve and maintain it. – chrischan8 years ago
I think the purpose is to create sexual tension. In the past once the onscreen couple did get together, it ended the show because there was no longer any interest on the part of the audience. This as called the Moonlighting Effect named after the show Moonlighting, a show that was cancelled after the two protagonists got together. The Moonlighting Effect also had an impact on Superman: The Adventures of Lois and Clark. With Friends the writers were worried about Chandler and Monica getting together and how it would affect ratings. I think a way to develop this topic would be to examine how the idea of friendship and love has changed. Shows don't end anymore once a couple gets together. I think Friends broke the Moonlighting curse. – Munjeera8 years ago
Of Confucius' five relationships, four - ruler to subject, father to son, husband to wife, elder to younger - are based on the tension between inequality and difficulty in severing the bond, while the other relationship - friendship - is based on equality and a more easily dissolved bond. The unknottable blood ties of family, it seems, might make the best heavy dramas, while friendships, requiring a more positive, public face might best lend themselves to lighter dramas and comedies. – Tigey8 years ago
Honestly, I think it's totally possible for two people to be just friends without it developing into a relationship. Take Harry Potter and Hermione Granger, for example. They were incredible friends, leaned on each other through thick and thin, and neither of them ever thought of the other as anything more than a best friend. I just think we've become accustomed to stories having at least a little bit to do with some kind of romantic relationship. And since that's engrained in people's brains, that's what they write about. – Jenae8 years ago
