Real Influential Women Role Models (Real and Fictitious) - Fictional Woman of the Week: Nikki Parker from "The Parkers" (1999-2004)

Another spinoff series, "The Parkers" was a sitcom introduced through "Moesha". Nikki Parker (Mo'Nique) is the mother of Kim (Countess Vaughn), Moesha's friend.

This basic premise of the show is that Nicole "Nikki" Parker gave birth to Kimberly Ann Parker when she was a teenager, thus missing out on college. So when her daughter attends Santa Monica College, Nikki joins her.

In addition to her studies, which she takes very seriously, this Alize-loving gal is a multi-businesswoman. She is first involved with Lady Egyptian cosmetics and then begins her own catering service.

Now, some people may not consider her a feminist character because throughout the series she chases the object of her affections, Professor Stanley Oglevee (Dorien Wilson), a man who clearly wants nothing to do with her, or even like her for that matter. In fact, he goes as far as to point out that he utterly despises her and has put a restraining order on her, but yet she always battles other women for his love, much to his aggravation. She's also extremely delusional, thinking that she is already in a relationship with him.

Then again, she might be admired by audiences for this as well because she is a woman who knows what she wants and is pursuing her man, thus switching gender roles. Whatever it may be, it makes for entertainment.

Nikki is sometimes prone to violence or threats if you cross her, her daughter, or, if you're a woman, get near the Professor, making people somewhat afraid of her at times, so in this way she may not necessarily be that positively influential. My favorite aspect of her though is that she is confident, both mentally and physically, and always stands up for herself when people push her too far. But even under her tough exterior, she also has a lot of tenderness towards others, especially for Kim. Nikki and Kim are one of my favorite TV mother/daughter relationships.

She is also often found laughing and looking at the positive sides of life.

Her Outcome: Nikki graduates college and is about to marry another man when the Professor crashes her wedding and states that he loves her and has been a fool all of these years. After apologizing to her betrothed, she then becomes Mrs. Stanley Oglevee.

I really didn't like this ending because I felt that it wasn't realistic at all and that she should've finally moved on, but I guess they wanted to end it with a happy, expected conclusion.

Since her "Parkers' years, Mo'Nique has had plenty of her own achievements. Among these are the awards, including a Golden Globe and Oscar, she won for her role in Precious back in 2009. I also give her credit for her hard earned weight loss.

Real Influential Women Role Models (Real and Fictitious) - Fictional Woman of the Week: Maude Findlay from "Maude" (1972-1978)

Happy Women's History Month, Everyone!

I decided to resurrect this series for Women's History Month, this time writing a weekly post about a fictional female character throughout the month. We begin with Mrs. Maude Findlay, played by the legendary Bea Arthur.

"Maude" is a spinoff series of another controversial seventies sitcom "All in the Family", Maude being Edith Bunker's cousin.

Maude Findlay is the embodiment of feminism. The show discusses many different modern controversial topics, such as women's liberation, abortion, politics, marriage, civil rights, gender norms, and the like. Whether it is dealing with her lackadaisical yet just as passionate fourth husband Walter (Bill Macy), her divorced live-in daughter Carol (Adrienne Barbeau), or her neighbors and friends Arthur (Conrad Bain) and Vivian (Rue McClanahan), Maude runs her house with an iron fist and class.

And plenty of fights.

One downside to Maude is that she has a tendency to be very combative, sarcastic, and stubborn, traits that can turn viewers off to her. But even though, there are times where if she goes too far with her arguments and Walter tells her what to do, she does it without a word. To me this is not her being submissive but rather showing the underlying respect she has for her husband even though a second ago she was just yelling at him.

This is all a result of how she genuinely cares about the issues and the people she loves. What's great about her is that she stands up for herself and her beliefs and challenges the status quo, all doing so with a sharp tongue and pizzazz. She is a strong character will strong feelings that she isn't afraid to express and has a regal presence whenever she walks into a room.

You can catch "Maude" on Antenna TV.

Her Outcome: At the end of the series, Maude and Walter move to Washington, D.C. where Maude begins her work as a Congresswoman. Very appropriate.

The Parallels and Unnecessary Villainy Between StarKid's "Twisted" and Disney's "Frozen"

I am once again inspired to compare a StarKid production to a Disney one.

Back around Thanksgiving, Team StarKid released their latest musical, Twisted: The Untold Story of a Royal Vizier, on YouTube. It tells the story of Disney's Aladdin from Jafar's point of view with satire and it is brilliantly done.

I actually watched it for the first time last week today around this time, and the more I think about it, the more it bears a resemblance to Disney's Frozen, and that's not just because they were both released Thanksgiving 2013 weekend.

Unlike my Starship versus The Little Mermaid piece, this won't be a compare and contrast to see which is better considering one is an actual Disney film and the other is a parody of an actual Disney film and also of Wicked. These will just be some observations I have made.

Before I proceed, I will warn you that this will be spoiler heavy for both musicals, so read at your own risk. If you would like to watch Twisted before reading, check out the video I provided for you below. Normally they upload their musicals by scenes, but for this one they decided to upload the entire show in one video as well. Also, if you are a diehard Aladdin fan, be wary when you watch this. It made me look at the cartoon in a totally different way and I don't want to ruin the Disney magic for you. So once again, proceed with caution.

Twisted contains strong adult language.

You ready?

The Poor, Misunderstood, Isolated Main Characters: Jafar and Elsa

Jafar, played by Dylan Saunders, and Elsa, voiced by Idina Menzel

Both Jafar and Elsa are misunderstood individuals with tragic pasts. Even though they both have ties to the highest hierarchy of the kingdom, Elsa a queen and Jafar an adviser to the Sultan, they are also isolated by the commoners that they are so eager to protect.

Elsa actually isn't isolated by the kingdom as much as she isolates herself from them per advice from the magic expert Trolls and her parents. It isn't until she reveals her ice powers and runs away herself that the kingdom starts to fear her and her lack of control.

As for Jafar, there is no clear reason why the kingdom hates him so much. He doesn't do anything bad but rather think realistically about the state of the kingdom and wanting reform. Everyone else is too idealistic and believe that wishing and dreaming is the only step you need to take to succeed, whereas Jafar does not. The only thing he is truly guilty of is disagreeing with everyone else.

There are actually articles I have read briefly that try to argue the claim that Frozen is an allegory for Christianity and that Anna, Elsa's younger sister, represents Jesus Christ. Well, I see this more with Twisted. Not that Jafar represents Jesus necessarily, but more so any other biblical figure, like Noah, Jonah, or Moses. Twisted actually reminds me a lot of a Sight and Sound Theatres production. I've seen shows at their Lancaster, Pennsylvania location and Twisted's characters, costumes, and makeup greatly resemble theirs, especially during the "Golden Rule (Reprise)". The whole Middle Eastern setting and time period concept is similar and Jafar is similar to biblical figures in the way that he tries to help others change for good, but there are certain people who just want none of it and brush away his pleas.

The Innocent Disney Princess Eager to Make Change: The Princess and Anna

The Princess, played by Rachael Soglin, and Anna, voiced by Kristen Bell

Ah, the naivety of Disney Princesses. Isn't it cute?

The Princess (who is never referred to as Jasmine for some odd reason but let's be honest she looks exactly like her) and Anna are two innocent yet determined young girls who think that they have it all figured out but in reality they know nothing. They believe they understand the ways of the world and that they have what it takes to make informed decisions and make change, but they are both just too sheltered up until the musical begins to fully comprehend things.

Something else the two have in common is the rocky relationships they have with the main characters that become more heartwarming and close as the musicals draw to a close.

Both princesses break out of their constraints, and after their respected adventures mature them, are eventually taken seriously. Like with Elsa's queenship and Anna's leadership in Frozen, nobody in Twisted objects to being governed by a woman when The Princess takes over. One of her decrees is that everyone is from then on a princess and even when she doesn't refer to Jafar's main henchman as one, he replies with a "Don't you mean, 'princess?'"

However, during the course of their stories, it is because of their innocence and naivety that they end up falling for the manipulations of...

The Hot Guy that Turns Out to be the Villain Through an Elaborate Reveal: Aladdin and Hans

Aladdin, played by Jeff Blim, and Hans, voiced by Santino Fontana

Hear that? Aladdin is a villain now.

I wanted to write a whole post about the unanswered questions Frozen posed, but decided that this was a better place to acknowledge my opinion...

I absolutely HATE what the writers did with the Hans character. Everybody else is all like, "What a great twist!" or "I saw that coming. Cool."

No. Stop it. It's too cliche and you know it. The writers totally messed him up.

Okay, so what happens is that since Elsa accidentally struck her heart with her powers, Anna needs a "true love's kiss" to save her from being completely "frozen." So naturally, she runs to her fiance Hans for help. But then, *GASP* Hans reveals to her that he never loved her and just wanted to marry her to become King of Arendelle. He then goes into this whole cliche speech. You know, the one where the bad guy has the hero (or in this case, heroine) vulnerable in his evil clutches as he details his most evil plan. Mwahahahaha!

See, the whole time we think that The Duke of Weselton is the bad guy, and although this guy isn't altogether good, sending his men to kill Elsa because he thinks she is dangerous, it was really Hans all along! Unless they were trying to play with the idea of how the Prince is always the expected hero and now a prince is the bad guy...

Frozen already has a conflict and it consists of Elsa controlling her lifelong struggles to end the eternal winter she had struck on Arendelle and Anna trying to bring her sister back home and forge a relationship with her. Hans is such a great character at the beginning. He develops this goofy friendship with Anna, trusts her, takes orders from her, and runs Arendelle in her absence. Making him this guy with bad intentions and have him try to put both sisters to death in order to gain the crown doesn't add anything at all. And the intention of him wanting to take over the kingdom is literally the OLDEST been there, done that story!

At least StarKid has the decency to be original. In their version, Aladdin is a psychopath murderer with a split personality that killed his parents. Also, he's 33 years old. Seriously. They dedicated a whole song to this.

Holy crap.

Unlike Hans, Aladdin is pretty much a jerk throughout the whole thing based on his selfishness and how he likes to screw with Jafar. Like the original Aladdin, he's a sweet talking, lying, immature street rat thief, but in Twisted his main goal is to ultimately have sex with Jasmine. 

Oh, sorry. I mean, "The Princess."

So already he is a decent antagonist. During the climax, The Princess puts up a front after a whole musical two hours worth of ignoring his advances and Aladdin's patience reaches a breaking point. He tries to kidnap her as Jafar intervenes, which brings us to the great reveal.

This is pretty much the best scene of the whole thing for me. Everything about it is just so perfect. Jeff Blim's facial expressions and portrayal of two different people having a psychotic conversation, the audience's reactions, the timing, the lighting, the creepy background music, the closeups, Dylan Saunders's perfectly timed Jafar reaction at the end, and what transpires thereafter. The only criticism I have about it is at times Blim bounces out of the frame, but to me it's one of the best scenes StarKid has ever done. Matt and Nick Lang and Eric Kahn Gale perfectly wrote it and Brian Holden excellently directed it.

Too bad it wasn't needed.

Much like how the villainy of Hans wasn't necessary, neither was this. Like in Frozen, Twisted already has its conflicts for Jafar to solve. Aladdin is already a problem without showing this weird side to him. This musical is full of twists as well as references to twists, the title being appropriate, but the greatest twist of all is that it turns out that The Princess is Jafar's daughter. 

So therefore, Aladdin is this 33-year-old promiscuous lowlife trying to bang Jafar's 16-year-old only little girl. For a father, that's enough motivation right there!

But it's just so entertaining and it brings out StarKid's creativity to put their own spin on a classic story that I can't say that it shouldn't be in there at all.

The Need for People to Take Off Their Clothes

In Twisted there are times where Aladdin constantly indirectly says to the The Princess, "Take off your clothes," which to me is an homage to the apparent very subliminal message in Disney's Aladdin. Clever. 

Another thing I wanted to point out in my questioning Frozen post is the scene where Kristoff takes Anna, Olaf, and Sven to see his Troll family. I feel like I'm the only one who noticed this part, because my friend Abby, who saw the film with me, didn't stir. At one point, one of the Trolls tells Kristoff to take off his clothes as she tries to undress him...

Nobody else seems to have noticed this line or the oddness of this request for one family member to command of another! It happens so quickly, so maybe that's why. Kristoff himself even shrugs it off. Why are they so eager for Kristoff to take his clothes off? More importantly, why is DISNEY? Why was this one line included anyway? Is not wearing clothes a normal thing for the Troll family or is it the same as a mother telling her kid to take off his or her coat and shoes upon entering the house? Or, is this a play on Aladdin's supposed subliminal message? Either way, it is something both Disney films have in common and StarKid has its own fun with it.

Anyway, enough of Disney's desire for nudity. Let's get back to the stories...

The Conflicts of Everyday Life

This section is actually what inspired this whole blog post.

Not every tale needs that one singular villain that the heroes need to defeat. Sometimes the villain is life itself, which is something to which everybody can relate.

In my heart Hans and Aladdin aren't bad guys. A part of me wants to ignore the fact that Hans's revelation scene is even in the film. If anything, they could've done something different with him to spice up the story's conclusion. And as for Aladdin, apart from his evil personality, he's just a lazy grown man that just wants to get laid. I mean, I'm willing to bet that there are some men out there like that, meaning that he's kind of normal. In that respect, anyway.

Jafar and Elsa are both a "victim of circumstance," as quoted by The Princess in reference to Aladdin. Their lives and struggles in themselves are what they have to overcome and throwing a villain into that is just adding a random extra annoyance to an already severe problem. They are placed into these situations and sometimes cannot help their circumstances right away because they must deal with the uncooperative people and problems around them. 

But then again a lot of stories involve the protagonist suffering from some kind of everyday troubles and then must deal with a villain antagonist on top of that. It makes the story more complex and interesting I guess, and normally without that villain causing conflict you wouldn't have a story. But just because that kind of plot exists it doesn't mean that every story needs it. Sometimes the archetype is overdone.

I like how Twisted came out right when Aladdin is the most recent Disney production to come to Broadway. Also, Frozen is coming to Broadway as well! It's just another thing they all have in common.

One thing I wish StarKid acknowledged is those scenes in Aladdin where, you know, Jasmine is held prisoner by Jafar as his slave and is dressed in chains and this sexy red outfit and then starts flirting and making out with him to distract him from Aladdin. According to them, she's his daughter, remember? 

We're not going to talk about that? You're not going to explain that one?

Okay.

White Disney Princesses, From the Perspective of a White Girl

When my friend Abby and I were discussing the movie Frozen, the subject came up about how the newest Disney Princesses, Elsa and Anna, are yet again white. I pointed out from something I had read that a reason why a majority of them are white depends on their stories' origins, such as Merida from Brave being Scottish. Then Abby retaliated with the fact that they could just make these characters from anywhere. For example, Elsa doesn't have to be white in order for the whole Ice Queen concept to work, unless they were going for a "white as snow" thing with her and wanted the setting to stay true to the Danish source. Disney actually did this already with The Princess and the Frog, making a story with German origins take place in New Orleans.

We talked about how the lack of diversity in the Disney Princesses is a problem. There is also the matter that little girls of all walks of life should have a Disney Princess to relate to.

I've been thinking about this subject for a while because it is a hot topic, especially trying to consider how fortunate I was growing up as a white girl with all of these white princesses at my disposal. But looking back at it now, let me tell you something: these white girls aren't all that.

Here is a rundown of white Disney Princesses that were supposedly my intended role models. There is the very first, Snow White (Eww. Never liked her much.), Cinderella, and Aurora. Well, Cinderella is somewhat redeemable because her main song is "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes" and from what I recall she isn't necessarily specific about what her dreams are. Maybe she dreamt about being the CEO of a company. Or maybe she dreamt about having a better life in general, which is more likely and still honorable. Who knows? Snow White wishes for something as well with her song, "Wishing for the One I Love". She's straight forward about what she wants, but should she really be chastised for being a girl wanting to fall in love? Feminism goes in any direction.

Anyway, the only one I am able to relate to physically is Aurora, given that she has long blonde hair like myself. But that's where the similarities end. She does nothing to make me admire her, other than be pretty. Well, I do like to sleep too...

When compared to other Disney Princesses, the early white ones are pretty bland and boring. Plenty of people dislike them because they all need a man to save them and lack personality. In addition, they all kind of resemble each other. It is the ethnically diverse ones that are more active and unique, such as Jasmine from Aladdin and Kida from Atlantis: The Lost Empire.

You know who my favorite Disney Princess was growing up? Pocahontas. Not your conventional white Disney Princess, but I liked her cultural look (especially her blue necklace and long black hair flowing in the wind), love for nature and life, strong will and strength, and now I noticed that she's pretty much the only Disney Princess that doesn't get her guy at the end, making her more realistic. Like Pocahontas, I too have Native American roots, so that's another reason. In fact, I played with my Pocahontas and Jasmine dolls the most because I liked their outfits better and loved brushing their long black hair. As a child I had this phase of cutting all of my dolls' hair, but I spared these two of my beautician skills (Pocahontas's friend Nakoma wasn't so lucky). I have a Cinderella doll too, dressed up in her ballroom attire, but I never paid that much attention to her. I think it is because of how "dolled" up she is (no pun intended). You remember how she looked. Her hair is in a bun and she is dressed in a large blue gown. Maybe I felt that she looked too formal for playtime so I just didn't bother as much.

Badass white Disney Princesses wasn't really a thing until lately. I think it started with the Disney Renaissance Era opening up with Ariel in The Little Mermaid to kick things off. If you think about it, she was the character intended for girls in my age group. The movie came out in 1989 and I was born in 1990.

Okay, so I did make fun of her in the past, but she does have her own dreams of visiting land before laying eyes on Eric and makes mistakes like any other teenage girl, so I respect her for that. I like my Ariel doll more than my Cinderella one and played with it more, appreciating her shortness in contrast to my other dolls (maybe I was able to relate to her in this way), but this doll has its own annoyances. Her fin is all worn out now, her legs don't move and never did, and worst of all, her bra keeps falling off. And now she's reminding me too much of Rachel Tice from "The Most Popular Girls in School". As for Belle from Beauty and the Beast, another white Disney Princess designated for my generation made popular in 1991, though her movie has its own flaws with an abusive relationship undertone, she's more developed. She is educated through her love for books, doesn't take nonsense from anyone, and saves her father from the Beast.

It seems to me though that the strongest white Disney Princesses were born through the CGI-animated films. Meaning very, VERY recently. We were given Rapunzel (Tangled, 2010), Merida (Brave, 2012), and now Elsa and Anna (Frozen, 2013). These all came out in my adulthood, so it's kind of late for me to look up to these characters now as a little girl, but it's so great to see them existing now. The white Disney Princess just keeps evolving and Anna is actually a combination of them all. She is eager to fall in love like the earlier models, but her main focus in the movie is to find her sister and bring her back home and she stands up to the film's male characters in order to do so. Unlike Ariel, whose life goals change shape when she is inspired to make Eric love her and sacrifice herself to do it, these four girls never really include a boyfriend in their goals. For Rapunzel and Anna, it just happens for them.

I never really connected to a white Disney Princess until Elsa and Anna, which is why I felt inspired to write this post. Maybe it has something to do with the movie being a musical going to Broadway and the people who voiced them. Also, any person can relate to Elsa, suffering from the age old story of not being accepted because of differences and ultimately finding the courage and freedom to openly be yourself. "The cold never bothered me anyway," either. I watched Tangled for the first time on TV like a few weeks or months ago and though it entertained me with its charm and Rapunzel herself proves her worth, I didn't really think it was THAT special. That movie didn't seem to get the reaction Frozen has.

Although she came into the franchise later on, Tiana from The Princess and the Frog, known as Disney's first black Princess, is a role model for young girls right off the bat as a hard worker aspiring to open up her own restaurant whereas we had to go through numerous white Disney Princesses to get it right. For awhile there the black girl community was under-represented by Disney Princesses while the white girl community wasn't really represented by Disney Princesses in the best positive way.

Just because white Disney Princesses existed for me as a child, it doesn't mean that I was very proud of them or that they were amazing characters for me to like. As a kid you don't really think about whether or not these characters are good role models. They're just...there. Even now as an adult I'm not that crazy about them. I mean, I like them enough and I did pose for a picture and chatted with Cinderella and Prince Charming for a good hour in Disney World back when I was four, but they do lack substance. I don't recall ever being in awe of them or modeling myself after them, but they are still part of my Disney childhood memories of which I am well fond.

I still grew up to be a strong, independent woman even after watching these movies as a kid, let's just say that. They didn't influence me otherwise.

If we want to branch out a little bit and look beyond the Disney Princesses, we can check out the whiteness that are Alice from Alice in Wonderland, Wendy from Peter Pan, Megara from Hercules, Jane from Tarzan, and Jessie from A Toy Story. These characters are nice and their main focus isn't fully romance, at least not at first. I especially appreciate Alice for never getting involved with a guy at all in her movie and Jessie provides a nice foil to Bo Peep in hers. But I'm starting to think that the one I like the most is Tinker Bell from Peter Pan. She is a spunky, jealous little bitch and I love it. She is REAL (well, as real as a flying mute fairy can get). Chances are we all know a woman that fits the Tink criteria. But then again her jealousy and realness is instigated because of a guy (well, boy), so in this respect her attachment to a dude makes her not that much different from past Disney Princesses.

Then there's Esmeralda from The Hunchback of Notre Dame. She's not white or a princess, so she just might be the most diverse of them all. Her motivation isn't as much romance as it is love for her people. I love her look and style and my Esmeralda dolls are some of my favorites. One of them actually has flexible elbows and knees and gyrating hips, making her body a lot more human-like. Hear that, Ariel?

Quite possibly the best one of them all is Mulan. I've always been a fan. Once again, not white or a princess (though she is in the Disney Princess lineup), but she fights in a war disguised as a guy and single-handedly saves China. Her motivation is not love for a man, but rather to protect her aging father, much like Belle actually. And I loved playing with my Mulan doll. Enough said.

I think I like these non-white ladies because they are so different from me. Even their doll counterparts stand out next to my white, blonde Barbies. The Disney Princess industry has made strides, but there is still so much more that can be done. I enjoy seeing the variety. Every single one of them, including the original white princesses and unofficial princesses, brings something to the table and the Disney family wouldn't be complete without them. It's nice to see them all together as this sisterhood.

Found this on Facebook back in November and thought it appropriate to include in this.

Hey, at least women ARE being represented. There's another argument I can make that men aren't very well represented at all or as popular as Disney's female characters. There are movies that come to mind with a human guy as the title main character, such as Aladdin, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hercules, Tarzan, The Emperor's New Groove, and now there is Wreck-It Ralph, but the Disney Princes are often overshadowed by their leading ladies because the Disney Princess franchise is such a hit. Even The Disney Wiki just defines these guys as "an official line-up of male leads who're the love interests of the Disney Princesses." It's actually refreshing to see this change of pace and the only way the original three, Snow White, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty, can be considered feminist films. Now that I think about it, what's also somewhat feminist about these three movies is that they teach and recognize that there's nothing wrong with sometimes accepting help from a man if need be and if a man is willing to help you, why refuse it? Even Quasimodo swoops in to save Esmeralda, regardless of how tough she is, and earlier in the film she comes to his defense and saves him from humiliation. Flynn Rider/Eugene lends Rapunzel a hand, even though at first through a deal, and in turn Rapunzel comes to his aid as well, perhaps more often. It's all about partnership between the two sexes.

I'll tell you what I'm waiting for. I'm waiting for an Italian Disney Princess, or better yet, heroine. All we have is that goofy marionette film Pinocchio to represent us, and that movie scarred me for life with that awful donkey scene.

Plus, there's no powerful women in it. What? That white, blonde Blue Fairy? Nah. Not memorable enough.

Get on it! :)

And since I talked a great deal about them throughout this piece, here are my Disney lady dolls from childhood! :)

From left to right: Nakoma, Pocahontas, Jasmine, Esmeralda 1, Esmeralda 2, Mulan, Ariel, and Cinderella. Like Nakoma, Mulan and Ariel were also victims of my doll hair-cutting stage. I feel like I had a Snow White doll as a child too but I think like I may have given her away HAHA. Also, Jasmine came with a flower in her hair, but I didn't want to go crazy looking for it for this. They all look pretty happy to be in the shot except for Cinderella. She was giving me trouble not looking at the camera. It's like she thinks she's a princess or something. :P

One of my Favorite Christmas Special Moments - The Church Scene from "Home Alone"

Plenty of Christmas specials have memorable moments. There's the love story between Rudolph and Clarice, The Grinch's heart growing three sizes Christmas Day, Ebenezer Scrooge's sheer happiness when he discovers that he has not missed Christmas, George Bailey running through the streets wishing people a Merry Christmas, and of course, Linus's brilliant speech about what Christmas is all about.

But then there are the ones that aren't talked about too much or even noticed. One that comes to mind is the church scene from Home Alone (1990). This movie is about a little boy named Kevin, played by Macaulay Culkin, who is accidentally left behind at home when his family goes away for Christmas vacation. Thereafter, while the family is away, it is up to him to protect his home from a pair a burglars.

However, the part I really love involves the subplot, which concerns Kevin's fear of his neighbor, Old Man Marley, played by the late Robert Blossom, because of rumors about him and Marley's scary old man demeanor. Towards the middle/end of the movie, Kevin goes to sit in a church and ends up meeting a rather friendly Marley there, thus easing his fear of him. Marley explains that the rumors about him aren't true, but that he does have an estranged relationship with his son and the only way he can see his granddaughter is by watching her perform in the church choir, which is singing in the scene. Kevin suggests that Marley should patch things up with his son, which he eventually does in the final scene with Kevin watching from his window and the two wave at each other.

In a movie where everything is pretty much slapstick crazy, this church scene is a nice juxtaposition to the rest of the film. It's nice to see a Christmas movie have a spiritual vibe, an acknowledgement for the reason of the season, no matter how brief. It's kind of rare to see religion and spirituality even mentioned in Christmas specials, oddly enough.

Mass isn't even taking place in the scene. Very few people are in the church at the time, the lights are dim, and it is very peaceful and quiet. It shows how welcoming the church is, that you can walk in at any time and just sit there to have one on one time with God. It reminds me of church during the Christmas season in real life and even brings back some of my childhood memories involving church and Christmas.

Another thing that is so great about this scene is that at church Kevin gains a better understanding of his so-called enemy and ultimately a friend (Marley plays a huge part later on in helping Kevin when he is in trouble), therefore suggesting that God is involved.

Isn't that part of what Christmas is all about? Looking beyond differences and fear and just loving one another? In the midst of all the slapstick and humor, this movie manages to teach valuable lessons about having Christmas spirit as well in a serious, well done way.

I unfortunately couldn't find a decent clip of the scene to include in this, but I definitely think you should check it out.

Merry Christmas, everyone! :)

Great News to Share!!!

I got published in Baristanet!!! And what is it? A review of a Montclair State University Department of Theatre and Dance production!!!!

This is what I've been wanting all summer! I've wanted a job that would let me write about MSU's shows professionally since before I even graduated because I was leaving The Montclarion, and after searching for so long I finally found one! This is my very first post graduation theater review.

Thank you so much to the editor, Liz George, for giving me this awesome opportunity!

Okay. Let me calm down a little bit.

The play is A Streetcar Named Desire, which I expressed in a previous post that I was interested in seeing, and I did.

Here is my review. Enjoy. :D

Sexual Healing in the Octavio Solis Play, "Lydia"

A couple of weeks ago today in the L. Howard Fox Studio Theater at MSU I saw a play reading of Octavio Solis's Lydia performed by MSU's Acting majors for the New Play Festival. It is about a brain damaged teenage girl named Ceci Flores. The play explains how this happened to her while also showing how it has affected her bilingual Mexican immigrant family living in El Paso, Texas. She wasn't born this way, but I'm not going to spoil you by telling you why and how it happened. The audience hears her inner thoughts, but outwardly to the rest of the characters she is in a semi-vegetative state and doesn't speak. Ceci's mother, Rosa, hires a non-American maid from Mexico, Lydia, to help take care of her daughter when she is out to work.

I actually read Lydia for my first theater class in my first semester at MSU and the play reading was directed by the professor of that class.

When I first read the play a few questions rose for me and the live play reading rose the same questions and even more.

*CONTAINS SOME SPOILERS*

For instance,

The maid sleeps with Claudio, apparently a few times. Why?

This part came out of nowhere to me when I first read it. Claudio, Ceci's father, is mainly an angry guy and is pretty much abusive to everybody but Ceci, so Lydia tells him off for both accounts. Then she straddles him on his chair IN FRONT OF CECI.

It seems to add nothing to the plot or have anything to do with Ceci's story, so why is it there?

After seeing it performed, it made more sense to me and I realized that it was included in the play for not just one reason, but three:

1) Claudio misses Mexico - This idea came to me at the end of the reading through one of Rosa's lines when Claudio asks where Lydia is and she confronts him about his infidelity indirectly. She says something like, "You miss Mexico that much?" as if to mean, "Then go back." Claudio doesn't sleep with Lydia because he has an unsatisfying sex life with Rosa. We don't see them ever interact romantically, but if this were the issue she would've probably included this in her confrontation, unless she was too scared to. The real reason he cheats is that he misses the homeland he abandoned, appears clearly miserable in America, and Lydia, being the only character not an American citizen but a Mexican one, gives him the little connection he has to his home. A good majority of Claudio's lines are in Spanish, which makes this argument more evident.

Ceci states in her opening monologue that Rosa pretty much dragged Claudio to America with her. Rosa is "clerk for the County" and Claudio a short order cook. Claudio could have animosity towards his wife for these reasons, so perhaps romance with her isn't that satisfying after all.

2) Lydia's sexual conquests mirror Ceci's sexual desires - Ceci makes it no secret that she desires sexual contact. When I read the play I thought that the Claudio and Lydia sex was real, but the play reading made me question it. Ceci recites one of her inner monologues during this point and starts off by saying "I dream..." making me think that Ceci imagines this instead of it actual happening. During the play Ceci looks up to Lydia as her caretaker, so it would make sense to have Lydia perform the sexual acts that Ceci is imagining, as if she is experiencing sex through her. It would also explain why it happens right in the room with her.

But then future lines and scenes prove that this actually did occur, more than once, so this theory isn't very plausible but more disturbing considering that it is done in the same room as Ceci in reality.

Even so, why would Ceci imagine Lydia having sex with her FATHER though? Is it because her sexual life is that warped?

This kind of suggests that she is sexually attracted to her father, though this idea is never really explored much nor does it seem important to the plot. I didn't really want to go here because not only is it disturbing, I thought this was the only clue. However, while rereading part of the play, I came across an earlier scene when Ceci has a flashback (or it could be happening in real time) of her father singing to her and giving her a pair of pearl earrings as she "sleeps." Thereafter she asks "Oh what is this yearning inside? What does it mean?" It turns out that later on she discovers she just wants sex. Perhaps this is some kind of Electra Complex (female version of the Oedipus Complex).

3) It gives Rosa motivation to get rid of her - Ceci's love interest and cousin Alvaro patrols the border so he comes to take Lydia away. For the entire play Rosa and Lydia are friends and Rosa even offers to help Lydia get American citizenship. However, once Rosa finds out that Lydia has been sleeping with her husband, all of this goes out the window and she doesn't hesitate in letting him take her away. Chances are if the sex didn't happen or was revealed, Lydia would still be there with them.

Let's talk briefly about how Ceci is in love with her cousin.

Okay so Ceci is in love with her cousin Alvaro, which is actually a catalyst for plenty of the action in the play. Perhaps nowadays this wouldn't make sense or not be widely accepted, but the play takes place in the seventies. Back in older days it was more acceptable to marry your cousin, so this point isn't as far-fetched.


But basically the entire story surrounds the fact that Ceci just wants to have an orgasm.

Sure she is in "love" with Alvaro, but even Ceci herself towards the beginning proclaims the real truth: "I'm just horny!" Even though she is brain damaged, she still has the human sexual desire. As she dances with her cousin in one of the scenes, she apparently urinates. However, this is not how I see it. What she releases to me is the moisture of her sexual excitement, perhaps mixed with urination.

She finally does climax (or rather I think she does) in the final scene...

*SPOILER ALERT HERE!!!*

... and then she dies, which tells me that this was her goal the entire time. Right after it finally happens for the only time in her life, she is okay with giving up her spirit. Think about it. She dies through sexual pleasure and puts herself out of her misery with sexual healing. Maybe that was her plan all along! Maybe she actually wanted to die after climaxing!

In the final scene of the play Ceci puts her brother Miguel's (referred to as "Misha" by the rest of the characters) hand down her pants and he...masturbates her.

Let's recap this. First she's connecting sex to her father, then she connects sex to her cousin, now she connects sex to her brother. There's a pattern here.

During these few moments Ceci puts a pull tab in her mouth and swallows it.

But here's the thing...

Did Ceci commit suicide intentionally or was it an accident?

When I read the play I thought it was intentional to put herself out of her misery, and I actually thought that Misha did the same thing with her, but the way it was performed in the play reading made me think otherwise.

What takes place in the earlier scenes of the play is the "Chekhov's Gun" principle. This is based on a playwriting device utilized by Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. What it means is that if you see a gun in the first act, chances are it will be used by the third or fourth act. It's basically a foreshadowing technique.

The same rule is somewhat incorporated in Lydia. We see pull tabs plenty of times throughout the play as the family often drinks canned soda, beer, and place them in plain view. Claudio even throws one out of frustration. I remember them constantly mentioned in the script when I read it too. If you are familiar with Chekhov's rule, or the play itself, you know something is going to eventually happen with these pull tabs considering you keep seeing them. Other foreshadowing is that Misha looks inside of Ceci's mouth in the first scene of the play for no reason and Ceci puts other characters' hands down her pants in other early scenes. There is even a time in an early scene when Rosa shows concern that Ceci would cut herself with the pull tab Claudio drops on the floor, so she enlists Misha to pick it up.

So she puts a pull tab in her mouth as her brother masturbates her so it could be assumed that she did it on purpose. However, we must remember than she is a brain damaged girl that sometimes lives in a different realm than the rest do. Also, when a person is in a sexual ecstatic state, he or she may not think clearly then either. So technically Ceci is not in her right frame of mind for not one reason but two. She could've very well put her the pull tab in her mouth and swallowed out of sexual excitement and not thinking about what she is doing. Or maybe she is just so turned on in this scene that she put the pull tab in her mouth on purpose just for the dangerous sexual excitement it can produce.

On a side note, think about this too. This must've really messed up Misha pretty badly. This is how the play ends so we don't know how he reacts to this. Not only was he performing sexual acts on his SISTER, but she also dies afterward. How is he supposed to explain this to his family? Claudio beats him up earlier in the play for claiming to put a certain plot important dress on Ceci, so what's to stop him from doing it again? How is Misha supposed to live with himself after this?

So why is the play named after Lydia anyway?

Ceci is clearly the main character of the play. Everything circles around her. She obviously is the one that should have the title's namesake.

I questioned this when I first read the play and it still remains a mystery to me now. But let me take a crack at this. Maybe it's because Lydia is a catalyst for some action in the play, she helps unravel some family secrets, she brings change to the characters, she's a connection to Mexico, ...?

Here's something I don't understand about Lydia at all. Every time Ceci mumbles or shrieks something, Lydia is able to translate it into English for the rest of the characters with no problem. Nobody else understands how she has this ability, and frankly neither do I. She claims that she has something in common with Ceci, that the two of them share something, which kind of suggests to me that maybe Lydia's brain experienced some kind of trauma itself in the past. Whatever the reason, it is never really explained.

However, after analyzing while writing this piece, I think I got it.

Lydia represents Ceci's sexual self in the flesh simply because Ceci's sexual self is now only in her mind. From what I can tell, Ceci's only exposure to men in her life have been her father, her cousin, and her two brothers. The seemingly incest feelings she seems to have for these men isn't necessarily as disturbing when explained. It's just all Ceci knows. Since they are they only men she knows and quite possibly has seen in her life, this explains why they are the only men that are featured in her sexual feelings, fantasies, and activities.

It just so happens that these are the men who connect to Lydia sexually. Ceci's brother Rene has a sexual background that influences Ceci's life as well, but I'm not talking about him because his sexual self is a pivotal part of the conflict and twist. Rene lusts after Lydia, Misha falls in love with her, and Claudio has sex with her. Ceci observes all of this while her heart still yearns for Alvaro. Lydia experiences the sexual events that Ceci herself wants to experience, so that's why the two have such a connection.

You know, I didn't really want to do this since I feel like I always look at things through this criticism, but I have to say it again: Lydia is a feminist play. And it is one simply because Ceci, for a brain damaged young woman, is able to tap into her sexual feelings and take at least some control (depending on how you look at it) of both her sexuality and death by combining the two. After being dependent on everyone, especially Lydia, throughout the play, she finally takes matters into her own hands...and Misha's.

Robert Roldan, Don't Ever Wipe That Smile Off Your Face

One my favorite Robert head shots :)

One night in Newark, NJ, on October 17, 2010, I met the love of my life and future husband. His name is Robert Roldan, and he was the third runner-up on Season 7's "So You Think You Can Dance".

LOL JK! Though I did indeed meet him, it will probably just remain an infatuation. I believe he has a girlfriend and I am happy for him that he has such a positive lady figure in his life. :)

Here is why I am talking about him now. First of all, "Taking it One 'Stef' at a Time" didn't exist back then for me to talk about it, but just recently he made "SYTYCD" history, which made me invested in him all over again.

Back in June 2012, Robert got into a serious accident and almost died from it. He told us fans about it through Facebook. Here is what he wrote.

When I first read this I told my friend Lauren, who actually met him with me, about it. We both were concerned but more so grateful that he survived. I knew he had some recovering to do and that he would bounce back, but I never really understood the effects of his injury until recently.

On "SYTYCD" August 13, Robert made a sensational comeback to the show as an All-Star and danced with contestant Tucker Knox. It didn't really dawn on me at first, but this was the first time he was on the show again since his accident. What's amazing about this is that he accomplished what he said he would in his message. There are people that are not able to overcome an accident and resume doing what they love, even in such a short time, so the fact that he did is triumphant on its own.

This is the first time a lot of people saw him again after his ordeal and the dance, choreographed by Travis Wall, was pretty much dedicated to his experience, so therefore it was an emotional segment.

You can tell that he's been through a lot. His body isn't as broad as it once was (but has been growing) and he is more solemn, that's to be expected, but he still has his dancing talents and determination, and he's living his life to the fullest perhaps even more so now than before. But one thing is seriously bothering me about this...

He seems to have lost his smile, both physically and figuratively.

I'm not the only one who has noticed this, for I have seen comments written by other people seeing this as well. I actually kind of hate the fact that other people notice it because I normally notice stuff like that and others don't. The fact that others notice shows that the accident is a lot more obvious. When you look him up, his accident is the first topic that shows up, as if he is defined by it now and this is how he is remembered. He even refers to his accident as the day everything changed.

If you watched him on the show before, you would know that he was a total goofball and everybody knew that about him. During his season he even introduced himself as someone who always has a smile on his face. But since his accident, he seems to have done a total 180 and I'm concerned that he won't get back to the way he used to be. The right side of his face has been altered, suggesting that it was involved in the accident significantly and needed reconstructive surgery, so therefore his structure is now slightly different. Ever since this performance I've noticed that he hides that part of his face away from the camera in recent photos and videos. Either that or he's just not in as many. I think he might be self-conscious of his jaw, right eye, and the right side of his face in general. What scares me is what if he lost teeth in the accident? What if his face is permanently paralyzed on that side and he is physically unable to smile huge and make silly faces even if he wanted to? Every time I look at him now, whether it is an older or newer shot, I focus on that side of his face.

The old Robert often smiled widely and never shied away. His face was always full of expression and beautiful, his smile symmetrical with perfect teeth. Now he's more reserved with small (side) grins if anything.

Now granted his dance with Tucker isn't exactly the most jovial of routines, so I don't expect him to be all happy go lucky here. But even when he was on the show in the past dancing to serious numbers, he still seemed rather cheerful even though he understood the seriousness of the piece. He is still capable of being serious and pulling it together despite his silly personality. But I do understand that his solemnity is warranted because this routine in particular hits very close to home.

I often feel like, why did it have to happen to HIM? Why did this have to happen to the one guy on the show who was constantly laughing and smiling? I wish I could turn the clock back to before this happened.

I feel foolish because I know that it definitely could've been worse. I should be grateful that he is still alive, able to dance, etc., and I am, because if anything else happened instead the situation would've been way worse, but here I am crying about his smile. It breaks my heart to see him this way though because I feel like even though his life, abilities, and health survived the accident, his personality, his essence, I feel was lost in it. And this was part of what made me really admire him and now it's gone and we don't know if he will ever get back to the way he was.

Ever since his return to "SYTYCD" aired, I've been crying about this on and off, obsessed with the idea of him smiling again. I feel kind of embarrassed to admit this because I feel like I am crying about something that is minor. My inner feminist is also annoyed with myself because I am crying about a boy (a boy that doesn't know me, a boy with a girlfriend), something I always vow to never do but manage to do anyway. :P

This past summer was pretty rough for me. I graduated college and was struggling to find decent writing work, getting frustrated with myself and others. I also had issues with my weight gain, which didn't help matters. I could just be melodramatic, but this kind of stuff happening to me made me think negatively about how worthwhile my life is. I tried to keep myself busy tweeting about my summer TV shows and writing my screenplay, and even another play that I wrote in three days. But I still wallowed in self-ridicule because even though I was writing in my field, I still wasn't getting income. Then I saw Robert in this way and it basically topped off my already emotional summer.

But on the flip side, ever since I saw this episode with Robert I began to think about my own life more favorably. When I get angry about my life and think badly about myself, his face automatically jumps into my mind. This guy almost died and yet he's achieving accomplishments despite injury, so it made me reevaluate to appreciate my own life more. As he says in the video, "A second chance is like, the biggest gift."

He managed to go from being my crush to being one of my heroes. I'm crying again as I write this, lol.

I didn't realize what an impact Robert and his smile made on me. I just thought that as time went on since the show he lived his life and I lived mine, and that I enjoyed seeing his career progress updates.

So Robert, I don't know if you will ever read this, but if you do, please don't ever wipe that smile off of your face. It impacts too many people, myself included. Please don't be ashamed of your "battle scars" because you're beautiful inside and out and we all love you. Please try to get your old self back, because he's well missed. I'm proud of what you have accomplished thus far since your season and since your accident. I'm proud of you as well for gradually showing your full face to the camera again. DON'T STOP! KEEP GOING! :)

Since Robert's situation has been making me emotional, I didn't know how to shake these feelings and couldn't stop thinking about it. I went on a Robert photo and video spree, which made me feel happier to see again, yet sadder at the same time remembering what once was. I kept thinking about not only his face, but how traumatized, sad, and serious he appears since his accident. I feel bad for the guy for what he had to endure. I even talked to my friends about it, but it wasn't giving me the release I was looking for. They told me that he's fine, his dancing is all the recovery he needs, perhaps the accident matured him and gave him a newer perspective. These are good points, but a part of me disagrees and thinks that he isn't altogether fine and still needs to feel better in order to smile and act himself more again. It's like he's holding back. I'm actually hoping that one day his face will go back to normal, the way it was before the accident, but I realize that there is a good chance that won't happen.

I decided that the only way that I could finally unload all of my feelings was through my writing, so that's why I wrote this piece, which explains the lengthiness of it. There is more that I could've added to this, but I didn't want to bulk it up too much, so I decided to create a brand new "Taking it One 'Stef' at a Time" series dedicated to Robert called "Roberto Roldano Reminiscing". :) "Roberto Roldano" was a name he dubbed himself back during his own season when he danced the Argentine Tango with All-Star Anya Garnis, and I like the alliteration of the title.

This will be a cute small series that I will post every so often (maybe once a month) so I don't have to bombard you with my Robert fandom lol. It will be therapy for me out of support for him. :)

As time went on since I wrote this, I began to recover from my concern and sadness about it and not really cry as much about it. He began to not look that drastically different to me (I think I am getting used to it like he seems to have) and like I said, he seems happy and is enjoying his life, his personality getting more and more intact. He appears to be doing better. Earlier in September on the show, Robert returned as an All-Star once again and danced with finalist and eventual Season 10 female winner Amy Yakima. I was looking forward to seeing him dance again all week when I heard about it, but I was also concerned about it making me emotional all over again. 

Thankfully, in this episode Robert definitely looked more relaxed and happy. More himself. I feel like it's because he was already on the show since his accident and got his initial return from a long hiatus out of the way. It's normal for him to come back now and he's back in the groove of things. Plus, the routine this time didn't hit too close to home for him to have an emotional reaction. And then he posted this picture of himself on Instagram. It made me SOOO HAPPY and I shed happy tears. Even other people commented on the return of his smile, establishing again that people have noticed the change. This is the first Robert Roldan-like picture he had posted in a while, and it made my night. Since then he and others have been posting other fun photos of him and his progression makes me giddy every time. This shows that he is slowly but surely returning back to his old self! :D

And! And. He danced like THIS in the season finale, thus proving to me that his body is still capable of being quirky. Up until this point I thought that maybe his body was still in recovery and weaker so he couldn't move like this. NOT ANYMORE. There are also Instagram videos of him dancing to the NappyTabs "Run the World (Girls)" routine. HE'S BACK! :D (Gradually.)

I seriously think that his return to "So You Think You Can Dance" has helped all of this. 

And by the way, I have been getting more paying writing work lately. It's as if since he somewhat came back into my life and has been growing I've grown as well. :D 

Perhaps this accident propelled him, and he in turn propelled me, into the next successful stage of our lives. I also attribute some of his new lack of goofiness to his maturity with age.

All in all, at the end of the day, he could've passed away and been gone forever, and that would've been devastating. I am thrilled that he is still with us here on Earth and continues to grace us with his beautiful dancing presence. God is certainly not finished with him and definitely has more planned for him.

Reasons Why it Actually Makes Sense that Cris is the "Whodunnit?" Killer

At first I thought it was a joke.

Throughout the whole flashback sequence it was not registering. I even laughed a few times in disbelief.

I thought there was going to be some kind of catch, cliffhanger, anything that would disprove the revelation of ABC's "Whodunnit?" Killer. That wouldn't be unusual for a show like this.

But alas, Cris Crotz was revealed as the Whodunnit Killer and Kam won both his life and the quarter of a million dollars for the first season's finale that aired on ABC Sunday night, August 18.

There she is. This is our Killer, people.
Photo from "Whodunnit?" Wiki

I never really thought SHE would be the Killer. I was dead (haha) set on Lindsey as the Killer ever since she stated that she is a preacher's daughter. How ironic would it be if a PREACHER'S daughter was a murderer? Plus, Lindsey never seemed to know anything unless somebody told her and yet she would always be spared or even impressive to the Killer, much to the chagrin of the true Killer, Cris. She was labeled by the rest of the contestants as untrustworthy and a crafty liar because she bounced back and forth between two groups of people. And, of course, she often acted peculiar to make you suspect her. I actually thought towards the end that Cris was going to win. She carried herself very intelligently, which is not necessarily associated with beauty queens as much as other professions, so it would be terrific if she won this for all the beauty queens out there.

Even when the credits of the season finale rolled I still wasn't convinced that Cris was the Killer but that night and days after I began to think of clues that point to her more and more. I also guarantee you that if we were to re-watch the entire season, which is all on the "Whodunnit?' YouTube channel (AWESOME!!! :D), it would probably all make sense now that Cris is the Killer. Watching them now knowing that she is the Killer is pretty different than speculating them all.

Cris has been answering fan questions on her Twitter (@CrisCrotz) and her answers, as well as some articles I have read, have actually kind of helped me understand it all better to write this piece. :)

Just so we all know, Cris knew the entire time that she was the Killer and actually wanted to be it, but to prevent bias, she had to play the game as well. However, I am writing this as if she did actually commit the murders to better explain why it is fitting that she is the Whodunnit Killer.

Reason #1: Cris Takes her Beauty Queen Career VERY Seriously

The only way I was accepting Cris as the Killer is because how cool would it be to have a Beauty Queen Murderer??? No one would expect that because beauty queens aren't really known for their diabolical villainy or violence.

A lot of the other contestants had jobs in or related to the crime field. For example, Don is a former homicide detective, Ronnie, a bounty hunter, Ulysses, an attorney, Adrianna, a crime reporter, Sasha, a journalist, Dana, a cardiac nurse, and of course Kam, a homeland security attorney. It would be kind of odd to have someone that normally fights crime be a murderer, so that leaves very few people leftover.

To go along with this, we have possible female angst between Cris and Sheri.

Well, the two didn't have bad blood (haha, pun) between them, but I have an interesting theory as to why Cris used Sheri's death to kick everything off. Keep in mind that the Killer spared the people that she felt matched her in stature and smarts. As Giles always said, "the Killer's most worthy adversary."

Beauty queens are judged based on their elegance and posture, among other things, and they are very invested in their competitions. The motivation Giles gives is that the Killer murdered Sheri because she "had to make an example of Sheri because she showed her incompetence by breaking a champagne glass. Her clumsiness cost her her life." The worst thing a beauty queen can do to eliminate herself from a pageant is be clumsy or do something idiotic. The same thing goes for being a cheerleader really, which was Sheri's profession. Cris could've very well originally felt that she was on the same level as Sheri because her career requirements matched hers more than they did the others. But then, Cris felt that Sheri disgraced them both by dropping the champagne glass, so she took her revenge out on her because of her pageant competitive nature.

Then there is the use of the word "mortals." The Killer refers to the contestants as mortals, meaning that the Killer considered herself immortal, or to me, not of this world. Well obviously the Killer is immortal in the sense that he or she would never die on the show, but this word could take on a whole different meaning when regarding Cris. Not of this world could mean that the Killer is an outer space alien. A bit of a stretch, but stay with me. There's also such a beauty pageant as a Miss UNIVERSE.

Ehh? ;)

In the very first episode Cris is the first one to point out the "greetings mortals" thing to the rest of the contestants and evidently called herself a sociopath. From the very beginning she wanted to establish herself and instill fear in her, as Giles says, "compatriots."

Reason #2: Her Dad was a Cop

Another thing Cris establishes in the first episode is that her father was a policeman and throughout the rest of the season shares her knowledge about guns, especially in the episode where they are investigating Geno's death by a silent gun.

She even tweeted that she purposely was hinting at herself as the Killer by stating these gun facts.

Reason #3: Ulysses's Death Episode

Let's talk about the episode "Bum Ba Dee Da", which is the episode where they all investigate Ulysses's death.

First of all, what a lame murder that was! Seriously?! He was poisoned by a flower?! Oooh! Scary!

When compared to the rest of the very gruesome murders, this one is rather tame. Even when they were inspecting his body they had difficulty finding marks on the guy. But here is a theory as to why Cris was easier on Ulysses than she was on everyone else: She didn't want to kill him.

Their knowledge about the facts of the murders determines whether or not they are the next to be killed. Apparently Ulysses failed the most in regards to the previous murder and Cris had to kill him whether she liked it or not in order to follow the rules of the game.

As the season went on, the contestants developed two teams on their own. One consisted of Cris, Kam, Lindsey, and Ulysses, and the other consisted of everyone else led by Ronnie. It pained Cris to have to kill her teammate. If you notice, she and the rest of her teammates were the final three and she worked to keep it that way by conspiring with them. She took down the rest of the others beforehand.

Not only this, but it is a rather "girly" murder to commit, isn't it? It wouldn't surprise me to hear that an ex-beauty queen performed this one.

But she was a BEAST in this episode. I never really noticed her until this one and she was cracking codes like crazy and her sleuthing skills remained this way throughout the rest of the season. It was as if she wanted to work hard to avenge her friend's death that she had to commit.

Reason #4: The Shoes and other Stuff from the "All the World's a Stage" Episode

Here is another example of Cris's cunning in the following episode. She's really a beast in this one too.

This reason isn't as riveting considering anybody could've done this, but Cris was the only one to discover that the shoes used for Dana and Sasha's murders were stuffed. This means that the true Killer's feet are too small to fit this otherwise gigantic shoe, framing Geno for the murder, but therefore suggesting that the Killer is probably a female with small feet. Cris was the tiniest person there.

Cris kept the information to herself and whispered to Kam that she didn't look inside the shoes, and was the only one to find the hidden quarters where these murders were performed. She also knew exactly how to open the bedroom doors from the outside by using a metal contraption. It doesn't take her long to figure it out.

Of course she would be the only one to know this stuff so well. She's the Killer.

Reason #5: Giles Straight Up Suggests it in the Next to Final Episode

Giles the Butler, who plays the host of the show and was enslaved to Rue Manor until the Killer was revealed, pretty much pulled the same thing Chris Harrison of "The Bachelorette" did when he suggested that Desiree was invested in Brooks.

This was the exchange:

Giles: Have you ever been "scared"?

Cris: I have not.

Giles: Interesting.

Getting a "scared" card means that you are a person up for elimination. Giles here points out that Cris never received one all season, and was the only one not to, thus suggesting that she is indeed the Killer.

Gee, thanks Giles! :P That was totally unnecessary! Why did you have to ruin it?

Reason #6: Cris and Kam Have Pretty Much Been Best Friends the Entire Season

If you notice, Cris was kind of invisible during the first few episodes. She laid low a lot, which alone suggests that she is the Killer. The only thing we really knew about Cris is that she was on Kam's team early on and offered him more information than anyone else. She clearly had a loyalty to Kam until the very end and looks genuinely proud of him when she reveals herself as the Killer and proclaims him the winner.

Cris showed friendship to others as well of course, though briefly. In the episode where they investigated Geno's murder, Cris invited Melina to join her team to take her away from Ronnie. However, when Melina decided to take Cris up on her offer, Cris refused her in front of Kam, thus proving her loyalty to him even more.

A lot of backstabbing went on during this show, but Cris's relationship with Kam remained pretty close, so therefore it is no surprise that she is the Killer and he the Winner. When Giles drove Kam home I was wondering why the rest of the contestants were just awkwardly standing there not leaving themselves.

It dawned on me. It's because they're dead and their souls are symbolically trapped at Rue Manor forever. Cris and Kam, the two besties, are the only ones that come out alive. Kam gets to live his life like a normal person while everyone else has either died or been arrested, in Cris's case. He is the only person in the whole show that didn't have anything bad happen to him, and Cris helped him the whole time to remain this way.

A little eerie, isn't it?

Reason #7: Cris Kept Lindsey Alive Up Until the Very End Just to Take Revenge on Her

Cris's relationship with Lindsey was pretty much the exact opposite to hers with Kam. Even though Cris and Lindsey were on the same team, Lindsey was Cris's biggest competition as well. In addition to the fact that Cris had an on and off relationship with her, in the "state your case" segment of every episode Lindsey always accused Cris of being the Killer. Cris technically knew this because during "state your case" they are speaking directly to her. Basically Lindsey was Cris's biggest threat because of this. I don't think anyone thought Cris as much as she did so if Cris were to kill off Lindsey, it would look too suspicious.

Cris often accused Lindsey right back of being the Killer, therefore placing the blame and focus on her rival and taking it off herself. For the times Cris spared her, especially when Lindsey was named the best performer and Cris showed suspicion of this for the viewers, it was once again putting the blame on her but also like a peace offering to try to keep Lindsey from selling her out as the Killer again. But every time it didn't work.

Cris finally got her revenge on Lindsey in the final episode when she set up a death trap for her. A knight shoots her with bow and arrow. The arrow coincidentally lands in her throat, symbolically keeping her from talking anymore by puncturing her voice box.

Cris was very clever in keeping her friend (Kam) close and her enemy (Lindsey) closer so that they were the last three for the finale. What's interesting too is that the guy who never thought Cris was the Killer won (Kam thought it was Lindsey and even said this to Cris during her big reveal) but the girl who surmised her as the Killer every week died at the very last minute, so not only did Cris take away her rival's life, she also took away her victory that she worked so hard for the whole season and was so close to getting, making her revenge that much more sweet.

But one question remains here: Who was dressed as the knight then? Are we supposed to assume that it was a robot?

Reason #8: This Guy's YouTube Channel

His name is KingofJaperica and he has a whole playlist dedicated to his "Whodunnit" musings. They are interesting videos that actually brought some tidbits to my attention. He's pretty analytical and observant.

Then I thought about his videos' thumbnails. Check out who is featured in one of them.

WHAT. What is Cris doing there???

Here's why it's so weird. The thumbnail in which Kam is featured discusses him. Melina is featured in her thumbnail because it was uploaded after the most recent episode sparked debates that she was either killed or the Killer. The video with Giles in the thumbnail talks about the first episode when they all first meet Giles. The video with Cris in the thumbnail doesn't focus on anyone specific, so why is she featured?

There is no way this guy knew she was the Killer, in fact he clearly thought it was Kam, but it's still a coincidence to see her there.

Check out his "Whodunnit" videos when you're done reading this. He recently uploaded a brand new one. Enjoy! :)

Reason #9: Cris is a Great Actress 

After all is said and done, I thought she did a great job acting the part. She wasn't suspicious like Lindsey or Kam but rather played the part of a clueless contestant well. Her wide-eyed shock and fear were very convincing. Even Gildart Jackson (Giles) said the Killer was "someone I completely overlooked." It didn't really dawn on many people, myself included, that she "dunnit." I mean, I didn't write her off completely, but let's just say that she was the last person of the final four that I thought would be the culprit.

Some of her tweets state that she has an acting background, thus proving my assumption about her having this kind of background correct. However, she now works in fashion but would like to get back into acting.



These are of course some clues that point to her and I'm sure there are more. How many can you come up with?

I know I went into this maybe a little TOO in-depth as I come up with these conspiracy theories, given that it is a REALITY SHOW, but it's still fun to think about and I enjoyed writing this. I hope you enjoyed watching the show and reading my explanation of its outcome. :)

Check this Out! My Favorite Scene from Sight and Sound Theatres's JONAH on YouTube!

Remember in my piece about Sight and Sound Theatres's production of Jonah where I discussed my favorite song from the musical? Back then I really wished that I could show you my favorite scene or at least let you listen to my favorite song, but I was unable to...

But now I can do both!

Since the DVD is now available, the Sight and Sound Theatres YouTube channel was kind enough to provide a clip from the musical, which happens to be my favorite scene! Cool, right?! I was so excited when I saw this to show you. We bought a copy last week when we went there once again to see their revival production of Noah. What is funny too is that when I first played the DVD at home, I went straight to that scene to watch, which was my plan. And now I see that it's on YouTube for me to finally share with you all! :D

I don't think their channel allows me to embed their videos for some reason, so to watch the scene please click here and enjoy! Now you'll finally get to somewhat experience what I did and get the full effect without just relying on my description of it. I can just let you see for yourself.

Keep in mind that it's not the most epic scene of the musical, but I believe that it's the most fun. I'm so happy that I can actually show this to you so we can share this together because I thought I would never get the chance to. :)