I am a Scorpio and during the upcoming Scorpio horoscope timeline two awesome movies are coming to theaters near you! I am very excited because both films involve two different topics that have interested me since childhood and represent who I am. I am also proud that both movies are premiering during my birthday sign! :)
First up is Anonymous, which is opening October 28. When my mom and I saw Glee 3D in theaters, I saw the posteroutside of the theater and I immediately became excited about it and knew I wanted to see it. Anonymous discusses the possibility that William Shakespeare did not write his world renown plays and sonnets, but is rather just taking the credit for it. I am a big fan of Shakespeare's work, and look up to him as a writer, so naturally I would be interested in seeing this film. I have also always heard rumors that perhaps Shakespeare was a fraud, so maybe this movie can help me find out if there's any truth to that. Plus, I am taking English Drama this semester, which involves medieval drama leading up to Shakespeare's time and it's a good chance that at lot of the material we are covering was Shakespeare's inspiration. Taking the class has given me another incentive to see this film.
Next up is Immortals, which opens November 11. Immortals is about the clash between the Greek gods, the Titans, and humanity. Ever since I was a kid I've had an interest in Greek mythology and because of this I took a mythology course in my freshman year first semester of college to fulfill a general education requirement, a class that I enjoyed and found somewhat simple since I had already knew some of the material due to my readings as a child. Ever since I heard about this film awhile ago, I had been looking forward to it. Plus, Poseidon, the Greek god of the sea, is played by Kellan Lutz! Squee! His site is actually how I first found out about it.
The only thing that concerns me about this film is that it was made by the same producers as 300, telling me that perhaps it has a possibility to be gory, which is not something I necessarily like in films. Regardless, I still want to see it!
I am thinking that I will do some follow up posts about these two films in my "Reflections about..." series or cover them for another publication.
This semester I am taking a course called "Introduction to the Theatrical Medium" with Professor Susan Kerner. Susan has directed performances at Montclair State University such as Arcadia and The Grapes of Wrath and is currently directing Stage Door, which will be premiering at the Alexander Kasser Theater this upcoming November.
If you remember from my "Peak Performances and their Awkward Sexual Moments" installment of The Grapes of Wrath, I discuss the play's usage of nudity and the extra artistic element it brings to the stage. I had been wanting to discuss this topic with the actors, which I still might do, but thought of the idea this past week to discuss it with the director herself, beings though she is my professor this semester.
In my "Glee" "Representations" post, you may have noticed that I left out one thing: dumb blondes. Well, this is because I don't necessarily have a problem with it. You would've thought that as a blonde myself I would be offended but this isn't so. Brittany Pierce, the token dumb blonde of the series, is a joy to watch and her one liners are instant crowd pleasers. In the episode "A Very Glee Christmas," she reveals that she still believes in Santa Claus. Instead of being just dumb Brittany in this episode, her innocence is actually really cute and admirable. Also, blonde Cheerios coach Sue Sylvester always comes up with creative ways to try to bring down the glee club, and Terri, Will's diabolical blonde ex-wife, fools him for an entire season that she is pregnant, both of whom plans backfire. Basically, the blondes of "Glee" are enjoyable to watch.
Then finally we have Quinn Fabray, the main blonde of the series. Sure back in Season One Kurt pokes fun at her lack of intelligence in one of his inner monologues (the classic square root of four equals rainbows joke anyone?), but she doesn't necessarily deserve the "dumb blonde" label. Quinn knows what people's weaknesses are and uses these to her advantage, especially when it comes to men. She knows what it takes to turn Finn on and to make Sam pursue her. She comes up with strategies to serve her own agendas, such as "befriending" Rachel to get closer to Finn, making Finn believe that her child is his because she believes he would make a better father, working her way back onto the Cheerios squad and regaining her captain position, coming up with stories to mask her cheating, and getting people to vote for her for prom queen. She is one of those frightening intelligent characters because she is hard to read and you never know what she is thinking. Outwardly she is calm but inwardly she is devious.
However, this all being said, she also showcases plenty of failures as well. I am dedicating this piece to the storylines so far, with a spotlight on Quinn Fabray.
Dianna Agron plays Quinn Fabray
Quinn's General Storyline
We all know that once Quinn Fabray gets pregnant with Puck's child, her whole world falls apart and when Finn leaves her when he finds out the paternity, her life plummets even more because the love triangle between she, Finn, and Rachel gets a lot more serious. Rachel now had a chance with Finn and Quinn was no longer the perfect head celibate Queen Bee of the Cheerios cheerleading squad. However, since then she has pledged abstinence, got a new boyfriend, and actually willingly left the Cheerios for the New Directions without being kicked off, which is what originally happens when Sue finds out that she's pregnant in Season One. She eventually regains Finn but then loses him again to Rachel once again. Season Two ends with Quinn getting a haircut in New York and feeling better about herself. Because, you know, a haircut always changes a person's personality. :P But according to this article, she is going to return to her old ways. Wonderful. Can we please give this girl a decent interesting storyline? Recently she just seems pathetic.
Here are some suggestions of alternate storylines for Quinn Fabray:
In the Season One finale, Quinn gives birth to Beth, and thereafter we don't hear about the kid again after Shelby, Rachel's birth mother, adopts her. Hello! Quinn's life pretty much spirals out of control because of this major plot point that pretty much dominates Season One along with Kurt's coming out storyline, so much that we pretty much can't get away from it, and now the show acts like it didn't even happen? There seems to be a consensus among fans that Quinn and Puck should reunite with their illegitimate child, and it seems like the show will deliver according to this article.
Now I have some personal requests. One storyline involving Quinn that really infuriates me is the one when her father kicks her out of his home when he finds out his precious little girl is pregnant and the mother does nothing to stand up for her. This is the first time we really feel sorry for Quinn, beings though she is not a very likable character at first because she is the stereotypical mean cheerleader. I'm sorry but what kind of parents are these people? You do not do this to your pregnant sixteen-year-old daughter because it turns out she's not as perfect as you thought she was. In the Season One finale, Quinn's mom returns and reveals to Quinn that she has left her father because he cheated on her and wants her to move back home. Why she leaves the father for that reason instead of for him kicking their pregnant daughter out is what many people would probably like to know. I also find it funny how she doesn't check up on Quinn until now. I really didn't want Quinn to accept her proposal, but I'm grateful that she is there for Quinn when she goes into labor. What I think would be interesting is a reunion between father and daughter. I'd like to see if Quinn would accept him back into her life or not and how the confrontation would go down.
During her pregnancy, Quinn befriends Mercedes, who lets her stay with her family and is also there in the delivery room for the birth of Beth, heeding to Quinn's request. Their friendship is really heartwarming because it's the popular girl and outcast coming together and being there for each other. Quinn must feel very close with Mercedes in order to want her in the delivery room with her and it is actually my favorite part of the episode. Quinn is also there for Mercedes in Season One episode "Home" when she has a brief eating disorder. However, they seem to have drifted a bit since Beth's birth, so it would be nice to see them share more screen time as friends together again.
Now this last one may be a bit odd, which I thought of just recently. I kind of want to see Quinn form a relationship with Artie. He's pretty much the one guy in glee club who hasn't dated her yet and he knows her past so it's not like he's in for any surprises. He broke up with Brittany, so if he goes with Quinn, Brittany goes with Santana, and Finn goes with Rachel, everybody would be happy. Plus, when he chooses her name out of a hat to sing to in the Season One episode "Ballad," they both seem pretty satisfied with the outcome, which is what made me come up with this idea. There seems to be no bad blood between the two. As my final point, he's way more intelligent compared to her exes, which is something that she needs in a man.
Finn/Rachel/Quinn Love Triangle
Let me start off by saying that I really dislike Finn. I mean, he's a very supportive boyfriend to Rachel and a good friend to Artie, two examples of his good deeds, and there are other times when I actually do like him, but he just keeps giving me reasons not to. He's a moron and wimp when it comes to his girlfriends, and anything for that matter (though he does redeem himself in the Season Two finale when he stands up to Jesse St. James), which is a complete turnoff, and he does other random things that irritate me, but his most irritating is stringing along both Quinn and Rachel. When he breaks up with one, he goes to the other. I get it. He's confused and has feelings for two girls. That's normal. But he's just so annoying about it. What angers me the most is how he's always so quick to forgive Quinn even though she's never really honest with him and yet he can never forgive Rachel, even though Rachel constantly comes clean to him about everything, including QUINN's pregnancy in Season One. In the Season Two "Rumours" episode, Finn even says to Rachel that he doesn't know why he went back with Quinn. And guess what? He sits there with a dumbfounded look on his face.
I hate how much of a hypocrite he is. He gets so bent out of shape when these girls lie to him, but yet he lies to Rachel about being a virgin, even though he had already slept with Santana, and thinks he is not at fault at all. This is something a girlfriend should know about for her own sexual safety! To me, Rachel has every right to be upset and Finn acts like she shouldn't.
I am just so sick of seeing this same storyline and same characters being used since Day One. Both of these girls can do a lot better than Finn, though I do prefer him with Rachel because they love each other and are cute together, Finn always being so admirable of Rachel's enthusiasm, and I prefer Quinn with Sam (I'll get to that in a minute). These three and Kurt totally dominate the series so it would be nice to see other characters have some developing storylines. Apparently that's what is happening with Season Three, so I am looking forward to it.
Sam and Quinn Break Up
Sam (Chord Overstreet) and Quinn (Dianna Agron)
I am an ultimate Sam and Quinn shipper, and I blame Quinn for this one. She really messes up big time here. After the whole fiasco in Season One being impregnated by her boyfriend Finn's best friend Puck, "Trouty Mouth" himself Sam Evans enters Season Two as her blonde knight in shining armor. He never judges her on her past and is always there for her. Plus, he pursues and courts her, which I really like. He even tells her he loves her and proposes to her, which I find to be kind of corny considering they are high school kids who just recently met, but he promises his faithfulness with the promise ring, which is pretty honorable. They are just an overall very adorable couple with plenty of fangirl worthy moments.
Here is, in my opinion, their best moment together. This is from the episode "Special Education."
When Finn breaks up with Rachel, he sets his sights on Quinn after she kisses him for convincing her to rejoin New Directions in the "Thriller" episode. This is Quinn's first wrong move of the season. All of a sudden Finn's feelings for her start flooding back, but he also considers Sam a threat because he is slowly but surely replacing him as leader for both the football team and glee club, so we can derive from all this that he wants to hurt him for these reasons just as much as he was hurt by his two girlfriends. Long story short Quinn cheats on Sam with Finn, lies to Sam about it, but then Sam leaves her for Santana anyway when he finds out the truth. I think I am more heartbroken about this breakup than the infamous Finn and Rachel breakup because Quinn is actually a pretty miserable character and she finally finds happiness with Sam, so I wish the writers would have left her alone for a while and let her be in harmony. Another reason is that I think deep down inside we all feel that Finn and Rachel will always find their way back to each other. They're like the "Ross and Rachel" of the series.
It's understandable that Quinn could still have feelings for Finn, beings though he is her first love, but she totally goes about it the wrong way. She should have told Sam about this. Anything is better than going behind his back. She is just a confused teenager. Basically Quinn ruins a perfectly good thing and since Chord Overstreet, the actor who plays Sam, is not returning for Season Three, which I am very heartbroken about by the way, we have absolutely no hope of them reuniting.
Perhaps he will surprise us all and still show up? I doubt it. But hey, we can dream.
Lucy Caboosey
Hey, did you know that Quinn's real first name is "Lucy" and that "Quinn" is her middle name? I didn't, and it should have stayed that way. We know her as "Quinn" and now "Lucy" totally ruins that dynamic.
When Quinn and Lauren Zizes battle for the coveted prom queen title in the "Born This Way" episode, Lauren digs up some dirt on our favorite blonde princess and discovers that she was not always a foxy prima donna but rather a chubby dorky preteen, dubbed as "Lucy Caboosey." Since then, Quinn has changed her whole identity and been running from her past.
I don't really know what to think about this storyline, so I'll let my friend Kelly, a fellow Gleek who is highly disgusted by this twist, have the floor:
"Lucy Caboosey, a name that sends a shiver down my spine just thinking about it. One of the things I've always liked about Glee is the fact that even as ridiculous as some of the scenarios can be there's usually a likable sense of realism grounding them. However, the introduction of Quinn's 'backstory' as a chubby prepubescentgirl with glasses and a big schnozz is a revelation that I can only term as 'unforgivable.' Good Lord where do I even begin with how bad this is? I admit during the first season of 'Glee' Quinn wasn't exactly my favorite character. To be honest, I flat out hated her guts. Although as much as I disliked her and despised her manipulative ways, once the season grew on, she did as well. Once this slight shift in character happened she started becoming much more interesting instead of the one note cheerleader hypocrite persona she started out as and it was a very nice and believable development. In fact, once season 2 came about Quinn was actually the character I was most anxious to see since I was eager to see how the past experience as being an outcast for the first time in her life would play out. Little did I know how sorely disappointed I was when Quinn's development basically took two steps forward and about twenty steps back. The one thing that really gets under my skin about the Lucy Caboosey back story is that it's completely unnecessary, not to mention way too over the top. Even within the reality of the Glee-verse, and that's saying a lot. Lucy Caboosey is the writers' poor attempt to restore sympathy for Quinn after the complete nosedive (no pun intended) her character took during the second season. Quinn's past had really already been established. She was the girl who had always been the beautiful popular girl and never really knew what it was like to be the outcast until her hypocritical ways came back to bite her. By giving her a past experience of rejection it completely undercuts the character that had been built up the past season and a half. Never before had they ever hinted that Quinn had experienced 'nerddom' before, so this revelation is totally unprecedented. Kind of like going to get water and after taking a sip you realize it's actually sour milk. Lucy Caboosey really only serves the purpose of the episode, not the complete story arc of the season. It was just a haphazard attempt to connect Quinn, Rachel, and Lauren. I'll be very surprised and disgusted if/when the Lucy Caboosey arc makes an appearance on the show again, because it is something I and the show alike could easily live without. In the simplest of forms, it's just lazy writing." -Kelly T.
I agree with this argument, but yet I kind of understand this back story only because it explains why Quinn is so obsessed with her reputation and maintaining it.
Naya Rivera plays Santana Lopez
Santana's Sexuality and Love for Brittany Revealed
A storyline that doesn't involve Quinn??? Holy moley!
Well, "Brittana" does have something to do with Quinn. At the beginning the trio serves as henchmen for Sue, but Santana and Brittany partake in activities that give them a special bond.
These two have already established some lesbian tendencies and we know that they love each other just shown by how close they are, so this isn't really much of a shocker. Santana reveals that she wants to be in a relationship with Brittany but is completely terrified about what people would think and states that her struggle is the reason why she is so mean, which can explain why she meddles in every other relationship in the glee club. But now that she has done this she is often depressing and not as funny or sarcastic as she used to be. She is known as the "bitch" of the series and is actually one of the show's original villains, and we know that the villains of this show are actually pretty comically sarcastic (Sue Sylvester), so her bitchiness is actually something we really like about her since that's how we know her.
Now this storyline kind of ruins that view of her because now her personality has changed so drastically and she is not the same Santana the series opened up with. Granted, now that she has revealed her sexuality she has become nicer and a better friend, but her bitchiness is somewhat lacking, so I'm thinking that this particular storyline is a mistake. A Santana without a constant dig, while enjoying it, is just plain weird.
Both Quinn and Santana have such high potential to be interesting characters, so I think that's why I care so much. Towards the beginning of Season Two, when Sam makes his advances, Quinn initially rejects him to focus on herself and take things slow, and I was proud of her. Also, much like Rachel, she now stands her ground with how far to take things during makeout sessions with her boyfriend. It shows that she has learned from her mistakes in Season One and is now cautious of her actions, showing that she is growing as a character and maturing as a woman, which is relatable to other teenage girls. But then, the writers have her backtrack and literally make the same mistakes she made in Season One. In the Season Two finale she throws a hissy fit in front of Santana and Brittany in their New York hotel room about how she doesn't care about Nationals and that they are the popular girls so why shouldn't they get what they want, which is actually weird logic if you think about it. She then says, "I just want somebody to love me." As emotional as she is in this scene, it's so hard to feel sorry for her because she does have people love her but she blows it each time. However, on a lighter note, what makes this scene likable is the well acted conversation between the three characters and how it shows a heartwarming friendship between Quinn and "Brittana," which is often on the rocks throughout the series.
Here's to hoping that Quinn actually makes some good decisions in Season Three and changes for the better, not necessarily the way Santana has changed, for I want her to remain the same character, but rather to make her a more likable character...
Quinn Fabray in the Season Three promo video
...Ummmm.....wuh oh. What is this? This isn't exactly what I meant. Geez and here I thought Santana changed a lot but it seems that Quinn has done a whole 180! Sure she looks cool but this is not the Quinn Fabray character we all know! I said change a little bit not change every little thing about her! Oh, well. Let's just see what happens with this.
So I love the FOX primetime series "Glee." It makes me laugh, it makes me cry, it makes me irritated, it makes me feel every emotion imaginable. However, there are certain aspects of this show that rub me wrong, so here I am expressing these feelings. I am going to separate my grievances into categories.
One thing that "Glee" seems to do is represent every cultural background, which is a great thing. For example, it does well in portraying Kurt's struggle being the only openly gay kid at school and Blaine's memories of being harrassed for his sexuality as well as the struggles of the resident closet homosexuals Karofsky and Santana.
However, in some instances, "Glee" isn't quite there yet when it comes to representing certain demographics (I seem to love using this word), so here are some of my observations.
Finn (Cory Monteith) and Sam (Chord Overstreet)
White Guys are Stupid
That they are, and when it comes to dating Quinn Fabray, this seems to be a requirement. I can't really state every single dumb white guy moment on the show, but if you were to watch it, you'd see what I mean. Finn is gullible and dumb, Sam is gullible and inexperienced, and Puck is well, Puck. The funny thing is though, there are times when Puck is actually smarter than the other two. He is able to figure out that Quinn's baby is his, often recognizes Finn's love for Rachel, and finds ways to serve his own agendas, all while being suave in his speaking.
Puck (Mark Salling) and Finn (Cory Monteith)
All three of these guys make these idiotic remarks and do stupid actions from time to time and even the other characters seem to comment on this. What I hate the most is when somebody tells them something, especially if it's bad news, and they just sit there with this dumbfounded look on their faces not knowing what to do. It's like, react already!
It doesn't help that they're jocks as well. You can't be a dumb white guy on TV without being a football player in high school first.
However, there are white guys in the show who do exhibit some intelligence, and they are Kurt, Blaine, and Artie. Oh, look. They aren't jocks. What a surprise. Well, Artie is, but that's not the point. He isn't one originally. Kurt and Blaine are both extremely cunning. They're also both gay. Artie shows signs of clever thinking as well. He wears glasses and, let's be honest, sports a nerdy style. Both gay men and nerdy men are stereotypically smart, so of course the characters that represent these demographics must display this quality. Hey, I think it's a compliment.
So wasn't there something else that Finn, Puck, and Sam have in common? Oh, yeah. That's right. They're ATTRACTIVE! Nothing against the other guys, for they're handsome as well, but Cory Monteith, Mark Salling, and Chord Overstreet seem to bring a lot of eye candy and muscle to the show, thus causing some fangirling results among their fans.
Basically what "Glee" does here is provide us with a formula that has molded dumb white guy TV and movie characters since the beginning of media history. They have to be white, clueless, hot, straight, play some sort of sport, preferably football, obsess over their looks and reputation, have plenty of shirtless scenes (yowza!), and date the head cheerleader, in this case, Quinn Fabray. Yeah, that sounds about right.
Poor representation of black and latino men
Think about it. There's that one black guy named Matt back in Season One, but he only has like two lines in the whole season. Then there is Karofsky's friend, Azimio, who accompanies him in torturing Kurt about his homosexuality and is the one guy on the football team who continues to be difficult to the New Directions. I didn't even know his name until the last day of August. And, there are absolutely no latino men. Thankfully I read that a new black male character, Shane, is coming in as Mercedes's boyfriend, so we might see this resolved sooner than later.
Why didn't the show start off with them as freshmen?
Something really heartbreaking that the show is throwing at us for Season Three is that some beloved characters will be graduating. But what I've always wondered is why we didn't watch them grow all four years. In one of the very first episodes, Rachel states that she is a sophomore. I keep thinking that this was done to already have their reputations intact before the "Pilot," whereas if the show began with them in freshman year they would have to spend the whole season developing their reputations, wasting a lot of time and not taking the show where it needed to be. Regardless, it still feels incomplete to me. I feel deprived of an extra year with the original characters together.
Football Captain and Cheerleading Captain as sophomores?
When the series first opens up, Finn is the quarterback captain of the football team and Quinn is the cheerleading captain of the Cheerios, making them the ultimate power couple. Um, don't these honors normally go to seniors? Where are the upperclassmen in this school? In fact, now that I think about it, we never see the main characters deal with any upperclassmen ever, except for maybe Jesse St. James, who is a senior when they are sophomores. I don't understand how two teenagers are able to be so popular and in charge of their respective groups in only their second year of high school. Even juniors would make more sense, but sophomores? They're still starting out. And, when Sue kicks Quinn off the squad for being pregnant, she replaces her position with Santana, who is also a sophomore! In Season Three they are going to be seniors, so I guess none of this really matters now.
Finn (Cory Monteith) and Rachel (Lea Michele)
Women are the Cause of Breakups
Well, let's just say that I would love to see a girl break up with her boyfriend because of something the guy does. Or just have a girl break up with her boyfriend in general.
Let's go over the rundown of "Glee" relationships. Finn breaks up with Quinn for cheating on him with Puck and then hooks up with Rachel. Finn still has feelings for Quinn, so her breaks it off with Rachel only to get back with her again in the Season One finale. Quinn hooks up with Sam and for awhile everything is good. Rachel cheats on Finn with Puck when she finds out that he slept with Santana before they got together and he leaves her. Quinn cheats on Sam with Finn and then Sam leaves her. Finn and Quinn once again become a couple. Finally, Finn leaves Quinn because he is so overcome with love for Rachel. Also, Artie confronts Brittany about cheating on him with Santana. Now let's bring in some of the adults as well. Carl leaves his wife, guidance counselor Emma, for still being in love with Will. Glee club moderator Will leaves his wife and high school sweetheart Terri for faking a pregnancy.
Do you see my point? This show makes women out to be terrible girlfriends and wives! It seems like everything is always their fault! The blame is not evenly distributed well, as if guys never do anything wrong in relationships. What I would like to see is a guy screwing up big time like some of these girls have and the girl leaving.
But, however, I guess you can say that the girls have their share in dumping their boyfriends as well. For example, Brittany leaves Artie when Artie calls her "stupid," but I don't necessarily count that because the entire time she cheats on him with Santana without really knowing it. However, it is Brittany's decision to break up, not Artie's. Also, Rachel dumps Jesse after he betrays her, but that is kind of on him leaving her for Vocal Adrenaline and I don't take that relationship seriously anyway. There may be more, but I think my point still stands.
WHY IS IT SUCH A BIG DEAL THAT PEOPLE ARE MEMBERS OF GLEE CLUB?
"Glee" makes it a point to emulate real life while also throwing in some cartoonish humor here and there. I think a lot of people appreciate the arts and music, so I don't understand why "Glee" seems to think that so many people knock it and make New Directions the constant victim of ridicule. So they sing and occasionally dance. Big deal! Do people not know what singing and dancing is? Do people not know that there are lot of people who do so, plenty for a living? Is that what "Glee" is assuming about life nowadays? Even in the "A Very Glee Christmas" episode, when the New Directions are caroling in another school, the kids heckle them and the TEACHER throws her shoe at them! I mean, seriously?!? People hate them that much? I know that it is meant as a typical "Glee" joke, but it's just plain S-T-U-P-I-D.
The McKinley High School hockey team,
that exists for only one episode, prepares some slushie damage
The members of New Directions are always complaining about how everybody hates them because they are in this club, when in reality, nobody in the school seems to care. The only people who give them grief are the jocks. How stereotypically fitting. Actually, not even the jocks because the other members of the football team don't seem to care either. It's only Karofsky and Azimio who insult them. The other guys just go with the flow. And then there's that one scene of the hockey players, who we never see until the "Thriller" episode and then never see again thereafter,preparing to "slushie" both the male glee club members and the football team for taking part in glee club as an attempt to unite the two groups who are constantly at war with each other. Does it ever end?
I get how the gist of the show is that the New Directions members are the underdogs of the school who are trying to make names for themselves, and I know that these underdogs being "slushied" is a running gag and theme of the show, but I really don't find what they face realistic. This idea was cool and unique at the beginning, but now it is getting old, immature, and downright annoying me. It's just not funny anymore. They need to find a more intelligent and realistic conflict for the New Directions to face besides getting, ahem, "slushied" and insulted because I find it hard to believe that everybody they interact with hates the arts. The glee club has been running for two school years now so it's about time people left them alone and just accept the fact that they exist. I know bullying occurs in high school, but the fact that they are constantly attacked for this reason seems kind of ridiculous. When did it become common knowledge that the arts often come secondary to athletics and is less cool and likable? Also, since when does having any artistic talent at all make you feminine, which is another accusation of the jocks? And, are we supposed to assume that jocks are always the bullies in every setting? How do the writers of "Glee" see this in real life? Because I don't necessarily. Basically all of this seems so cliche so I think evolution of material is in order. Glee clubs exist in real life and sometimes I think that the positive reception of these clubs, though I will admit they are at times, are not portrayed well in this TV show.
Okay so here we are at the final show of the Spring 2011 semester, and it just so happens to be an opera. The story is set in England at the beginning of the 20th century and surrounds a group of people who are suggested to be Catholic because of their search for a female virgin to be this year's "Queen of the May" for their May Day festival. To me, this seems to be connected to what us Roman Catholics celebrate as a May Crowning, which is a ceremony when we honor the Virgin Mary by crowning a statue of her. This takes place in May, which is the month of Mary, and ironically enough the opera played at Kasser on May 2 and 3.
If you want a visual of what I am talking about, click here. This is a video of this year's May Crowning at my parish, Holy Family. I took it special for this post.
This is a slideshow I found of the performance on May 2. I saw the May 3 performance, which was different cast, but the video still gives you a good idea of what the opera looked like.
Now that you know some brief religious background I have noticed in Albert Herring, here are it's Awkward Sexual Moments.
"The Female Sex is Soiled": After the council discusses every female in town who is in the running to be "Queen of the May," only to discover that every single one has already been deflowered, they lose hope in the female race. Therefore, they begin to sing "The female sex is soiled" repetitively in a very droll manner. Both my mother and I were in the audience and this part offended us, but in two very different and interesting ways.
Because all of these girls aren't virgins, their final resort is the only male virgin in town, Albert Herring. My mother finds this concept offensive because she feels that the female sex is portrayed in a very degrading manner here. "Not one girl was a virgin out of all of them so they had to a retreat to a guy? That's a disgrace to women." It suggests that the female sex as a whole isn't very virtuous, or, I guess, sexually honorable, which doesn't say much about women back during the time Albert Herring takes place.
However, though I do agree with my mother's point, I see the degrading of the female sex in this scene in a different way. The opera makes the women's sexualities out to be a tragedy. They make it seem so dark and depressing that women have sex instead of celebrating the expression of female sexuality. This part is so satirically dramatic, as if it's completely horrible that women have their own sex lives and that it is shameful, that I found myself actually laughing as I watched it, questioning why it is such a big deal.
"Bounce me High, Bounce me Low": There are these three adolescent kids in the opera who play this game in which they stand in a circle and bounce a ball to each other and chant these very words: "Bounce me high, bounce me low, bounce me up to Jericho. Bounce me slow, bounce me quick, bounce me to Arithmetic." Then they rhythmically clap their hands and rotate their circle.
I know it's not intended to be, but this chant sounds kind of sexual. It's kind of funny to think about. Read it again and you'll see what I mean.
This might be my very last "Peak Performances and their Awkward Sexual Moments" post. Notice how I say "might." If I am inspired enough I will write them again. I don't really want to stop something with which I have been consistent.
The thing is, they're not interesting me as much as they used to. When I wrote the originals, I was on winter break and wrote them to be productive and was excited to write them. Even though I enjoyed writing them this summer as well, they felt kind of forced this time. I was working on articles this summer and plus I came up with other post ideas so I couldn't really place my full focus on them. I felt obligated to complete them because I promised them, so I kind of made them an unnecessary task that I brought on myself.
Like I said, I might continue it, but I just want to warn you to be prepared that this may be the last one. I just want to move on to other things. Thank you so much for reading them and I am so glad that I wrote them for you!
However, on a happier note, I am looking forward to the 2011/2012 season of Peak Performances at MSU! :)
New Works Initiative: The Agee/Evans Project-April 2011-L. Howard Fox Theatre
The New Works Initiative is exactly that: a new work in the process. The Agee/Evans Project was not a complete piece when it was performed in Fox. For example, some actors still had to use their scripts. Before the show began, one of the theater professors announced that this was a new form of theater we have not experienced before. It certainly was.
Unfortunately, I didn't like it as much.
Nothing against the plot or the playwright, for I am a playwright as well so I can relate to what one goes through when writing plays, but this play leads something to be desired for me. The premise is that a writer, James Agee, and his photographer friend, Walker Evans, are doing a story about this sharecropper family who lives in this house in rural Alabama and the two men study them from their porch, which is where the entire play takes place. As the play goes on we can see that Agee becomes more and more passionate about the story than Evans. However, this isn't the only thread in the play. We meet members of the family, who each have their own issues and storylines, and then there is also a chorus over to the other side of the stage that provides the sound effects with either their voices or certain objects, such as rocks.
Though like all Peak Performances it was very well done, I didn't quite understand it much. It is one of those odd forms of theater that isn't a chronological story but rather poetry scattered all around. What I didn't like the most though is when the story with Agee and Evans, the family running around, and the chorus combine at once. I get how this is supposed to be a theatrical tactic to make the piece more intricate and artsy, but after a while it gets to be too much at once happening on the stage, making it hard to focus on what is going on.
Now that I have said all this I might as well admit to the fact that the day I saw this play wasn't necessarily one of my best. It was the final day of "Hell Week," which means a bunch of papers due all in one week at the end of the semester, so I was stressed and tired. And, I was also dealing with a female-related issue, so I wasn't feeling well. Maybe if I wasn't enduring these circumstances my enjoyment of the play wouldn't have been as tainted. Then again, it is also a piece in the works, so it's reasonable that it's not going to be perfect just yet.
Now for the Awkward Sexual Moments of The Agee/Evans Project.
Evans and Agee Discuss the Possibility of Agee Leaving His Wife: That's it. In one little itty bitty scene, Agee and Evans discuss the possibility of Agee leaving his wife, possibly for another woman. This idea is never revisited or, from what I see, have anything to do with the plot, so I feel like it was pointless to include in the first place. Now, it would make more sense if Agee decided to leave his wife for one of the family members they were studying, but I cannot remember if this is the case or not. I don't think it is the case only because I feel like something like that would stand out well enough for one to remember.
Now here is another episode of “Bonus Random Moments That I Really Need to Talk About.”
The Girl with the Blanket: Like The Grapes of Wrath, The Agee/Evans Project also has a bonus random moment about a girl with a blanket. As Agee becomes so engrossed with this family, all of a sudden the members start shouting that "Something is coming," to which Agee responds, "Can I stop it?" I begin to wonder what exactly "it" is. First I think literally, perhaps it is a tornado of sorts, for they all seem to look out into the distance. Then Agee grabs one of the girls and holds her, and she eventually goes lifeless in his arms, so then I think "it" metaphorically refers to death. This explanation would make more sense in this play because there seems to be a lot of symbolism. One thing about this play is that, to me, nothing is straight and to the point.
So the audience is lead to believe that this girl had died. She kneels and crouches over in the middle of the stage and they place a blanket over her, hiding her from view, thus suggesting a burial. The family members each walk back slowly to their post (for throughout the play when they aren't in a scene they sit in chairs located towards the back of the stage, their backs facing the audience) and both Agee and Evans sit on either side of the girl in silence and look at her. One of the girls in the chorus then has a solo harmonizing session as this all happens.
The problem I have with this scene is that sure it is interesting when it first begins, but then it begins to drag on when it isn't necessary. The girl does not stop harmonizing when the family members finally all return to their seats and Agee and Evans continue to look on. It just gets boring after a while. To me, the scene is around ten to fifteen minutes long, but then again maybe my mood this day made it seem longer. It could be shorter than what it is. Every time you expect the scene to finish, it continues for no reason. Nothing is happening because everything is still so I begin to wonder when they are going to move on to the next part of the play.
The only explanation for this longer than usual scene is that they are trying to make it sink in to the audience that the characters are in a mourning period, which is actually understandable if the girl ACTUALLY DIED!
After this scene finally comes to a close, the girl exits her house onto her porch and begins to talk to Agee, as if nothing happened! This really irritates me because it left me with so many unanswered questions! Did she come back from the dead? Is this a flashback? Did she even die at all? If none of this is true, then what is the point of that lengthy scene? What point are they trying to make then making that one girl a focus for such a long time only to have nothing result from it?
Previously: dis connect
Next...and final... Albert Herring(Brace yourselves, people. This one's an opera :P)
dis connect, if you remember, was written and produced by the Class of 2011 Theatre Studies majors for their final BA project. The play discusses the over-indulgence of technology and that there is a time and place for such technology to be used. Interestingly, I've noticed that unlike my other contributions to this series, I don't analyze much here but rather summarize. I think it's because the awkward sexual moments in this play speak for themselves and are more relatable to the kind of events that take place today, so therefore there are emotional connections. In my other segments, I normally take the time to explain why I think certain moments are sexually awkward. Here, the moments don't necessarily need any explanation but are rather obvious.
*Beware of Spoilers*
Josh Wilde: I would like to take this time to thank the BA Theatre Studies Class of 2011 for providing me with a video that will from now on until further notice be the video mascot of “Peak Performances and their Awkward Sexual Moments.” Watch the video before you read what I have to say about it.
Josh Wilde is one of the first characters we meet in dis connect, and is also one of the funniest. He is a juvenile delinquent who is doing community service for an old temperamental woman named Betty. In the first scene we see him, he is bringing Betty groceries but then ends up telling her in slang about hooking up with a girl in a dressing room. Very random story to tell an old woman and a very spontaneous time to do so at that. Right when he is about to be released from his duties with Betty, Josh decides to cause a riot by dancing and stripping right outside her house, which is the scene you see in the clip. The scene performed on the stage is interesting because you see him stripping and dancing with a bunch of spectators filming him with cameras as the overheard screen that overlooks the stage projects the YouTube video. One of the guys filming says at the end of the scene, “This is going on YouTube,” which is exactly where it ends up in real life. Throughout the play he matures but also continues to become more awkward because he discovers that the girl he talks about in his first scene is actually Alice, Betty’s granddaughter and one of the prominent characters of the play! How does he find this out? Betty, who has no knowledge of them knowing each other, sets them up on a blind date. This blind date is their only scene together and all is revealed then. However, the story of Josh Wilde ends well as he gives Alice a bouquet of flowers and the two walk off together quite possibly kindling a relationship, after some awkwardness of trying to get away from each other, and reminiscing about his YouTube phenomenon.
Tyler’s Coming Out Experience: Unfortunately, the humorous awkward sexual moments end with Josh Wilde and the rest are pretty morbid. For example, Tyler DeChristopher is a gay man who is best friends with Alice and struggles with his sexuality. He corresponds with a man via online chat and until now has kept his sexuality a secret. He reveals it to the man online and the two share a bond, the man persuading him to finally accept who he is and reveal it to Alice, giving him inspiring advice. Tyler finds himself falling for the man and wishes to see his face. The man refuses to do so, causing Tyler to interrogate him. After some very intense dialogue, the man reveals himself to be a woman, revealed to the audience as Cassie, another prominent character in the play who is just as lonely as Tyler because technology has caused a rift in her family. After this revelation, heartbroken, Tyler plans to hang himself. Right as he is about to do the deed, Alice walks in and stops him. He tells Alice that he is gay and the two agree to help each other with their struggles. Tyler’s story is a really important addition because it hits home with current events regarding homosexuality.
The Tragedy of Jenny: Jenny's story represents the worst-case scenario when it comes to technology. Jennifer “Jenny” Maloney is a thirteen-year-old girl who has an estranged relationship with her mother Erika. Her father has died while fighting in the armed forces, which has contributed to Jenny’s rebellious behavior. Jenny is constantly on her cell phone on which she corresponds with a man she has met on the Internet and has not yet met in person, but plans to. At this point you know that the outcome of this story is not going to be a good one. Erika is oblivious to this, but takes away Jenny’s cell to punish her for texting during her father’s memorial. Erika’s plan backfires because once she does this Jenny runs off to meet the man, gets assaulted, and is unable to call her mother for help due to lack of phone, causing Erika to blame herself for her daughter’s coma. This scenario also causes the rest of the characters to think about the positives and negatives of technology. Finally, while Jenny is laying down onstage in her coma, she shows up on the overhead screen and has a monologue, which is suggested to be her inner thoughts. She ultimately decides that she would rather die than face her mother again, so she peacefully passes. The only thing I don’t understand about Jenny’s story is that in her final monologue before she passes, she states that her mother will never understand why she resents her father. Why does she resent him exactly? They never really give a clear explanation from what I can see.
For The Montclarion article about dis connect, click here.
The Grapes of Wrath-March 2011-Alexander Kasser Theater
The Grapes of Wrath, based on the classic novel of the same name by John Steinbeck,had a lot of epic moments involving the Joad family’s journey to California and it was very well done, one of the best shows I’ve seen at MSU so far. What’s interesting about Grapes is that it brings up elements of theater that I wish to discuss more in-depth.
*Beware of Spoilers*
Al and Al’s Girl: Al Joad is a young teenage male who loves the ladies. Oftentimes we hear him speak about his sexual escapades, but we never actual see him with any girl, until we meet Al’s Girl. Al’s Girl has no name, mainly because she has no specific purpose but to help show just how much of a player Al is. Their scene together takes up a whopping five minutes, during which she discusses with him their future “marriage.” Ha! She obviously doesn’t know him like we do. Al dismisses this idea by hesitantly agreeing just to shut her up and make out with her. It’s awkward but it’s understandable because we know the character of Al. But then something else happens later on that is really odd. AL GETS ENGAGED! What? All of a sudden now Al is mature and is committing himself to one woman? When did this happen? Not much time passes between the Al’s Girl scenes and the final scene when we discover he is engaged, so where did this transition take place? What makes it even weirder is that Al’s Girl isn’t the girl he is engaged to. It’s a totally different woman we haven’t met before until now. Who is she? When did he meet her? Where did she come from? What the heck is her name? (*Checks program.) Apparently her name is Aggie Wainwright. Her name is appropriately placed at the end of the list, for the cast list is listed “in order of appearance.” In this scene with “Aggie,” Al takes on this totally different persona than what he had throughout the show. It would have been nice if we saw his progression because I don’t think we do. All of a sudden his personality switches with no clear transition.
Nudity: Now here’s an element on which I want to place a majority of my focus. During the length of the play, we see two characters get naked. One is Al (Surprised? I didn’t think so.) and Rose of Sharon, the eldest and pregnant daughter. With Al, the nudity is very unexpected in the context of the scene. The family finds a watering hole where they all decide to bathe and suddenly Al strips down to his birthday suit. Yes, there are moments when you see his penis and buttock crack in full light. For me, the scene wasn’t too bad because I consider the human body as nothing to be ashamed of and I thought it was an interesting theatrical addition to the play. The human body is art in itself. However, there could have been people in the audience who were greatly uncomfortable that this occurred.
Then there is the final scene between Rose of Sharon and the Man in Barn. In the scene prior, Rose of Sharon gives birth to a stillborn child. Seeking refuge from the rain, the Joad family escapes into a barn where they find a man dying of starvation, at which point Rose of Sharon decides to breastfeed him. Now this scene is not what I would call sexual, but it is very beautiful, one of the most powerful scenes I’ve ever seen on a stage. We see Rose of Sharon’s breast, but very briefly. She and the man then form this nurturing embrace, which closes the play. I found myself in a trance, not even realizing that the play had ended because I expected more after that. It truly had a “wow” factor. People were quiet in the audience. It took them a moment to start clapping because the scene was so mesmerizing.
What I would like to know is what people think about scenes like these. Is nudity an theatrical element that you feel that theater should use more? I would especially like an actor’s point of view for he or she is the one who would be enacting the task.
*Now you are in for a special treat. I am going to do something a little bit different in this blog post. In addition to these awkward sexual moments, I’ve also noticed some other random moments in Grapes that bothered me that I need to get off my chest. I may develop these into a whole other series, but for now I will keep them in here and call them “Bonus Random Moments That I Really Need to Talk About.” (Yeah, I think I should work on a better title than that too.)
The Girl with the Blanket: At one point the Joad family assembles onto the stage along with other extra characters to show how they all are gathered together at this one camp to make it seem more realistic. One of the characters that shows up is this little woman who folds the same blanket over and over again in a different way than how people normally fold blankets. She stands in place, bouncing as she stands, while also giving these odd facial expressions. Her actions are peculiar, suggesting that maybe she is a danger for the Joad family. She stands towards the front of the stage while everybody else remains in the background, thus suggesting that she is a significant character for this scene and that we will hear from her very soon. So then we wait. Tom Joad, the lead man and eldest Joad son, walks towards the front of the stage with another male lead character (I can’t remember who) and the two stroll back and forth onstage in the midst of a lengthy discussion. Every time they were to walk towards the direction of the girl with the blanket, she would run the other way. So here we have some brief interaction, suggesting that they are building up her big moment to start some trouble. Tom and the other guy continue their conversation, and then we see Tom actually look at the girl suspiciously. Now we know that Tom definitely notices her like the rest of us and that he will soon start talking to her. Right?
Wrong! He NEVER speaks to her! She never even gets her own lines. The extent of her dangerous qualities is that she briefly touches Rose of Sharon (God forbid), at which point the whole family rushes to her rescue. That could’ve happened in background like the other random actions that took place throughout the play. Why was she front and center? This odd placement of her totally deceived me and made me think that she was more important than what she was and it totally did not deliver.
Living on Fishing: There’s this one son in the Joad family and it is suggested that he is not all mentally stable. In the bathing scene, he confides in Tom that he is not going to continue the journey with the rest of the family but is rather going to live on the river and fish for survival. Tom tries to stop him, but to no avail. The family catches wind of this news, and though at first they are all concerned, they then continue without him after Pa Joad says “He’ll catch up.” Really? You mean to tell me that Ma Joad agrees to continue to California without her son, her mentally unstable son at that? If that were any other family they wouldn’t go anywhere until they found their lost child. Other characters leave too, including Connie, Rose of Sharon’s husband, which annoys me considering his wife is almost due, but yet they move on without him and say that he’ll catch up. What is it with these people thinking that their lost family members will catch up with them on foot when they are travelling in this gigantic truck? Also, I know this play takes place during the Depression and that they need jobs, food, and shelter, but is it really that imperative that they go without the rest of their clan? We never hear from these characters again nor do the other characters mention them. Was the absence of these characters not of a big deal to them?
The Narrators: Long story short, the addition of these narrators made the play seem like a musical when in reality it wasn’t. Basically, they show up out of nowhere and sing about what is currently happening in the play. Now, this isn’t a bad thing. It is actually a theatrical tactic that was unexpected but an interesting addition. The only problem I have with it is that these narrators would sing very joyfully at the most morbid times. For example, Tom and Pa could be having a very serious conversation, the lights go down, and then all of a sudden the narrators would brighten the mood with a happy song and dance. There is a time and place for happy singing and dancing, and for certain scenes in Grapes, it is just not appropriate.
You know, I was thinking about posting a piece today for my "The Intelligent News on AOL.com" series about how Ashton Kutcher is getting cozy in his new surroundings on the set of "Two and a Half Men"...
But who cares about them? What we really want to read about is how a chimpanzee feeds baby tigers bottles of milk! According to this article, at a zoo in Thailand a chimpanzee named Do Do grew fond of the baby tigers so the trainers decided to teach him how to give them their milk bottles!
That's the story! Now, isn't that refreshing compared to the other forms of news we constantly hear about? The only downside to this story is that the tigers grow up, so they have to be moved to another facility and can no longer be fed by Do Do.
Who cares?! This is so cute that you don't even notice that one bad side! And the bad side isn't even bad! It's just apart of life. The tigers have to grow up sometime and Do Do must let them "leave the nest." If you watch the video, you can actually feel yourself at peace. It's so happy, which is such a rarity nowadays. Even the people in the video and the guy narrating it look and sound cheerful. It's such a simple, positive story, making it so enjoyable for everyone. It certainly has the "Aww!" Factor.
Isn't it kind of ironic how the ONE story in the news that DOESN'T have a negative connotation does NOT involve the human race?
Heh, funny.
Animal stories are always so heartwarming. They just make life better. :)
Sweet Charity was one of the more heartwarming shows I’ve seen on campus so far. Because it is such a well-known show, it is no wonder why it sold out very quickly. It was also very tame, so the awkward sexual moments were very subtle and quite possibly unnoticeable. It was one of those shows you could watch with the whole family. However, the sexual moments were there. I am proud to kick off the Spring 2011 Semester of “Peak Performances and their Awkward Sexual Moments” with Sweet Charity.
*Beware of Spoilers*
Charlie: The main goal of heroine Charity Hope Valentine is to find love, and it is suggested in the opening song that she has found love in a man named Charlie. Throughout the show we meet three of Charity’s love interests, Charlie being the first. Well, actually, we don’t exactly “meet” him. That’s what makes him awkward. He doesn’t have any lines. Throughout the entire number his back is toward the audience as he smokes a cigarette. He just stands there as Charity hangs all over him and sings to him about the glamorous life they will lead together. Just by his suspicious actions, we know there is something off with this guy and that he is not altogether “good.” Our assumptions are proven correct when he robs Charity, causing her to fall into a lake, and we never see him again.
“Big Spender”: Charity and the rest of her friends work at the Fandango Hall as dance hall hostesses. These same women deliver that famous musical number "Big Spender." Now, from what I saw, this Fandango Hall isn’t entirely a bad place. A guy comes in, chooses one of the girls, and then dances and spends time with her. However, Charity makes it a point throughout the play to state just how bad this place is. Are we supposed to assume that it is the equivalent of a gentleman’s club then? I ask this because even though there is no reference to actual sexual action when it comes to the Fandango Hall, Charity makes it seem like there is by how she talks about the place. The women just dance with the men who enter the hall. And it’s not even any dirty dancing or lap dancing either. They would just slow dance. Is it really that bad? I mean, I realize that the place can be sexist and I got offended with how each customer summoned a girl, but I guess what I’m saying is it could be worse. Charity’s third and final love interest and fiance, Oscar Lindquist, gets all upset when he discovers that Charity works there, for Charity was hesitant in telling him and he found out by accident. When he does finally “accept” it, he finds that he can’t go through with their wedding because he finds it uncomfortable to think about. He originally thought that Charity was virginal and pure, but after he saw her laughing and smiling with another man, his view of her completely changed. Well, we haven’t really established if Charity is a virgin or not, so perhaps Oscar is kind of overreacting here. Just because she dances with men she is no longer pure in Oscar eyes? That’s kind of offensive, isn’t it? However, I do understand though where he does not want his girl involved with any other man. Are we supposed to assume then that these women have sex with the men they dance with? Now that’s a totally different story and Oscar's feelings are pretty plausible. This is what I mean when I say sexual moments in SweetCharity are very unnoticeable at first. We are never given the full picture and a lot of questions are left unanswered.
Vittorio Vidal: Vittorio Vidal is love interest number two and also a sexy Italian movie star whom Charity admires. She runs into him when he is fighting with his girlfriend Ursula and is invited to a party with him instead to spite Ursula. However, by the end of the night, Ursula returns full of apologies and horniness, so the two makes sweet passionate love in Vittorio’s apartment while Charity spends the night in his closet, initiating one of the more hilarious scenes of the play. The following morning Vittorio releases her from his closet. Before she leaves, Charity compliments his sexual talents, saying that he is good in the movies, but is better in real life, suggesting that she was watching.
What is the point of this character? He serves absolutely nothing to the plot. A good portion of the middle of the show is dedicated to him, and yet nothing stems from the “relationship” between he and Charity. From what I can think of, his presence serves as comic relief and an opportunity for a song (Charity sings the famous “If My Friends Could See Me Now” during one of these scenes). It just seems like his scenes are completely random and unnecessary. I guess he is needed to make you think that something would develop between he and Charity, but if the story cut him out and we jumped from Charlie to Oscar, nothing against Vittorio, but it wouldn’t have been much of a loss. The story would have been complete without him.
For The Montclarion article about Sweet Charity, click here.
