Obligatory Thursday Skins Post
I really need to rename my Skins tag. WARNING: SQUEE-HARSHING AHEAD.
So, not only do we not get any gay characters this gen, we get a bunch of characters who like to throw around the word gay as an insult. Fuck that. I don't care if it's ~realistic, it sets my teeth on edge.
I officially don't give a shit about gen 3. Rich made me roll my eyes most of the time ("I don't compromise. I'M METAL"), Grace is still annoying (and Jessica isn't a very good actor, sorry), and Alo is occasionally amusing but mostly awful ("GAY GAY GAY GAY GAY GAY GAY"). AND NONE OF THE OTHER CHARACTERS EVEN REALLY SHOWED UP. The episodes are still so insular than it's pretty much a different show each week. I mean, I quite liked Franky last week and I'd be interested to see more of her, but I guess the best we can hope for is that she'll have a secondary focus in one other episode. Ridiculous.
As for the story, it felt like any other story just dressed up with a metal soundtrack. (Although to be fair to JB, there were some very funny lines. "That's the worst idea since genocide.") Also, IDK if this makes sense to anyone apart from me, but it felt like it was ABOUT BOYS instead of just being about a boy, especially towards the beginning. It had a very male perspective, and that doesn't really interest me.
I think the thing is, the direction and cinematography and all that stuff is really, really lovely, but I didn't feel any depth to the story. The whole part where he went deaf and that allowed him to appreciate other kinds of beauty - I couldn't place exactly what it reminded me of, but it felt very familiar, and the point felt very obvious. Similar thing when he said 'Dad' instead of 'Kevin'. Honestly, the first thing that reminded me of a trope from Harry Potter fic: the point where Harry and Draco inevitably start calling each other by their first names to signal that their relationship has ~changed. I just didn't feel like there was much subtlety to it.
But I guess the main thing is that while I do acknowledge the general increase in quality, I just can't connect with any of the characters. That's the most important thing for me; I'm willing to forgive a lot (bad acting, cheesy dialogue etc.) if I feel something for the characters anyway, but if I don't care about the characters then it doesn't matter how shiny the rest of it is.
I'll watch Mini's episode because I'm sort of interested in seeing what they'll do with her and Georgia Lester has a great track record, but if I don't start feeling something for these kids soon I think I'll give up on it.
So, not only do we not get any gay characters this gen, we get a bunch of characters who like to throw around the word gay as an insult. Fuck that. I don't care if it's ~realistic, it sets my teeth on edge.
I officially don't give a shit about gen 3. Rich made me roll my eyes most of the time ("I don't compromise. I'M METAL"), Grace is still annoying (and Jessica isn't a very good actor, sorry), and Alo is occasionally amusing but mostly awful ("GAY GAY GAY GAY GAY GAY GAY"). AND NONE OF THE OTHER CHARACTERS EVEN REALLY SHOWED UP. The episodes are still so insular than it's pretty much a different show each week. I mean, I quite liked Franky last week and I'd be interested to see more of her, but I guess the best we can hope for is that she'll have a secondary focus in one other episode. Ridiculous.
As for the story, it felt like any other story just dressed up with a metal soundtrack. (Although to be fair to JB, there were some very funny lines. "That's the worst idea since genocide.") Also, IDK if this makes sense to anyone apart from me, but it felt like it was ABOUT BOYS instead of just being about a boy, especially towards the beginning. It had a very male perspective, and that doesn't really interest me.
I think the thing is, the direction and cinematography and all that stuff is really, really lovely, but I didn't feel any depth to the story. The whole part where he went deaf and that allowed him to appreciate other kinds of beauty - I couldn't place exactly what it reminded me of, but it felt very familiar, and the point felt very obvious. Similar thing when he said 'Dad' instead of 'Kevin'. Honestly, the first thing that reminded me of a trope from Harry Potter fic: the point where Harry and Draco inevitably start calling each other by their first names to signal that their relationship has ~changed. I just didn't feel like there was much subtlety to it.
But I guess the main thing is that while I do acknowledge the general increase in quality, I just can't connect with any of the characters. That's the most important thing for me; I'm willing to forgive a lot (bad acting, cheesy dialogue etc.) if I feel something for the characters anyway, but if I don't care about the characters then it doesn't matter how shiny the rest of it is.
I'll watch Mini's episode because I'm sort of interested in seeing what they'll do with her and Georgia Lester has a great track record, but if I don't start feeling something for these kids soon I think I'll give up on it.