newswire today
So a few things on my mind today....
- I watched the season finale of Bones a couple nights ago and it just occurred to me how much it reminds me of the season finale of Sherlock. I wonder if that was done on purpose, as in the plot was inspired by what Moriarty did to Sherlock, or if they'd planned it like that all along. The villain in this week's episode did appear earlier in the season. The former may very well be true though. Much like many of the ultra smart detectives on television (see also Dr. House), Sherlock Holmes is the template. Before CBS picked up Elementary in which Watson is a woman, Bones was already doing the gender bending by making Holmes a woman. Brennan is cold and logical while Booth is warm and emotive. Because their genders are opposed (and because TV isn't ready for a gay couple outside of comedy), we can take the sexual tension between Holmes and Watson and make it literal. Hey. They can even have a baby! ::eye roll:: Though actually I'm really happy about the fact that Bones and Booth finally got together. I'm not one of those people who thinks the show is over when the main characters hook up. If you're a good writer and story teller and if you know your characters well enough you can make things work. What's WORSE is when you drag it out for no good reason other than "it'll ruin the show if they act like real people!" Plus the baby is used sparingly and Bones's changed attitude overall is consistent with someone who's grown and learned to empathize over the course of 8 years.
- I was reading some sort of headline today in which Chris Brown and Drake criticized Rihanna for being a slut. this article on Jezebel pretty much sums up my feelings about that. First off, stop talking Chris Brown. No one takes what you say seriously because you are a moron. Second, you can comment on Rihanna's character if that's your preference but girlfriend is rich, beautiful, single, and successful. Why the hell SHOULDN'T she be sleeping with whatever hot piece of ass is out there? Men and women? I also don't want to hear shit about how she's dabbling in gay culture by going out with a girl. People should be allowed to experiment with their sexuality. In an ideal world everyone should try out opposite genders and see where life takes them if they so choose. Sex is just another awesome way to get to know someone. Instead of shaking hands we shake genitals. Look, I do have some issues with Rihanna. Mostly in that she threw a hissy fit when people told her she shouldn't be seeing Chris Brown anymore. Even in collaborations. Please see someone about this. The man bit you and slammed your face repeatedly into a car door. You don't need him to give your career a boast. You are already on every single song on the radio. For having sex though? Pssh. Please. You should see how much sex I'd be having if I was in Rihanna's position. Let me give you a hint. It would make Wilt Chamberlain blush.
- So I've really gotten into that new show Don't Trust the B-- in Apartment 23. I'm trying to understand why this show appeals to me so much more than Girls did. I should watch more episode of Girls. Maybe I'll like it now or something. I know I don't HAVE to like every show with a major lady cast in it but I feel like I should at least give them a chance more than others. I want to support my ladies. Ya know? Anyway, Apt 23 has a STUPID title but it's really good! I mean, ok it's funny like 75-90% of the time but I really dig Chloe, the sociopathic nympho. Perhaps because I relate to her a lot. Although some of the stuff she does even I wouldn't do. Also the relationship between Chloe and June is so awesome. June comes from a conservative small town background and in the first episode they come into conflict because Chloe cons her out of her money. But instead of playing June off as stupid, airheaded, or incompetent she's more naive and earnest. June doesn't slut shame Chloe for being promiscuous and while judgmental we aren't made to feel June's over empathizing is something to frown on or hold up as the ideal. Instead they're just two extremes, nothing more and nothing less. June gives Chloe advice on how to be a nicer person and Chloe helps June discover her sexuality. I especially like that the show doesn't feel the need to compensate for Chloe's sluttiness in some way or other. She isn't miserable because she sleeps with a lot of men. She's not an empty depressed person who only sleeps around to fill the hole in her soul. She doesn't teach June to loosen up and have sexual flings only to realize what she's really missing in life is monogamy. No. Instead the show acknowledges that some people can be happy with a carefree commitment free lifestyle and other people just can't help getting roped into feeling things. Neither are wrong. They can both exist. Women can be whatever they want! Plus I love that though naturally caring and unable to say no, June isn't some sort of pushover manic tightwad. She adapts to the whole sexual fling thing quite well and her issue with the one-night stand guy in this week's episode wasn't so much that she developed feelings for him but that she just felt terrible for leaving him crying over his lost bird alone. Once he found the bird she felt it was finally an ok time to break things off. You can be a nice person and not immediately fall in love with a random guy you sleep with. We're women. Not RomCom tropes.
- Another thing I love about Apt 23? The dynamic between Chloe and James Van Der Beek. Yes. He plays himself in the show and he's pretty funny. I was worried we'd end up with some weird sexual tension thing between Chloe and Beek but instead they're actually just friends! Sure they dated at one time but now they're just best buds and they hang out and go out and act as each others' wing men. It's great. Shows are always trying to make the whole "we're exes and we tried to be friends but YOU CAN NEVER BE FRIENDS WITH EXES" thing happen. It's so annoying. It's like apparently adults aren't capable of being adults. Apt 23 tells us that's not true. Chloe and James are so over each other like that and this week's episode goes into what would happen IF they attempted to have sex again. The answer? It just won't happen. Good job show for addressing that and then doing something different with it. I just love this show's attitude toward sex overall. Like June masturbating in the opening scene? Fantastic. Women masturbate! And they talk about it!
- Oh. And bonus awesome? There was a scene where Chloe gifted June a Casual Sex emergency kit to commemorate her newly found liberation. Part of the kit? Cab fare. It's subtle but meaningful. Look man. I'm only using you for sex. As such, I can pay for my own damn cab. Gender equality doesn't always have to be some stupid "very special episode" about equal pay in the work place or female presidents. It can be just as simple as having a character on television advise her friend to pay for her own ride home. Men do all the time. If we're going to truly break free from these societal norms and gender inequalities the first thing we do is make everything equal. Yes that means more women in high powered jobs and equal pay. But that also means breaking free from dating norms which in themselves are steeped in patriarchy.
- I watched the season finale of Bones a couple nights ago and it just occurred to me how much it reminds me of the season finale of Sherlock. I wonder if that was done on purpose, as in the plot was inspired by what Moriarty did to Sherlock, or if they'd planned it like that all along. The villain in this week's episode did appear earlier in the season. The former may very well be true though. Much like many of the ultra smart detectives on television (see also Dr. House), Sherlock Holmes is the template. Before CBS picked up Elementary in which Watson is a woman, Bones was already doing the gender bending by making Holmes a woman. Brennan is cold and logical while Booth is warm and emotive. Because their genders are opposed (and because TV isn't ready for a gay couple outside of comedy), we can take the sexual tension between Holmes and Watson and make it literal. Hey. They can even have a baby! ::eye roll:: Though actually I'm really happy about the fact that Bones and Booth finally got together. I'm not one of those people who thinks the show is over when the main characters hook up. If you're a good writer and story teller and if you know your characters well enough you can make things work. What's WORSE is when you drag it out for no good reason other than "it'll ruin the show if they act like real people!" Plus the baby is used sparingly and Bones's changed attitude overall is consistent with someone who's grown and learned to empathize over the course of 8 years.
- I was reading some sort of headline today in which Chris Brown and Drake criticized Rihanna for being a slut. this article on Jezebel pretty much sums up my feelings about that. First off, stop talking Chris Brown. No one takes what you say seriously because you are a moron. Second, you can comment on Rihanna's character if that's your preference but girlfriend is rich, beautiful, single, and successful. Why the hell SHOULDN'T she be sleeping with whatever hot piece of ass is out there? Men and women? I also don't want to hear shit about how she's dabbling in gay culture by going out with a girl. People should be allowed to experiment with their sexuality. In an ideal world everyone should try out opposite genders and see where life takes them if they so choose. Sex is just another awesome way to get to know someone. Instead of shaking hands we shake genitals. Look, I do have some issues with Rihanna. Mostly in that she threw a hissy fit when people told her she shouldn't be seeing Chris Brown anymore. Even in collaborations. Please see someone about this. The man bit you and slammed your face repeatedly into a car door. You don't need him to give your career a boast. You are already on every single song on the radio. For having sex though? Pssh. Please. You should see how much sex I'd be having if I was in Rihanna's position. Let me give you a hint. It would make Wilt Chamberlain blush.
- So I've really gotten into that new show Don't Trust the B-- in Apartment 23. I'm trying to understand why this show appeals to me so much more than Girls did. I should watch more episode of Girls. Maybe I'll like it now or something. I know I don't HAVE to like every show with a major lady cast in it but I feel like I should at least give them a chance more than others. I want to support my ladies. Ya know? Anyway, Apt 23 has a STUPID title but it's really good! I mean, ok it's funny like 75-90% of the time but I really dig Chloe, the sociopathic nympho. Perhaps because I relate to her a lot. Although some of the stuff she does even I wouldn't do. Also the relationship between Chloe and June is so awesome. June comes from a conservative small town background and in the first episode they come into conflict because Chloe cons her out of her money. But instead of playing June off as stupid, airheaded, or incompetent she's more naive and earnest. June doesn't slut shame Chloe for being promiscuous and while judgmental we aren't made to feel June's over empathizing is something to frown on or hold up as the ideal. Instead they're just two extremes, nothing more and nothing less. June gives Chloe advice on how to be a nicer person and Chloe helps June discover her sexuality. I especially like that the show doesn't feel the need to compensate for Chloe's sluttiness in some way or other. She isn't miserable because she sleeps with a lot of men. She's not an empty depressed person who only sleeps around to fill the hole in her soul. She doesn't teach June to loosen up and have sexual flings only to realize what she's really missing in life is monogamy. No. Instead the show acknowledges that some people can be happy with a carefree commitment free lifestyle and other people just can't help getting roped into feeling things. Neither are wrong. They can both exist. Women can be whatever they want! Plus I love that though naturally caring and unable to say no, June isn't some sort of pushover manic tightwad. She adapts to the whole sexual fling thing quite well and her issue with the one-night stand guy in this week's episode wasn't so much that she developed feelings for him but that she just felt terrible for leaving him crying over his lost bird alone. Once he found the bird she felt it was finally an ok time to break things off. You can be a nice person and not immediately fall in love with a random guy you sleep with. We're women. Not RomCom tropes.
- Another thing I love about Apt 23? The dynamic between Chloe and James Van Der Beek. Yes. He plays himself in the show and he's pretty funny. I was worried we'd end up with some weird sexual tension thing between Chloe and Beek but instead they're actually just friends! Sure they dated at one time but now they're just best buds and they hang out and go out and act as each others' wing men. It's great. Shows are always trying to make the whole "we're exes and we tried to be friends but YOU CAN NEVER BE FRIENDS WITH EXES" thing happen. It's so annoying. It's like apparently adults aren't capable of being adults. Apt 23 tells us that's not true. Chloe and James are so over each other like that and this week's episode goes into what would happen IF they attempted to have sex again. The answer? It just won't happen. Good job show for addressing that and then doing something different with it. I just love this show's attitude toward sex overall. Like June masturbating in the opening scene? Fantastic. Women masturbate! And they talk about it!
- Oh. And bonus awesome? There was a scene where Chloe gifted June a Casual Sex emergency kit to commemorate her newly found liberation. Part of the kit? Cab fare. It's subtle but meaningful. Look man. I'm only using you for sex. As such, I can pay for my own damn cab. Gender equality doesn't always have to be some stupid "very special episode" about equal pay in the work place or female presidents. It can be just as simple as having a character on television advise her friend to pay for her own ride home. Men do all the time. If we're going to truly break free from these societal norms and gender inequalities the first thing we do is make everything equal. Yes that means more women in high powered jobs and equal pay. But that also means breaking free from dating norms which in themselves are steeped in patriarchy.