TV

The recent release of the television series 'The Tick' has presented one of the most interesting genre mash ups. With clear nods to the Film Noir style: in the cinematography, the editing, and the structure of the narrative. It is also obviously a superhero show with some strongly comedic and traditional tropes in place: the hero's journey (actually pointed out in dialogue), the abilities of the characters, the motivation of the characters and the various costuming, choreography of fight scenes, etc. that we are used to associating with such texts. The superhero side leans so heavily into the bright, ridiculous world of comic books that it seems outlandish that the elements of the darker, serious Noir style would even work, yet oddly the mash up is remarkably appealing and visually interesting. If this is the new future for television superhero shows then my faith has been restored!

Within the past few years, the way we watch television has completely transformed. Between releasing 15 episodes at once to specialized mini-series with only 8 episodes we are traveling in a new direction. Is this a positive force or negative? How so and who is affected? More creatives are finally being able to produce the shows they may have had difficulty with in the past. But is this all just recycled visual information coming out in a larger quantity? By simply hitting "next episode" are we focusing on the content or having a competition to binge the series in under a weekend?

Thoughts?

The new revival of nostalgic television has taken a darker path. The success of 'Stranger Things' has been a catalyst for encouraging the development of nostalgia projects, however, at its heart it is a dark and disturbing tale. The recent release of the 'Riverdale' series based on the 'Archie' comics has been an interesting progression down this darker road. Utilising the same characters, the television interpretation has developed a show full of murder, death, drugs, gangs and violence all obviously in vast contrast to the actuality of the comic series. Yet this series is resonating with the viewers. It seems that the rose-coloured lens of viewing the early American Dream as a reality is truly dead, yet because of it this is becoming a must view series. Have we as viewers now completely lost our innocence?

Following a Nietzschean line of philosophy: one must be deeply engaged in the world on an experiential level to obtain a respected opinion. Struggle is imperative in this process as it develops our own inner identity; through battling against a thing that we hate we become more akin to the things we love. Here I pose the question: is Girls a TV series we should take seriously on issues like gender oppression, sexual assault and racial division? Has the creator Lena Dunham been through enough social struggle to speak for groups that experience daily marginalisation, when she herself may not typically be considered marginalised?

Netflix has become enormously popular and universally used thereby opening doors to many new series and even having series exclusive to it such as Daredevil, Mindhunter etc… Netflix has revolutionised our watching habits because of this and has made the concept of 'binging' a television series more commonplace. Discuss its impact on not only our viewing habits but in the entertainment industry as a whole.

The past two years completely changed the way society speaks about politics. It seems everyone was speaking about anything that came out of the previous campaign. The country was divided and conversations of all human rights were lit on fire.

The way the media was involved was unlike any political campaign. Local news stations and early morning shows recapped the day before like they always do. However, late night hosts took on a new role. While maintaining their comedy, the usual carefree atmosphere was unavoidably influenced by the stressful political world. Some late night hosts took advantage of it, others did not. Do you believe it is there responsibility to speak on the changing politics?

The announcement that we would have the first female dr who really divided a lot of people. Personally, I think it is a fantastic idea, but I would love to see an article that looks at both sides of the argument. It would also be good for the author to look at other women in science fiction television roles, and what they brought to the role in comparison.

Despite the popularity and artistic greatness of "Breaking Bad," the one critique I continue to apply to one of my favorite series is the relative weakness and low amount of characterization of its female characters in relation to the multi-faceted, finely constructed male characters. This article could take the form of diving more deeply into each woman's psychology (to prove me wrong, perhaps) or (if you agree with me) supporting the lack of balance between the men and women of the series in terms of characterization. The primary women under question could include Skyler White, Marie Schrader, Lydia Rodarte-Quayle, Jane Margolis, Andrea Cantillo, and even Saul's secretary Francesca and the school principal Carmen Molina. Maybe even Gretchen Schwartz? Let me know what you think!