Looking for Love

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[sonnetsareforlovers]

Challenge Post #18

(This is the last challenge post!)

Find an online dating site or download a mobile dating app that you have not used before. You do not need to generate a profile (unless you want to), but I do want you spend some time looking around. What kinds of profile questions are asked? How is the site/app advertised or marketed? What does its interface tell you about how the app functions? Who is the app/site designed for? Are there testimonials or reviews that discuss the site/apps’ “success stories”? Do the creators share anywhere on the site or app why they decided to create the app/site?

[sonnetsareforlovers]

Challenge Post #17

Reflecting on our discussion regarding the difference between Lars’ love for Bianca and Margo’s love for her teddy bear, have you ever loved an inanimate object (a stuffed toy, a book, a certain blanket, a prized object from a loved one, etc.)? Discuss how that loved manifest(s/ed) itself and in what way(s) that object or your love for it impacting your relationship with yourself or others.

[sonnetsareforlovers]

Review: The Euphoria of ‘One Day at a Time’

In its second season, available Friday on Netflix, the sitcom is closer to its ideal state of flow, putting character ahead of plot and trusting itself and its moments a little more.

I cannot recommend this show enough!

[sonnetsareforlovers]

Challenge Post #16

Should cisgender actors be cast in trans* roles? Why or why not? What about straight actors in gay or lesbian roles? Are these even equivalent questions?

[sonnetsareforlovers]

Challenge Post #15

In relation to our viewing of both The Kids are Alright and Transparent, what other shows or films can you think of that consider the intersection of family/domestic life and love/sex/relationships--either how domestic life might be disrupted by these latter forces or, perhaps, reinforced or supported by them?

Choose one example and discuss.

[sonnetsareforlovers]

Transparent: “Pilot”/“The Letting Go”

“Realism” on television is overrated. We praise shows all the time for being “realistic” without going into what, exactly, that means, or why it’s something we want out of our entertainment (and why should it be?). What we normally mean by “realistic” isn’t that a show magically captures our own reality (that would be very, very boring), but that we either recognize something in it that we might call authentic—that it responds to an imagined idea of what the thing should be like, even if it’s an idea we didn’t know we had, or didn’t know we could have. Put another way, that the show is emotionally realistic rather than technically realistic, albeit in a manner that comes off as surprising. This isn’t a particularly novel idea, but it’s worth repeating because, wow, the pilot of Transparent is some damn emotional blunt force trauma.

Other links from class today: 

http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/television/2014/09/transparent_on_amazon_prime_reviewed_it_s_the_fall_s_best_new_show.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/31/magazine/can-jill-soloway-do-justice-to-the-trans-movement.html?_r=0

https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2016/09/emmys-transparent-jeffrey-tambor-cis-trans-actors

[sonnetsareforlovers]

Challenge Post #14

I’m behind! This is for last week, actually (Secretary and/or Professor Marston):

When you think about how non-normative* sexuality or sex acts or relationships are presented in film or on television, what do you think some of the best practices are for presenting those relationships/identities fairly, compellingly, and without intrinsic judgment? Do either of these films follow those best practices? Are there films you can think of that do this well or do this particularly badly?

(*When I say non-normative, I do not mean that as a judgment-laden value. Instead, I’m just referring to normative as a function of the behavior of the majority and non-normative as veering away from those tendencies.)

[sonnetsareforlovers]

Here's Why You Should See "Secretary" Before "Fifty Shades Of Grey"

E. Edward Grey > Christian Grey. Spoiler alert for both movies!

Thoughts for those who’ve seen both films?

[sonnetsareforlovers]

Challenge Post #13

How does representing queer identity/love/relationships change in terms of any of the (primarily) American conventions of love/sex/relationships we’ve been discussing in class all semester when portrayed in an international context? Use either Happy Together or Unveiled to reflect on this question.

[sonnetsareforlovers]

Challenge Post #12

Reflecting on the dichotomy I referenced in class on Wednesday*, choose another sitcom that represents dating, sexuality, relationships, gender roles, love, etc. and consider how it relies on and/or defies social conventions regarding love/desire/sexuality/family/marriage.

* (conventions addressed but are destabilized as part of a critique by characters/narrative VS. narrative/characters play into conventions in order to make audience comfortable with a potentially uncomfortable premise/identity/etc.)

[sonnetsareforlovers]

Challenge Post #11

(Sorry for the delay on this one!)

Use the romantic comedy conventions/beats/scenes we discussed on Monday* to analyze how your favorite romantic comedy (or your least favorite or one you’ve seen recently, besides The Big Sick) utilizes (or doesn’t conform to conventions in relation to) each typical plot point. *the convention romantic comedy “beat” (plot point) structure:

the chemical equation: setup

the meet-cute: catalyst

a sexy complication: turning point

the hook: midpoint

swivel: second turning point

dark moment: crisis climax

joyful defeat: resolution

[sonnetsareforlovers]

Challenge Post #10

Time for the question I keep trying to ask in class! The idea behind the “burden of representation” is twofold (by the way, the idea comes, in part, from the cultural theorist Stuart Hall, to give credit where credit is due):

that if there’s only one token minority character (or very few) in a certain visual/media landscape or narrative, then that character bears the burden of representing all members of their community in terms of how the majority views that community (e.g. if most sitcoms feature white families and there’s only one that features an Asian family, it becomes easier to read that one, lone example as representative of an entire community)

that some people think media producers bear a certain responsibility for representing members of their own community or other minority communities in a “good light” in order to dispel stereotypes and negative connotations perhaps already associated (often irrationally) with that community

So, given that definition, reflect on whether or not the concept of the “burden of representation” applies to Tangerine. Should Baker have worried about issues of so-called good vs. bad representations of transgender sex workers or does that question (about representation) rest on a flawed assumption? In what ways do the characters (or the narrative) maintain or destabilize mainstream stereotypes around transgender sex workers?

[sonnetsareforlovers]

Indie Media Response

Please respond to this post in lieu of our class on Wednesday:

Independent films and media are generally, according to Tim Dirks at FilmSite.com,

“...made outside of the established studio system, by a little-known director who is working on a shoestring budget. Independent films, often with unconventional plots and characters, usually attract only small audiences (although can sometimes be breakthrough films for a director), and have little access to prime distribution markets. They often contain groundbreaking subject matter designed for sophisticated audiences, and are not necessarily produced with commercial success as the goal.”

The most recent form of independent media to make waves is the web series, often shot on an extremely minimal budget, sometimes just in the writer/director’s home and with minimal cast and crew.  Some web series’ have gained commercial success and have been picked up by networks and developed into full-length television shows (Broad City and Insecure [previously Awkward Black Girl] are some examples of web series turned television shows). For this response, find a web series that at least loosely relates to one or more of the themes in this course (love, marriage, friendship, sexuality, etc.) and watch at least 3-4 episodes (often, web series episodes are only 5-10 minutes long a piece). Write an approximately 200-word reflection on any aspect of the series (what you found compelling, how it relates to our class topics, questions it sparked for you, questions it answers, how the characters are handled, etc.). You can use one of these lists as a starting point or find a series on your own: http://www.indiewire.com/2017/12/best-web-series-2017-1201911701/

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/new-web-series-to-watch_us_57fcf114e4b068ecb5e1b4c7#

[sonnetsareforlovers]

I am very excited because my favorite artist, Janelle Monae, is dropping a new album in April. Here’s one of the new songs that relates to our class. 

[sonnetsareforlovers]

Challenge Post #9

(I figured since I’m not in class today, the least I can do is post a challenge post)

What are the various ways dating is portrayed in popular media? For the purposes of this question, let’s define dating as going out and/or meeting up with multiple people in order to determine their suitability as long(er) term partners/romantic interests. Give an example from a particular show or game or film and discuss.

[sonnetsareforlovers]

Challenge Post #8

(Obviously, if you feel uncomfortable responding to this challenge post, you don’t need to do so. NOTE: What I’m asking you to reflect on is an experience of viewing and interpretation of something represented, not an actual sexual experience!) In Linda Williams’ Screening Sex, she talks about what we see and don’t see in movie sex scenes and how some mainstream romances often elide (but hint at) the sex scenes to come (or just passed), while pornography makes the act extremely visible, sometimes eliding narrative in favor of more explicit imagery.  Both extremes leave something out, relying on the viewer to fill in either context or narrative. Many people have had some sort of experience (often in our childhoods) where we saw something in a film that we perhaps shouldn’t have (or were shown something by an older sibling or friend) and we didn’t understand the connotations of what we saw; or even, in some cases, we were watching something deemed perfectly appropriate for our age, but with a joke or other scene geared more towards adults that we may not have entirely understood. These are not sexual experiences, but ones of viewing something sexual or near-sexual and having to contend with the strangeness of not having all the information or context.

Have you had an experience like this? If so, how did the media that you saw depict sex/romance? What did it show and what did it leave out? Were you able to fill in the gaps (whether contextual or narrative)? 

[I have a funny story about this, that I will happy to share in class if you remind me.]

[sonnetsareforlovers]

Challenge Post # 7

It’s Valentine’s Day! Post a photo, video, story, cartoon, quote, etc. about the holiday and then write about your response to it. Do you like Valentine’s Day? Do you hate Valentine’s Day?  In either case, why?