The late ‘90s dramedy film starring Gwyneth Paltrow has that rare quality of being prestigious while also being so entertaining that you can watch it over and over again.
Category: Cable TV
Language as Race & Gender Protest in STARZ Vida (2018)
An interesting show to consider for its atypical and intersectional gendered communication is Tanya Saracho’s Vida (2018), a series that debuted last year on the premium cable channel STARZ. As Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw (1991) illuminated, “Although racism and sexism readily intersect in the lives of real people, they seldom do in feminist and antiracist practices” (p. 1242) and … Continue reading Language as Race & Gender Protest in STARZ Vida (2018)
Adora-ble: Gendered Communication in HBO’s Sharp Objects
Rhetorical analysis of gendered communication in new HBO show Sharp Objects starring Amy Adams and Patricia Clarkson.
On the Air Tonight: Music in FX’s The Americans
Music is the first thing one experiences in the pilot episode of The Americans. Quarterflash’s 1981 hit, “Harden My Heart,” plays as we get the show’s setting: Washington D.C. No year is announced, but the song, with it’s era-specific “sexy” saxophone, tells us we are in the ‘80s. We aren't sure that the music isn't diegetic … Continue reading On the Air Tonight: Music in FX’s The Americans
Prestige in Horror: The Semiotics of Penny Dreadful’s Intro Sequence
The opening titles sequence of Showtime's Penny Dreadful visually invokes genre conventions while using music to connote quality. The first shot is a selective focus close-up of a spider emerging from frame left in low-key light as violin music commences with suspenseful charge, two-thirds of the screen still in darkness. This isn't any ordinary spider, as the … Continue reading Prestige in Horror: The Semiotics of Penny Dreadful’s Intro Sequence
VISUALIZING HINDSIGHT: The Semiotics of Halt and Catch Fire’s Title Sequence
Image courtesy of Art of the Title Halt and Catch Fire is a show more about time and technological progress than characters, and the intro sequence reflects that. Currently airing its fourth and final season on AMC, the show charts the evolution of digital technology from the personal computer boom through to the creation of … Continue reading VISUALIZING HINDSIGHT: The Semiotics of Halt and Catch Fire’s Title Sequence
The Russians
"The Americans is back — and it's still the best-kept secret on TV" Finally starting The Americans. It airs on FX, but I'm streaming it from the beginning on Amazon Prime Video. Love that Death Comes to Pemberley's Darcy co-stars! I'm not really familiar with Kerri Russell. I watched a few episodes of Felicity...I think...back … Continue reading The Russians
Link: #LGBTFansDeserveBetter
"Stop killing off TV’s lesbians: This depressing trope limits storytelling about queer women" What do you do when you really like a show that buries its gays or participates in #queerbaiting to avoid gay characters altogether? #snowqueen#sleepingwarrior #dastiel
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