Our Anaconda Don't Want None Unless You Got a Series Commitment Hun

This week it was announced that Nikki Minaj would produce and appear in an autobiographical sitcom about her life growing up in Queens in the 90s. The show will run on ABC Family and might single handedly save television. This show has everything millennials want in a TV show: Nikki Minaj, the 90s and their parents disapproval of the content.

It is also being written by a woman, Kate Angelo (The Bernie Mac Show, Will & Grace, Sex Tape) which at least female identifying millennials will approve of. And god knows broadcast television needs it, millennials are watching television less and less and the content being put out there is not doing much to stop the trend. If traditional linear television hopes to survive they absolutely need to start tapping into a different formula. Gone are the days where 6 white twenty somethings trying to make it in New York (actually a 3 camera set in Burbank) with their antics haunted by a creepy laugh track is gonna bring in this generation of twenty somethings. Those carefree "shows about nothing" left with the 90s along with the affordability the Manhattan apartments they were supposed to take place in. Our generation now wants an accurate and diverse perspective on the world, and Nikki Minaj might be the one to give it to us.

It is my guess that many 20 somethings will tune into this show and will continue to be loyal to its brand, if the writing and casting come together as promised. Other networks should take note and should begin looking outside their scope of hot white 20 year olds and towards a demographic of people they are now so desperate to appeal to. 

Transgenders in the Media

Over the years, there have been controversies with depicting transgender people in the media. Many people are not accepting of the fact that some people cannot strictly identify with being male or female, and people are very discriminatory against this. In the media, transgender people have hit many milestones and have been celebrating their acceptance coming to life. Teen YouTube star, Jazz Jennings is getting her own TV show called "All That Jazz" which will give us an insight through the eyes of a transgender youth. This teen drama will be appearing on TLC, according to an announcement made last week. Jazz may be young, but she is an author and an activist for transgender people that is turning heads to how people view them. Even though Jazz was born a boy, she knew from the beginning that she was meant to be a girl. Having gender dysphoria at such a young age was obviously a struggle but Jazz made the most out of her childhood by not letting the teasing get her down, and became a very important advocate for the debate on transgender youth. She was even signed on as Clean & Clear's face for the "See the Real Me" campaign which shares a touching video describing the trials of being a transgender youth.

In addition to Jazz's incredible accomplishments, transgender people have been portrayed significantly more often on television than in the past. There are many shows that feature transgender actors such as Orange Is The New Black, and Discovery Life's New Girls on the Block. There are also shows where actors play transgender people such as in ABC Family's My Transparent Life or the Golden-Globe winning comedy, Transparent. Even though there has been a significant shift in the way some people view the lives of transgender humans, there is still a long way to go. There will always be hateful comments against people that are seen as different or out of place, but they deserve just as equality as everyone else does. The shows where actors are playing transgender people are great, but there are plenty of real transgender actors in the field that could have taken on those specific roles. Overall, the advocacy campaigns that have been pointed towards transgender awareness should be taken seriously, and even though they have completed certain milestones, there are many more mountains to climb for equal representation in the media.

Shailene Woodley: Rising Star

Shailene Woodley. You may not recognize the name, but you definitely know her face. I first knew her

Shailene Woodley

as the annoying pregnant teenager from "The Secret Life of the American Teenager", an ABC Family show that went on too long and ruined Molly Ringwald for me forever. At first the show was a guilty pleasure of mine, until I came to actually dislike it, mainly because of the character Shailene Woodley portrayed. Then, "The Descendants" came out. I almost didn't watch it, but when I heard it had George Clooney in Hawaii, I had to put aside my prejudice. 

I loved the film, and surprisingly one of my favorite parts was Shailene's performance as Alexandra. Woodley played the exact opposite of her "Secret Life" character, instead showing us her more rebellious and brash side, while still evoking emotions and connecting with the audience. I was impressed, especially as she was thrown side by side with one of the most iconic actors of our time. After "The Descendants" I was hooked, and couldn't wait to see what she would do next.

What I love about Shailene Woodley is her flexibility. She can bounce from a TV show, to an indie movie, to a blockbuster, one right after another, and fit in with almost any style. My favorites are her indie films. I was blown away by "The Spectacular Now", a film about two seniors in high school who fall in love and force each other to explore the people they've become. I'm a huge fan of Miles 

Teller and Woodley from "The Spectacular Now"

Teller already, so I was shamelessly biased to see this movie. I was enthralled by the rawness of the actors' performances and the strange chemistry that somehow worked for the film. This was no typical high school romance story, and Woodley and Teller really sold it. 

After seeing "The Spectacular Now", I found out Woodley was starring in the new movie "Divergent". It peaked my interest, but I was mostly just happy to see her in another big film. I haven't gotten around to seeing it yet, but from the what I've heard, I predict Woodley's future will only increase steadily in success. And recently I discovered that she is starring in Josh Boone's new film, "The Fault in Our Stars", an adaptation of John Greene's famous novel. I'm extremely excited to see it, as I believe Woodley's talent has only grown, and we'll see another side of the actress we've never seen before. 

The film will be released this upcoming summer. I'm excited to see what moves this promising actress decides to make next.

Modern Family Cultural Similarities

In the show Modern Family on ABC there are several instances that happen in our culture now. Every time I sit and watch the show with my family, we always say that it hits close to home. Modern Family is a show about three different, but related families that face their own obstacles in unique, comedic ways. Each episode has a different conflict or situation that the families are facing and they are all very relatable to just about every family. 

Some shared meanings I perceive is: 

Running late to certain events. Married couples usually bicker back and forth about several different situations. Such as the dishwasher, cleaning the house, doing groceries, who is going to cook dinner, etc. One major conflict that they encounter is lateness. It is very common to have one spouse be late more often than the other.  For example, my father is very rarely ever on time. My mom constantly has to argue with him and tell him to get out on time. Usually there is a lot of honking involved while waiting for him in the car.

Sibling rivalry. Alex and Haley are sisters that live in the same household along with their parents and their younger brother. They are constantly bickering with each other. Alex is all about her grades and doing well in school while Haley is all about her looks and having a perfect social life. They are complete opposites and even though they love each other, they argue all the time. I personally am an only child, however I have several friends who have siblings that they bicker with.

 Father tries to act like a kid. Phil Dunphy is a fun, outgoing, caring dad that wants nothing more but the best for his kids. He will do just about anything for them and wants to keep them safe. Even though he is the dad, he tries to act “cool.” He is hanging on to his childhood and sometimes acts as immature as his kids. I can relate and perceive this as well. My dad is great, he is outgoing, caring, loving and would do anything for me. However, sometimes he acts like a big kid again. He is always up to date with the new technology and wants in on practically everything in my life. He will watch shows that younger children watch, such as SpongeBob and loves doing impressions. It is very common to see parents try and act younger than they actually are in our society; especially with the way technology has risen in our generation.

Coffee and Poptarts

As a Television/Radio major, one of the hardest questions that you can be asked is, “What is your favorite television show?” There are just so many options and so much room for ridicule. Often when thinking about my answer to this question I quickly flip through all my guilty pleasures and think “Oh no, I can’t ever mention I watch that, that’s so embarrassing”. Because what it comes down to is, no Park student wants to admit that after spending time and money studying television that they regularly watch Teen Mom 2. I feel as if I can finally, confidently admit out loud that my all-time favorite television series will always be, Gilmore Girls.

Gilmore Girls is a comedy-drama that started on the WB on October 5, 2000 and ended on the CW after it’s seventh season. The concept of this show itself is purely original in the simplest way. The show is about a mother and daughter who are best friends and live in a small, quirky town known as Stars Hollow, Connecticut. The mother, Lorelai, is a fast-talking, coffee guzzling, PopTart loving, quirky woman who treats her intelligent, quick daughter, Rory, more like a best friend than her child. The idea of the show is simple, however, the writing and the characters make this show exceedingly unique.

Gilmore Girls’ tagline is, appropriately, “Life’s short. Talk fast.” This is honestly one of the best ways to sum up the dialogue on this show. Rory and Lorelei talk in an extremely fast-paced manner filled with endless pop-culture references, which closely resembles the conversations between characters on “The Newsroom”. In fact, due to the fast-paced dialogue on this show, the average script for one single episode is 75 to 80 pages compared to the standard hour-long television show which is about 45 to 50 pages. In an interview, the writer of the show, Amy Sherman-Palladino declared, “TV is all about speed. TV is fast and furious. It’s gunslinger territory”. The writing on the show offers a lot of intellectual conversation and situational humor. Gilmore Girls is also well-known for using a master shot filming style, which frames the characters and dialogue together in one, long take. This shot truly makes the viewer focus on the dialogue rather than the action, unlike other drama series.

Second to the writing, what made this show so likable is that we each secretly wanted to be a Gilmore Girl. The copious amounts of coffee, the endless supply of PopTarts and the mother-daughter duo are all aspects of the show that are so heartwarming, simple, and easy to relate to. So why, if the plot is so simple, is this idea so difficult to reproduce? Many shows have tried to repeat the Gilmore Girl’s theme and have hopelessly failed. Amy Sherman-Palladino even tried to write a new series on ABC Family called “Bunheads”.  The plot, the witty dialogue, the small town, the quirky characters and even the same actresses make this show blatantly similar to Gilmore Girls. However, unlike Gilmore Girls, the show quickly fizzled and was canceled as of recent. In a review in “The Week”, Monika Bartyzel states, “For all its similarities to Gilmore Girls, Bunheads didn't start with the clear vision that structured Gilmore Girls”.  

The producers of Gilmore Girls were obvious about their motive from the start. They wanted to prove that mother and daughter could coexist in a world where boys, friends, the past and other dangerous topics were all laid out on the table. They wanted to prove that wit and intelligence were attractive and essential traits. And most importantly, they wanted to prove the necessity of coffee and PopTarts.

The Most Unusual High School Experience

I’ve spent countless years of trying my hardest to stay away from predictable, high school oriented television dramas. Finally, the extensive summer break this year forced me to give in. After watching nine seasons of One Tree Hill, all of Friday Night Lights and Degrassi, I thought I had seen every possible situation that could take place in a high school environment. That was, until I turned my sights on Pretty Little Liars. I have to admit that I had read the Pretty Little Liars series by Sara Shepard due to its popularity and the fact that the series takes place in the same town I live in. The main plot line in the series begins with a group of five best friends who are stricken with tragedy when one of their friends is murdered. After her passing, they begin to be harassed by someone who claims to be their dead friend, and who refers to himself or herself as “A”. When I heard that the book series was being turned into a television series, I was doubtful. I thought the show would never work since those who had read the series obviously knew exactly who “A” is. However, the show, much like  “True Blood”, doesn’t even attempt to follow the same plot lines as the books.

However, I do, at times, find myself questioning the reality of the show. For instance, it isn’t very plausible to say that romantic affairs with your professor, having a stalker, being accused for murder, being sent to a psych ward, escaping a psych ward, having someone drive a car through your living room, having your significant other murdered, being almost sawed in half, and more, are all frequent events during your high school career. But even though the plot lines sometimes sound ridiculous, if not impossible, I still can’t stop myself from watching.

This week, the season finale, “Now You See Me, Now You Don’t”, aired. I’ll start off by saying that this episode was more artistically filmed than most. Most interesting was the color and camera angles used during the scenes in which the Pretty Little Liars went to Ravenswood. Ravenswood is a town in the show that, to many people’s surprise, ABC Family has decided to make a spin-off show about. Although the show isn't thought to be a hit, the town itself has managed to catch people's attention. When first introduced to the town, the scenes were shot in a grayish tone, and there was no audio other than the sound of a large bell tower. The quietness and the emptiness gave the town a creepy aura that was hard to forget. In the recent episode, as soon as the girls enter the town the color switches from bright scenes to dark, harsh coloring. As far as camera angles go, there was an exchange between the girls and a magician. The exchange quickly switched from zooming into Aria's face from above to zooming into the mime's face from below. I found this juxtaposition intriguing and different from what is typically shot on Pretty Little Liars.

If you own a Twitter or Facebook account you were probably already informed that the show finished by saying who “A” is. I won’t spoil it but I will say that this finale left watchers more confused and upset than ever. Some critics go as far as stating that this show is as confusing as Lost. Even though I won’t go that far, I will say that I am extremely glad that my high school experience did not, at any point, resemble a single episode from this series.