The Beauty that is ~Portlandia~

I've recently become obsessed with the sketch-comedy series Portlandia, a show which parodies life in Portland, Oregon. The show was created and written by Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein, who also star as the various roles throughout the series. Fred Armisen is a former cast member of Saturday Night Live and has guest starred on other comedies such as Broad City. Jonathan Kreisel also co-created the show, and directs it. It is currently in its fifth season and airs on IFC, which airs other shows such as Comedy Bang! Bang! and The Birthday Boys.

Portlandia is a very peculiar (but amazing) show, because it does not have a running storyline that continues for seasons on end; it's mostly sketches that focus on the hipster/feminist/vegan lifestyles that people on the West Coast lead. It's definitely not for everyone- the sketches are very quirky and the jokes can sometimes run a bit dry. The show is scripted, but a lot of the skits are improvised.

Some of my favorite parts of the show include the "Women and Women First" bookstore sketches, where Fred & Carrie play two feminist bookstore owners and they are absolutely hilarious. Here's an example of one of those sketches.

 

Portlandia also has some outstanding costume and set design. It is all very interesting, colorful, and detailed, which is why I think I enjoy the show so much, because it is so aesthetically pleasing. It also has a really cool sound mix, where the music score coincides with the jokes that are occurring. And obviously the script is just plain hilarious, and very easy to relate to.

I highly recommend this show to anyone who loves sketch comedy and quality tv. All seasons are available to watch on Netflix.

Portlandia

One of the most underrated shows on television, in my opinion, is a satirical sketch comedy series entitled Portlandia. Portlandia is a show that takes place in Portland, Oregon, and basically parodies all of the strange goings-on around that area. In short, we see a lot of material about hipsters, veganism, thrift stores and saving the environment. Part of the brilliance of this show is the way in which it pokes fun at these Portland dwellers. Portland is a city that is definitely known for being different, and a little wacky at times. I have even met a few people from Portland, and when asked about how similar it actually is to the show, they almost always rave about the accuracy with which it is portrayed.

 

Portlandia stars Carrie Bradshaw, alongside Saturday Night Live alum, Fred Armisen. They play a whole host of different characters, and with each one, they bring something totally new and different to the show. Each episode often features well-known comedic guest stars who are recruited to play a supporting role. One of the most exciting things about the show is how unpredictable it can be. You can never tell what they will come up with next. After five seasons of the show, one would think that they might be running out of ideas for new material- after all, how many sketches about hipsters could they possibly make? However they always seem to keep producing ideas. Since it is not a show that follows a specific plot line, it also gives the writers a lot of freedom to create any idea that they want, and it still will fit within the parameters of the show. Another interesting aspect is that the show itself is almost 90% improvised. This gives the actors the ability to know the basic plotline, while still being able to work freely with it and make each sketch their own. It certainly fits with the show and adds a sense of randomness and weirdness that works very well with the overall feel that is trying to be achieved.

Paranoid Park

One of my favorite director’s is Gus Van Sant. Many people know him for his films like Good Will Hunting and Milk, but the one that I can watch over and over again is Paranoid Park. The movie is based off of the novel written by Blake Nelson. 

The film takes place in Portland, Oregon and the soundtrack stays authentic to it’s location. A lot of the soundtrack is Elliott Smith who is one of my favorite musicians of all time. He gained most of his popularity from Portland and played a big role in the music scene there. Since the movie doesn’t have a lot of dialogue, the soundtrack was crucial in the movie. Gus Van Sant has used Elliott Smith’s music in his past films as well, where his song Miss Misery was nominated for an oscar for Good Will Hunting.

Along with Elliott Smith’s music, Van Sant used a varitey of French composers and other artists to make complicated music for the scenes of skateboarding. The music made the skateboarding seem almost dreamlike and put it in another light. This movie is an example of how important sound can be. 

I also enjoyed his cinematography style. As seen in his his past films, Gus Van Sant used very long shots and uses different speeds through out the movie. He slows down the scene at major points in the plot. He also uses very soft lighting which gives the film a very eerie feeling which goes along well with the plot.

The movie is about a young skateboarder who accidentally kills a security guard while goofing off on a train one night. The film is about his guilt and how he deals with the horrible mistake. Paranoid Park is more focused on the cinematography and skateboarding rather then the plot itself. I love this movie and it will always be one of my favorites.