Sunday, February 28, 2016

Gravity Falls

Let's talk about my all time favorite show! Don't get turned off by the fact that it's made by Disney Channel - Gravity Falls is seriously one of the most hilarious, witty, and thought-provoking shows I've ever watched.

I swear they came so close to cancelling this show so many times. The air date for the first episode of Season One was June 15th, 2012, and the date of the final episode of Season Two was February 16th, 2016. Four years to create two seasons? Every fan was definitely nervous. Also there's the fact that the show was transferred over from the REAL Disney Channel to Disney XD, which is basically the channel where all the reject Disney Channel shows go to sulk in embarrassment.

If you're into mystery, humor, conspiracies, and dark twists, you're going to LOVE this show. The basic story is about 12-year-old twins, Dipper and Mabel Pines, who spend the summer with their strange great-uncle Grunkle Stan in the mysterious town of Gravity Falls, Oregon. The longer they stay there, the more secrets begin to unfold about the weird happenings and inhabitants of this town. They experience many run ins with the supernatural, including their main nemesis Bill Cipher (who represents the Illuminati character).

The funny thing about this show is, I really wouldn't consider it a kids show. A lot of the images would probably be something that would give me nightmares as a kid. But for adults, seriously, WATCH IT - you'll love it.

Saturday, February 20, 2016

Spring Awakening

I absolutely LOVE musicals. As much as I love to sing, I was not blessed with awesome dancing or acting skills. So I'm much more of an audience member than a performer. Seriously though - I eat this stuff up. Learning about new musicals and keeping up with the musical theater world is one of my favorite things to do. I especially love it when musicals take on the tough subjects.

((Example: Hairspray takes on racial injustice in America in the 1960s. RENT takes on HIV, AIDS, drug addiction, gender stereotypes, homosexual relationships, homelessness, and so much more.))

My FAVORITE musical of all time would have to be Spring Awakening, which deals with basically everything under the sun.

The basic premise of the music is a coming-of-age story about German school-aged adolescents in the late 19th century. The musical tells the story of teenagers discovering the inner and outer tumult of teenage sexuality. It contains a combination of alternative rock and folk-infused rock. The entire musical is incredibly eerie and beautiful.

Tough Subjects:

Sex:

The characters in the musical (based on a 1891 German play) are emerging into adulthood. The main girl, Wendla, is confused as to how her older sister conceived a child, and her mother refuses to tell her the truth about how a child is conceived. Because Wendla is left in the dark about sex, she is unknowingly taken advantage of by her friend Melchior, who is just as curious about sex. Wendla ends up pregnant, and her whole life is a heartbreaking and confusing mess.

Melchior, prior to his experience with Wendla, teaches his best friend Moritz what sex is. Moritz is absolutely appalled and intrigued by the subject, and ends up running out of his room due to being uncomfortable.

Sexual and Physical Abuse:

Two of the characters, Martha and Ilse, open up during the show about how they have been sexually abused by their fathers in a haunting song "The Dark I Know Well."

Wendla, distraught with the abuse that her friends are struggling with, begins to feel guilty and heartless because she has never experienced pain before. In a terrifyingly beautiful scene, she asks Melchior to hit her with a branch from a tree. He does so softly at first, but as Wendla cries out that has never felt anything in her life, he hits her harder and harder, until she falls to the ground.

Sexuality:

Two of the characters in the story, Hanschen and Ernst, end up falling for one another - something that definitely needed to be kept hidden. Hanschen has fantasized about his best friend Ernst throughout the whole show, and at the very end he finds out that he has feelings for him back.

Suicide:

This musical is absolutely heartbreaking. Spoilers, okay? After being sabotaged by the school system, and not having enough money to move to America, Moritz decides that the best course of action is to take his own life. After a beautiful and dark monologue, he leaves behind everything.

Abortion:

After Wendla is taken by her mother to the doctor after feeling sick, the doctor tells Wendla's mother that her daughter is pregnant. Wendla's mother is furious, and Wendla feels guilty and confused. She is rushed right away to a doctor who would be able to perform an abortion. The abortion ends up being a failed procedure, and Wendla bleeds out and dies.

There are quite a few other hot topics portrayed in Spring Awakening, such as corrupt school and societal systems, masturbation, and homelessness.

If you're going to watch it (the Original Broadway and Off-Broadway show are both on Youtube...I prefer the Off-Broadway!) just be weary that there are these heavy topics shown and discussed. There are also a couple of songs (The B of Living, Totally F-ed) that have an incredible amount of swearing in them.

Finally, let's give a shoutout to seriously the most talented pair ever - Lea Michele and Jonathan Groff! They're Wendla and Melchior in the Original Broadway Cast.

They're best friends in real life. Also, look familiar? Any fellow former gleeks? They're Rachel and Jesse.

Saturday, February 13, 2016

The Stepford Wives

For this week's blog post, we'll talk about my current Netflix recommendation. I'm really into dark comedy cult classic movies (like Little Shop of Horrors, Heathers, Rocky Horror Picture Show...), and recently found a really great movie: The Stepford Wives.

Yeah it came out in 2004, and I'm just now seeing it. It has a pretty sweet cast too (Nicole Kidman, Matthew Broderick, Christopher Walken)... but it's overall a really awesome feminist movie. The basic storyline - without giving anything away - is a family from New York City move to the Connecticut suburbs for a change of pace and a new start. When they arrive - something seems off. All of the women in the town fit the 50's steryotype wife - absolutely gorgeous, always dressed in flouncy sundresses, perfect "sex kitten bimbos," waiting on their husbands hand and foot, smiley homemakers with the sole desire to cook and clean. JoAnna (Nicole Kidman) picks up on the odd happenings of the town and begins to investigate.

The movie (based on a horror book) takes a dark comedy approach as it deals with topics such as gender roles and female empowerment. The men of the town do not support a woman's endeavors and have fragile (and pathetic) views of masculinity and femininity.

I thought the movie was absolutely great, and despite some major plot holes (which I found out later were due to arguments on set between writers and directors), I gave it 5 stars on Netflix.

Saturday, February 6, 2016

Slam Poetry

Man, this blog is so fun, I just get to talk about the things I love. For the last couple of months, I've really been into the idea of "Slam Poetry." It's like normal poetry recitation, but the individuals usually dive into deep personal subjects and they're so passionate in their delivery. Some of the common topics that these poets choose to write their slam poems about are their sexuality, mental illness, racial injustice, feminism, body image, and their relationships with others. I think it's the coolest idea, and I would love to write and perform a slam poem someday. But for now, thank goodness that there are thousands of slam poets on Youtube.

Here are some of my favorites:

Neil Hilborn - "OCD" (Rustbelt 2013)
In this slam poem, the author explains his OCD and "the first beautiful thing he ever got stuck on." This is seriously one of my favorites and I've watched it at least once a day since I found it a few months back. WARNING: he does swear once.

watch?v=xLSnNSqs_CQ

That's So Raben