Let me get this out of the way first: I am still really emotional about the Lost finale. I know that this makes me completely lame. It's a television show, for Christ's sake. But I can't help it. For 6 years, I've obsessed over this show. I devoted over 100 hours of my life to this show (let's not get into how many times I've REwatched it...). I spent countless late nights on message boards, analyzing every minute detail with my fellow "Losties." I've bonded with complete strangers, because as anyone who has a fan for a friend knows, it becomes a 20 minute conversation every time someone brings it up. I've gotten friends as obsessed with it as I have been. I wish everyone watched this show. I honestly believe that it is one of the best viewing experiences I've had in my life - and I've watched a lot of television.
Having said all of that, I will say that I was completely let down by the series finale at first. I was emotionally drained and incredibly pissed at what I saw as a total cop-out on the producers' parts. I still have so many burning questions, as I know any fan of the show does. Obviously, I never expected every question to be answered. Did I need to know The Man In Black's name? No. But it would have been nice to know why women on the island couldn't have babies, something that was a huge plotline over several seasons. Or maybe why Walt and Aaron were "special." Or who the hell Wallace was. Alas, we got none of those answers and - in true Lost form - even more questions. But after watching the finale for the third time today, my crying fits having finally subsided to a few silent tears, I can truly appreciate it for what it was. And it was one hell of a show.
Here are some things I still don't quite understand from The End:
1.) I was really confused about this at first, but then when I watched again today, I think I finally got it. Everyone in that church was dead, right? Because at first, I was thinking, "What the frig? Hurley and Ben were still on the island when Jack died! Sawyer, Kate, and Claire flew away to safety. Desmond was on the island, but homeward bound. So I didn't understand why they were supposed to be dead. Then I listened to Christian's speech to Jack again, and he did say, "Some of them died before you, some long after you." Ok, now I get it. Because "the most important time of Jack's life was spent with these people," he gets to spend eternity with them. Then again, is this really a good thing? Was he particularly close to Boone or Shannon? I think he only met Penny once. And he and Locke were certainly never friends. So Jack doesn't get to see his mom in the afterlife? Only these people? I know I'm looking too far into it, and obviously our castaways DID share the most momentous times in their lives with eachother. But still...meh. Which leads me to...
2.) PURGATORY?! You promised, you sons of bitches.
3.) One of my biggest concerns is the children. What happened to Ji Yeon, little Charlie, Aaron, and Walt? Aaron was in Claire's arms at the end of the episode. Does that mean Aaron died, too? Also, let's go back to season 1 for a moment. In Claire's flashback story, she went to a psychic who told her that she had to raise Aaron herself because danger surrounds him. Then, he put her on a plane, apparently because he knew it would crash, to ensure his request would be carried out. So...does this mean that the child was doomed because Kate was raising him? Where was the danger surrounding him? Or was the psychic just anti-adoption?
And as much as I loved the Sun-Jin "did you see" moment (and I LOVED it), how could they feel so happy about supposedly seeing the child they had left behind? I'm doubting that Sun was pregnant with a ghost baby in purgatory. I'm thinking that Sun's un-enlightened self needed to have that sonogram performed to reach her enlightened state. There was no more Ji-Yeon. Which leads me to...
4.) David Shephard. So Jack didn't have a son, right? Then who was that poor child? A manifestation of Jack's deep-seated Daddy Issues? His subconscious giving him a chance to have the kind of father-son relationship he never had with Christian? I guess David will now disappear into the ether, along with every other expendable, non-castaway in the Matrix of their un-enlightened minds. Also, being divorced from Juliet was a really odd choice - but I read in a column that perhaps it was Jack's subconscious way of making up for how awful his marriage to Sarah had been. Jack had a lot of guilt, you see...
5.) The mysterious blood on Jack's neck was finally explained, which was really cool. And that appendix scar from the season premiere? That was from FLocke stabbing Jack in the side. Awesome. (And I'm sorry, I know a lot of people thought the Jack/FLocke running-at-each-other-fight scene was cheesy, but I frigging LOVED it. "Looooccckkkeee!!" Chills.)
6.) The enlightenment scenes were stellar, and every single one had me sobbing like a family member had just died. My only complaint is that we didn't get one Des-Penny scene. What is up with that?? I'd so much rather have seen that than a Sayid-Shannon reunion. My favorites were obviously Sun-Jin and Sawyer-Juliet. But the Locke scene was great, too. "I hope that somebody does for you what you just did for me." Sigh. I missed the old John Locke. (One quibble - where was Helen?? You only get to spend eternity with your soulmate if they were on Oceanic 815? They were supposed to get married, and she was suddenly just gone from John's life?? Well, afterlife...) I admit, I liked seeing the old Jack-Kate chemistry again. Their final goodbye on the island was heart-wrenching, and their Purgatory reunion was sweet.
7.) No enlightenment scenes for our Freighter crew. Desmond told Eloise Hawking that Daniel would not be moving on with him. Was it because Daniel wasn't on the flight? Neither were Des or Penny, but they were in that church. And Ana Lucia "wasn't ready," but Libby was? Who gets to choose? Do you have to have a soulmate? (Which Daniel did, in Charlotte.) Rules, rules, rules.
8.) One thing I'll always be sad we never got to see was Hurley and Ben's reign on the island. They shared a sweet scene outside the church, complimenting one another on their skills as a team. So obviously it had been a while since Jack's death. It kills me that we'll never know why Hurley and Ben finally left the island. Was it death? Who's protecting the island now? Walt?
9.) I thought Ben's road to redemption was great, and I'm glad we ended the series with Ben being welcomed as one of their group. Obviously, he still didn't completely forgive himself, as he decided to stay in Purgatory to "work some things out." I wonder if Rousseau and Alex will be there with him. I wonder if they "remember."
All in all, I was mostly satisfied that all of our castaways ended up happy. Happy and dead, but happy nonetheless. I'm still sad that they couldn't all live happily ever after (alive), but then that wouldn't be the show I fell in love with 6 years ago. I'll always wonder about where the Others disappeared off to. And what happened to Cindy the flight attendant and the kids. And why the Others gave Walt back. And why the Dharma Initiative and the Others were barely mentioned once in all of season 6, when we've spent 5 years analyzing Orientation films. And what was in those damn notebooks?!
But at least, in our minds, our favorite characters are together, and happy...wherever they are. I suppose I can live with that.
--Lostie
1. A person who is overly obsessed and easily excited with the hit TV show, LOST. 2. A degree of fandom only attained by knowing way too much info about the show LOST.--
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Evolving into (Unintentional) Crap
In a recent Newsweek article, writer Ramin Setoodeh implied that homosexual actors should not be cast in heterosexual roles because they do not come across as believably straight. He used Will and Grace's Sean Hayes and Glee's Jonathan Groff as examples. Hayes played a straight man in the Broadway production of Promises, Promises, and Setoodeh called his performance "wooden and insincere, like he was trying to hide something, which of course he is." Setoodeh said that Hayes' scenes with on-stage love interest Kristin Chenoweth "devolve into unintentional camp."
On the musical hit show Glee, Jonathan Groff plays Rachel Barry (Lea Michele)'s love interest. Groff and Michele are well known in the Broadway community, both having starred in Spring Awakening. Groff is openly gay, yet plays a straight man who enters a love triangle and steals a young girl's heart. Setoodeh feels that "there is something about his performance that feels off. In half his scenes, he scowls - is that a substitute for being straight?"
I could go off about how closed-minded and ignorant this article is. I could crucify Ramin Setoodeh, calling him homophobic and hateful. What I will do instead is ask one simple question - why is he looking so hard? When you watch a television show or a movie, are you studying the actors' performances, searching for nuances that shout "gay" or "straight"? I certainly don't. I've never seen a Broadway play, so I cannot personally comment on Mr. Hayes' performance. I do, however, watch Glee, and I did not know that Mr. Groff was gay until I read Setoodeh's article. Frankly, I don't care if he's straight, gay, or somewhere in between. He's a charming actor who has a nice chemistry with his love interest, Lea Michele. Should I be looking for longing glances between Groff and the show's jock character, Finn? Watching for Groff to brush up against Puck, the resident bad boy, in the hallway? Of course not. So why, then, would I be looking for any other clues as to the actor's sexual orientation?
If the acting is good, the audience shouldn't be thinking about the actor's personal life. In Boys Don't Cry, I quite literally forgot that Hilary Swank was, in fact, a female. That's acting. I hate to use this example, but in Tropic Thunder, I forgot that Robert Downey Jr. was portraying the African American character. He was that good. This is what we should remember when stereotyping actors into roles that only coincide with their personal lives. Is Tom Hanks really a slow man with mental issues, as he portrayed in Forrest Gump? Can you believe that Steve Carell isn't really a 40 Year Old Virgin? And wait, you're telling me that Aaron Eckhardt doesn't look like Two-Face? Colin Firth recently played a gay man in A Single Man. Was it easier for him because it's a cinch to play, in Setoodeh's words, "your average theater queen?" Is it so much more difficult for a gay man to act macho than a straight man to pretend to like other men?
I don't think it was fair of Setoodeh to blame the actors themselves for this trend. Hayes and Groff are fine actors, believable in every role I've seen them in. Hell, look at Neil Patrick Harris, who has played everything from a womanizer on HIMYM to an exaggerated cameo in the Harold and Kumar movies where he's a sex obsessed, drug addicted heterosexual. (Wink wink - he is credited as himself.) This is not about gay playing straight. This is about what we allow ourselves to forget when we watch television or movies. I don't think about Anna Paquin's bisexuality when I watch True Blood because the show sucks me in (pun intended). I can forget that Owen Wilson tried to kill himself a few years back, because he's funny. I can forget that Angelina Jolie stole Jen Aniston's man, because she's sexy and a damn good actress. (I cannot, however, forget about poor Jen's past, because the tabloids won't let me. Poor, poor, lonely, manless Jen...)
Perhaps Ramin Setoodeh just doesn't like Glee. Maybe he's not a fan of Broadway shows. Or maybe he's just so closed-minded that he can't put his knowledge of the actors aside and enjoy the show. By the way, Setoodeh himself is an openly gay man.
I think perhaps what the author of the article meant to convey was that gay people have a harder time getting juicier roles because of the audience's inability to seperate reality from fiction. He asks, "if an actor of the stature of George Clooney came out of the closet tomorrow, would we still accept him as a heterosexual leading man?" I've seen Clooney act; the answer is yes.
For the original article, click here: http://www.newsweek.com/id/236999
Kristin Chenoweth's response to the article, click here: http://www.broadway.com/shows/promises-promises/buzz/152350/promises-star-kristin-chenoweth-speaks-out-on-horrendously-homophobic-newsweek-article-defends-sean-hayes/
Setoodeh's response to Kristin Chenoweth here: http://www.newsweek.com/id/237758
On the musical hit show Glee, Jonathan Groff plays Rachel Barry (Lea Michele)'s love interest. Groff and Michele are well known in the Broadway community, both having starred in Spring Awakening. Groff is openly gay, yet plays a straight man who enters a love triangle and steals a young girl's heart. Setoodeh feels that "there is something about his performance that feels off. In half his scenes, he scowls - is that a substitute for being straight?"
I could go off about how closed-minded and ignorant this article is. I could crucify Ramin Setoodeh, calling him homophobic and hateful. What I will do instead is ask one simple question - why is he looking so hard? When you watch a television show or a movie, are you studying the actors' performances, searching for nuances that shout "gay" or "straight"? I certainly don't. I've never seen a Broadway play, so I cannot personally comment on Mr. Hayes' performance. I do, however, watch Glee, and I did not know that Mr. Groff was gay until I read Setoodeh's article. Frankly, I don't care if he's straight, gay, or somewhere in between. He's a charming actor who has a nice chemistry with his love interest, Lea Michele. Should I be looking for longing glances between Groff and the show's jock character, Finn? Watching for Groff to brush up against Puck, the resident bad boy, in the hallway? Of course not. So why, then, would I be looking for any other clues as to the actor's sexual orientation?
If the acting is good, the audience shouldn't be thinking about the actor's personal life. In Boys Don't Cry, I quite literally forgot that Hilary Swank was, in fact, a female. That's acting. I hate to use this example, but in Tropic Thunder, I forgot that Robert Downey Jr. was portraying the African American character. He was that good. This is what we should remember when stereotyping actors into roles that only coincide with their personal lives. Is Tom Hanks really a slow man with mental issues, as he portrayed in Forrest Gump? Can you believe that Steve Carell isn't really a 40 Year Old Virgin? And wait, you're telling me that Aaron Eckhardt doesn't look like Two-Face? Colin Firth recently played a gay man in A Single Man. Was it easier for him because it's a cinch to play, in Setoodeh's words, "your average theater queen?" Is it so much more difficult for a gay man to act macho than a straight man to pretend to like other men?
I don't think it was fair of Setoodeh to blame the actors themselves for this trend. Hayes and Groff are fine actors, believable in every role I've seen them in. Hell, look at Neil Patrick Harris, who has played everything from a womanizer on HIMYM to an exaggerated cameo in the Harold and Kumar movies where he's a sex obsessed, drug addicted heterosexual. (Wink wink - he is credited as himself.) This is not about gay playing straight. This is about what we allow ourselves to forget when we watch television or movies. I don't think about Anna Paquin's bisexuality when I watch True Blood because the show sucks me in (pun intended). I can forget that Owen Wilson tried to kill himself a few years back, because he's funny. I can forget that Angelina Jolie stole Jen Aniston's man, because she's sexy and a damn good actress. (I cannot, however, forget about poor Jen's past, because the tabloids won't let me. Poor, poor, lonely, manless Jen...)
Perhaps Ramin Setoodeh just doesn't like Glee. Maybe he's not a fan of Broadway shows. Or maybe he's just so closed-minded that he can't put his knowledge of the actors aside and enjoy the show. By the way, Setoodeh himself is an openly gay man.
I think perhaps what the author of the article meant to convey was that gay people have a harder time getting juicier roles because of the audience's inability to seperate reality from fiction. He asks, "if an actor of the stature of George Clooney came out of the closet tomorrow, would we still accept him as a heterosexual leading man?" I've seen Clooney act; the answer is yes.
For the original article, click here: http://www.newsweek.com/id/236999
Kristin Chenoweth's response to the article, click here: http://www.broadway.com/shows/promises-promises/buzz/152350/promises-star-kristin-chenoweth-speaks-out-on-horrendously-homophobic-newsweek-article-defends-sean-hayes/
Setoodeh's response to Kristin Chenoweth here: http://www.newsweek.com/id/237758
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Personal Ad
SWF seeking SWM for friendship and possibly more. Must have a job and be willing to relocate across the country. Dark hair, preferred but not required. No redheads, please. I'm not hair-ist, I'm just not attracted to gingers. No mandals or corduroy pants wearers, either.
Looking for someone who likes to cuddle, but only for a short time. I enjoy being able to get up for a drink in the middle of the night without having to disentangle myself from someone's grasp. Public displays of affection limited only to hand holding and the occasinal smooch. You must be chivalrous, but not in a cheesy way. I like to be accompanied to the bar and occasionally treated to a drink, but I don't need the car door opened for me. If it's cold outside and I'm visibly shivering, the offer of your coat or sweatshirt would be nice, but no grand gestures, please.
You must know how to give compliments, but not go over the top. Telling me I smell nice is lovely, but sniffing me all night long is not. Also, please don't tell me I'm "beautiful." I'm not, so don't blow smoke. Cute, pretty, whatever strikes your fancy. But let's not pretend I'm Jessica Biel here.
I want someone who knows how I take my coffee and surprises me with small gestures like bringing me a cup once in a while. Bringing me a 12-pack would also suffice. I love flowers, but don't waste your money on roses. I like them cheap and pretty, and roses are cliche. I want to be out at a bar and have you order me my first drink without asking. I don't necessarily want you to like the television shows and movies I make you watch, but still sit and watch them quietly with me. I want you to take me to hockey and football games and not ignore me during them. I want you to be patient when I don't understand a call a ref makes or what off-sides means.
I want a guy who genuinely listens when I speak, but knows how to shut me up when I babble. You have to ask me questions about my day, and know who I'm talking about in my stories. You must be nice to my friends. You must be nice to people in the service industry. I want you to tip well, but not exhorbitantly. I want to be able to go to a nice restaurant or a pizza place with you and be comfortable. I want you to like dressing up once in a while. I want you to take me on dates.
I also need you to be a man. I never want to see you cry unless your dog or a family member dies. It's not sensitive - it's girly. You should be able to fix things like leaky faucets, blown fuses, and plugged up toilets. You have to be able to hang shelves and pictures. I want you to have lots of friends and go out drinking with them, but come home when you say you're coming home. I want you to bring me out with you and your friends once in a while.
I want you to be clean, but not necessarily neat. Throwing clothes on the floor doesn't bother me. Moldy plates on the counter does. You must care about your appearance, but not obsessivly so. You cannot go tanning or frost your tips. You must wear some sort of cologne. A scruffy face is also a plus. You must look good in a hat and wear comfy hoodies that you don't mind me stealing from you.
I want a guy who thinks it's cool when I burp and doesn't tell me to relax when I'm anxious. Must be willing to give backrubs, not just recieve them. You must like sleeping in and staying up late. I want someone who knows my favorite foods and knows me well enough to answer for me when I'm asked a question. I want someone who will stick up for me, but doesn't resort to physical violence.
You must love road trips. I want someone who wants to go places with me, whether it's a concert or a wine tasting trip. I want a do-er, not a "maybe-er" or "some day-er." I want someone who makes decisions, so it's not always up to me what movie we see or bar we go to. But I want you to respect the decisions I do make. I want your mother to like me, and for you to put up with mine (who tends to be...involved). You will respect my mother, but never side with her in an argument- and definitely never talk to her about our problems.
You must love animals and be kind to children. I want someone who plays with my dog and offers to take him outside for me. I want someone who doesn't mind my dog's breath in your face when you wake up and will throw a ball for him until he tires. I want you to suggest bringing the dog on trips with us and let him sleep in our bed.
You will think I look as cute in the morning as I do in full makeup. You will love my granny panties as much as the other kinds. You will always wake me up to say goodbye before you leave. You will text message, and you will like it. You won't flirt with other girls in front of me. You must be able to admit if another man is attractive or not. You will call me your girlfriend without having to be asked or told.
Any takers?
Looking for someone who likes to cuddle, but only for a short time. I enjoy being able to get up for a drink in the middle of the night without having to disentangle myself from someone's grasp. Public displays of affection limited only to hand holding and the occasinal smooch. You must be chivalrous, but not in a cheesy way. I like to be accompanied to the bar and occasionally treated to a drink, but I don't need the car door opened for me. If it's cold outside and I'm visibly shivering, the offer of your coat or sweatshirt would be nice, but no grand gestures, please.
You must know how to give compliments, but not go over the top. Telling me I smell nice is lovely, but sniffing me all night long is not. Also, please don't tell me I'm "beautiful." I'm not, so don't blow smoke. Cute, pretty, whatever strikes your fancy. But let's not pretend I'm Jessica Biel here.
I want someone who knows how I take my coffee and surprises me with small gestures like bringing me a cup once in a while. Bringing me a 12-pack would also suffice. I love flowers, but don't waste your money on roses. I like them cheap and pretty, and roses are cliche. I want to be out at a bar and have you order me my first drink without asking. I don't necessarily want you to like the television shows and movies I make you watch, but still sit and watch them quietly with me. I want you to take me to hockey and football games and not ignore me during them. I want you to be patient when I don't understand a call a ref makes or what off-sides means.
I want a guy who genuinely listens when I speak, but knows how to shut me up when I babble. You have to ask me questions about my day, and know who I'm talking about in my stories. You must be nice to my friends. You must be nice to people in the service industry. I want you to tip well, but not exhorbitantly. I want to be able to go to a nice restaurant or a pizza place with you and be comfortable. I want you to like dressing up once in a while. I want you to take me on dates.
I also need you to be a man. I never want to see you cry unless your dog or a family member dies. It's not sensitive - it's girly. You should be able to fix things like leaky faucets, blown fuses, and plugged up toilets. You have to be able to hang shelves and pictures. I want you to have lots of friends and go out drinking with them, but come home when you say you're coming home. I want you to bring me out with you and your friends once in a while.
I want you to be clean, but not necessarily neat. Throwing clothes on the floor doesn't bother me. Moldy plates on the counter does. You must care about your appearance, but not obsessivly so. You cannot go tanning or frost your tips. You must wear some sort of cologne. A scruffy face is also a plus. You must look good in a hat and wear comfy hoodies that you don't mind me stealing from you.
I want a guy who thinks it's cool when I burp and doesn't tell me to relax when I'm anxious. Must be willing to give backrubs, not just recieve them. You must like sleeping in and staying up late. I want someone who knows my favorite foods and knows me well enough to answer for me when I'm asked a question. I want someone who will stick up for me, but doesn't resort to physical violence.
You must love road trips. I want someone who wants to go places with me, whether it's a concert or a wine tasting trip. I want a do-er, not a "maybe-er" or "some day-er." I want someone who makes decisions, so it's not always up to me what movie we see or bar we go to. But I want you to respect the decisions I do make. I want your mother to like me, and for you to put up with mine (who tends to be...involved). You will respect my mother, but never side with her in an argument- and definitely never talk to her about our problems.
You must love animals and be kind to children. I want someone who plays with my dog and offers to take him outside for me. I want someone who doesn't mind my dog's breath in your face when you wake up and will throw a ball for him until he tires. I want you to suggest bringing the dog on trips with us and let him sleep in our bed.
You will think I look as cute in the morning as I do in full makeup. You will love my granny panties as much as the other kinds. You will always wake me up to say goodbye before you leave. You will text message, and you will like it. You won't flirt with other girls in front of me. You must be able to admit if another man is attractive or not. You will call me your girlfriend without having to be asked or told.
Any takers?
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)