Not as good an episode as the earlier ones, or as funny. Also, it's probably just me, but Alan Ball has a way of distancing me emotionally from his characters, had the same reaction to Six Feet Under and American Beauty - there's this satirical commentary going on, which makes it hard for me to care what happens to them. I feel at times as if they are a social commentary, as opposed to actual characters.
This was less true with Six Feet Under. Again most likely just me. Mileage varies.
The other issue I have with True Blood - is more or less the same one I had with Charlain Harris' novels (Sookie) , and with Vamp Diaries (Elena) and Twilight (Bella) , and well the Buffy comics...(although I had other issues with those which I will not bore you with again). I can't stand the female protagonist. I keep wanting to smack her upside the head. Seriously, she keeps reminding me of Charles Starkweather's brain-addled girl friend (portrayed by Sissy Spacek in Terrence Malik's classic film Badlands). Yes, I get that you are deeply in love with a vampire who well is addicted to killing people. But - can you at least be understanding as to why everyone else might want your life-sucking vamp boy-toy dead? Hello. Self-preservation and all that. Granted he might give you a happy, but he just tore your best bud's heart out or was that her boyfriend's neck? Let's get a grip. At least (tv) Buffy went after Angel and Spike with a stake on occasion. Granted, she didn't go through with it obviously, nor was it necessarily always consistent but hey, let's at least applaud the occasional attempt, shall we? (This is the problem with making vampire/villain characters hotter/sexier than your human characters - you have to find ways to keep them wandering around preferably boinking the heroine, or your tv show will get canceled.)
( True Blood Spoilers for last night's episode )In other news? I watched True Blood tonight, because I watched
Ponyo courtesy of Netflix last night - which was a sweet little twist on The Little Mermaid. Japanese anime often addresses fears of natural disasters and ecological themes. In this children's film, directed and created by the same guy who did Princess Monoyoke, Howl's Moving Castle, and Spirited Away, Ponyo is a little mermaid who wishes to be a real girl and live with boy she has met and fallen for. She throws the earth out of wack in her desire to become human and give up magic. To give up what she is to join his world. There's a dozen odd themes in this story, some that make me uneasy, and some that are quite joyous.
The men in the film are captains, ruling or controlling the sea, the women float within the sea or live on land without fear of it. The earth out of balance - which causes the tsuanmi, the female character wanting to leave home and joining the male home and his ability to love her as she is...without magic, the test...it works and doesn't work. Much like the Hans Christian Anderson tale upon which it is based. I rather love how a tale created in one land, can be reinterpreted in another, yet contain the same uneasy themes. This tale ends happier than Anderson's fairy tale did.
But most re-interpretations of Anderson's tales do. I've only seen one version that followed Anderson's take to the letter.
At any rate, I recommend Ponyo with a caveat. It's not as good as either Howl's Moving Castle or Spirited Away. And it's themes are well...a bit chauvinistic and gender biased. Other than that...a good flick.
Off to bed.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}