(no subject)

1. Finally watched the 7th and 8th episodes of True Detective, which Emily Nussbaum of the New Yorker didn't like".

While I don't completely disagree with her - True Detective like pretty much all the other crime series on television repeats ad nauseum old tropes, I did like the finale better than Nussbaum did - but unlike Nussbaum, I'm less enthusiastic about this trope. Also if you give me interesting and compelling characters - I'm happy regardless of the trope or scenario.

The only series that I've seen in this trope (emphasis on "that I've seen" since I can't comment on tv shows that I have not seen nor feel inclined to see) that seemed to break new ground or have something new to say on the subject - was Broadchurch. (I have not seen The Americans, outside of one or two episodes during the first season. Nor have I seen Top of the Lake or The Fall. Or Wallander, so can't comment on those series.) Admittedly, this is no longer a genre that I like all that much, hence the reason I haven't seen them, well that and the fact that I don't have time and don't get all these channels. If you don't like the genre all that much or the subject matter or the trope doesn't interest you - you will not be inclined to watch the series or book, etc regardless of how badly everyone else loves it or trendy it is. (We aren't lemmings after all, at least not the last time I checked.) In short, it is what it is or we like what we like.

Regarding this particular genre: I'm at the point in which...I know going in that the following items will most likely be evident.( Read more... )

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2. Any Rufus Wranwright fans lurking - if so, can you recommend an album for me to try? I'm flirting with Poses and Out of Game, but don't know which is better.

Catching Fire - not really a review, so much as a musing..

Finished watching Catching Fire, which was a whole lot better than both the book and the first film The Hunger Games. It was tighter.

It also reminded me why the other YA dystopian novels don't work for me. They miss the point of Suzanne Collins series. Collins' series focuses on the effect of violence on children and innocence. Her series is in some respects an allegory on the horror of war and violence on society and humanity. Also how a society that gets off on watching violence and lives off of the deaths of others...will eventually collaspe in on itself, until it just repeats the same pattern again and again.

The other YA dystopian series seem to lose track of that - as far as I can tell. Her story is steeped in metaphorical allegory - most of which are about the horror of violence and torture. And it does not end happily. Katniss and Peeta, and all the others are forever damaged by it.

In addition - Collins series parodies the societal obsession with celebrity, while depicting how the celebrity culture lives an absurd life of luxury and excess, while millions starve.
The emptiness of a culture that worships money, fame, and physical beauty...and craves stories of star-crossed lovers, even if they aren't true. To fill that empty pit.

Its those aspects that set Collins novel apart from all the rest. What the others have in common is the fascist society and the political upheaval, and the lone rebel kid who fights against the horde. Or the poor kid who fights against the privileged. What they appear to be lacking is the theme of anti-violence, and the critique of the societal worship of celebrity and fascination with series such as Fear Factor, Survivor, or other reality series - where people are pitted against one another.

Reminds me a little of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and how it distinguished itself from the series and novels that followed. Buffy was about a young woman confronting demons, bullying, authority, and in a way girl-power or equality of gender. The series that follow it, Vampire Diaries, Twilight, Vampire Academy, etc ...seem to lose track of that aspect, and focus on the star-crossed romance or the male vampires. It's why that show stands out.

It's hard to articulate. And it's late, so I'm not sure I did it well. But watching this movie reminded me of why The Hunger Games series interested me, while I have not been able to read any of the others. Mileage probably varies on this.