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(03/14/18 1:00pm)
Last spring, I had a conversation with my father about Netflix’s 13 Reasons Why. This is a rare thing for us—my dad typically only cares about television if a football game or an OJ Simpson documentary is on. He doesn’t care about most shows, but he does care about his job as a middle school principal and the students that he works with. When he became concerned about a new show that they were talking about at school, he asked me if I had seen it. I did—first, a few episodes with mild disinterest, then the rest of the show in one outrage–fueled sitting—and by the end, I came to understand why teachers and administrators, as well as TV critics, had issues with it: it’s a reductive and glorified account of what it’s like to struggle with mental illness, aimed at an impressionable audience.
(02/27/18 2:00pm)
These days, seeing a movie can be expensive. The average price of movie theater tickets in the U.S. hit an all time high last year, and the costs of DVDs, subscription services, and on–demand movies on platforms like YouTube can add up. Even for the film lovers who avoid costs using less legal means, in today’s busy world, there’s still the time commitment of sitting down to watch.
(03/01/18 2:00pm)
When Hattie McDaniel became the first black performer to win an Oscar in 1939, it was a historic and groundbreaking moment. In the ceremony, when McDaniel won the Supporting Actress award for her role in Gone With the Wind, presenter Fay Bainter commented that the award was “opening the doors of [the Academy] and moving back the walls."
(02/21/18 2:51am)
In Netflix’s reboot of Queer Eye, Tan France, the new fashion expert, announces the revival’s mission at the very beginning: “The original show was fighting for tolerance. Our fight is for acceptance.” I have to confess I was initially a little suspicious of this claim. I didn’t believe a formulaic makeover show could do anything to make a meaningful statement on LGBTQ or American culture in 2018. The good news is, I was wrong.
(02/22/18 2:00pm)
Musicals are having a moment right now at the box office. La La Land was a hit in 2016, and this year The Greatest Showman is popular not only in theaters, but also on streaming charts (with its original song “This is Me” racking up millions of plays on airwaves and services like Spotify). The success of these movie musicals is not unprecedented. Once upon a time, original movie musicals were popular and commonplace. After a dry spell that lasted decades, the industry is finally back at it—and if you’re loving it like we are, it’s worth going back to some of the old standards that inspired these films and came before them.
(02/15/18 1:24pm)
Few moments in television are bigger than the Super Bowl. Even though this year’s ratings were a slight dip from last year, an estimated 103 million tuned in to watch the Eagles beat the Patriots. Networks tried to capitalize on this boost—NBC’s This Is Us Super Bowl special aired after the game. But the competition for viewers was higher this year. Netflix aired an ad for The Cloverfield Paradox during the Super Bowl—and then announced it would be available for streaming as soon as the game ended.
(02/14/18 5:34am)
Rhett Butler dragging a screaming Scarlett up the staircase to the bedroom. Olivia Newton–John prancing around in a leather suit to win John Travolta’s heart. These are just examples of scenes from classic and romantic movies that we love—but that nevertheless make us think “what the hell?” when we watch them now. Over the years, more and more people have picked up on sexism and misogyny in movies, and both cultural critics and social activists have created a way to analyze and tackle it: feminist film theory.
(02/01/18 1:16pm)
We all have a bit of an amateur detective inside of us. Whether you’re a Criminology major or you just got really invested in the Casey Anthony trial, there’s something fun about mysteries you don’t know the answer to. The draw of the unknown is a large part of the reason why shows like CSI and Law and Order: SVU have been television staples for years; they give us sensational drama and tidy, self–contained resolution all in 45 minutes. But a lot can get sacrificed in those short run–times. This becomes especially evident once you’ve watched a couple back to back.
(02/02/18 2:21pm)
“To the 53 people who’ve watched A Christmas Prince every day for the past 18 days: who hurt you?”
(01/25/18 6:08am)
The Oscars are slated for March 4, the Golden Globes happened earlier this month, and a number of smaller ceremonies will air between the two. It’s award season in Hollywood, and that means excitement. In a year full of fantastic films such as Get Out, Lady Bird, and Call Me By Your Name, there’s a lot of fun to be had speculating on which films will win what accolades.
(01/19/18 5:34pm)
Crazy Ex Girlfriend is airing its third season on The CW right now, and if you’re not watching it, you should be. This irreverent musical comedy show follows Rebecca (Rachel Bloom), a stressed and stunted Ivy League alumna who turns down a promotion at her high–powered New York City law firm in order to quit her job, move across the country, and pursue her boyfriend from a summer camp decades ago. If you’re not familiar with the show and that sounds like a crazy premise—it is. But Crazy Ex Girlfriend (CXG) is one of the best shows currently airing on television. It’s a quirky but brilliant take on love and finding happiness with a lot of lessons to teach anyone; but Penn students might find it has a special relevance to our lives, specifically.
(01/19/18 5:30pm)
In 2016, ratings for late night talk and sketch comedy shows increased at an impressive but expected rate. It’s no secret that bad politics makes for good comedic material. While comedians had fun with the particularly tumultuous election, it seemed safe to say that the liberal late night establishment was fully expecting a Clinton victory and a return to relative normality. Well, that didn't happen. Since then, late night comedy has been far from normal. From cries of fake news to frequent Twitter tirades, it's clear that Trump was the star of late night comedy this past year.