Weekend Random: More Thoughts on The Selection, TVD, TV, and Film

As it turns out, I have more thoughts on The Selection that were brought on by Emily's very innocent comment, "But, anyway, I thought Maxon was boring, Aspen was a whiner." I completely misread that as, "Aspen was a winner" and it made me think about the roles both boys play in America's life and how class influences that. (if you read my response to Emily's comment it's kind of embarrassing how I misread that but whatever)

First of all, I should disclaim that this is not something I think/know a lot about or critique a lot in stories or anything. My interest this year, though, in the idea of how class influences character motivation and story has grown because I read The Talented Mr. Ripley as inspiration for a story line on a TV show, rewatched Vicky's story on The Vampire Diaries and read the book Irises by Francisco X. Stork. All of these things in fairly quick succession made me think about this in a way perhaps I hadn't really before...more sympathetically. And so somehow Emily's comment made me rethink my initial reactions to Maxon and Aspen and their treatment of America. What I'm about to say is fairly spoilery so skip if you like!

Aspen is in a caste lower than America's which creates the conflict in their relationship. America is pretty sure that she wants to marry Aspen, but marrying him means she has to move down in caste, something her family wouldn't appreciate at all. When America is given the chance to earn extra money, she splurges on a huge meal for Aspen and he reacts badly. He doesn't like her providing for him, and feels embarrassed by it and breaks up with her. This immediately put me off Aspen, since America was obviously acting in love and also because the idea of the girl not being able to be the provider is off putting. I mean, to be honest, I can cut Aspen a little slack for feeling that way since the society they are living in seems as if it would support the idea of the man being the main provider. But it was his treatment of America as a result of these feelings that was a turn off.

So I was all ready for her to fall for Maxon who obviously fancied her straight away and always wants to listen to her and know what she thinks. And when she makes some good points about hunger in their country, he actually takes a personal political risk to address the issue. Additionally, he's willing to have her stay for as long as he can to give her reprieve from her home life even though it has to be somewhat painful for him...he wants to marry her.

So in short, to me, Maxon comes off far and away as the better choice (you know if she likes both guys, obviously she can't force herself to love anyone). But I was thinking about it and the thing is that Maxon has an advantage already in the situation, he's in a position of complete power. He's the prince for crying out loud! And I'm not sure that he should really get points for basically being a decent human being in the sense that just because he could expel her and doesn't that somehow makes him better? While emotionally he isn't the one in control, in all other regards he is, he could send her home if he wanted to or even force her to marry him if he wanted to. While Aspen has absolutely no control in his life, he's in a lower caste, would be asking America to make a huge sacrifice to marry him, etc. It doesn't change the way I feel about either character, but it did make me think about how this is presented in fiction...I was immediately turned off of Aspen for his reaction to America buying him food, but I can never know how Maxon would have reacted in the same situation. Maxon, the guy from the upper class, immediately becomes more attractive even though everything in his life gives him the advantage of being the better guy. I don't know if I'm making sense, but it was interesting for me to think about.

Can you think of any other examples where this happens?

The CW Will Die Soon

In other news, the CW didn't order The Selection TV show and I was actually really disappointed! I think part of reading less books is spending more time thinking about some of the ones you do read and the more I thought about this as a TV show the more I thought it could really work. And then Jace Lacob actually called it one of the 13 best drama pilot scripts and his description of the pilot made it sound like it would be a pretty great show. So it's disappointing. But it's also making me wonder what in the world the CW is doing. The last real hit they had was The Vampire Diaries and I don't understand why they aren't following the formula that made that work. And I don't mean love triangles, I mean capitalizing on something that is popular in culture and giving it a fresh spin. Part of why The Vampire Diaries worked was because it was a vampire show for teens and there was nothing else like it on air. And vampires were popular! Last year they had a zombie show in the works that they didn't pick up, but have you seen the ratings for The Walking Dead? And also zombies are/were pretty popular. Now they had a show that taps into the popularity of dystopian works without being The Hunger Games at all, and they pass on it. It wouldn't be so bad except that the shows they did order all sound terrible. They all sound like tired, recycled ideas that will fail. Well Arrow might do okay, but I don't care to watch it. I do understand that there are things I don't understand like contracts and money, professional back scratching etc that go on, it's just kind of a bummer for me because I like shows that aren't procedurals and they are so hard to find. It's sad to see The CW veer in that direction as well. BUT in happy making news they renewed Nikita!!!! It's on Netflix, please watch it and catch up, I need some friends to talk about it with!

A few more TVD thoughts

The post-finale interviews have been really off-putting to me. Mostly in regards to the Klaus in Tyler's body while being in love with Caroline stuff. The fact that Klaus was in Tyler's body in the final goodbye scene is kind of gross to me, since he was all kissing her and stuff, but mostly it's just sad that the scene wasn't "real." The only thing is that it makes sense why "Tyler" wanted her to leave and turned into a wolf to scare her away...it's because he wasn't going to be dying and needed her not to know that. I'm guessing Klaus chose to possess Tyler because Tyler is a hybrid like he was. But ugh if he sleeps with Caroline next season, I don't know. It's not so much the story itself as the fact that the people writing it think it's fun that gives me serious pause as to why I'm still watching.

But also I was reading part of an interview where Julie Plec was talking about what a great character Klaus is, and how lucky they were to have such a great character come into the show etc, etc. and this has to be a case where she's too close to the material or the actor or something because the show has really suffered creatively from the injection of Klaus and the twist to keep him alive is a huge burden on it as well. And the way she's talking about the originals being around next season is terrible! We don't need them! And the weird thing is I thought the story line had a lot of potential, but if you look at the season as a whole, it was mostly all about giving us the necessary history to establish the dramatics of the last few episodes. TERRIBLE. (I was thinking about how Klaus said Elena would be safest with Matt and not Stefan or Damon and it turned out that she died with Matt. It was all there in the season all along)

A few GG Thoughts

I wrote at length about the character of Serena and how I saw her arc earlier this year so it's been interesting to see how it has all come to fruition. I have to admit it's much sadder than I had hoped for. But even so I liked how in this past episode Serena was helpful to both Blair and Dan and their relationship together. It was actually a really high moment for her because she was important and helpful to her two closest friends. That made it all the more heartbreaking to see her past actions come back to hurt her at the end of the episode. And watching the preview...well while she was helpful to them in 5x23, I think she'll be trying to tear them apart in the finale. It's a sad story line, but still one I can understand. I'm curious to see how it wraps up. And yes I'm still watching despite how terrible it is, this show has some interesting stuff going on in it that I can't seem to let go of.

Film

A couple of weeks ago I watched Love is a Many Splendored Thing. It was one of those movies on Netflix, I just sort of put on and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. Part of it is because I spent a weekend in Hong Kong and it's not something I think about a lot so it's fun to see a story set there. It really is an interesting place. And it was interesting that the film engaged ideas about race and interracial relationships and affairs and all of that stuff. It made me really want to read the book it's based on as I'm sure the book digs much deeper into these ideas. (it's a book based on fact) BUT!!! It is so weird to me that while the film is engaging these ideas in a way that seems progressive and positive and interesting in the narrative text, what's onscreen contradicts it all because the actress playing the heroine, who is supposed to be both Chinese and English, is played by a white actress with some make-up to give her an Asian look. Apparently, it would be too off putting to audiences to see the actor kiss an Asian girl. THIS IS SO BIZARRE TO ME. How can you tell a story like this without really telling it?

I also saw The Avengers on my birthday. I liked it well enough for a superhero action flick, but to be honest, that's all it was. It has some good humor and fun moments.

This is all a good excuse for me to remind you that Film Club is discussing Whip It this month. Please join in!! Our discussion will be on the 31st.

Reader Survey

Thanks to everyone who filled out my reader survey! Just in case you missed it, here's the link. I'd still love your feedback. It has already inspired me in the posts I've written since I put it up. :)

Happy Mother's Day!

Reading Addiction, TV, A Great Link

I was chatting with a friend today and she asked me if I ever thought reading could become an unhealthy addiction. It's an interesting question, and certainly one I've considered. I don't think reading itself has ever been an addiction for me. I love to read, but I have a certain level of tolerance for it. I couldn't read all the time, I enjoy doing many other things. At the same point in time, I also can't imagine a life without reading. It's something I've never been able to explain to people who have lived their lives without enjoying reading (and I've known many due to my work) but it's a way of life. A reader finds time to read. Even if it's very little during extraordinarily busy times.

Anyway, I suppose that reading could become an addiction. It can be a way to escape the realities of life and lose yourself in a story. But I don't think it's ever actually worked for me. I might think I'm reading to escape, but I have all too often been confronted with uncomfortable truths about my own life in stories that were seemingly innocuous. It's one of the best things about reading but also what makes it dangerous, you never know when your perspective will be altered or dramatically shift through a story, a line of dialogue, a surprising turn of phrase. I've read books and had the ideas stick in my mind long after I forget much else about the plot. And the thing is as long as you open yourself up to a certain extent, it's impossible to predict which books will teach you the most about yourself and this world. (fwiw, I've had this same thing happen with TV shows, too) It does make me curious, though, do you read to understand yourself and the world or just for escapism? Does that attitude you take towards reading affect its potential impact?

ETA: Obviously reading can serve different functions in your life and I didn't mean to suggest that if you read to escape that's somehow wrong or that you might sometimes read to escape and sometimes read to think about new things or whatever. All I meant to say is that for me it is not a guaranteed escape and that's part of why I like books, but also find reading somewhat dangerous. Also...I don't think reading to escape=addiction! Sorry for being confusing.

So while I don't think I've ever been addicted to reading, I've definitely been addicted to book acquisition and blogging (though obviously not lately).

TVD

It's really weird, but I have nothing much to say about the episode. I enjoyed it. It surprised me in some ways. I appreciate that I now understand how the season has come together. I feel like this season was so bad because it was basically one big information/history dump for these final episodes. I'm slightly hopeful they are setting up a more interesting story for next season. I still think Elena will become a vampire. I have no idea where the show goes from there, but they are setting it up differently (and perhaps in a better way) than I thought they would. I think Bonnie will probably go dark. (btw if Elena dies in that car accident with Matt--as it appears from the promo--that scene where she said good-bye to her normal life on the bridge takes on so much more significance) Mostly I'm ready for season 4.

Gossip Girl (lol)

I just have to bring up that Bart being alive, that moment when Chuck opens the door and Bart is like..."Oh my god." is television gold. And I don't mean that in a good way, I mean it in a, "this is possibly the worst thing I have ever seen on TV" way. The past three seasons Chuck has moaned about his dead daddy and done awful things to people in the name of that crushing Bass pain and burden and now suddenly Bart has been alive all along. Which, I guess, was the only way to resurrect the daddy issues since they were mostly put to rest last season. Seriously, though, this show has just grown so hilarious to me, I can't wait to see what completely absurd thing they will do next.

Link of Importance

Jessica of Read React Review's post on the plagiarism stuff awhile back is well worth reading. I appreciate everything she says about it, but in particular her third point on women and moral autonomy.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Books on TV: Gossip Girl and The Talented Ivy Dickens

So I've gone off the show Gossip Girl...kind of. I made this bold declaration that I was done watching but I'm not really, just done spending a lot of time thinking about it. Except for this post which I've had in mind for awhile and was going to bug me until I wrote it. And then writing it suddenly turned into this big huge ordeal and sigh.

The thing is that the writers of Gossip Girl are pretty outspoken about using literary influences in the past couple of years. I already wrote about how they used The Beautiful and Damned (by the way that is the only time I feel like they got it right. They used the book as a reference for characterization for the audience but they didn't LIFT THE PLOT) and if you watch the show you probably know they stole the plot from The End of the Affair. They also borrowed some characterization from the book/film as well--and while it kind of fit, it kind of didn't and I think that had a lot of damaging impact on the characters going forward. But anyway! This is not about that, this is about The Talented Mr. Ripley

When they said that The Talented Mr. Ripley was an influence for the season, I assumed they meant in the loosest possible way. After all, the character "stealing someone else's life" hadn't actually murdered anyone and was in many ways just kind of pathetic. I read the book and didn't see a lot of similarities, but it continued to bug me. Part of it is my desire to make things fit, which is ridiculous, but also I think part of it is because the Ripley influence wasn't finished. I think it reached its conclusion in 5x17, when Ivy Dickens inherits a fortune out from underneath the family she'd conned/tried to be a part of. It might be helpful to read my earlier review of The Talented Mr. Ripley before reading this.

I made some pictures to go with this but they are crap because I am not an artist and I have no image editing software. Basically I just wanted to match some pictures with quotes from the book, inspired by my favorite tumblr Slaughterhouse 90210 which matches book quotes with TV shows that are totally unrelated. Also, due to the template restrictions on my blog, you'll have to click on the images for the full size (or in other words to be able to read them).

While I think the Ripley influence starts in Season 5, there is one major Ripley-esque scene in Season 4 when Ivy (known to the audience only as Serena's cousin Charlie at this point) steals her dress and does her hair like the high school version of Serena. In retrospect, this is all very smart on the writers part (weeping that I wrote that), because Ivy is actually acting like someone else and stealing someone's identity, it's just not Serena's.

In the book, Tom Ripley is both enamored of Dickie and very jealous. When Dickie turns his attention to his girlfriend, Tom is overcome with jealousy and goes into Dickie's room and starts dressing up in his clothes and imagining that he is Dickie. Dickie comes into this scene and is enraged, not understanding why Tom would do this and of course battling in his mind the accusations Marge (his girlfriend) has made that Tom is queer. (Whether or not Tom is is up for debate, I think his sexuality is very fluid, but Dickie certainly seemed to be repressing his own orientation) Anyway, in the show, Ivy simply makes a decision to model herself after Serena, which also makes Serena angry. This point does actually fit into Serena's characterization, since Dan doesn't recognize this dress from this special night in their life and Serena dreads being irrelevant over all else.

But the real influence kicks off in Season 5. At this point, the audience knows that Ivy was hired by Carol Rhodes to play her daughter and gain access to her trust fund. She runs into Serena in a very unexpected and unlikely way in a restaurant. This prompts Serena to invite her out for lunch and make a proposition that is a turning point for Ivy. Serena wants to know her cousin and suggests they live together. When changes are made to her job, she invites Ivy back to New York. Since Ivy had just cut ties with her life in Los Angeles, she agrees. This is the beginning of feeling, as an audience member, that Ivy is out of control and a bit desperate in the face of the big lie she's told. The show failed to establish any concrete motivation or reasoning for why Ivy doesn't just get out of dodge, but I do think that in episodes 2 and 3 they hint at her two conflicting motivations. She is both drawn to the security of the family the van der Woodsens represent (they hint that Max and Ivy left something terrible behind and Ivy is touched by the lengths Serena is willing to go for her), but also drawn to the wealth and freedom that the wealth represents. The first time she threatens to leave, Serena lures her back with a pretty dress and a starring role in a fashion show.

What does this have to do with Ripley? Well the one true thing about Tom Ripley that the reader knows is his family background is terrible. His parents died when he was young and he was raised by his abusive Aunt Dottie. He tried multiple times to run away from her before succeeding. This helps explain in the book why Tom easily imagines himself as other people and creates other lives for himself, he doesn't really want to be Tom Ripley. And he's brought into the story line with Dickie Greenleaf through Dickie's father who hires him to go to Italy and convince his son to return home. When Tom arrives in Italy, he's amazed at the ease of life for Dickie and jealous. He both adores Dickie and envies him. But overall, the reason he eventually kills Dickie and assumes his identity is because he doesn't want to give that life up and since Dickie is starting to reject him, he feels like it's his only choice.

I tried to watch the movie version again, in case the show stole more from the movie than the book as they did with The End of the Affair but it was so vastly different and I was really tired so I gave up. But one line that was interesting to me was as Ripley (portrayed by Matt Damon) is getting ready to travel to Italy, he's told, "The Greenleaf name opens a lot of doors." I think that idea is the heart of what truly drives both Tom and Ivy...they have had miserable lives and feel trapped by circumstance and class. The upper class represents to them a kind of freedom they haven't known in their lives before. In 5x09, perhaps one of the most important episodes for the character of Ivy, CeCe tells Ivy that "New York looks good on her." And Max informs the audience that Ivy is nothing but "white trash" having grown up in trailer parks and watching her father die in front of her at a young age. This sets up a stark contrast to the life she is now living. And after all, once Carol helps Ivy get rid of her ex-boyfriend and secure a position in the family, Ivy says, "No one can touch me anymore, I'm a Rhodes now."

After Tom Ripley kills Dickie Greenleaf, things don't go easily for him. He does in fact manage to pull it off, but he's haunted by his own lie and deeds. Additionally, he has to keep people at arm's length because if they know him as Dickie and then someone comes along who knows he is really Tom, he'll be in trouble. So his lies escalate even as he continues to steal Dickie's money. Eventually, someone does figure it out and Tom kills again. Similarly, Ivy's lies and attempts to conceal her true identity escalate until she is partially responsible for a car accident that leaves Chuck and Blair injured, and Blair loses her pregnancy. Both Tom and Ivy feel regret for what they've done, Tom almost doesn't believe he actually has done the terrible things he's done. Ivy diverges from Ripley here in that the shame of what she's done prompts her to leave New York*, while Ripley continues his con.

The other thing that kind of reminds me of the book during this run of episodes is the way the truth is RIGHT IN FRONT of their faces, yet they don't see it. Max, Ivy's ex-boyfriend, comes and tells the van der Woodsens who Ivy really is and that she's not Charlotte, and because of the assumptions they are operating under they don't believe him. This happens in the book as well, in fact in both stories, it's their old identity that comes to haunt them, the fact that Tom Ripley is missing becomes almost as important as the investigation into Freddie's murder in The Talented Mr. Ripley. The evidence is right there that Ripley has stolen Dickie's identity, but the thought never even crosses their mind. Tom himself reflects on how his freedom depends on this series of assumptions they've made.

I think the Ripley influence ends in episode 5x17. At the end of the book, Tom has successfully convinced everyone that Dickie committed suicide and left his trust fund to Tom. In episode 5x17, the two battling motivations for Ivy Dickens clarify and Ivy gives in to the money and the freedom it represents. If you believe she sincerely loved CeCe, than to watch CeCe's family concern themselves with money probably made the choice for her. The van der Woodsen's reject her, and then CeCe bestows her wealth onto Ivy. For me, the scene at the end of the episode when Ivy kicks Rufus and Lily out of their apartment was better pay-off than I expected for her arc. After watching her flounder all season long under the weight of her lies and her own desire, it was strangely gratifying to watch her seize the power and freedom the money provided her.

Looking at Ivy's arc through the lens of The Talented Mr. Ripley actually depresses me, because I feel like the show tried for something great and failed miserably. If they had fleshed out Ivy's conflicting motivations more clearly rather than sticking her in boring nonsensical plot after plot, this could have been one of the better stories they told about class on the show. I understand why the book was appealing to them...writing this made me appreciate the depths of the book so much more. But they are in such a rush to run onto the next plot that they fail to let the characters live and breathe on their own. As such, it was impossible to connect with Ivy, because no one understood her. And now their attentions seem to have moved on to Lola who feels like a retread of every other not-from-the-Upper-East-Side character they've had, rather than one with complex and interesting motivations.

Also, the use of the name Dickens makes me think they always planned for her to inherit money even before they chose Ripley as an influence. But it's too bad that Ivy was never as well defined as an actual Dickens character.

Useless stuff!
I rewatched episode 5x09 before writing this and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed Ivy's story line. I think unfortunately I was so distracted by how bad the Chuck/Blair was the first time around I missed that most of the rest of the episode is interesting in an "ideas" way (not so much actual writing and plot). Ivy lies and lies and lies and does it easily in this episode. And in a weird way you can kind of see how she is connected to Carol--Carol feels like the odd one out in her family but doesn't want to actually forfeit the money she's accustomed to. Ivy says she doesn't want the money, only the family, but she's still living in their world and boldly claims their name. And when Carol is with Lily and Lily says she loves Charlie like one of her own, you can see that Carol is kind of taken aback...I don't it's kind of arrogant on Lily's part? It's almost as if Carol and Ivy seem at opposite odds--Carol wants the money not the family and Ivy wants the family not the money, but by 5x17, they will both only care about the money.

*I'm still trying to decide if CeCe did actually know the truth about Ivy or not. For anyone who watches, what do you think? Since so many people thought she did after this episode I think it's possible she might have, the show isn't the best at hiding their twists, (see: Dan and the video plot.)

Books on TV: Gossip Girl and The Beautiful and Damned (AKA Really Long Thoughts on Serena's Arc)

"Beautiful things grow to a certain height and then they fail and fade off," Serena van der Woodsen quotes to a movie director in Gossip Girl's fourth season finale. "I relate to it more than I should admit," she adds. The quote is from F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Beautiful and Damned and Serena meets the director, David O. Russell, after a chance encounter with his assistant who was reading the book on the beach. When a book is given such prominence in a show, it's worthwhile to consider what exactly the writers are trying to convey by giving it screen time. This wasn't the first time The Beautiful and Damned made an appearance in the show, earlier in the same season Serena gifted it to her professor/love interest and told him it was her favorite book.

I decided to read the book to see if it could give me any insight to the way the writers think about the character of Serena. For anyone who doesn't watch the show, Serena is sort of the it-girl of the story, beautiful and desirable, things generally fall into her lap. But she lacks direction, is often guided by her impulses in the moment, and is constantly trying to remake herself and become a better person. Of course she is given a background that explains her behavior, her mother was neglectful, her father abandoned her, and she's often been objectified by men.

I'm glad I read the book, because I can see how Gloria Gilbert guided the characterization of Serena in season 4. The above quote is Gloria's, she says it to Anthony when they are looking at old buildings and Gloria is oddly offended by the idea of preservation. The full quote is: "Beautiful things grow to a certain height and then they fail and fade off, breathing out memories as they decay. And just as any period decays in our minds, the things of that period should decay too, and in that way they're preserved for a while in the few hearts like mine that react to them. Trying to preserve a century by keeping its relics up to date is like keeping a dying man alive by stimulants" It's fitting that Gloria in the novel, whose entire sense of self worth revolves around her beauty, would take issue with the attempt to preserve the fleeting and the temporal. She later says in this same section, "there's no beauty without poignancy" and it later bears out when they leave their honeymoon behind, she weeps over the fact that nothing can ever be repeated, and will never quite be the same again. Beauty by its very nature is transient, and since Fitzgerald casts Gloria as beauty incarnate, this combination of adoration and loss creates an interesting dilemma for Serena.

Serena as Gloria Gilbert

At the beginning of Season Four of Gossip Girl, Serena and Blair are vacationing in Paris. Serena is having the time of her life, having left behind a complicated relationship situation where she was torn between two boys, she's seeing many men, living in the moment ("home doesn't exist until we're there" she tells Blair at one point) and Gossip Girl herself even declares her "a muse to us all." This is Serena at the height of her Gloria Gilbert characterization, living in the moment, indulging in the pressing passion of the now, and captivating the people around her with her beauty and her presence. In The Beautiful and Damned, Fitzgerald describes this mentality as Gloria at her normal state of mind, "existing each day for each day's worth."

It's not only the way Serena herself lives, though, but the way people react to her. There has never been a time when Serena fancied a boy she couldn't have, and at the beginning of the fourth season she feels she must decide between two boys, Dan Humphrey--her first real boyfriend of the past, and Nate Archibald, the golden boy and friend since childhood. When she returns home, both boys have made attempts to move on thus delaying her choice. When they talk about her, it's almost as if she's an addiction they can't shake, and they strike an agreement to not have anything to do with her (purportedly to preserve their friendship). But when tough times hit Dan, he seeks Serena out as an escape, she represents a kind of idealization of the past for him, a sense of things being easy and free from emotional complications. The same holds true for Nate, after being emotionally manipulated by another girl, he shows up at Serena's doorstep in hopes of rekindling their relationship. Both of these relationships had ended for legitimate reasons, but Dan and Nate seem to forget them when presented with the idea of Serena. And a third love interest, Colin, feels that after meeting her he's willing to forgo his playboy ways in an effort to get to know Serena better.

The Colin relationship is somewhat puzzling, but I feel it holds some significance outside of it's linear narrative purpose. In the episode before she meets him, Serena declares to Blair that she can't choose between Dan and Nate and that she needs to find someone who can give her what she finds appealing about both men. It would make sense that this would be Colin, who, according to Serena is "handsome in an old Hollywood way and smart." Colin is a self made businessman and unfortunately, also Serena's professor. They decide to get to know each other outside of a romantic relationship while he's her professor and Serena gives him a copy of The Beautiful and Damned which he amazingly reads in like one day. (so unfair it took me a week!) In the original script for episode 4x07*, Colin was supposed to quote a passage about Gloria and say that it reminded him of Serena. The episode was changed to make his reference much more subtle and generic, but I think that we can believe that even though Colin might represent the ideal partner for Serena, he still viewed her as Gloria Gilbert. The passage from which Colin's favorite quote is meant to have come from: "...she moved him as he had never been moved before. The sheath that held her soul had assumed significance--that was all. She was a sun, radiant, growing, gathering light and storing it--then after an eternity pouring it forth in a glance, the fragment of a sentence, to that part of him that cherished all beauty and all illusion."

Irrelevancy

I guess all of this begs the question, why did the writers choose The Beautiful and Damned as a framework for Serena's character? The story of Gloria Gilbert is depressing and slightly outdated. Her relationship with Anthony more closely resembles Blair's relationship with Chuck than any relationship Serena has had. Personally, I think it's tied to the label Gossip Girl gave Serena at the end of season 2--irrelevant. Gossip Girl labelled Serena this way because her status as the it-girl in high school was coming to an end. On top of that, Gossip Girl herself gave Serena her relevancy--thus creating a complicated relationship between the two.

When Serena is first slapped with this label, she reacts badly. She attempts to take Gossip Girl down and fails. After all, if Serena can get rid of Gossip Girl, she is getting rid of the person who controls the narrative about her relevancy. It's also interesting that in this episode, Dan seems to think that perhaps their friendship might be over, feeding into Serena's insecurities about how she matters.

This is not unlike Gloria. Gloria is loved for her beauty, and dreads growing old. When she goes out for a part in a movie, she is at first encouraged but then rejected. She does not receive the lead role, but rather a smaller part, she is cast aside, her beauty is no longer opening the doors for her that it once did. I think this is at the root of Serena's insecurity--she is aware that she is known and often loved for things that are fleeting, and that the real Serena is overlooked or unknown.

In episode 4x19, she hits her lowest point on the irrelevancy scale when she discovers that Dan and Blair have formed a secret friendship and have become so close that they consider they might have romantic feelings for one another. She is angry and hurt, but Blair strikes at her deepest fears when she says that she shares a connection with Dan where they do things they could never do with her. Serena has suddenly become irrelevant to a relationship her two best friends share.

This drives her to make a decision in 4x22 to choose herself, which is the first step in developing a Serena beyond Gloria Gilbert. Her chance encounter on the beach centered around The Beautiful and Damned gives voice to her awareness of the limiting value of the superficial and it launches her into a career that gives her a chance to develop purpose.

Season Five--Taking Control of the Narrative

5x01 opens with Serena happily working her production job in Los Angeles as the filming for The Beautiful and Damned wraps up. She loves her job, she's eager to take on more work, and let her own ideas be known. But when a co-worker tries to sabotage her job, she's once again confronted with the existing narrative about Serena van der Woodsen, when he bitterly says to her, "So it looks like things really do come easy for Serena van der Woodsen, just like I heard." This prompts Serena to take responsibility and ownership of her actions. But, interestingly enough, The Beautiful and Damned also makes an appearance in this episode. The episode opens with a shot of the film Serena has been working on all summer. Anthony holds Gloria and declares "you're such a swan in this light." In the book, I feel this is another passage about the elusive nature of beauty, but I'm going to be rebellious and say that in the show it's about the transformation of Serena van der Woodsen.

Serena again butts heads with someone else's narrative about her life in 5x04. Her ex-boyfriend/step-brother/good friend Dan wrote a book about all of his friends and in this season's most fun episode to date, the book is released. Serena has served as a muse to Dan in the past, and fully expects that she will be portrayed well. She feels Dan knows the real her, and if anything she'll simply be put on a bit of a pedestal. But the reaction of her co-workers clues her in to the fact that this is not the case. Instead she feels she's been depicted as selfish, insensitive, and shallow. And while this leads to an emotionally charged scene with Dan where she tells him she always thought he was the only person who saw her for who she really was and who she wanted to be, it's also worth noting that because of Dan's book Serena loses a valuable and highly sought after meeting at work. The existing narrative about her interferes with her job and her own goals.

It's interesting that in 5x06, Serena and Dan's career goals come up against each other. Serena has convinced Dan to sign over the film rights to his book to her as a way of making things up to her boss. But her boss has different ideas about how to use Dan's book than Dan does and Serena ends up sacrificing her job to protect Dan and his reputation. In some ways, it's a precursor to her eventual goal to become a new and improved Gossip Girl. While she makes a sacrifice that's admirable, she also makes the choice on her own about someone else's portrayal. She is, in a sense, controlling the narrative about her friend. Additionally, she also agrees to write her own blog in this episode and tell her own story. Keeping in mind that part of Serena's Gloria Gilbert characterization is based on how others react to her, it's significant that both Jane and Diana express support for Serena being someone other than the current public opinion holds she is.

In 5x07, Serena is now writing her blog, but she doesn't know what to say about herself. Her cousin suggests that if she wants "people to read you, then they need to read about you first." In other words, get Gossip Girl's attention! It puts Serena back to the step one, her relevancy being dependent on Gossip Girl. She agrees, though, and a convoluted plot ensues. Diana suggests to Serena that Gossip Girl is heartless and cruel when a blast comes out that Serena has been stood up on a date, but Serena says it's nothing compared to the past, and the first example she uses is when Gossip Girl called her irrelevant! Diana says they need to work together so that Gossip Girl "loses her readers and their attacks lose their power." Serena declines at first, but when Charlie comes under attack by Gossip Girl, she agrees to help Diana take down Gossip Girl. Charlie also tells Serena she doesn't need to be seen with some guy to define who she is. ♥

One other thing that is kind of interesting to me about 5x07 was the choice to film at Sleep No More. I puzzled over the idea that this was a pivotal episode in the story line of Gossip Girl as an idea until I read a few reviews of the play from friends that went together. They each had an entirely different experience, because there is no one story to be told at Sleep No More. As a backdrop for an episode about confused encounters it works, but it also works as a framework for exploring the idea that there are multiple ways to tell a story and the perceptions and life experiences one brings to a story affect the way it is received. On the show, Gossip Girl generally sends out suggestive blasts with pictures, but could the same gossip have an entirely different impact in someone else's hands? This is the idea Serena engages with as the season progresses, so Sleep No More is actually a really interesting place to launch that part of the story.

Episode 5x10 is when old Gloria Gilbert!Serena begins to battle with new emerging Serena. Serena is confused about where her own story is going and wishes she had a way to look back at where she's been and maybe where she's going. Dan suggests she look back at Gossip Girl blasts to get a sense of things. As she does, feelings for Dan begin to stir within her as she reflects on their relationship. She knows that Dan is in love with Blair, though, and makes no mention of her feelings to him. Even so, when Chuck and Blair are in a car accident believed to be caused by the paparazzi who were alerted by Gossip Girl, Serena decides Gossip Girl has to go down for good...and Nate agrees with her.

In 5x11, with Nate, Serena decides to become the new and improved Gossip Girl after she realizes that it's not just the pictures and secrets that are a problem, but the assumptions that come with them. This is important to me in the progression of her story line this season because you start with Serena reacting and taking ownership over her actions due to what people say about her and in the important mid-season episodes, she's at the point where she now wants to take overall control of the narrative. But...you also have these lingering feelings for Dan that seem to me to based on old Serena, the Serena that looks to what someone else says about her and thinks maybe that part of being Serena is being with a man. I feel like since Serena's feelings were sparked by reading Gossip Girl blasts, her feelings for Dan come from a place where she's insecure about where she's headed. My understanding of her relationship to Gossip Girl thus far is that in order to defeat her label of irrelevancy she needs to come to a place where she no longer depends or cares about what Gossip Girl says about her.

I make no predictions about where this story line will lead, and I wouldn't be surprised if it takes a bit of a backseat to other story for the next run of episodes. And...I don't know I don't relate AT ALL to this idea of being valued for surface beauty and yet the irony is it all feels rather poignant to me, I can't help but sympathize with Serena as she struggles to find worth beyond the worth she has to offer men.

I HOPE that it's relevant that Nate is the one helping Serena forge this new identity even as he works on his own independence. And at the moment, he's certainly doing it out of friendship with no ulterior motives. But I'm slightly nervous it's just going to end up in some big mess where we find out everyone is even more related than we thought.

Coming Up

Next week is Gossip Girl's 100th episode and several weeks ago a video leaked of a dream sequence Serena will have. In the dream, she sees herself as Marilyn Monroe singing "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend." I feel like the song is the perfect choice and Marilyn the perfect movie star for Serena to see herself as. The song is about the importance of a girl securing a future for herself before her looks fade and in so many ways that seems like what Serena is battling towards this season. And yet, she's distracted by the fact that she has lost Dan's attention to Blair. My loose Serena-centric interpretation of this dream is that Serena is battling to be herself and yet she's not quite there yet, she still hasn't fully let go of the idea that Dan's/men's attention is important. And yet she realizes that Dan is interested in a girl who in the past would never have been a threat, a girl known for her smarts and incidentally, Serena's best friend.

*totally useless bit of information, but Marilyn Monroe was married for a time to Arthur Miller who described her this way: "She was a whirling light to me then, all paradox and enticing mystery, street-tough one moment, then lifted by a lyrical and poetic sensitivity that few retain past early adolescence" After all the Gloria Gilbert as light talk I waded through in The Beautiful and Damned I have to admit that I thought Marilyn was an excellent choice for Serena's dream. (along with the obvious--blond sex symbol reputation!)


*Gossip Girl had a huge script leak problem last season which is the only reason I know there were changes from script to screen in episode 7.

Sticks and Stones: Abuse and Gossip Girl

Last week, I reviewed the book Stay by Deb Caletti. I was excited about the book because it addressed the issues of an emotionally obsessive and controlling relationship and exposing such a relationship for what it is. The current culture of books and television shows geared towards young women often romanticize such relationships. Essentially, they idealize men that view women as their property, become possessive, and controlling because they "love them so much." On top of that is the appeal of the bad boy, a subject that Jill of Rhapsody in Books explained really well in this post about what women find erotic and why we love Mr. Rochester.

I still watch the show Gossip Girl, and furthermore, up until this week considered it a favorite guilty pleasure. It's a little embarrassing to admit, because the quality of the show has declined steadily since its first season (when it was actually kind of good) and it's arguably the most misogynistic show on television despite being aimed towards young girls. It has used things like rape, prostitution, and sadly now physical assault for cheap OMFG moments and sensationalism and that's just the tip of the iceberg. And it has one of the most toxic and degrading relationships being passed off as true epic love that I've ever seen, in Chuck and Blair.

What's sad about this is that this was a couple I was drawn to at first. In the beginning they had a much more Rhett and Scarlett quality--in fact, the very first story arc they were a part of was very reminiscent of Gone with the Wind. Unfortunately, I think the couple became more popular than the writers originally thought it would, and they transformed the story and altered the characterizations of both Chuck and Blair to stretch out their story over time. They tried to sell them as a deeply passionate, big epic love story.

Unfortunately what happens when you try to stretch out the life of a TV couple on a show based around romances is that it's necessary to throw huge obstacles in the way of the couple. I think there are any number of sane ways to do this, but since Chuck and Blair were sort of this larger than life couple who loved manipulating other people and playing games, living in the heightened reality of a teen soap, the lengths the writers went to were both utterly ridiculous and deeply offensive.

At first I still ate it up even though it was clearly dysfunctional because it was passionate! And it still appealed to me. But over time it became very unbalanced, blatantly sexist, and more and more people were identifying it as emotionally abusive. I hadn't considered it before, but when I started to look back on the relationship, I realized it was true. This season for me was the last straw, though. I no longer enjoyed it, I wasn't able to root for it, and I just desperately wanted Blair to get over it.

Blair has always been my favorite character on the show. She was introduced in the first season as this girl with a steely, bitchy exterior, she was ambitious and hard working, fierce and intelligent, while underneath all of that she had a mess of insecurities, but most importantly heart. Her best friend, Serena, was the kind of girl who was beautiful and bubbly and things came easily for her. Blair was both jealous of Serena and deeply loyal to her. This friendship, with these two girls, was always meant to be the heart of the show. In that regard, it should have been a very girl friendly show. Sadly, though it has turned into something far less, almost hostile to women, I would say.

Anyway, the Chuck and Blair relationship is emotionally abusive. And a lot of people have been saying so for awhile, but we sort of trusted the writers were going somewhere with it. In fact, it almost seemed as if they were intentionally subverting the traditional bad boy love story by showing, no Blair couldn't change Chuck. No, it's actually not a good thing he's possessive. (at one point he actually manipulated her into having sex with his uncle in exchange for a hotel--yes, the relationship is that repulsive) No it's not romantic to say you'll stand by him through everything and have him throw that in your face after he's done something horrific to you. No grand romantic gestures are never enough to erase all the hurt and make them right. Yes it's possible to lose yourself in a relationship, and no longer know how to make healthy right decisions for yourself. I honestly believe that this is where it was going.

In fact, this past Monday the show, in one of its most ridiculous episodes ever, had a scene where Blair goes to tell Chuck that she's now marrying someone else. He's upset due to some family issues and has been doing some heavy drinking. When she resists his advances and tells him she's no longer his, he grabs her, forces her onto the couch and when she tells him to stop, he does, but punches the glass above her and a shard of glass cuts her cheek. I figured, okay they decided to escalate the relationship in the natural way it would progress. Physical abuse.

Unfortunately, that was NOT their plan. The next day the executive produce, Joshua Safran did an interview with E!Online. Let me share the exact text with you:

I thought it was interesting that Chuck actually grabbed her and that the consequence of that fight was Blair had the most perfect, beautiful, dainty injury, which are two symbolically significant things. Did this moment verge on abuse? What was going on in this scene?

The way we viewed it, I think it's very clear that Blair is not afraid in those moments, for herself. They have a volatile relationship, they always have, but I do not believe—or I should say we do not believe—that it is abuse when it's the two of them. Chuck does not try to hurt Blair. He punches the glass because he has rage, but he has never, and will never, hurt Blair. He knows it and she knows it, and I feel it's very important to know that she is not scared—if anything, she is scared for Chuck—and what he might do to himself, but she is never afraid of what he might do to her. Leighton and I were very clear about that.

I have to admit when I read that I was almost blinded with rage. It's classic abuse apologism. They know it's abuse and by denying it they are essentially saying that in some cases it's okay for a woman to be treated this way by a man. They are saying Blair deserves this. They are protecting the character of Chuck at the expense of Blair.

What they don't seem to know is that it doesn't matter if he intends to hurt her or not. Apparently they think abusive people always aim their fists straight at the face of their victim, which is simply not the case. It doesn't matter if she was afraid or not (and she looked afraid and she should have been afraid) she was still in danger and she still got hurt. And the reason she got hurt? Because he is unstable, he doesn't know how to handle his rage, ultimately he doesn't respect her and views her as his possession, and he put her in harm's way.

Furthermore, they are denying the gravity of emotional abuse. Blair has been acting like an abuse victim all season, she has been unable to move on from Chuck, she forms a deep healthy friendship with a hot guy and when she kisses him, she decides she wants to go back to Chuck. She overworks herself in an attempt to become the girl she wants to be (a powerful woman) in order to get back to him and loses her job.

The writers probably don't consider it emotional abuse because he's not calling her stupid or slut. Rather, he controls her at every turn. When she tries to move on, he sabotages it. When she doesn't take him back right away, he gives her an ultimatum. When she drives his new girlfriend away, he declares war on her and destroys opportunities for her. He always tells her she'll never be happy or satisfied with anyone else.

I'm angry because the writers have written a textbook abusive relationship and denied it's abuse. And this is problematic, hugely problematic, because their denial uses the same excuses women in these situations make to themselves. "He would never hurt me, he didn't mean to hurt me, it was unintentional, I'm not afraid. I know he really loves me, and this is just the way we are, he was drunk, but this isn't abuse."

There are no exceptions. As a viewer, I genuinely thought he was capable of really hurting her in that scene. He was out of control, and quite honestly it fit into the progression of their relationship. And she looked terrified.

The response to the interview was immediate. People who are still hoping Chuck and Blair end up together (and they have a lot of reasons to hope so, despite all this the writing still protects the couple in certain ways) were like, "ok thanks, I was kind of upset after that scene but now that you've explained it to me, I know Chuck wouldn't hurt Blair." DO YOU SEE HOW WRONG THAT IS? It means that clearly the work isn't speaking for itself if most people were scared and shocked by the scene. There is no reason to come out and explain intentions and try to trivialize how serious it was. There is no reason to make the scene even more about Chuck when clearly the only person anyone should be caring about is Blair in this situation. There is no reason to explain away a clearly abusive situation as something less than.

There was also a lot of rage, and people began to immediately tweet the writers. Here was their response:
"Everyone, Josh was not condoning abuse by any means. He was just saying it was not Chuck's intention and Blair understands that."
"That doesn't make Chuck's actions right, and he will deal with the repercussions. Keep watching. The issue isn't glossed over."

Way to miss the point. And just confirm that they have no idea what they're talking about, should never have had such a scene on their show if they were going to be completely insensitive and try to get away with it. As far as the issue being glossed over, they pretty much glossed over the incident where he manipulated Blair into trading herself for the hotel. There are episodes stills of Blair and Chuck looking very happy in the finale, it's hard to believe they have any intention of taking this seriously.

I shouldn't be surprised, because they have a long history of doing this. Earlier this year when asked if they regretted making Chuck an attempted rapist in the pilot, they downplayed it and said he wasn't really an attempted rapist, more like a kissing bandit. Could they be more offensive if they tried?

I just don't understand how the CW, a network geared towards women ages 18-34 could let this go. I'm so sorry that Gossip Girl missed the chance to be truly instructive in their storytelling and opted for cheap sensationalism, favoring their most despicable male character over their most popular female lead. To even explain the situation in terms of what it meant to the character of Chuck over the character of Blair disgusts me.

Women in emotionally abusive relationships have a hard enough time being taken seriously. The myth that the term abuse applies only to certain couples needs to die. The idea that a girl will only ever love one guy in her life like this is a terrible message to send. The possibility for love is out there and you aren't chained down to one epic love you meet in high school. If he treats you poorly, cut him loose and keep looking. That's a really awesome story Gossip Girl had the chance to tell, but failed. I wrote this to calm myself down, and I'm posting it because the only way to fight bad information is to present good information.

Chuck and Blair on Gossip Girl are a classic example of an emotionally abusive relationship escalating to physical threat despite what the producers have said.

A guy who is a known attempted rapist, has sexually harassed his father's hotel employees, abuses alcohol, and generally views women as sex objects will not change just for you.

Other Coverage of This:
Jezebel
Zap2It

The scene in question.

My Recent Thoughts about the TV Shows I Love. Or Don't Love. Or Used to Love.

I, for one, was glad to see Jack Bauer back in action, saving children no less, last week. Is it just me or was 24: Redemption pretty awesome? I think this show has a serious chance of reviving itself so long as I can buy the reason Tony is still alive. I'm excited about the new direction, and found the child soldier storyline powerful and effective without half the violence of the movie Blood Diamond (which is also good just very very very violent) Some of the things I love about 24 are the incredible production (tight editing, original score, fantastic shots--so few shows have this), the ability to convey serious emotional consequence amidst all the action...and of course Kiefer Sutherland whom we love so dearly as our hero Jack Bauer. A flawed and imperfect hero to be sure, but one that is impossible not to root for. (I once saw a poll that asked who was the better hero...Jack Bauer or Jack Shephard...really? Sorry, no contest)

In other very sad news, Pushing Daisies has been canceled. This is a big loss as far as I'm concerned. Sadly, I tried to force my relatives to watch it Thanksgiving Eve and they just didn't get it. It's a highly stylized show but even as the relatives were rolling their eyes, I was giggling at the funny and smart dialogue. (i.e. from Emerson: "You're about to be the first man to be murdered twice") Oh well. I guess we can't win them all. I hope Lee Pace finds another awesome job asap. I just love him.



LOST released a new promo that struck me with the realization that Desmond might be required to go back to the island. This is intolerable. He can't leave Penny! (not to mention he was on that island for soooo long already!)


Did anyone else watch Gossip Girl last night? Nate continues to baffle me, Dan and Serena clearly need to get back together (am I really supposed to take Aaron seriously? eww!), and Chuck and Blair keep teasing me!!! Actually it looks like Ed Westwick has some great stuff coming up in the next show. By the way, I read that Verizon will have an exclusive series from the viewpoint of Dorota. I have to admit when I first read this, I thought it was the dumbest thing ever. But, I suppose if they make it funny enough, it might not be bad.



Which leads me to the show I wish I liked, but just can't seem to get. I really really really wanted to like Fringe. It had so much going for it. An interesting mythology. A pretty stellar cast. J.J. Abrams. (and other LOST alums) but I've missed several episodes and can't seem to care. When I do manage to watch it, I sometimes have to force myself to concentrate. I've tried to figure out why this show doesn't work for me and sadly I think it's the main character, Olivia. She just has no spark. She's boring. Very boring. And while I'm somewhat interested in Josh Jackson's character and his father, that interest is not enough to overcome the fact that I feel nothing for Olivia. Anyone else share these sentiments?

Oh and I've officially given up on Grey's Anatomy. Considering how much I used to love that show, this is kind of surprising. But somehow, the writers thought when there was backlash over Izzie/George that what the fans wanted was Izzie and Denny sort of resurrected from the dead. The writing is just so completely out there in almost every storyline that I can no longer enjoy it. Which is too bad, because the first two seasons were excellent television.

So....how are your favorite shows going?