small screen ftw

[orangerful]

I don't know what it says for Hollywood and the whole world of film production - but most of the items on my Netflix queue that I actually want to watch right now are TV shows.

Most of the movies out there are just plain bad and uninteresting to me, OR they are just too serious and I'm not in the mood to watch a serious film right now. I mean, I want to see "The Queen" but not right this second. I want something that has a bit of fun to it. A bit of sass. But I still want some brains!

And also, frustrating enough, I'd like some smart women too! I had a patron ask me with help picking out dvds with strong female characters and it was near impossible! I mean, I gave her 'Philadelphia Story' because Katherine Hepburn is all feisty and snarky but in the end, it's still about her settling down. And a lot of the other movies had women as victims or women as prizes to be won. I wish we carried TV shows because then I could have given her 'Buffy'!

I feel the need to watch this again (but don't read the comments, lordy lordy this world is a scary place)

Comments

[lostacanthus.livejournal.com]

OMG I LOVE JOSS WHEDON. ALKGJAKLS<3

lol and I KNOW you said not to read the comments but I couldn't help it! It's like looking at a train wreck.

[impalalove]

Yeah, I'm more a television fan than movies, honestly, completely agree. ;)

[bittertwee.livejournal.com]

I was just talking with a friend about how we both prefer to use Netflix for TV shows. Two hours just seems like too much time to commit to anything when you're home. In advance, that is. I can easily waste many hours online, but it's not like I plan to.

The Queen is on my to-review list btw. Maybe I'll write the review as motivation for you.

A friend of mine is compiling a list you might be interested in of kick-ass women movies and TV shows:
http://collectingtokens.wordpress.com/kick-ass-women-movies/
Although I do notice that many of these women literally kick-ass and aren't just, say, smart. I've been meaning to suggest to my friend that she make a list of movies with smart/strong women who don't necessarily kick someone's ass. Only now I don't have to suggest this because Wordpress knows all and will let her know that I linked to her. Really, if I even *think* of her blog, Wordpress lets her know about it. It's amazing.

Finally, it's a known fact that you are not allowed to comment on youtube if you are over the age of 12.

[destertale.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I think I've used Netflix for mostly TV series too, so far. Mostly BSG and some anime series, and Robot Chicken, and I've been rewatching some Xena... but not a lot of movies either.

And funny you should mention the bit about strong female characters... someone on my flist made mention of an old "rule" from a comic about looking for media from a feminist p-o-v, that I found interesting. http://alisonbechdel.blogspot.com/2005/08/rule.html

It states that something should have:
1. At least 2 women in it
2. That talk to each other
3. About something other than a man

I don't necessarily agree with the standard (I think it's a little over-simplified and is no guarantee that something would be good, but this was originally from a comic strip after all), but I was rather startled to realize that for as simple a criteria that was, it is damn difficult to think of things that fit it! o_O The discussion came up in reference to Harry Potter, and admittedly, it doesn't really meet that standard either. Off the top of my head, for tv series, anything Joss has done, BSG and Xena are all things that would meet those 3 things. Anyway, thought I'd share, because it's funny how now this is stuck in my head. LOL =P

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

I didn't know Alison Bechdel had a blog! That's pretty cool. I enjoyed 'Fun Home' - it's part of my 'Graphic Novels for Grown Ups' reccomendations.

Those are pretty good rules though if you need a cut and dry standard while running thru films in your head.

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

bwahaha, Serenity is on her list! and I think I found your reply to that post because it mentions Scully ;)

I agree with a lot of the films she picked, but you're right - they lean more to the physical ass-kicking rather than just "kick ass chicks". Different genre I guess.

[bittertwee.livejournal.com]

yup, "bs" is me

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

Actually, you bring up a good point about male characters too. Again, I'm trying to think of examples of good, strong, male characters and I end up back in TV land - Adama, for example, on BSG, is a very strong character. And he's not afraid to cry (though he knows how to cover his ass and ballsack, should the need arise (I'm saying no hyphen...just looks weird)) Or Angel. Heck, I think Dean and Sam are pretty well rounded so far too.

I guess I'm just defining "strong" in this situation by women that actually *do* something. That are pro-active and help move the plot forward thru their actions (unless that action is falling into a huge pit and getting stuck). She can be the central character and run the show and the show will be about more than just bunnies and flowers.

Perhaps movie writers can't be bothered with creating characters with that much depth. They only have a couple of hours! Just make it a dude, then we don't have to explain how they reached a position of power or how they can be so confident, because they are dudes! I think some of these writers don't believe that we as an audience can believe in a strong female character.

Oh and stories are a must, and for me, go without saying. If I just wanted character, there are plenty of "arranging matches" movies (as Eddie would say) that I could rent. But I want plot driven stories with strong characters of both sexes interacting (but not getting it on ALL THE TIME).

See (not to rant) but that's what pissed me off about the first Matrix. Apart from the fact that I wanted more kicking (really, more kung fu, less guns, I wanted 2 hours of wire stunts!), I remember being so disappointed that after surviving all these awesome battles, the girl goes all melty over Keanu and that's her big moment. Not that she can kick ass, or has a great plan, but that she wuvs him. Blah! *gag*

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

did you watch the clip in that movie review? I think you'll enjoy it haha.

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

Oh, well that isn't my ONLY problem with the Matrix, but I was trying to stay focused.

[(Anonymous)]

"I remember being so disappointed that after surviving all these awesome battles, the girl goes all melty over Keanu and that's her big moment. Not that she can kick ass, or has a great plan, but that she wuvs him. "

Yes! I had exactly the same reaction. She turned into a big, freakin' puddle of goo. Totally pissed me off.

alejna
(the one compiling the kick-ass women (http://collectingtokens.wordpress.com/tag/kick-ass-women/) lists. Suggestions are welcome.)

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

haha yeah, reading thru your blog reminded me of Matrix and the anger I felt that night. Saw it opening night too. Ready for some kung fu action and instead I got guns and a wibbly woman. Ah well.

If I think of any more, I'll let you know!

[solanpolarn.livejournal.com]

orangerful, I hope you don't mind me commenting with suggestions for the kick-ass women list. If you do, please feel free to delete this comment! (It is your lj, after all.)

In the tv-shows category, I would like to suggest NCIS, for Abby. She is a pretty kick-ass character in general, with smarts and witty remarks. What really tips the scale though, is the episode Bloodbath in which Abby is being stalked. She gets scared by this (like any sensible person would!), but in the end she doesn't actually need anybody to rescue her. She stands up, and takes charge of her own life and is a strong competent woman. I always hated that about The Phantom (comic by Lee Falk, you know?) that while his wife Diana could handle five out of six assailants (having a black belt in judo/karate/whatever it was) she never manged the six and The Phantom always had to rescue her. But in this episode of NCIS at least, a woman is allowed to be able to defend herself! (Another reason to put NCIS on the kick-ass women tv-show list, is the Israeli agent Ziva David, who does literally kick-ass...

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

anyone's welcome to comment, solanpolarn - as long as we play nice. :D See, that's a whole genre I don't really watch so input on that is pretty interesting. Most of my shows tend to have a weirdness/supernatural factor to them, so I tend to no bother with normal crime solving shows. Good to know the women on there are represented well! It drives me crazy when they show women in positions of authority, but then have them act like idiots - leaving the audience to wonder how she got the job in the first place!

Which reminds me of 'Dexter' - while not without their own big box of issues, the women of that series are pretty strong characters. I mean, Deb is a detective, the head of the force is a woman...might have to add that to the list.

[solanpolarn.livejournal.com]

Thank you, and I always (try to) play nice. :-) I was so pleased to see that they let Abby be a strong character who could take care of herself, even when she was threatened, and not just a clever girl, who when push came to shove needed a man to save her. They had me worried for a bit, because she did get really scared by being stalked (sensible reaction!) but in the end she didn't need somebody else (read: man) to save her. In that way, I thought her being frightened just strengthened her as a character. She got to be human and a strong woman, which writers/producers/directors/whatever sometimes don't seem to think is a possible combination. (In case you can't tell, I really, really liked this episode! *grin*) Another thing I like about Abby is the fact that she is a geek (scientist), and portrayed as cool at the same time. The two aren't mutually exclusive and I like seeing that played out in tv shows/books/films/etc.