Rather old entry in the Take-Away Shows that I somehow overlooked that features Seasick Steve in an ironic return back to Paris’s streets. Probably more of a coincidence, but the format of the series seems to actually fit quite cleverly with Steve’s roots as both a hobo and busker on these very streets. Its intriguing how out of place he seems in the video while seemingly appearing as an everyday man. I especially took notice of the visual contrast presented around the 4:55 mark where Steve is shown in contrast to a younger generation of onlookers. Most are on skateboards with one wearing earbuds, but all are looking on quite attentively. I can’t honestly tell if they are confused, intrigued, or simply curious to the spectacle before them. Overall, the contrast gives a sense of displacement in time as well.
Steve is truly an outsider before and after his commercial success. Even with his apparent wealth, he lacks excess and sticks to what he knows best. Physically, he still exudes the image of both deep Americana as well as a nomadic hobo. His guitar which is broken, scratched, and worn seems to almost serve as a visual symbol of this. His sound is simple, raw, organic, and bleeds a sense of nostalgia that one can’t help but be effected by.
Embedded above is only Part 2 of this particular entry. I highly recommend taking a look at the full article below as well as watching both parts.
The initial venture of Brian Lynch’s canonical continuation of Angel seemed like an excellent idea especially in light of the success of Buffy Season 8, and the less then acceptable ending the actual televised show received. Unlike the conclusion of Buffy, Angel lacked any sense of resolution but conversely opened up more unanswered questions. Lynch’s decision to create a completely new dynamic for the characters by thrusting LA into hell also seemed like a commendable idea. Buffy seemed to have made an equally shifting decision that worked out for the better with its activation of all the Slayer potentials.
In the case of After The Fall though, I always felt that the initial setup was both a cop-out as well as something that simply couldn’t work in the long run. If anything, it seemed like the opening issue tried tremendously hard, too hard even, to blow away its readers with an overload of startling developments. Not only was the whole ensemble plunged into hell, but all of LA, while Gunn was turned into a vampire, Angel into a human, and Wesley’s death seemed to have been annulled through his return as a guiding ghost. Overall, there seemed to be a general sense that the seemingly sacrificial and heroic acts of the ensemble in the ultimate episode was all for naught by the introduction of this new story arc.
And in the long run it seems if anything, it didn’t work. Whether or not Lynch actually planned the story arc out in the way it unfolded is unknown, but what is known is he basically ret-conned the whole thing in the concluding issue just a few weeks ago. The whole event of LA getting sent to hell now no longer happened, so Gunn never became a vampire, nor did he ever kill Connor. To add to this lack of progression, it seems if anything the franchise had made a regression. The issue essentially ends with a foreshadowing tone that the ensemble is being reunited under the guise of the old Angel Investigations. We even see Nina manning the desk at the Hyperion as if this was simply back to Season Two with the old monster-of-the-week formula borrowed from Buffy.
The Auteurs recently updated their monthly film festival cycle to reflect upon significant Academy Award winners of the past. Somewhat of a strange theme but regardless, there are a few good films posted for free viewing, you just have to sit through a somewhat long trailer for Che. Of note in this line up is Marcel Camus’s Black Orpheus which is a retelling of the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice set in the contemporary setting of Rio de Janeiro’s Carnivale. The narrative and the development of the relationship between the two leads is somewhat clumsy, but there should be little confusion for those familiar with the myth.
If anything, the film is documenting a cultural event as much as it is trying to tell a literal story. Much of the camera work and screen time is devoted to providing the viewer with a sense of what Carnivale is like in real life. To that end, the film is quite an enjoyable one. Its definitely worth a watch if only for Aurino Cassiano who plays Zeca, a boy who follows Orpheus around for much of the narrative, and is hinted to be the next in a cyclical relationship, similar to the more recent film Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter… and Spring. Cassiano showcases some very impressive dancing ability as does many of the unnamed extras on-screen. For the most part, this is the main attraction of the film, and it is sometimes jarring to see Marpessa Dawn as Eurydice as it is quite obvious she is a foreigner to the culture being presented. All in all, its a highly enjoyable film and recommended for casual viewing regardless of its cultural or social accuracy.
I’m not entirely sure how long the embedded video above will last, but it will definitely expire within a month. So if you plan to watch it, I’d suggest jumping on it now.
In the past, one of the more intriguing aspects of Joss Whedon’s output has been his explicit representations of extremely literal antagonistic forces exemplifying forces of familial tensions, teen angst, and standardized gender misrepresentation. Whedon’s Buffy was notorious for its monster-of-the-week formula which quite often employed a literal monster as a manifestation of the characters’ tensions and conflicts. While Whedon has indeed spoken of distancing this current project from his former works, it seems this is one thing he hasn’t abandoned.
Despite many current viewers suspicions’ on whether or not the formula of Dollhouse can prove to be a successful and viable form of serialized television, one must discount the popular claim beforehand that the plot set-up presented in the show would only serve as a perverse male fantasy. These claims and suspicions were not completely unfounded. The initial trailer for the show as well as the banners Fox was implementing in its promotion seemed to only sexualize Dushku by displaying her naked and sideways hourglass form overlayed across the bottom of the screen during many of their other prime-time shows. It was indeed somewhat suspect and off-putting, but Whedon and those actually part of the creative force often have little control or input into how their work is ultimately advertised.
Regardless, the premise of Dollhouse on a synoptic basis seems to go against Whedon’s earlier mold of strong female leads exemplified quite literally and simply in their ability to physically fight off antagonistic forces. Even those that were not in lead roles seemed to always develop into pivotal and active characters who served as complex narrative subjects in their own context, rather than simply a catalyst for the further development of a lead. Such early examples could be seen with Willow from Buffy who went from a seemingly stereotypical timid bookworm to a powerful witch who played a much more prominent role as the seasons progressed with the penultimate season being largely centered around her new developments. Likewise, Cordelia Chase similarly shifted from one side of a spectrum to the other by going from a superficial and vain cheerleader to an almost sacrificial hero by the end of Angel. In Dollhouse on the other hand, it seemed that the lead of Echo (Eliza Dushku) would largely be inactive and simply a passive receiver of others’ actions. Whether or not this is the case, the set-up of a Doll who loses her memory, personality, and individuality for the benefit of others seems to only offer the potential viewer suspicion on who exactly this show is aiming to attract. Coupled with the fact that most clients seem to be male, and the only two active dolls introduced are females, one’s suspicions can only grow.
A fairly old but extremely funny audio clip of Patton Oswalt doing a standup centered on a terrible film that was released called Death Bed. His description although in the context of comedy seems to really hit upon the absurdity of some of the more questionable material out there that has amazingly been produced throughout the years. In this case, I really did not believe Oswalt that the film he is referring to is actually real, I had to as he points out, look it up on IMDB to be truely convinced. Needless to say, the clip is definitely NSFW…
The second season of Felicia Day’s The Guild came to an end just recently. What was initially unique about Day’s serial was that it was probably the first web-show that truely exemplified the notion of a prosumer, or simply a successful production completely outside of the studio system and its standards while not suffering from a extremely limited niche audience. Joss Whedon’s Dr Horrible also starring Day was a direct continuation of what was achieved with The Guild prior. On the other hand many groups such as College Humor fail in this regard due to their scope of subject matter limited to the pointless idiocy of net-humor which prizes randomness over actual creative substance. Subsequently, their ownership over Defunker, BustedTees, and Vimeo in addition to their new show on MTV puts them in the same camp as corporate big-money producers, rather than prosumers.
It was nice to see that the cast made no changes as it was easily the strongest element of the first season and several of the characters actually get developed further beyond their caricature-like depictions. While it was obvious that the production was extremely higher given sponsorship from MSN, it still seemed to have that simplistic charm that lacked excess that was so characteristic of the show in the former season. A large emphasis was placed upon individual performances as well as the dynamics between characters such as Codex and Zaboo. Season 2 was refreshing in this regard since it broke away from the more linear structure of the prior season instead implementing a varied focus upon a multitude of parallel conflicts, not just those immediately concerning Codex. The introduction of Wade was definitely a highlight to the new dynamics presented in this regard.
The conclusion really brought a new level of complexity to the franchise as well. Day hadn’t really explicitly focused on Codex’s and others dependence upon the game as she did in the current season. The idea that most if not all the characters were playing so actively to escape their real world dilemmas was indeed presented early on, but not to such force as when the server abruptly goes down for maintenance. There is actually an interesting dichotomy presented at least in the context of the notion of escape where Codex is both escaping to the game, as well as escaping away from it by end of Season 2. Her developments with Wade especially are characteristic of this as is her final confrontation with Zaboo.
All episodes of The Guild are still free to view off of XBox Live, MSN Video, Youtube, Guild on Effin Funny, and The Guild Homepage for those that are interested in checking it out, although MSN Video is the only venue offering the last episode currently.
Introductory post to a new blog. For lurkers, potential readers, and simply those that accidentally stumbled here, check out the About page linked here as well as in the header navigation for a rough idea of the blog’s purpose and expected content.
The initial venture of Brian Lynch’s canonical continuation of Angel seemed like an excellent idea especially in light of the success of Buffy Season 8, and the less then acceptable ending the actual televised show received. Unlike the conclusion of Buffy, Angel lacked any sense of resolution but conversely opened up more unanswered questions. Lynch’s decision to create a completely new dynamic for the characters by thrusting LA into hell also seemed like a commendable idea. Buffy seemed to have made an equally shifting decision that worked out for the better with its activation of all the Slayer potentials.
