Some of this year’s Sundance comedy-dramas have had their narratives plucked from the wellspring of their director’s personal experience, though that should never excuse any shortcomings. Yesterday, I wrote a negative review of Francesca Gregorini’s treatment of motherhood in Emanuel and the Truth about Fishes. My primary beef was less with the inherent trauma at …
When looking at film locations it would be shameful if the settings in the infamous German Expressionism movement were to be overlooked. A number of movements and directors over the years have Expressionism to thank. There is so much to say about this movement from the wonderful films that were born out of it, to …
Before the fictional world of Buffy Summers expanded into the larger ‘Buffyverse’ franchise of today – including Angel, the comic book continuations, video games, conventions and various other media spin-offs – the Slayer and her friends resided in a singular, contained microcosm of suburban America known as Sunnydale. In a way, they still do and …
From its very beginnings as a genre, Western film has trafficked in the iconic, in the larger-than-life imagery of the tall tale and the never-ending, expansive wilderness that forms the crucial backbone to these stories. More than perhaps any other genre, Westerns deal in types, with their characters standing in for the Other, the Immigrant, …
High Noon and Rio Bravo share a fascinating and perhaps singular position in the annals of American cinema as companion pieces of social commentary that also managed to succeed as two of the greatest and most influential Westerns, and indeed films, of their time. Created seven years apart, with Rio Bravo intended as a direct …
One of the staples of American network television is the procedural. Despite the increasing prevalence of serialized storytelling, procedurals (standalone, case-of-the-week series) remain the networks’ main source of original dramatic programming, and of these, nearly all fit into at least one of three categories- police, medical, and legal. Series from each of these subsets date …
One of the most commonly accepted clichés of American television is the family sitcom with the schlubby husband and gorgeous wife. It’s so pervasive that a quick Google search brings up this entry on the topic from TvTropes.org, which features 3,700+ words devoted to live action TV examples alone. Most TV fans look down on …
The terms “melodrama” and “melodramatic” have for a long time been pejoratives in artistic circles. A quick look at thesaurus.com brings up “artificial”, “hammy”, “overdramatic”, and “stagy” as synonyms, among others, and for many, the term is often accompanied by an eyeroll or similar indicator of contempt. As mainstream theatre transitioned from pantomime and ballet …
I’m a nerd. I like data. Spreadsheets are fun and I have a nearly Marshall Eriksen-level affinity for charts. When I decided to look into high school-based television series for my next article, my first stop was Wikipedia and its page on high school television series (This is why I’m not an actual researcher). Initially, …
Television, more than any other medium, allows its audience to experience a story over time. Characters grow and develop over the years and the audience shares in this. The big, life-changing moments happen, but so do the small ones, the day to day and week to week choices that shape who a person really is. …