A DELICATE CHAOS ///

Thoughts on Girls, Season 2

03/03/13 – 10:54 PM

I’m fairly certain that 85% of the people I know have come to accept that I have an unhealthy obsession with Girls, this small HBO show written, directed, and starring a talentless girl named Lena Dunham. Clearly, sarcasm.

I’m pretty obsessed with Dunham’s work, her outlook, and what she has achieved by the age of 26. Also, she’s dating Jack Antonoff of Fun., which I think is pretty cute. (Did you see how excited she was when they won the Best New Artist award at the Grammy’s? I thought Frank Ocean should’ve taken it, but still, cute.)

Anyway. Last season, I was absolutely captivated. The show was such an accurate reflection of my life that it was sometimes uncomfortable to watch. The series just felt refreshingly true to life. I know Dunham has taken a lot of criticism for writing a series that was very specific to her experience (i.e. entitlement, race), but as someone struggling with post-grad existence, I could very much identify with it. For the record, I had definitely identified with Season One Hannah.

I will probably rave more about Girls as a series at a later date, but for now, a few quick thoughts on season two so far. Spoilers ahead, maybe.

1. Hannah. She’s more annoying this season, and it really didn’t affect me before. In reading various interviews where Dunham talks about her character, I’ve better come to undertand that Hannah often approaches sex as if she’s an outside character to her life. This season especially, I feel like she’s making a lot of choices only so she can write about them later. I know this is central to her character, but these choices are becoming far more haphazard and questionable to me. Believe me when I say I’m not slut-shaming, I just feel like a girl who is super concerned about the stuff that comes out from the sides of condoms (did anyone ever solve that?!?) would be more hesitant. Or, maybe I just miss her relationship with Adam.

2. Adam. Prior to tonight’s episode, I thought I just missed “Season One Adam,” but I think I just miss when he wasn’t sad and depressed about Hannah. (AA speech = gold though.) Last season, he was this strange character that both compelled me and confused me until the party episode where everything was turned around. And then I loved him. I wanted an Adam. I still do. He’s completely messed up, and super strange, but that’s part of the appeal. I don’t remember where I read it, but somewhere on the interwebs last year, he was referred to as Manic-Pixie-Dream-Big, referencing how simultaneously great and messed up Mr. Big of Sex and the City could be. I’m hoping he gets more episodes like the one that aired tonight, because he’s something I definitely miss from season one.

3. Shoshanna. And Ray. They are the best. The subway scene is arguably one of my favourites this season and kind of renewed my faith in the writing. They have a really great dynamic between them that works really well. I questioned it last season, because Ray just came off as an asshole, but I’m enjoying them together. It’s not perfect, but I think that’s a great thing. They are both very refreshing in their own way. And also, Ray’s cartographer/explorer pep talk to Marnie this past episode was a total highlight.

4. I like that Marnie is struggling. I’m really enjoying it, and as weird as the thought would have been last season, I’m identifying with her most. I can relate to her character feeling lost for once. She’s used to having a plan, and is uncomfortable with instability so she’s flailing a little in every aspect of her life. Even last season, I saw Marnie as the most realistic character (re: relationship with Charlie), but the hardest to like. This season, I’m understanding where she’s coming from better.

5. Generally speaking, I feel like this season is hitting just a little bit of a “sophomore slump.” After all the praise, criticism and overall media attention it got last year, it’s taking a bit for it come into it’s own and decide what it’s going to be for the long haul. I’m finding myself truly enjoying about every other episode as opposed to every single episode, and I’m less certain about my undying love for the series. But, I’m hopeful, and that counts for something.

(P.S. I wish Donald Glover’s role lasted longer. I wish Elijah’s role had been shorter.)

By Maegan | Posted in Babble, Review | Tagged Girls, HBO, Lena Dunham, Television | Comments (0)

Room

28/02/13 – 1:17 AM

Various photos of my room over the past two to three years because I’ve noticed that I take many random, end of the roll types. Not a great deal to say about these. I occasionally put things I like on my wall, and the colours in my closet are decidedly neutral. Right now, it’s all black and cream. I bought new sheets from IKEA a couple weeks ago, and just changed my sheets last week. It’s really nice having new sheets in a weird surprised-every-time-I-enter-my-room kind of way.

By Maegan | Posted in Photos | Tagged Film, Series | Comments (0)

Good luck exploring your infinite abyss.

21/02/13 – 2:01 PM

A couple days ago, I found out someone I recently met and who I think is pretty cool hasn’t yet seen Garden State. It was a deal breaker. (Just kidding, Chesca.) But anyway, I then remembered this review of the film I wrote way back when I was seventeen. In a way, I suppose this is a “Throwback Thursday.”

GARDEN STATE (2004)
*****

A surreal, almost-profound story depicting life, this movie is a ride through New Jersey in the eyes of an overmedicated would-be actor. It is a mix of wildly eccentric characters – from a free-spirited local girl, to a millionaire living off the invention of silent Velcro. A rush jumping from random scene to wholeheartedly significant, “Garden State” is a riveting, endearing journey in the form of a man’s visit home, where he doesn’t quite find home, but instead, exactly what he needs.

It all begins with Andrew Largeman (Zach Braff) – an actor only recognizable from playing a retarded quarterback in a made-for-TV movie – lying in a stark white room in a white bed with a white sheet in an emotionless state. An answering machine message left by his father, Gideon Largeman (Ian Holm), informs Largeman that his mother drowned in a bathtub and that he should come home to New Jersey for the funeral. Largeman has not been home in nine years and is over-drugged with medication to the point where he feels no emotion.

Not long after returning home, he spots high school friend, Mark (Peter Sarsgaard), and winds up at a party in someone’s basement doing the drug ecstasy. Even with these drugs, he remains blank without any form of expression. In a matter of days, he meets stunning, captivating Sam (Natalie Portman), an exhilarating pathological liar who is afflicted with Epilepsy but could care less, and chooses instead, to laugh about it and enjoy life while it lasts. Through Sam, Largeman gradually learns the importance of feeling and expressing emotion, confronting his childhood traumas along with his domineering father.

Natalie Portman’s depiction of Sam is beautiful. She is fascinating and inspirational. You just cannot help but fall in love with Sam and her character. Her bubbly personality is simply contagious, and Portman’s outstanding acting ability is evident. While Zach Braff’s portrayal of the transformation of an emotionless zombie is superb, Natalie Portman’s Sam makes “Garden State” exactly what it is – unique.

While many scenes appear out of context, every scene and line within this film serves a purpose. Each and every one of the seemingly pointless out of place moments within this movie builds the characters and setting of “Garden State.” Scenes of a drugged party moving past quickly and in a blur exactly as it should prove the exceptional cinematography. With a Shins song that will “change your life,” and Frou Frou’s “Let Go” used to the best degree possible, this is one movie where the soundtrack adds exactly what it needs and creates the precise mood for each scene.

Zach Braff’s job at writing and directing is inspirational. Loosely biographical, this movie succeeds in exhibiting beautiful analogies, metaphors and life-lessons without being at all preachy. This isn’t your typical Hollywood flick, but a deeper, more real contraption geared solely by Braff.

It isn’t a movie to see on a whim, because it requires more thought than that. Smart and insightful, this is a film centred on living life to the fullest, drawing in its audience with a quirky delightful humour. “Garden State” is a movie about feeling something, and by its end, you will be.

Re-reading it, it’s more of a fan-girling moment than a legitimate review, but it was nice to come across again all the same.

By Maegan | Posted in Review | Tagged Garden State, Movies, Natalie Portman, Zach Braff | Comments (0)

An affinity for black

20/02/13 – 2:10 PM

POLYVORE//HONOR FALL’11//UNKNOWN//AUTUMN DE WILDE FOR RODARTE//UO ’10//THE ROW ’07

My first Polyvore collage ever, accompanied by images of more pretty things, and the video from The Row that I’m still in love with six years later. Remember when Urban Outfitters did really beautiful catalogues? It’s like my style is perpetually at least two years behind.

By Maegan | Posted in Fashion | Tagged Autumn de Wilde, Honor, Inspiration, polyvore, Rodarte, style, Urban Outfitters | Comments (0)

Feminism, Part 1: Girly Girls

17/02/13 – 11:13 AM

Early last month, Slate posted an article entitled, “In Defense of Zooey Deschanel” after the actress was criticized for wanting to be a girly girl with feminist beliefs. In an interview with Glamour Magazine last month, she remarked, “I want to be a fucking feminist and wear a fucking Peter Pan collar.” Same here, Zooey, same here.

The idea of being a girly girl has often been reduced to a sign of weakness. As someone who has an affinity for wearing skirts and dresses, this definitely resonates with me. This, essentially:

“Here’s the thing about being a girlie girl. I think there was a generation before us that felt like they needed to act like men to be taken seriously, like they had to use their sexuality to take control of people. I don’t judge people for that. But I don’t want to take all my clothes off and use myself as an object. It’s part of the machine and I don’t think that necessarily pushes us forward as women. I think you can still be girlie and maintain your power. The fact that you associate being girlie with being non-threatening, that is I mean, I can’t think of more blatant example of playing into exactly the thing that we’re trying to fight against. I can’t be girlie? Why do I need to be defined aesthetically by someone else’s perceptions of what makes me seem like someone who should be taken seriously? I’m going to wear whatever I want to wear, because I’m expressing myself, and I deserve that right. And I like the way that looks. You’re not demeaning yourself by acting girlie. I think the fact that people are associating being girlie with weakness, that needs to be examined. Not me dressing girlie. I don’t think that undermines my power at all.” – Zooey Deschanel, New York Magazine

There is a new wave of “feminism” happening recently, and I think it’s been agreed on my many that it’s in part thanks to people like Lena Dunham and yes, even Zooey Deschanel. They have been spearheading a strong female presence in entertainment in a way that isn’t reduced to manic pixie dream girls and damsels in distress (although Hannah of Girls is often distressed, but more on her another time). Since her role in (500) Days of Summer, Zooey Deschanel has starred in New Girl, and although her character is really cutesy, the show challenges not only the MPDG trope, but the idea that feminists and females in general have to “be” a certain way.

Many episodes of the show have proved that New Girl isn’t just about a cute girl living with boys, but rather, about breaking the stereotype of women being one-dimensional. Having guest stars on the show like Parker Posey and Lizzie Caplan (who Deschanel is often compared to for being similarly MPDG-like) is a way of showing just how different the women actually are. The show’s title says it all — it’s about introducing a new kind of girl to entertainment, a multi-dimensional one.

By Maegan | Posted in Babble | Tagged Feminism, Manic Pixie Dream Girl, New Girl, Zooey Deschanel | Comments (0)

Thoughts on Girls, Season 2

Room

Good luck exploring your infinite abyss.

An affinity for black

Feminism, Part 1: Girly Girls

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