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What is the last Television series you watched?


Jay

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Ofcourse we dont. But it's a similar issue.

In movies, TV, media etc people who belong to minority groups, so are NOT white or NOT straight tend to be defined more by that fact then anything else. Even by those minorities themselves.

I follow George Takei on FB, and most of the stuff he talks about that is not Star Trek/sci-fi related is related to (his) homosexuality. And thats fine, it's his right and often informative or funny. But there is more to the man.

Like a black person is more then just a black person, a transexual is more then just someone who's undergone a gender change.

How many movies are there which feature gay people, but do not make that the main focus of the movie?

The Help defines it's black characters mostly as being black, so did The Butler.

It's dull, obvious and too easy.

Okay, I see more where you're coming from and agree to an extent. The reason behind what you're saying though is that these types of socio-political issues are very much prevalent today, and most likely will be for a long time. Therefore media interpretations of these issues and events serve as a means to bring awareness or to act as protest as opposed to telling a story with detailed characters.

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How many movies are there which feature gay people, but do not make that the main focus of the movie?

Yeah, I fully agree with that complaint. It's rare to see a significant character in a film or TV programme who happens to be gay, as an incidental or secondary conideration, though hopefully becoming less rare.

In defense of Brokeback Mountain, though, I think that there are lots of films (good ones as well as bad) which focus only on a narrow aspect of their characters' lives. Is it detrimental to the films in question that we don't get to see Woodward and Bernstein out on the pull, or what Joel Barish gets up to at work,or Juror #8's family life, or what event in his childhood made Jaws such an irritable two-tone git?

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What I think Steef is talking about is how such films rely solely on the "issue" itself for its success rather than creating a film that has merit independent of that said "issue".

For me, when it comes to films about social issues like racism, or homophobia, the great ones are films that have a strong narrative/character core which acts as a device through which light is shed on the "issue". What I mean is that if you have a film about prejudice against African Americans, and if you were able to take away or forget the fact that its about African Americans, then you still have a great movie, one that can stand on its own feet regardless of the "issue".

I'm not sure I can speak for Brokeback Mountain, because its been a while since I've seen it. But one recent comparison you can draw is that between 12 Years a Slave and The Butler. Both films are about racism against African Americans. The former though, is more a look at a gripping tale of a single man who was stripped of everything he once had. Yes, the narrative uses black people and slavery for context, but the film is a much more intimate project, and all the more frightening. The Butler on the other hand, is all about the "issue". Done with little subtlety, it's carried by good performances, but tries to portray the issue too heavy-handedly. The movie isn't so much about the Butler as it is about the black people. And as Steef said, despite its good intentions, its the easy way out.

We've seen these issues on screen again and again in so many forms, so when a filmmaker decides to take on a subject matter like that, I prefer them to try something new about it. Racism is a simple concept, there's only so much manipulation you can do. So don't make a movie about racism. Make a movie about characters, about a story, and use those elements to tell the audience why racism (or other matters of social injustice) is wrong.

Hope that made some sense.

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But one recent comparison you can draw is that between 12 Years a Slave and The Butler. Both films are about racism against African Americans. The former though, is more a look at a gripping tale of a single man who was stripped of everything he once had. Yes, the narrative uses black people and slavery for context, but the film is a much more intimate project, and all the more frightening.

I found SLAVE a very good movie but honestly, on that very point i find it just as 'comfortable L. A. liberal'-conceived as...THE BUTLER i have not seen...so let's just say like those Oscar movies usually are. The movie tries hard for picturesque authenticity and then to clobber you over the head with the injustice of the period so for a true 100% i found it too grand and not intimate enough.

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That scene is the best thing I've seen on TV since Breaking Bad ended. That show is something special; it just sinks its teeth into you.

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I'd never heard of this "True Detective" till right now, and whilst I won't watch that clip (and spoil it), the thumbnail grabbed my attention somehow and so I Googled the show's description and see it's an overarching drama/thriller and is very highly rated. Sounds most interesting and so I'm gonna watch it tonight, cheers Koray.

However, that so-called "best scene in tv history" (as it's being touted to be around the interweb) will have to be extremely special to pack a punch more powerful than The Red Wedding ;)

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Anyone ever watch True Detective?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_HuFuKiq8U

No, but according to a friend of mine, it's really good. It's got Matthew 'Oscar' McConaughey but the word "detective" scares me, though. OTOH, it's HBO so that probably means it's something quite different from the ordinary detective show.

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Saw the pilot of Arrow last night. I'll catch up over the next few weeks. Good show but I'm more interested in the Flash spinoff. The original Flash John Wesley Shipp is supposed to be in the cast.

If you can't be Superman then the Flash is the next best thing.

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New Girl 3x13 Birthday

A lackluster episode saved by the sweet video at the end, especially the inclusion of Tran and Outside Dave. Show needs to get more wacky again. And why in the world would CeCe be so nice to Schmidt - only in sitcoms!

Brooklyn 99 1x14 The Ebony Falcon

Terry and Gina are 2 of my favorite characters so it was nice to get an episode focusing on them (even though their stories were unconnected). Pretty funny through and through.

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But one recent comparison you can draw is that between 12 Years a Slave and The Butler. Both films are about racism against African Americans. The former though, is more a look at a gripping tale of a single man who was stripped of everything he once had. Yes, the narrative uses black people and slavery for context, but the film is a much more intimate project, and all the more frightening.

I found SLAVE a very good movie but honestly, on that very point i find it just as 'comfortable L. A. liberal'-conceived as...THE BUTLER i have not seen...so let's just say like those Oscar movies usually are. The movie tries hard for picturesque authenticity and then to clobber you over the head with the injustice of the period so for a true 100% i found it too grand and not intimate enough.

Eh, I found The Butler overrated. It tended to sensationalize and add on events that deviated from the actual butler's story. Dramatic licence is one thing ('inspired by' rather than 'based on the book'), but completely another when the fictional events overshadow what the man actually did. Lee Daniels and Danny Strong missed the point about Cecil Gaines completely.

And the numerous cameos were more along the lines of "Hey, there's such and such!" The film itself is a missed opportunity, because it has so much going for it otherwise.

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Claire watched the first two episodes of Agents of Shield and quite enjoyed it, enough to continue on with it I think. It looks a bit vanilla for me though.

Shield is much better at mid season. Stay with it. It's improved by leaps and bounds.

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I hate the fact that the whole season is available at once. The show is so addictive, its hard to resist the temptation to watch it all at once.

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I actually just started watching season one of House of Cards. Didn't realize the second season just became available. I'm 4 episodes in and enjoying the hell out of it. I've had Netflix since last year (got it for Arrested Development). Weird that it took me so long to get around to this show.

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It's a good show. Fincher's direction in the first two episodes sets a good visual and pacing tone for the rest of the season, and the writing gets better as the season goes on. Consistent good acting too.

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House of Cards (Season 2) Episode 1 - Chapter 14

Wow. I did not see that coming.

Yeah, that was my response. I was sure they were going to cut away and reveal it was a dream sequence or something, but it just kept going.

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I watched a show called the Shambling Departed which doesn't have it's own dedicated thread. It was not as good as the previous weeks episode because it had more to tell. On to episode 3.

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I should be several episodes into the third series of Game of Thrones (which does have its own dedicated thread but which I'm avoiding for the present), as it came out on DVD yesterday. To my exasperation, none of the local DVD stores have received it yet.

In Belfast, too, to add insult to injury.

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Good idea to avoid the thread until you are caught up on aired episodes :)

That's a bummer you can't find the DVD set in stores, but why not just order it on Amazon?

It's only $25 right now on Amazon US:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00C8CQRQ4

I dunno what the shipping/import fees would be for you but surely it's cheap in your local Amazon store too?

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Yeah, it's £25 on Amazon UK at the moment, which would probably make it slightly cheaper than in stores even when the delivery charge (a couple of pounds) is added. It's just that, until now, I've ordinarily found it easy enough to call in and buy things (at least major titles or new releases) when I feel like it. I guess those times are passing...


They said it should be in by today, or by tomorrow at the latest, so I'll give them another go shortly.

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The nice thing about buying things on Amazon is you get it dropped off on your doorstep the day it comes out. Never have to wait.

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Girls 3x04 Dead Inside
Girls 3x05 Only Child
*Yawn*

Unly worthwile moments were any scene with Shoshanna. The rest is completely forgettable.

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2 Broke Girls 3x15 And the Icing on the Cake


Yikes! Almost everyone in this episode was completely out of character. Max may give Han a hard time, but she's NEVER be as outright RUDE to him as she is in the teaser. Nor would she, I think, fall in love with a boy so easily. And all of a sudden he's rich? It was like a bizarro world episode.


Brooklyn 99 1x15 Operation: Broken Feather


Wow, it's clear this was beefed up to be a post-Super-Bowl ep. Marked the return of just about every cameo from the first batch of episodes to turn them all into recurring characters, and added Adam Sandler to the mix as well. It all somehow works, due to the strength of the entire cast as always. The B story with Hoyt and Terry trying to up the effeciency of the office was funnier than the A story of Jake and Amy investigating the hotel robberies.


New Girl 3x14 Prince


Just like on the 2 Broke Girls mentioned above, Jess and Nick are in the I Love You phase as well now, and both start with one character accidentally blurting it out when the other wasn't expecting it. That plot worked way better on 2 Broke Girls than it did here, with the entire story of them all being at a party at Prince's house being a very obvious "Hey look, we're a post-Super-Bowl episode!" gimmick. And again, why the hell is Cece being so nice to Schmidt after he was such a dickhead to her, I'll never understand. Best part of the episode was Coach and Winston's Fire and Ice routine.


Modern Family 5x13 Three Dinners


Any episode without Luke and Alex is bound to not be a favorite of mine, and sure enough this proves the case. The story with Mitch and Cam and Jay and Gloria were largely forgettable, apart from the return of Shorty, whom I barely even remembered anyway (and I doubt we'll see any permanent character change in Jay). The Hayley storyline was the best and funniest, with Brian the waiter bringing the comedy along with Phil. Claire got movie-drunk too quickly and Hayley's blog/website came out of nowhere and is not something I think Phil and Claire would approve of so quickly. Also how is she 21 already, didn't she just graduate High School at the end of season 3?

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Girls 3x06 Free Snacks

Ah, now that’s more like it. Some really funny moments this week, mostly from Shoshanna and her new boyfriend, and Marnie and Ray. Don’t really feel bad for Hannah and her new GQ job. Like her new coworkers though, and the lack of Adam this week.

House of Cards 2x01 Chapter 14

Woah, didn’t see that coming!

I mean, thinking back, I suppose the scene with the rib guy, with the discussion about the illegal butcher technique completely foreshadows it, but I guess I thought it would lead to the waitress’s fate, not Zoe’s. I mean, I also considered her basically the second main character of the show after Frances, figuring maybe in the end of the show’s run she’d come out on top, totally exposing him. Was very shocked by her death (she was pretty dumb to follow him down that hallway, and how lucky was he a train came at just the right time?)

Good to have the show back. Was nice checking in with all the characters, like nothing skipped a beat at all.

Loved the ending - I didn’t even notice that Frank hadn’t talked to the camera at all until the very end. Liked the closeup of the FU cuffs too :)

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I finished the season last night (had no school this week), it was a great season, better than the last I believe. Not perfect, but its just so nice seeing all these characters, including good ol' Kevin Spacey. As shocking as that first episode was, by the end of the season you feel like you've been through so much more.

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Mindy Project 2x13 L.A.


Bah, boring ex drama. Not really a fan of Cliff and was never a fan of Casey, so this was all kinda meh. Danny in the old west was funny, and Peter with Maria Menounous.


The Neighbors 2x14 Man, Actually


The fact that male Zabvronians have a yearly menstrual cycle is kinda funny (but wouldn’t the Weaver’s have noticed last season?). And where is Reggie’s Zabvronian soul mate, shouldn’t she have been immediately aware him and Amber broke up? I liked Reggie’s song, despite the cliched sitcom moment with Amber leaving before the reveal at the end.


Brooklyn 99 1x16 The Party


We finally get to meet Hoyt’s husband! And it’s….The Fonz’s lawyer from Parks and Recreation? Interesting choice. I guess it was expected he’d be a complete opposite of Hoyt, so making him similarly cold and robotic was a nice surprise. Terry telling the gang how to act at an adult party was funny, and the men studying Gina was great too.

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Black Mirror 1x01 The National Anthem

WTF? That was just gross. Please tell me this is the worst episode of the series, and the next 5 are all better?

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Black Mirror 1x01 The National Anthem

WTF? That was just gross. Please tell me this is the worst episode of the series, and the next 5 are all better?

That is the best one! They're all very good apart from the daft synthetic reincarnation one. Great series which I need to buy.

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The pig fucking episode was the best one? Seriously? I thought it was stupid.

Maybe you have to be a Brit to get it?

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Black Mirror 1x01 The National Anthem

WTF? That was just gross. Please tell me this is the worst episode of the series, and the next 5 are all better?

That is the best one! They're all very good apart from the daft synthetic reincarnation one. Great series which I need to buy.

I couldn't agree more man, an incredible episode and by far the best, even quite touching at times.

Might have been nice to put that as a spoiler Jason.

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