The Keepers

Thanks to Morgan’s captivating post, this week I watched The Keepers. Her blog post last week really sparked my interest so I decided to watch it as well. The Keepers is a Docu-series about the murder of a young Catholic nun Cathy Cesnik. She was a high school teacher at the local public school, and had many positive relationships with her students. 

The series follows two of Cathy’s former students, Gemma Hoskins and Abbie Fitzgerald. Another one of the main characters if Tom Nugent, who has basically devoted his entire life to the murder of Cathy. He is shown in his attic, that is full of old newspaper clips of the murder, and reads many of them. Her murder took place in 1969, so these women are now getting into their late sixties. She was murdered during their senior year of high school, and the ladies have since then made it their life to figure out who murdered Cathy Cesnik. There are multiple different interview of her students that described how much they admired her and could relate to her so much because she really wasn’t that much older then them. In the first episode, there are many different interviews with former students, reporters, former colleagues, and police officers.

The overall feel of the documentary is very uncomfortable and strange. During the entire first episode I kept asking myself is this a true story? For the life of me, I couldn’t figure it out. The people in the documentary seem so real. Their houses are all just normal and ordinary, and the cars they drive are nothing special. The interviews of the different people are some wholesome and realistic that it gives you a sense that it’s really real. The camera angles were somewhat fuzzy. It really feels like you are watching more of an amateur documentary. You see inside into these very average and regular looking homes of these people. During the interviews the actors would make side comments like you would in real life, about how it’s difficult to get into Facebook. I found it very confusing and honestly kind of frustrating throughout the entire first episode. This forced me to immediately google whether or not this was a real story. Unfortunately, the people in the series are actors, but the story is based on real events.





I can really appreciate the amount of reality that has been put into this documentary. It loved that they made this feel so real. This feels as if it should be a dateline episode that is played on a Friday night. This is a show that I am excited to binge-watch for the next 48 hours.

F is for Family

When you want an animated comedy set in the 1970’s, F is for Family is for you. If you want something that is wholesome, this is not the show for you. In this show, the main family it is set on is the Murphy family. In the first episode titled “The Bleedin’ in Sweden”, Frank, the father of the Murphy family, tries to have his friends over to watch a fight. A new neighbor also invites them over to watch the fight on his new television which is bigger than Frank’s. In an attempt to keep his friend from going to the neighbor’s house, he promises to buy a bigger television. In doing so he makes an impulse buy and does not want the family to touch it. This causes a big disruption in the family dynamic. His son, Bill, while doing a school project sticks a magnet to the back of the television and ruins it. This infuriates Frank, because he thinks it was the stores fault. In an attempt to fix his mistake in an awful way, Bill destroys all the other televisions in the store with his magnet so his father can get a refund. This episode, being the first episode, lays out the family dynamic along with the personalities of the characters going forward in the series. The traits we can see from Frank are impulsive, needs attention, and easily infuriated. This episode really showed his stubborn personality in his long and embarrassing attempt to get a refund. His wife, Sue, is the level headed one of the family and she was embarrassed by her husband’s actions in the television store. Bill Murphy is a kid who frequently get bullied and is shy. We can see the shyness come in when he does not want to stand up to the rage of his father and confess that the television incident was his fault. Maureen, Frank’s daughter, is an intelligent girl who uses her intelligence to manipulate, which lead to very destructive behavior. The final member of the Murphy family, Kevin, is a delinquent who likes rock music. Even though he may be a delinquent at times, he still has a soft spot for his parents and a desire to better himself. The antagonist to Frank is his new neighbor, the Swede, Vic. Vic lives a very playboy style life with his wealth and womanizing tendencies. He is what Frank wants to be like him even though he knows he could not live his lifestyle. This was the main cause for problem in this episode. In the episode, Vic shows off his womanizing skill and also his wealth. You can see his wealth in the difference in his house from the rest of the neighborhood. The womanizing skills can be seen when Frank says that Vic is watching the fight alone and the we see into Vic’s living room with Vic’s back pointing toward us, on the couch, when two girls heads pop up with the insinuation of some sexual act going on.
“The Bleedin' in Sweden.” F Is for Family, created by Bill Burr, and Michael Price, season 1, Netflix, 18 Dec. 2015.

A Good Laugh

You seem like the person that enjoys watching comedy. Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee is something I think you would get a kick out of. I like the show because of its laid-back feel and that the episodes aren’t connected in the sense that it’s one ongoing story. Each episode has its own plot in itself featuring a new comedian each time. While I have my shows that are an ongoing plot, it’s nice to have a show that you can watch and not have to get deeper into the story that is unfolding each time you tune in. If you need a good, light-hearted laugh, Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee is a good show to watch. 

Jerry Seinfeld picks a car for each episode and calls up a fellow comedian to go get coffee. As the car is always a conversation in itself, a few I have seen Jerry drive in the episodes I’ve watched are a ‘76 Ford Station Wagon, at his guest, Sarah Jessica Parker’s request, which Jerry was not happy about driving, ‘76 Lamborghini Countach, ‘56 Corvette Convertible, and also a ‘70 Mercedes 280 SL. Jerry and his guest talk about their careers, where they group up, and other things that come up in conversation. They usually dress casual, too, which helps add to the overall feeling of a laid-back show. Jerry usually wears jeans and his black and blue Nike Shocks, which I find funny. He could wear any shoes he wanted and he always chooses his Nike Shocks, he must really like those shoes.

The show feels very laid back to me because of its camera angles and how it's not a scripted show. I’m sure they talk before filming and actually going to get coffee, but I feel like with the comedians, they go off script and just kind of do what they want. An example is when Jerry and Sarah Jessica Parker didn’t anticipate the drive to the coffee shop to take so long and Jerry wanted coffee and was hungry. They came upon a Starbucks and they jumped out to go get some coffee for Jerry. Things like that make it feel less scripted. It’s camera angles are coming from the car in front of them that has a camera hanging out of the back, a small camera propped up in the windshield while they’re driving, and other cameras that are in the cars following and in the restaurants they go to. They aren’t always the most steady camera shots like you would see in a scripted, Hollywood movie, but I think it helps set the tone and mood of the show. It makes it feel more real as if you were there in the car cruising along a bumpy road with Jerry. 

I think you would enjoy this show because of the feeling that you are there in the coffee shop with Jerry and his guest. Also because it seems like a naturally flowing script and the laughs that the two comedians share are natural, nothing seems to be forced. In one episode with Stephen Colbert, Jerry and him see how long they can go without having conversation, which isn’t long, because each time Jerry or Stephen seem to start to say something, interrupting their “lull” as they call it in the episode. We should get together to watch this show sometime. I think we would both enjoy it.

More Rom than Com

Hey Brooke,

So you know this class I keep talking about, the one with watching Netflix for homework. You get to be part of it now! Yay! So this week I watched the Netflix original rom com When we First Met. Not going to lie, it was kind of disappointing. The premise from the trailer shows the main character Noah, played by Adam Devine, going back in time with multiple attempts to try to escape the friend zone with his best friend Avery, played by Alexandra Daddario. There are a few kinks thrown into the plot, most notable the ending, but overall that is about all this movie has to offer. My problems with the movie largely stem from its lack of comedy and, to some degree, the level of predictability.

Now I know you are not a fan of rom coms, in the slightest, even after my pressuring. You would hate this movie, though. This stems from the lack of meaningful comedy (rom coms only redeeming factor in your eyes). While there are a few moments in the film where Adam Devine’s signature comedic style breaks through, overall the writers missed the mark entirely. One scene in particular where this sticks out to me is a scene where Noah has, Avery’s fiance from the original timeline, Ethan in his car. In this car Ethan reveals information to Noah that he predicted, and therefore slammed on the break causing Ethan to bang his head into the seat in front of him. This was supposed to be funny, but instead just seemed sad and made me feel bad for Ethan. These scenes are common in the movie, but are accompanied by scenes that just make one cringe. One such scene being the cliche, “Wow, am I really in the past? Let me ask everyone and seem crazy!” often found in movies about time travel. As you know, I don’t find these funny and the mixture of these two types of comedy made me question if this was even a rom com or just a rom.

The other critique I had of this movie was the predictability. Since you have watched movies with me, you know that I often shout out my predictions or thoughts on the movie while watching, and if you had been with me during this movie I most likely would have predicted a good portion of the movie (I do exclude about the last 20 minutes from this statement). This stems from the movie cliches of time travel, which, surprise, give Noah unintended consequences in each of his trips back in time. I enjoy when my predictions come true often, but in this movie it was so often I lost interest; I do like a little diversity.

Overall I was not impressed by the writing of this movie. The comedy was not funny and did not connect, and the plot proved to be predictable and cliche. I rate the movie about a 6/10 not great, a decent time killer if not just for the more interesting plot points and characters, and a movie you would hate to watch. That being said I might make you watch it for your response… Sorry, not sorry!

Thoughts on Setting and Snoop

In the Netflix Original Coach Snoop, famous rapper Snoop Dogg coaches a youth football league for kids in underprivileged areas. He says in the beginning of the sports docuseries how he wants to be a mentor, and almost a father figure to struggling kids with single parents or kids that isolate themselves and end up with the wrong crowd. A little further into the first episode, Snoop says the reason he takes the league to out of state games is to show the players how much bigger the world is than their four blocks.
The episode opens with a black and white flashback scene from Snoop’s past run in with a drive by shooting. We can see dilapidated floor boards on the porch, worn fences, and front and center- a gun. So it’s a bad part of town. But we can see that these are all just kids being shot at and having to decide to shoot back. This is not the environment they should be in, or anyone for that matter, and that is the basis for Snoop’s Youth Football League (SYFL). 
 From there on,  it can be immediately seen how important the different settings are going to be. There are close-up scenes of dirty shoes laying in the road and slow motion shots over graffiti, all with Snoop’s voice overlayed talking about the life he wants to keep kids away from. So it can be inferred these signs are more than just a sign of uncleanliness, rather symbols for a life lived among drugs, dealing, and gangs. But when they travel out of state, like to Seattle in the first episode, we see those same close-ups and slow motions over city lights and clean, modern skyscrapers. These scenes are suppose to symbolize how important it is for at-risk kids to make it out of their poor environments and towards a more successful life.
While we can see stark differences when the team is playing in the bad parts of LA versus the uptown part of Seattle, the one place where setting is ambiguous is on the field. For every scene that is focused solely on the player’s point of view from the field, not including the stands, it is impossible to tell what state they are in. And for someone analyzing the show as a whole, that fact gets Snoop’s message across more than anything. It doesn’t matter where the kids are at, as long as they aren’t on the streets running drugs at the time being and have a hope to make it out of there one day. 
Without the strong emphasis on setting in this docuseries, the message wouldn’t have the same effect. Just simply stating that you don’t want the kids in your community on the streets isn’t enough. You have to see the streets and see the behavior that the area enables, and then see what the better alternative is. Children should not ever be placed a situation that would require a gun at any moment, and once you see that with your own eyes you can further appreciate the effort to turn that around. 

A Date With Jerry and Will

Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee is a Netflix Original where Jerry Seinfeld picks various comedians up and talks about anything and everything while driving around in a super stylish vehicle. In this particular episode, “Will Ferrell: Mr. Ferrell, For the Last Time, We’re Going To Ask You To Put The Cigar Out”, Jerry Seinfeld takes Will Ferrell adventuring in California in a blue 1970 Plymouth Road Runner Superbird. All I can say about the car is it was five feet off the ground and was blue.

After Jerry talked on the phone with Will for a while he went and picked him up in none other than a park. They sat and swinged for a few minutes before they hit the road in the Road Runner Superbird. In the car, Jerry and Will have numerous laid back conversations. Will explains that although he stars in numerous movies, he does not frequently watch other popular movies. Jerry thought this was odd and rambled off numerous movie titles to which Will responded ‘no’ every time. This fun banter went on for a while before the ended up at a cafe for coffee.

While dining at the cafe, Will and Jerry talk about anything and everything from losing weight to Will’s first audition tape. Will talks about how he goes to the gym and ends up gaining weight and Jerry gets a kick out of it. He then shifts the conversation to his first audition tape which was only him imitating a cat playing with toys in a dead silent room. Jerry goes on to talk about how he’s always wanted to give someone a gift of a cat in a box; a perfect present if you ask me. While at the table Will talks about his feline behavior knowledge and gives examples for Jerry. Their conversations are very fun and light-hearted and go on for a while. After coffee, they order Baklava and talk about Greece for a while. They made various jokes about Greece’s economy and made connections to the cafe they were in.

As the episode draws to a close they head back to the car to finalize their adventure. They have a short conversation about Will’s new movie and how Will won’t attend focus groups for any of his movies. Acting like someone in a focus group, Jerry gives the interview with Will a 0/10, while Will rounds it up to a 1/10.

Although Jerry only have Will a 0/10, I would give it a solid 10/10. I was entertained throughout the whole episode and I was laughing at almost everything that was being said. In the end, I will probably end up watching more episodes of Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, hoping they will be 10/10 as well.

The Nun's Murder

Dear Olivia,
I found a documentary on Netflix that I feel you would enjoy watching. It is called The Keepers. I started the series because I like murder mysteries. I only intended on watching an episode or two, but like every other series I’ve started, I had to finish it. As I was watching The Keepers, I thought of you, Olivia. Not only does the story of Nun Cathy Cesnik involve murder, but it also involves sexual abuse allegations. Now I know you deal with sexually based offenses in the Special Victims Unit, so I thought this might interest you. The Keepers is about two former students of Nun Catherine Ann Cesnik, who taught at a public Catholic high school in the 1960s. The murder occurred in Baltimore, Maryland. Cesnik was murdered in 1969, but to this day it remains a mystery as to who killed her. The two former students, Gemma and Abbie, decided to make a documentary on their journey of investigating the murder of their beloved teacher. What they didn’t realize was that there is so much more to Cesnik’s story than they ever knew. As they begin to dig deeper into what happened that night in 1969, they uncover more than they bargained for.

As Abbie and Gemma begin their digging into Cesnik’s story, they discover that the priest, Joseph Maskell, who was working as a chaplain at Keough High School at the time of Cesnik’s murder and also while Abbie and Gemma attended there, has sexual abuse allegations against him. Every time an allegation was brought against him, it would mysteriously fall flat. Abbie and Gemma were never abused and they had no idea that it was happening to their very own classmates. The show digs deep into a few of the women’s abuse stories, and especially one, Jane Doe. Jane Doe came forward in 1992 after she began to remember things that happened during her high school years at Keough. She has something called repressed memories, where she buried those memories of sexual abuse from Maskell, and come to find out, a few other men in her town, because they were traumatizing and she needed to be able to put that behind her as she began her life. Eventually, we find out that Jane Doe’s name is Jean Wehner. When she came out with the allegations against Maskell in 1992, she was afraid for her safety, so she was published in the newspaper articles and news stories anonymously as Jane Doe.

Something else I wanted to mention to you is about the sexual abuse victims in the story. Since you deal with victims of that nature almost on a daily basis, I wasn’t sure if you were able to see how those abuses affect the rest of the victim’s lives. In The Keepers, we get to see victims talk about their experiences from fifty years ago and how they pushed it aside to be able to move on with their lives. I’m not sure if you have much experience with how sexual abuse affects the lives of the victims long-term or not, so I think this series would be a good watch for you. One thing that is mentioned by Jane Doe, I believe, is that many of the victims battled addictions throughout their lives and I think she even said there have been classmates and others she attended Keough with who committed or attempted suicide, as they couldn’t handle those memories of abuse any longer. Jane Doe mentioned that there could have been so many more lives saved if the victims would have come together and brought each of their stories of abuse to the public and the police sooner, but at the time, Maskell had them scared for their lives.

As I don’t want to spoil the series for you, I’m not going to tell you too much about what Abbie and Gemma find out as they dig into Cesnik’s story. Many of the suspects in the mystery are dead, as this happened 49 years ago. So since it wasn’t solved almost fifty years ago when it occurred, it is now a cold case and is much more difficult to solve as so much time has passed. Something that doesn’t help with solving it is that so many documents from the case have mysteriously disappeared and the Baltimore County police department nor the Archdiocese of Baltimore have much of an explanation for. There have been so many improvements in the technology used in solving crimes since the sixties, so if it were to take place now, I feel that with DNA testing and fingerprinting technology, it would be easier to find the killer(s).

Let me know what you think,
Morgan

The World's End

The End of the Fucking World is a story of two rebellious teens who decide to run away from home in order to escape their boring and unfortunate lives. James, who considers himself to be a psychopath, enjoys killing animals, but wants to expand his killing to something much bigger; a human. In particular, he wants to kill Alyssa, which is why he agrees to run away with her in the hopes that he will have the opportunity to kill her. The two develop an unusual relationship after some misadventure.

The cynical style of this show is what kept me watching persistently. While the characters initially appear to be unemotional, bleak, and to deviate from society, the show itself is actually exceedingly emotional. The bond that the teens form is completely riveting due to their circumstances and strangely similar personalities, even though Alyssa seems much more complex than James. They both have a distrust for authority figures and are extremely impulsive. As the show goes on, though, many unexpected narrative turns happen, and the teens sensitivity becomes more prevalent.

One of the most compelling things about this series is how unique it is in many different ways. I have never seen a directing style like the one in The End of the Fucking World. The graphic and disturbing visuals portrayed through different camera angles and James’ killing fantasies are unusually interesting. The title that appears at the beginning of every episode is oddly comedic looking. Also, every episode starts with the ending scene of that episode, therefore they rewind from that point. I think this creates more curiosity among viewers because they want to know what happened in order to get to that point. The perspectives and thoughts of both characters are understood through their own voice-overs. I find this intriguing because there are not many shows in which viewers can this kind of insight into a character’s mind, let alone multiple characters. The soundtrack throughout this series also adds to its peculiarity because the songs tend to convey a lot of feelings that are not voiced but can be interpreted through the music.

This show would be appropriate for anyone who struggles when watching shows that are extremely complex or difficult to understand. Because this series is so straight-forward, it is pretty simple to grasp. The End of the Fucking World keeps its viewers entertained with fast paced episodes and making the storyline easy to follow. Viewers are also able to binge watch this series easily due to the short length of its episodes. While the underlying meanings of this show require some thought, the plot is understandable and concise. It also is a great watch for those feel as though they don’t fit in or may be considered weird because the two main characters are outcasts among their peers. I would recommend watching the entire series all in one sitting because it somewhat resembles a movie and should be watched as such.

The Torments of Fame

This week, my blog post is on a new Netflix Original, A Futile and Stupid Gesture. This is a story about how two Harvard graduates created the National Lampoon Magazine and the iconic movies: Animal House and Caddyshack. Though it is about both co-founders, it mostly follows Doug Kenny. They go through many different tribulations during the creation of the magazine, from their first employee firings, conflicting interests, SNL, drug abuse, outside relationships, and too much success. The biggest challenge that Doug personally faces is that he is caught cheating on his wife with his secretary. The stress becomes to much for him so he takes a three month break with the magazine, leaving his co-founder and best friend Henry to deal with everything involved with the magazine. Something good does come out of his little hiatus though. The most popular rendition of the Lampoon, The High School Year Book. But, with all good things that happen in this story, a bad follows. Right after the issues sold its millionth copy, Henry quit the Lampoon.

Along with the occasional problem, there is also a constant, Doug’s parents. They have no respect for his work and never have given him any of the respect that he deserved after his older brother died of kidney failure. He even begins trying to buy their respect with a house and a car. Even after creating Animal House, the most influential and most popular comedy movie ever made, their respect still did come.

A Futile and Stupid Gesture is all about what success can do to you if you are overtaken by it. In the conclusion of the film, Doug is stressed about the creation of Caddyshack and his relation with his current girlfriend Kathryn. (This is public knowledge so I do not see it as a spoiler to the end of the film) Doug Kenny tragically committed suicide because of all of the stress he was enduring, and at his funeral the was a food fight in his memory.

Could Bill Nye Save the World?

Bill Nye has been a part of every kids' childhood due to his show Bill Nye the Science Guy. He would do experiments and helped to make learning about science fun for kids. Well, now Bill is back and better than ever by taking on all the real world problems we are dealing with today. He tackles the most controversial issues of genetically modified foods, marijuana, and sex. He also, however takes on fun issues like space travel, time travel, and even the possibility of life on other planets. Throughout the episodes he does little things to keep your attention. At the beginning he will usually do a science experiment to explain what subject he is looking into. Then throughout the show he will do interviews, panel discussion, and give a visual of what he is explaining.

In the episode, "The Original Martian Invasion" Bill explores the potential of life on other planets and how life on Earth began. We get an inside look into the Mars 2020 mission that NASA is currently working on. They are creating new rovers with the goal of drilling into the surface to try to discover if Mars has current life or had ancient life. They are doing what they have never done before, they are going to take samples and return them to Earth, which has never been done before. We get to look at these new rovers and a NASA scientist explains the goals and what they hope to accomplish. The scientist says that he believes that Mars could have had past life and that these next missions will hopefully confirm that.

Bill then sits down with a panel of Will Wheaton, of Star Trek, Hakeem Oluseyi, of Outrageous Acts of Science, and Moogrega Stricker, who is a Planetary Protection Lead for the Mars 2020 mission. They discuss whether they believe life exists on other planets and it gets pretty interesting. They all believe in the possibility of life existing but whether or not we will discover it in our lifetime. One of the cool things they talk about is the "blip" in time, Bill relates it with flashing Christmas lights. When one light blinks on another might be off, and so on. This relates to all the planets we have discovered. While Earth has life right now, blinks on, another planet might not have life yet, blinks off. This is where Moogregas job comes into play, her main focus is not disrupting life formation on other planets. She, and her team, set guidelines for what can/cannot happen on other planets so that life is not altered on other planets.

This is the perfect show for science lovers of all ages. If you grew up enjoying science, or science fiction, then this is the show for you. It gives a quick look into a scientific subject, but explains it easy enough for anyone to understand. It also gives a good base to start learning about the subject, because once you understand a little bit of the information, you can dive into your own research on it.

Disjointed

Disjointed is a Netflix original about a woman who seems to be perpetually stuck in the 70s, fighting against the power that is the government and setting up a little family business that sells “medical marijuana” to people. Each episode revolves around the employees’ escapades in dealing with the fact that they sell marijuana.


This show is definitely designed for people to watch who are under the influence, with really basic plots in each episode, trippy transitions, and a lot of weed. Though the plot is very basic, watching sober is also quite the trip. For example, in the episode, “Eve’s Bush”, the shop gets a complaint from all the other shops around it that people are using the product incorrectly and smoking in the parking lot, which discourages people from going to all of the other shops. One of the shop owners, Doug, comes to the shop and addresses to the marijuana shop owner, Ruth, that all of the shops are giving them a formal complaint. Ruth then proceeds to overdramatize the situation, due to Doug calling it a “formal” complaint rather than just a regular complaint. Ruth pretends to pass out on the floor, causing Doug to storm out of the shop and everyone laughing at him (“Eve’s Bush”). The show very much has its saving moments, where even sober it can be very funny. Ruth does many things like this throughout most of the show, and it gets a laugh every time.


Disjointed, though being geared toward a very specific audience, has a lot of charm and can make for some very good background noise when you are cooking, working on a project, or when smoking illegal substances. The show even uses a laugh track, which it is very self-aware with. There are sometimes where it is very appropriate, like an 80s sitcom, but then there are other times where the track places every three or four seconds. That was done very deliberately, with the intended audience in mind, but it still adds a lot to the show and how silly the premise is. If you are looking for a fun, lighthearted show bearing some similarities to the Hallmark channel in the storytelling department, Disjointed the one for you.


Works Cited:

“Disjointed.” Disjointed, created by David Javerbaum, and Chuck Lorre, Netflix
Javerbaum, David, and Chuck Lorre . “Eve's Bush.” Disjointed, season 1, episode 2, Netflix, 25 Aug. 2018.

In the Mind of a Killer

Marvel’s The Punisher is a dark and intriguing Netflix original. The plot follows the villain from Daredevil season 2, Frank Castle, 6 months after his final killing spree. In the first episode, “3AM,” Frank is having flashbacks of playing guitar with his daughter. Before the show takes place, Frank’s family, a wife and two children, were brutally murdered in the crossfire of a gang fight, as far as the viewer knows. He then made it his mission to exterminate all gangs in the city to avenge his family. His tragic history and violent actions create a brilliant base for a great show.

The most striking thing about The Punisher for a first-time watcher was the empathy felt for a man with such a violent history. Immediately after the murder of his family, Frank decided to go on a murder mission of his own. As the viewer should know, his actions were not those of a morally sound person. However, the show constantly dives into flashbacks of sweet memories of Castle’s family. Especially during sleep, Frank has visions of his late wife waking him up for breakfast and smiling down at him. The sun shines behind her and the frame is filled with muted pastel colors. After a few minutes, Frank, along with the viewer gets ripped out of the dream and back into the dark reality. The pained expression Frank shows is one of a kicked puppy. The pained expression Frank shows is one of a kicked puppy. Seeing such a rough man with extreme pain shocks the viewer.

Along with the pain, Frank’s coworkers constantly throw around derogatory names and insults. They believe he is mentally challenged and simply someone to torment without consequence. All of them snicker and tease him relentlessly day after day. They rudely comment about his odd work habits and shove his things around without the thought of hurting the man’s emotions. The camera switches back and forth from their piercing smirks and Frank’s blank face. Once the coworkers turn and walk away for the night, anger floods Castle’s eyes as he continues to work. Consequently, he snaps back to his old violent ways and kills the gang that put him down every day as they attempt to kill the new recruit. Though most people would not resort to violence to resolve that issue of unjust treatment, viewers of The Punisher can most likely empathize with the need to finally snap and retaliate against such oppressors.

Marvel Entertainment and Netflix created a new TV show that might turn subscribers away from the violence. The empathy they cause, however, is well worth the gory scenes. The emotions conveyed make The Punisher truly excellent.








Works Cited


“The Punisher.” created by Steve Lightfoot, season 1, episode 1, Netflix, 17 Nov. 2017.
“Daredevil.” Daredevil, created by Drew Goddard, Netflix, 2015.

The Crown

For this week’s blog post I chose to watch The Crown. This series is a biographical story of Queen Elizabeth II journey becoming Queen of England and follows until around the late 1990’s. I spent most of my week watching the first half of the first season. I am eager to finish out the rest of the series, as I feel like that I have learned so much about the royal family that I never knew from watching this series.

Queen Elizabeth’s father, King George IV, dies when she is just 25 years old. Newly married and with two young children, and not expecting to be in this position for at least twenty more years, she takes the crown as the new Queen of England. At the young age of 25 I can imagine that taking on this role would be beyond overwhelming. At the exact same time she is mourning the death of her beloved father on top of all of it. Obviously, she doesn’t seem absolutely thrilled about taking the crown. Her entire life will be forced to change, and her husband isn’t thrilled about any of it, which makes the transition even harder. She is forced to change her last name and Phillip throws a little bit of a temper tantrum saying, “You’ve taken my career from me, you’ve taken my home, and you’ve taken my name.” Part of me can empathize with Phillip, of course this is difficult situation that he is he is being brought into, but what did he expect? He married a royal and had to of known this was bound to happen someday. Most of these decisions are not in her control, she fought to keep her last name but got completely shot down. While watching the first season, I couldn’t help but root for Queen Elizabeth. She takes the crown 1952, when all women gained the right to vote in in the United Kingdom in 1928. Personally, I see her becoming Queen an even bigger step for British women, and women in generally. She came in to power at a time when women were treated as much lesser then their male counterparts and expected to just be housewives. So here I am in 2018, cheering her on and yelling, “Girl Power!!!!” at my TV screen.

Overall, I find this show to be very interesting and education. The best part for me is the happiness and pride I feel for her as she takes the crown. Putting a young woman in that position of power is something that I feel is so amazing and inspiring. I’m sure any young woman would feel the same way.

Long live the Queen

The Beast

Many competitors have stared down The Beast. Many have been overtaken by The Beast, but some have conquered even some of the nastiest attacks thrown at them. The Beast that I am referring to, is the infamous obstacle course in the Netflix Original series Ultimate Beastmaster. Strongman Terry Crews hosts this game show like obstacle challenge that has competitors from 9 different countries. The top prize is 10,000 dollars, and requires the passing of 4 different trials. Each trial, the course raises difficulty with various obstacles introduced each trial run. Contestants are also eliminated each round based on the completion of the course, and the if it comes down to it, the completion time. In the fourth trial, Athletes from all over the globe have fell short in the conquerization of The Beast.

The aspect of the show that really grabs the attention of viewers, in my opinion, is the insane falls. Tension builds as the competitors race against time, one wrongly placed step can be the end for them. The tension that builds as this happens, is the reason I watched the show. You won’t create a personal connection with the competitors, because they are only on screen for a short amount of time. Although, when a competitor makes through the first couple rounds, you will tend to root for them when the challenges get tougher. When a favorite competitor falls short to The Beast, I always felt my heart drop. The show does a fantastic job of creating tension while watching. It was difficult for me to only watch one episode at a time.

The main characteristic of the show that really interested me, was the backstory given about the more notable competitors. The biggest thing that fascinates me about the stories, are the parks that individuals have built to train for the competition. People in the past, have built nearly scale sized obstacle courses to mimic that of The Beast. This is a lot of preparation to go through for the competitions. Most of the people that attempt The Beast, have normal everyday jobs. One of my favorite competitors from the first season of the series, was a small time shoe salesman. The shoe salesman built a park in his garage over a time span of many years. He trained most days when not on the job, and finally tried out for the show. He only made it to the third round, but received a lot of camera time. The attempt at an emotional connection to the competitors, really makes the show well-rounded.

The Beast has conquered more warriors, than has conquered it. The Beast is unforgiving in it’s insane pitfalls and slippery ledges. Many countries have tried, and many have failed. Netflix’s Ultimate Beastmaster is a game show that will leave your mouth wide open. Learning a competitors journey to the stage, to only see him fall short of his dream, keeps the tension high. This show is one that I will never forget. I would recommend this series to anyone that is a fan of obstacle courses or game shows. 

Stranger Things

One day when a young boy disappears and a girl with superpowers appears, the town of Hawkins, Indiana finally opens its eyes to the fact that there has been illegal experimentation going on in their town. It also does not help this fact that the chief of police is a habitual drunk and has a healthy narcissistic view on life part of the time. The only people that seem worried that Will Byers disappeared are his family and his friends. Everyone else is worried it will happen to them or their family. Will Byers disappears under unnatural circumstances and most people just dismiss it as running away from home. His friends and mother do not think the same way. They have a more pessimistic viewpoint on Will not running away. They know Will and know he would not do that. After doing some investigation, however, the police start to realize that this was something more than what they originally believed. With the appearance of the enhanced girl named Eleven, many people start to realize there is something strange going on. This also leads to Hopper, chief of police, to start to suspect the involvement of the local national laboratory. While the police are investigating, Will’s mom starts to experience paranormal phenomena with the lights in their house. Mike is Will’s best friend and interacts with Eleven the most. Also Mike’s sister, Nancy, and her friend Barbara went to a party at the house of Nancy’s new boyfriend, Steve. While there, Barbara get abducted by the monster that took Will. Will’s friends slowly start to piece together the story with the help of their dungeons and dragons background with the help of Eleven. There is an attempt made to save Will from the realm known as “The Upside Down”, which is the monster’s realm. Some people go through the portal that is in the lab. Meanwhile, government agents are looking for Eleven and have traded the access to the portal for Eleven’s location. Season Two has the same characters, but with the addition of a few characters, has the premise that the events in the first season were only the beginning. There is a lot more to come, and Will will be a central part in the follow through of these events. Will has been going to the lab to receive treatments and to be tested. Eleven is also very keen on finding her family but she is too naive. When she finally finds one of her “sisters” she is brought into this crew of misfits that use powers for evil. Eleven does not like this and decides to leave due to the fact that she wants to be back in Hawkins. While she is away, Will has many visions of a huge spider looking thing that stands taller than all of the trees. Many strange events happen while all of this is going on, like pumpkin patch dying. The resolution to both of these season makes it all worth it to watch both season and have you hungry for more.

A Scandalous House of Cards

Spoiler Warning: Light Spoilers for House of Cards: Season 5 and Scandal: Season 7


To Ms. Olivia Pope,

I recently watched the show House of Cards, and am under the impression you would greatly appreciate the show. The show follows the character of Frank Underwood as he pushes his way through Washington politics to get the top, using any means necessary. I find this similar to your own push for power in ensuring President Mellie Grant’s gain the highest office at any cost.

The first few seasons of the show prove to be, in my opinion the most interesting, this stems from the fact that the narrative follows a more emotional storyline. Instead of seeing President Frank Underwood struggle with policy and holding on to power, we see Representative Underwood plot to hurt those who burned him and gain power as quickly and efficiently as possible. This can be done from a complex media campaign, your specialty, or through a more complex system of setting people up for failure and specific consequences. Again this can parallel the activities you took to ensure President Fitzgerald Grant won the presidency to the multiple coups and plans you created to take over the oval and B6-13.

While the story of House of Cards follows the character of Frank Underwood, for its majority, it also closely follows Claire Underwood, the first female president in the show’s fictional history (even if she starts as VP). Her character, while being secondary to her husband, also proves to have an interesting plot. This stems from her blind support of her husband in the earlier seasons, pushing him to seek revenge and accumulate power. Later, though, she changes her attitude using and manipulating Frank into accomplishing her will and giving some, albeit smaller amounts, of his power to her. This change creates Claire as a deeper character with great ambitions that culminate in her retaining the presidency. Olivia, I think you’d find this interesting. The slow steady rise in power Claire achieves is similar to Mellie’s and your own growth in power from under Fitz’s influence.

One of the main interesting aspects of House of Cards though, especially in the earlier seasons, is its unapologetic use of dark themes. Most shows, especially at the time of its release, try to target a large audience with comedy or more family friendly themes. House of Cards, though adopts themes of corruption, manipulation, among others. It shows a hidden rotten underbelly to politics that is not usually shown in political dramas. There are no gladiators in white hats saving the day. There are no patriots risking it all for the sake of the nation. All that exists, are selfish men and women clawing and fighting for each and every scrap of power and influence available. Now on whether this is realistic or not, I will leave to you, as you seem to be familiar with both sides of the argument. I do believe that this is, at least in part, what makes House of Cards different from most other political drama or TV shows for that matter.

Overall The first three seasons of House of Cards are emotional, dark stories that grab the viewer and bring them into a world of corruption and power politics. The other seasons lose some of these aspects but also add to the characterization of secondary characters in new and interesting ways. I would strongly recommend that you watch House of Cards. If not for enjoyment, then for the parallels to your own political atmosphere.

In This Case, I Would Look Away: Episode 1-3 of the Santa Clarita Diet

WARNING: The review you are about to read has unmarked spoilers and gore. If you wish to have a sunshiny rest of the day, DO NOT READ!
     The Santa Clarita Diet is another watchable show viewable on Netflix, a service without pesky commercial breaks. I say watchable in that your bog standard viewer won’t be able to take his or her’s eyes off their screen while it is on, though this may be from sheer horror rather than pure enjoyment. The TV-MA rating is well earned for intense language, sexual situations (though only very much implied) and gore, which I feel is simply gratuitous. For the most part, the sex and language usage are waved away by Shelia's disease, saying it causes her to be ruled by her id. In reality, I feel this is the equivalent of a young child swearing; it is to masquerade maturity and intelligence but fails miserably. Instead, we get a show whose only hue is off color.
     Now I am a firm believer of giving credit where credit is due and I would like to compliment the set designer. Every element in every set feels perfectly in place in the average American town, down to the dull color palette of interiors. However, even though this was done well, not everything else was.
     The gore is another element that is over done. While I am no doctor, nor would I ever pretend to be one, I don’t believe that the amounts and pressures of blood shown are believable. For example, here is a couple of volunteers showing 6 quarts, or the amount of blood in a human body:

http://www.laurelleaffarm.com/item-pages/farm/antique-blue-green-glass-mason-jar-old-zinc-lid-2-qt-fruit-jar-1858-patent-date-Laurel-Leaf-Farm-item-no-m69175.htm
And this is the amount of blood in the first victim:

Adapted from https://www.pinterest.com/pin/757167756071807073/

https://hiddenremote.com/2017/02/05/5-things-can-never-unsee-santa-clarita-diet/
     Now that looks like a heck of a lot more than 6 quarts to me. I am usually a supporter of shock humor, a phrase which here means humor that is unexpected, usually bloody or vulgar. However, I feel like The Santa Clarita Diet goes a little overboard on this front. Though it is possible I don’t quite have the measure of either show, I feel that iZombie is more tasteful here, by showing a mostly clean brain and very few gory elements.
     An element that is not over-the-top are the performances, which I think is a pity. I think the show could use a great actor, one like that wonderful Neil Patrick Harris in another certain Netflix show. A performance such as this would reduce the apathy the audience after such unfortunate events. As it is, the characters in the show never seem to react in disgust with all of the grotesque events happening around them. While so may feel that this is a comment on the nature of suburbia, I think it is just jarring. If I am to relate to these characters, I expect the emotions they display to match my own. If they don’t seem to care that they are burying a body, I, as a viewer, won’t care. Maybe you will care more than I do, but maybe not.