Esquire has an interesting theory about the success of Twilight, HBO’s True Blood, and The CW’s Vampire Diaries: “Vampires have overwhelmed pop culture because young straight women want to have sex with gay men,” Stephen Marche writes. “Not all young straight women, of course, but many, if not most, of them.” Among his support statements, the following analysis of Twilight‘s Edward: “[He's] a sweet, screwed-up high school kid, and at the beginning of his relationship with Bella, she is attracted to him because he is strange, beautiful, and seemingly repulsed by her. This exact scenario happened several times in my high school between straight girls and gay guys who either hadn’t figured out they were gay or were still in the closet.” Had Marche wanted to, he also could’ve pointed out that on True Blood, telepathic Sookie can only be intimate with a man (Vampire Bill) whose lustful thoughts she cannot hear, and on Vampire Diaries, Elena knows that Stefan has been hiding who he truly is, that he’d sworn off women for quite a while, and that he cooks and journals. (Marche could also have mentioned that True Blood‘s Eric gets his hair highlighted and enjoys solo candlelight baths, for that matter.) READ FULL STORY »
Archive: October 2009 (241-250 of 472)
Was balloon boy a hoax? Take the PopWatch Poll.
A segment between six-year-old Falcoln Heene’s family and CNN’s Wolf Blitzer last night has fueled skepticism over the “balloon boy” incident. We all let out a collective sigh of relief when, after hours of watching a foil balloon we were told the boy had crawled into sail across the Colorado landscape, Falcon was later discovered safe and sound in his attic. But in this seg, Falcon is asked why he didn’t come downstairs when he heard everyone calling his name, and the seemingly confused young boy answers “we did this for the show.”
Perhaps it’s a coincidence that the Heenes, who previously caught a whiff of fame as a Wife Swap family, happened to find themselves wrapped up in this huge media spectacle. And perhaps it’s irrelevant that telegenic father Richard Heene drags his entire family, kids and all, with him on wild storm chases and has submitted “Mars Civilization Proof” conspiracy videos to CNN’s iReport. Perhaps.
Richard Heene and his family were on the Today Show this morning, and Richard said this was “absolutely not” a hoax and that he is getting “ticked off” by accusations that the incident was anything but a horrfying ordeal for his family (Meredith Viera pointed out that the local Sherriff’s office says it believes the Heenes’ account of what happened). Though it’s worth noting that Falcon vomits in the middle of the interview (at about 5:50 in), and he also got sick in the middle of the Good Morning America segment (at 4:15 remaining point) this morning – no matter what the case, shouldn’t that kid be left alone to rest at this point?
So what do you think, PopWatchers? Was this just a big mistake with a happy ending, or was the whole thing a hoax cooked up by former reality show personalities? Take the poll and then share your thoughts in the comments.
'The Vampire Diaries' recap: Best ep yet?
Even in 1864, Damon was a smartass. Just one of the many things that made this flashback episode the best Vampire Diaries yet. See also: the rampant shirtlessness and the hear this, CW censors? sound effect for Damon snapping Vicki’s neck.
We picked up with Elena confronting Stefan, and to the show’s credit, they didn’t waste time with him denying it: “I’m a vampire,” he said in a way that made you believe there might actually be hope for him not to lose this show to Damon. (It’s like he’s been holding back more than that secret. We want to feel some of that power, that presence.) Elena wasn’t ready to have that conversation, and she left. Stefan met her in her bedroom where she was doing some classic tortured-teen bed flopping, pacing, and hair pulling. “You can hate me, but I need you to trust me,” he said, telling her that she needs to keep his secret and that he’d never hurt her. “If you mean me no harm, then you’ll go,” she said. “I never wanted this,” he responded as he left. He never wanted what? Her to find out the truth? Not what a woman wants to hear. Or for him to fall in love again and risk feeling the kind of pain he was about to face? READ FULL STORY »
'Parks and Recreation' recap: Viva Pawnee!
Parks and Recreation has been all about dropping knowledge this past month, and the latest episode — focused on Pawnee’s sister Parks Department from Venezuela — continues that awesome and educational trend. Leslie Knope? Not the pushover we met last season! Tom? Not so bad a guy! Ron loves gold-plated guns more than he hates socialism. April gets her “fiery and exciting” personality from her Latina mother. We are learning so much, those of us committed to this wonderful, unpopular little show! READ FULL STORY »
'Community' recap: A pompous vortex of overlapping fangs
Ever the perpetual “B” student, last night’s Community did its thing, did it well, and will be completely forgotten by next week. One difference was the order in which its humor succeeded. Other than the second episode, which remained a joy throughout all of its 22 minutes, each episode of Community has started strong only to fizzle out by the final act. Last night’s “Advanced Criminal Law,” on the other hand, began in a mild fog and then worked its way up to a solid conclusion. Go figure. By this point in the season, I’m assuming you’re reading this because you’re still watching (and presumably enjoying) Community, so let’s forgo recapping the episode and jump straight into highlighting its standout moments: READ FULL STORY »
'The Office' recap: Disorganized crime
A few weeks ago, the season premiere of House didn’t include any of the non-Hugh Laurie cast, and I worried: It was one of my favorite episodes in years, and that’s probably not a great sign for supporting players. Tonight’s Office didn’t include Pam and Jim, and…well, Jenna Fischer and John Krasinski are safe. Their physical presence was sorely missed, as was the level of realism and grounding those characters bring to the sometimes loopy episodes. “Mafia” made me an offer I could way too easily refuse. READ FULL STORY »
Jeff Probst blogs 'Survivor: Samoa': episode #5
Man oh man. If you have any kind of a heart, you have to be feeling for Foa Foa. It’s been a long time since a tribe has performed this poorly. You’d have to go all the way back to Survivor: Palau when Stephanie’s tribe was decimated week by week until she was the only person left in her tribe. READ FULL STORY »
Ten Years of 'Fight Club'
Fight Club hit theaters ten years ago today. The film was critically divisive, struggled with the right marketing, and had a lukewarm run at the box office. But then came the overstuffed two-disc Special Edition DVD, complete with a fake-cardboard slipcase. It was exactly the right kind of gorgeously overproduced fetish object demanded by the burgeoning DVD zeitgeist. Right in time for the ascendance of internet geek culture, Fight Club invented a whole new artistic species – the mass-marketed cult film.
Passed along from friend to friend in a DVD case that looked like a box of anthrax, it was the HD masterpiece for the home theater decade, and its influence can be felt all over the modern movie landscape. It’s worth taking a look at how the style and content of the film influenced the first decade of the new millennium.
The Neon Grunge style: The look of Fight Club is simultaneously bleached out and richly colorful. Characters hang around monochromatic tavern cellars and underlit city streets and a mansion which looks like a steampunk haunted frat house, but bright swaths of color decorate the screen, and the people themselves seem almost to glow. That’s especially true of Brad Pitt, who, as the charismatic Tyler Durden, walks around with a spotlight trained on his lipstick-rouge leather jacket. The film feels a little bit like Vincente Minnelli making a horror film based on an American Apparel advertisement. READ FULL STORY »
Balloon Boy Lives! Pass the popcorn
First, let’s celebrate the fact that six-year-old Falcon Heene is alive and unharmed. Turned out the runaway balloon boy was in the attic, hiding in a box, the whole time. But let’s also take a moment to congratulate the junior aviator on perpetrating the greatest practical joke played on cable news since Glenn Beck got his own show. Ashton Kutcher couldn’t have punk’d the media any better. Whether it was all part of an elaborate publicity stunt (Falcon’s family were once contestants on Wife Swap, which has raised some commentators’ eyebrows), or whether the little boy was merely lost on his own Where the Wild Things Are imaginary adventure, it doesn’t matter. Today’s coverage of the unplanned lift off—live news feed showing a tin foil balloon drifting in the sky above Colorado, looking like a giant flying Jiffy Pop, supposedly with a six-year-old trapped inside, was broadcast on all three cable networks through most of mid-day—proves that the news is still the best damn drama on the air, if not always the most informing or enlightening. Sure, we could point out that there were actual news stories to cover (attacks in Pakistan kill 40, the Hague sets a date for Radovan Karadzic’s war crimes trial) but Falcon’s “flight” was just too riveting. It was the 21st Century update of a child caught in a well (see Billy Wilder’s Ace in the Hole, or Google the real-life story of Jessica McClure), amplified by the omniscient 24-hour cable and Internet news cycle. Personally, we enjoyed this real-life version of Up, especially since it ended so happily.
Here’s a refresher if you missed the action — this clip covers the balloon landing before the boy was found obviously! What did you think, Pop Watchers?
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