Arrested Westeros: Gem of the Internet

*Warning: This Blog Contains Game of Thrones Spoilers for Season One*

The entertainment realm of culture is truly fascinating. There are certainly examples otherwise, but the current generation is living amongst a golden era of television. Currently, there is substantial programming, in both quality and quantity, such as dramas like Breaking Bad and Mad Men and comedies like Parks and Recreation and Modern Family. These shows manage to hook viewers in with their characters and plot, but also with the underlying subtext of each episode. To surmise briefly, Breaking Bad and Mad Men deal with personal struggle, Parks and Recreation give a feminist perspective, and Modern Family tackles moral quandaries within everyday life.

So when the subtexts of one of the greatest comedy series, Arrested Development, and one of the best dramas, Game of Thrones, come together in one extraordinary place, only magic can ensue. And it does, at Arrested Westeros.

 
Arrested Westeros is an incredibly clever Tumblr dedicated to captioning stills from Game of Thrones with quotes from Arrested Development. If you have not seen either show, the jokes may go over your head, but rest assured these vastly different television shows have more in common than you think.

Arrested Development is a sitcom about the Bluth family, a formerly wealthy, eternally dysfunctional family, as they deal with the patriarch, George Bluth, going to jail and its aftermath as their social status changes.

Game of Thrones takes place in Westeros, a fictional land made up of seven kingdoms, as multiple noble families fight for control of the Iron Throne.

Though from different genres, both shows illustrate power struggles and their aftermath. In Arrested Development, the family owns a company where there is constant internal strife between the father, George, the oldest son, Gob, and the middle son, Michael. Though Michael is the most honorable and deserving of all of them, both his father and brother constantly plot against him.

This power struggle is reflected in Game of Thrones as well. The current king is the despicable Joffrey, who is more focused on keeping the throne from his own family than the any of the other families. Much like Gob, who was briefly president of the Bluth Company, Joffrey tries to rule using fear and is constantly suspicious of his family, even his own mother.

The other element linking these two shows so fantastically is family. Both series deal with very incestuous relationships, sure, (Cersei and Jamie will always be worse than George Michael and Maeby), but it goes even deeper than that. The very characters themselves resemble each other: Lucille’s icy parenting style can easily be interchanged with Cersei or Tywin Lannister; Ned Stark and Michael Bluth both claim honor above all else; even Buster and Joffrey share that their father is their uncle (though in different ways).

Arrested Westeros is television match made in heaven. It takes two great things and makes you look that them both in a new light. If that isn’t the aim of the entertainment world, then I don’t know what is.

Culture Shock is Good for the Soul

Growing up in the United States can make it difficult to appreciate the cultures of other nations. Many Americans’ natural inclination is to pity developing countries, sometimes even pity other developed nations. American ethnocentrism is so engrained within our own culture, that it skews the reality of the rest of the world around us. This is why travelling abroad is so important—it provides a better understanding of other people and their cultures.

Recently, a friend of mine named Sarah Pfander (whom I met abroad, actually) had the opportunity to study overseas in Mali for the semester. Unfortunately, due to the military coup that ousted its president, she, among other foreigners, was evacuated. Though her time in Mali was cut short, Sarah still managed to immerse herself within the culture.

One of the more obvious distinctions between Mali and the United States was the cuisine. “I had to put my vegetarianism on hold,” Sarah explained, “because they cook meat with everything there.” Even seemingly American dishes, like hamburgers, had their own Malian flare, as they put cinnamon in the hamburger meat.

Perhaps the most challenging difference that Sarah encountered was the lack of amenities people in the United States take for granted, such as indoor plumbing. The area Sarah stayed in did not even have electricity until 2002.

Despite all of these disparities between cultures, the Malian people are a happy one—and not the naïve, tribal happiness the West conceives of. “They are not just happy because they don’t know any better,” Sarah elucidates. “It’s an informed happiness that comes from the knowledge that life could be better. There could be more development and more jobs, less corruption and less poverty. But with that could come more crime and less love. Life in Mali is so communal; every neighborhood is a huge family. Malians are the most generous, hospitable, kind, caring, and funny people I’ve ever met. And they are happy because even though the country could be doing better, they know they’ve figured out a lot more [than other people] how to live with compassion and community.”

 Sarah’s experience in Mali is one of many examples that travel is good for the soul. Exposing oneself to new things, whether than be a new type of food or an entirely different culture, is the only way to broaden horizons and gain a more worldly perspective. The United States is one of the most highly developed countries in the world, constantly giving aid to developing countries in need. If the U.S. is not familiar with the country’s people and culture, how can they possibly know what they need?

Rather than treating developing countries like projects or stereotypes, the developed world must see the real people of these countries and view the magnificence of cultural traditions that are not their own. 

Game of Thrones

Destination Runway Video

A video from Hofstra's charity fashion event, Destination Runway.

Tony Bennett Got It Right

Like millions of people before me, I am leaving my heart in San Francisco. It didn't come as any surprise—I have lived in both the North and the South, and extensively explored the Midwest. I've grown tired of the stressful North, resentful of the slow-moving South, and more or less indifferent towards the Midwest, so it makes perfect sense that the best fit for me in the United States falls along the West Coast.

My week in the Bay Area was both relaxing and invigorating. Exploring the city of San Francisco was exciting, with such discoveries as Ike’sPlace, Baker Beach, and Dr. Teeth & the Electric Mayhem. Romping around Big Basin was equally incredible; the redwoods are truly impressive. The greatest draw, however, is just the overall relaxed, content atmosphere felt everywhere. Not enough people in the world understand how to relax well, and California makes it easy. Between the sites (still so many more I want to see: here, for instance), the weather, and the culture, it will be a shock if I actually make it onto my plane to New York City tonight.

Spotlight: Linda Longmire

How do you begin to describe a woman who has changed the lives of hundreds? Linda Longmire is a professor in the Global Studies department at Hofstra University. She is largely involved in peace research, active in such organizations as Long Island Alliance for Peace Alternatives and International Peace Research Association at the UN. And, of course, she is the pioneer of the European Odyssey program, a 10 week road trip around Europe that happens every spring semester.

But Linda Longmire is much more than what she does. Linda is an independent free-spirit; she is one of the strongest, most courageous people I know. These are qualities she inspires in others.

I had the privilege to participate in the European Odyssey both in 2010 and 2011. The first year I went as a freshman. I had spent a semester at Hofstra and hated it—so of course I jumped at the chance to spend a semester on the road in Europe. It took two weeks on the road with Linda, her husband Tim Smith, and the other eleven students for me to decide to stay at Hofstra.

The second year I went as the peer teacher. My experience on that Odyssey was very different from the year before. I was put in a position of responsibility in addition to completing five independent studies, so Linda and I worked quite closely together that semester. The conversations had were among the most enlightening and learned of my life thus far.

Linda’s teaching skills extend far beyond the classroom. The strength and positivity she displays daily transfers to whomever she is around, and it sticks. On the Odyssey, people transform before your very eyes; a large part of that is thanks to Linda.

My time spent with the Odyssey is something I will never forget, a sentiment shared by well over 200 other past Odyssey-participants. While each trip is different, the one thing everyone shares in common is Linda and how she changed each person’s life.

The Case of the Missing Film

It was a quiet afternoon. The air was crisp and my car cold; a faint gleam of excitement was visible upon my face as I made my way to retrieve the treasure. Bracing the wind, I entered the bright oasis merrily, knowing what would soon be in my possession: my first roll of developed film shot on an SLR camera. Having always been interested in photography, this was clearly an exciting moment.
I waited until I got home. That was my mistake. Why, oh why did I wait?
The film given back to me wasn't mine.
So instead of photos summing up a day in my life, here are some photos of a few of my favorite things in my room.

1. Statue of Aphrodite

Aphrodite has been my favorite Greek Goddess since I encountered Boticelli's Birth of Venus. I came across this statue in Olympia, Greece, the very place to find such a Greek treasure.

2. Christian Lacroix Journal

The design aspect of fashion has always enthralled me. Christian Lacroix always creates pieces that are daring and extraordinary. I happened across this beautiful journal at Les Arts Decoratifs in Paris, France.

3. Candle Holder

This candle holder is especially significant to me. After peer teaching on the European Odyssey last Spring, the directors of the program gave each student a ceramic candle holder. The design atop mine was different than the rest, symbolizing my different perspective of that trip from the last trip and the others. 

4. The Fashion File

Mad Men is a fantastically compelling series complete with the best costumes I have ever seen on television. This book takes the reader behind-the-scenes and details the major components of different characters' looks. A great find on ModCloth.

5. My Mother's Ring

I borrowed this ring from my mom "for a day" in 2007 and have worn it every day since.

Hopefully I will rescue my film from Walgreens' darkroom lair tomorrow and find some gems. Until then, I hope the camera phone has sufficed!

Living Nostalgia

It is rare for a new movie to immediately become a favorite, but Midnight in Paris did not leave me much choice. The script was well written, the acting sublime, and the soundtrack left me in a Parisian daze. However, what was most compelling was the notion of a “golden era.”

Throughout the film, multiple characters muse about going back to a time they each deem “the golden era.” For the main character, Gil Pender, it is Paris in the 1920s—being part of the Lost Generation. For Adriana, a member of the Lost Generation, however, it is the Belle Époque in the 1890s. Those who lived during the Belle Époque said the Italian Renaissance.

The notion of nostalgia is a very interesting topic to base a movie on, but Midnight in Paris approached it in just the right way—honestly. Other eras are always romanticized, which can be both good and bad, as Gil Pender experienced. It’s exciting and insightful to be somewhere you shouldn’t, but it’s an unsustainable feeling. Nostalgia is alluring but (figuratively) living in the past does not compare with living in the present. As Gil so wisely puts it, “that’s what the present is…it’s a little unsatisfying because life is unsatisfying.”

Midnight in Paris is unique also in that it is a film about the concept of nostalgia, not simply showing people feeling wistful. The plot allows Gil to long for the “golden era” presently, then actually experience what it was like in that time period. He chose to stay present. Adriana, however, chose a different route, opting to stay in the Belle Époque. She felt her life would dramatically improve in a previous era.

Who is to say it would not? The one thing that remains constant no matter when you reside in time is mystery. Literally living in the past must paint a very different picture than the retelling of that age. Then, eventually, your once past becomes your very present. It is rare to find a film with such subtle paradoxes.

While it is not his truest-to-form film, Midnight in Paris is certainly one of Woody Allen’s best. No matter how many times you watch it, the entire film stays fresh. The entire cast delivers authentically. And, if nothing else, I will never get sick of Adrian Brody repeating, “Dali!” in reference to himself, over and over and over.

And the Sensible Picture Award Goes to...

It makes sense that The Artist won Best Picture at last night’s 84th Academy Awards, it really does. It was a throwback to the original art of cinema, but also proved to a new generation that silence can, perhaps, be golden. It makes a lot of sense.

However, the prestigious award is not called the “Sensible Picture” Award; it’s called the “Best Picture” Award, and it’s reserved for the best picture.

Out of the nine films nominated for Best Picture this year, only The Descendants stood out as truly deserving of the award. Through the collaborative talents of director Alexander Payne and actor George Clooney, the film excels at depicting a man torn between honor and anger, lost without the wife who betrayed him. Clooney embodies his character completely: a lawyer, a trustee, a father, a husband, a widower. It is his most honest performance to date.

The Descendants is not carried by Clooney by any means. Shailene Woodley, who played Clooney’s eldest daughter, stole every scene. Her authentic performance boasted raw emotion missing from many young actors today.

Even off the big screen, The Descendants resonates. The novel really gets to the core, exposing the story as a beautiful conflict of emotions that settles with the audience in a very memorable way. This is where The Artist fails.

It is a highly regarded film in terms of creativity and being visually striking. However, it does not have a unique or even memorable plot; it’s Singin’ in the Rain with darker undertones. The Artist has not affected audiences the way past Best Picture winners have. Five years from now, The Artist will become one of those Best Picture winners no one can seem to name.

This is not because silent films are considered “outdated”—I personally enjoy quite a few—but The Artist’s win can be attributed more to the fact that it is a silent film rather than because it deserved to win.

Aside from The Descendants, however, there really was no competition. The nominees for Best Picture fell flat this year. Sure, many of the movies nominated were good (The Help, Moneyball), some even great (Midnight in Paris, Hugo), but most were merely average and placeholders (the rest of the nominees).

So The Artist won Best Picture. As for most predictable result, that goes to the Academy.

Aversion to Virgins: Modern Family's Best Episode to Date?

Last night ABC’s Modern Family aired like it does every Wednesday. Last night, like every Wednesday, I sat down to watch it the second it was streaming online. Unlike every Wednesday, however, I found myself blown away.

Since it aired in 2009, I have been a religious watcher of Modern Family. Unfortunately, season three has been less than satisfactory. Sometimes the intermingling of the entire family felt forced, other times the writing simply fell flat. Last night’s episode turned that all around. The constant motif throughout the episode was growing up and how it changes the relationships around you. All of the subplots within the episode brought out the essence of each character; whether for better or worse, I love each of them more now than ever before.

Let’s begin with Luke and Manny. Stealing Cam’s car to impress a girl was the perfect way to address their transition from being the cute, youngest children into mischievous pre-teens. Even more important is the relationship between Luke and Manny. Though they once fought constantly, Luke and Manny now rely on each other more than anyone else within the family. Luke needs Manny to keep him grounded, but Manny also needs Luke to help him let loose and act his age—something that never happened before Luke and Manny’s friendship developed.

The closeness Luke and Manny attained is something Gloria has been after with Claire for some time…and allowing them to bond over weapons was the only way it could have possibly begun. The audience has been well aware of Gloria’s comfort with weapons and violence, but Claire’s affinity for guns did not come as a surprise. What was surprising was that Claire finally opened up to Gloria—and about her “sacred secret” too. It has taken a while and there have been many failed attempts, but Gloria and Claire are now finally creating a foundation for a good relationship.

The two most heartwarming moments, however, came from Haley and Phil, then Mitchell and Jay. Due to a miscommunication (“Haley’s a virgin...aversion”), Phil finds out his first-born daughter is sexually active. Despite having prepared for this moment, Phil finds himself at a loss for words, torn between feeling awkward and feeling upset. But, in classic Phil fashion, when it really counts, he is able to get his message across (“I trust your judgment”). Even Haley feels touched, saying she has “a cool dad.”

Jay and Mitchell share a similar moment. After marring his father’s memory of the day he got a hole in one, Mitchell apologizes but is let down by how much his father relished that game rather than the nice day they spent together where Mitchell had his first beer—or so he thought. Jay reminds him of his 14^th birthday when his mom made him cry, and Jay was the one who came to Mitchell’s rescue, a beer in tow. It isn’t often that Mitchell and Jay are on the same side.

This episode is the best not because it’s the funniest or the most touching, it’s the best because only a show like Modern Family can pull off heart and hilarity so seamlessly (except for maybe Parks and Recreation). 

Into the Crevasse: When Good Shows Go Bad

There are three things that make a good television show: plot, characters, and time. The plot must be engaging and make the audience believe in what happens. The characters must be distinct and change over time. The show needs enough time to develop, but not too much that it eventually drags the show…into the crevasse.

A great case study is CBS’s How I Met Your Mother. When the show began in 2005, both the plot and characters were interesting and unique. Ted, the main character, reconstructs the story of how he met his wife (and many other women) to his children in the year 2029. His stories nearly always include his four closest friends: Marshall and Lily, his best friends from college, Barney, an insecure womanizer, and Robin, his ex-girlfriend and eventual roommate. The audience has the pleasure of watching these characters interact and develop—until the fourth season.

After Ted is left at the altar in season four, his character loses his trademark optimism about love and romance which he never rediscovers. Marshall and Lily turn into a very typical married sitcom couple, their personalities turning into a personality. Robin becomes less and less of an independent woman and increasingly ditzy.  The only exception is Barney, who has been carrying the show with his patriarchal pursuits (his search and discovery of his father and his revelations of wanting a family of his own).

As the character arches decline, so does the plot. Ted’s search for his wife ceases to be a focal point and the show becomes comprised of sub-par quips that are irrelevant to the show’s premise.

How could this happen? The final factor: time. A good television show not only has a vision of how the plot will unfold, it has a timeline. This is where many once promising shows go bad. In the case of How I Met Your Mother, it has simply gone on for too long. The demand for more has outweighed the material the show had prepared, enabling the writing to go off on tangents and create extraneous subplots. At this point, does anyone even care who the mother is? I sure don’t.

It is always a shame to watch honestly good shows become too big for their own plots. That is not to say that it is impossible to turn around and climb out of the crevasse (30 Rock mentioned a latter), but once inside it’s difficult to come back. With a season and a half to go (let’s hope it stops after season eight), How I Met Your Mother has some wiggle room to get back to its roots, but as stated previously, only time will tell.

Pull Your Pants Down for Feminism!

In an age where photoshop rules supreme and advertisements point out all of a woman’s “flaws”, a show like NBC’s Parks and Recreation comes as a breath of fresh air; this is not just because it is side-splitting funny, but because it takes place in a reality where feminism and powerful women are accepted as the norm.

The deputy director of the Parks and Recreation department in the fictional town of Pawnee, Indiana, Leslie Knope is an ambitious woman in power constantly working hard for those she loves and, most importantly, for herself. Leslie has high hopes for her career (President of the United States) and will do anything to protect her pristine reputation, even pull her pants down on Pawnee Today to dispel a sex scandal rumor. Leslie shows her feminism through her strong character as she takes on the political world, but she also inspires feminism within her entire office.

The ensemble of women is strong, each in her own way. Donna Meagle, the sassy office manager of the Parks and Recreation Department, always displays self-confidence. She has a materialistic streak—her beloved Benz, anyone?—but everything she owns, she has worked for herself. Donna is a self-made business woman with an active, unapologetic sex life and she is unashamed of what she has to offer.

Unlike Donna, the audience has been able to watch April Ludgate transform from an apathetic girl into a strong young woman (though let’s be honest, she’s still pretty apathetic). In the earlier seasons, April engages in activities that belittle her as a woman, such as playing dumb in an attempt to win the cash prize for a beauty pageant or being a part of an unhealthy relationship (“this is my boyfriend Derek and Derek’s boyfriend Ben”). In season two’s episode “Galentine’s Day” April is finally able to let go of her indifferent façade and start becoming her own woman, putting her own desires above what is expected of her.

Ann Perkins forgoes a similar journey to that of April. Ann proves herself as a strong, self-possessed woman after she takes a break from relationships (from Andy to Mark to Chris). When busy nurse Ann is able to take time and spend it on herself, she is able to loosen up and become her own whole person, not just the second half of a couple’s name.

The strength of the women of Pawnee does not go unnoticed by the men. In fact, it is greatly accepted and even encouraged. Mustachioed man’s man and Head of the Parks Department, Ron Swanson has an affinity for dark haired, powerful women; he has even been known to watch a surprisingly large amount of WNBA games. Though he does poke fun at Leslie on occasion, he holds her and the other members of the Parks Department (and Ann) in high esteem, respecting each of them as the powerful women they are. Even Andy Dwyer (or is it Andy Radical?), in all his wisdom, decides to take a women’s studies class at the local college.

Though it constantly flies under the radar, Parks and Recreation has the uncanny ability to become funnier every week while instilling a positive message about women empowerment. I’ll pull my pants down to that.

Annie Hall (1977)

As I go through my list of movies, I have taken to writing notes while I watch them. Sometimes they are about how the angle of the camera reflects the mood the director is trying to achieve or certain things characters say that seem significant. However, the only note I have aboutAnnie Hall is "I already love it (00:07:20)." Though this is the first and only Woody Allen movie I have seen, I can say without a doubt that it is his greatest; Annie Hall is his gem.

Throughout the film, Allen maintains an element of sincerity making it easy for the audience to relate to his characters and storyline. I think it is the film's honesty that left me in tears by the end.

What I loved most about Annie Hall was that the time line was clear without it being entirely laid out for the viewer. The scenes were construed in a manner that illustrated the way a person's memories operate--they are random, yet related; some become skewed as time goes on while others are romanticized. Allen pulls this off beautifully.

Another wonderful aspect of Annie Hall is its ability to mimic real life: it has funny moments with serious undertones, as well as serious moments with funny undertones. And, as it happens for most people, when one looks back on any moment of the past it becomes amusing.

Throughout Annie Hall, Allen plays with the film which adds to its whimsical nature. Alvy asks advice from people on the street who answer as though they are entirely knowledgeable about the situation; he adds in animated characters; he has split screen dialogue. My favorite of his film tricks, however, is the subtitles showing what Alvy and Annie are really thinking as they converse about art. Allen's innovative usage of these tricks has influenced movies ever since, most notably 500 Days of Summer.

Overall, it is easy to see why Annie Hall remains a relevant classic over thirty years after its release. I thoroughly enjoyed and recommend this film.