ginia bellafante

posts about #giniabellafante more →
True Blood More Than Just Television — It's This American Life!
'Meerkat Manor' Fans Devastated By Loss of Flowers
'Gilmore Girls': Our Generation's Woodstock
Media Thanksgiving: The Grateful Hacks

Your version of Internet Explorer is not supported. Please upgrade to the most recent version in order to view comments.

Dsmvwl Admin Promote to frontpage Approve user Ban user ×

TheologicalSong
08/28/09

In reply to True Blood More Than Just Television — It's This American Life!
True Blood lures you in with its flamboyant salaciousness, keeps you there with compellingly crafted characters, and then, while you're lulled into submission, subliminally impacts you with its insidiously woven societal critiques. a masterpiece of pop phantasmagoria. indulge and enjoy, guiltlessly.
Reply

TheologicalSong was starred TheologicalSong was unstarred

resipsaloquacious
08/28/09

@TheologicalSong: During all of this, there is an opposite force: Ms. Paquin's acting, which begs the viewer to hurl the remote through the TV.
Reply

Edited by resipsaloquacious at 08/28/09 9:47 AM resipsaloquacious was starred

skt.smth
08/28/09

@resipsaloquacious: You do understand that she's supposed to play a bubbly-but-oddly-cynical-and-sharptongued, deep-fried Louisiana hick, right?

Can we please direct the acting critiques toward the Ray Allen in "He Got Game"-esque loser who plays "Eggs"?
Reply

Edited by skt.smth at 08/28/09 10:57 AM skt.smth was starred skt.smth was unstarred

resipsaloquacious
08/28/09

@skt.smth: Yes. I understand. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the show. But I feel that her acting is so forced. I find it grating. However, you have a point, if her character is supposed to be an annoying person -- she nailed it.
Reply

resipsaloquacious was starred

TheologicalSong
08/28/09

@resipsaloquacious: hey, y'all. thanks for weighing in. for my part, as a trained, working actor, I want to say that commentary on actors' performances in general, while undeniably valid in terms of instinctual response, really is a subjective thing. the ensemble on True Blood is comprised of, in my opinion, a carefully selected group of, in many cases, rigorously trained stage and other acting veterans, whose intrigue and vibrancy chemistrywise, for me, comes in fact from the eclectic nature of the styles of craft therein, and how they collide freely. I won't comment too much on the individual performances for diplomacy's sake, but will say, that I find just about all of them to have their charms. the actor who plays Eggs (Mehcad Brooks, apparently), for example, has found that all important actorly truth, warmth and sincerity in his character that appeals. that being said, there are some performances, like that of New York stage veteran Sam Trammell, that are deeply poignant, consistently surprising, and sometimes breathtakingly courageous.
Reply

TheologicalSong was starred TheologicalSong was unstarred

Mariallena
08/28/09

@TheologicalSong:
"Compellingly crafted characters????"

Ana Paquin's character can read minds, but she is somehow so dumb that she hasn't been able to use that incredible gift to lift her out of the waitress job she hates so much.

That barmaid with an attitude (what's her name?) is such a pathetic charicature of African Americans that I am surprised the NAACP hasn't kicked up a fuss. Oh, and she wouldn't last in her job for 2 days if she treated her customers like that.

Add to that that the "vampires" can heal the sick but, somehow, nobody else knows. What??? How long before someone tells the Enquirer??

Puh-leeze! Tru Blood is true crap!
Reply

TheologicalSong promoted this comment Mariallena was starred Mariallena was unstarred

TheologicalSong
08/28/09

@Mariallena: well, somebody's obviously been paying scrupulous attention! perhaps you oughta tear yourself away if it's so unbearable, my dear. for my part, I'd say, one has to let go of one's rigid hold on reality to get exhilaratingly swept up in fantasy, wherein, revelations await. but to each his/her own!
Reply

TheologicalSong was starred TheologicalSong was unstarred

Mariallena
08/28/09

@TheologicalSong:
It doesn't require "scrupulous attention" to notice the gaping plot holes of True Blood. Just staying awake through 3 or 4 episodes is enough.

I understand the whole suspension of disbelief thing, but True Blood is really childish and the characters are just bad bad bad charicatures.

I mean, if this was done by 14-year-olds in the Drama Club at my local high school I would think it was great, but coming from Alan Ball it is really disgraceful.

6" Under was a brilliant show but, sadly, Alan Ball has run out of ideas. Now if he could only retire quietly to enjoy he millions he made, we would all be better off.
Reply

Mariallena was starred Mariallena was unstarred

The Defeatery
08/28/09

@Mariallena: Six Inches Under? That's a different show entirely.
Reply

The Defeatery was starred The Defeatery was unstarred

Mariallena
08/28/09

@The Defeatery:
It's the iPod version.
Reply

Mariallena was starred Mariallena was unstarred

NexusRanger
08/28/09

In reply to True Blood More Than Just Television — It's This American Life!
"A Congressional candidate who makes vampire bashing (read: gay bashing) part of his platform is buying V, vampire blood with a Viagra effect on civilians, from a drag queen on the black market."

The drag queen in question is the character Lafayette, who has never dressed in woman's clothes. Apparently this awful writer thinks all homosexuals are drag queens.
Reply

skt.smth promoted this comment NexusRanger was starred NexusRanger was unstarred

skt.smth
08/28/09

@NexusRanger: He's not a drag queen, but he's definitely a queen, no question about that.
Reply

skt.smth was starred skt.smth was unstarred

Adah
08/28/09

In reply to True Blood More Than Just Television — It's This American Life!
True Blood is softcore vampire porn. Not that I'm complaining, since Ryan Kwansten and Alexander Skarsgard are involved. But if softcore vampire porn is an allegory for nearly every strain of tension in American life, then I am living in the wrong America. There is no naked Alexander Skarsgard in my bed, God damn it.
Reply

DeadliestSin promoted this comment Adah was starred Adah was unstarred

DeadliestSin
08/28/09

@Adah: I'm more of a Bill (Stephen Moyer) person... but the idea of getting cosy with Skarsgard isn't so bad.
They're all from foreign countries, maybe America needs some more exotic blood in the mix.
Heh.
Reply

DeadliestSin was starred DeadliestSin was unstarred

Matt Cherette
08/28/09

In reply to True Blood More Than Just Television — It's This American Life!
You can make a convincing argument that any TV show is an allegory for American life if you try hard enough.
Reply

Matt Cherette was starred Matt Cherette was unstarred

Dickdogfood
08/28/09

In reply to True Blood More Than Just Television — It's This American Life!
This is absolutely amazing because people have done allegories about little things like seeds and noodles and baby birds but never a WHOLE COUNTRY until now! Gosh! I get tired just thinking about it all!
Reply

Edited by Dickdogfood at 08/28/09 12:14 AM Dickdogfood was starred Dickdogfood was unstarred

Earlier discussions Other discussions Show all discussions Show featured discussions only Start a new discussion