Writing the Arts

What happened to Mad Men?

 

(Mad Men Season 6 preview)

 

I’m just about ready to give up on Mad Men. It used to be one of my go-to recommendations for people who loved television less than I do. With this show, I knew I could convince anyone that contemporary tv has become the most dynamic method of storytelling. The genius of creator Matthew Weiner rested in his ability to evenly add just one tiny hint of more complexity to each character during every episode so no one was ever quite complete. He had perfected the pacing of a weekly television drama. Weiner planted lively outbursts to hold the attention of the audience while he calmly and deliberately revealed pieces of the deeper issues that plagued even the most minor characters. These pieces that were, of course, representative of the countless social inequalities that were so salient in 1960’s America.

Somewhere in Season 5, though, the characters became less interesting because their conflicts became diluted. Was Lane’s character even developed enough to have an identity crisis? I have a tendency to get emotionally attached to fictional characters and the loss of one will easily trigger tears, but I didn’t bat an eye at Lane’s unceremonious suicide at the end of the season. If anything, I felt relief that I was liberated from his whiny British voice of reason in the otherwise sexy and passionate firm of SCDP. But the fifth season still maintained some powerful moments -- the excitement of landing the Jaguar account, Joan’s heartbreakingly triumphant promotion to partner at the firm.

Now in Season 6, the sexiness has faded with Don Draper’s success crumbling around him. It’s fine that he’s morphed into a less sympathetic leading man. I mean, I’ve followed Breaking Bad’s Walter White through his transformation into a diabolical monster and I’m still giddy in anticipation of the remaining eight episodes this summer. But nothing has had real consequences this season. For any of the characters of Mad Men. Peggy stole Heinz Ketchup from Don. Megan had a miscarriage. Martin Luther King was assassinated. And still the most interesting part of last week’s episode was that junior copywriter Ginsberg went on a blind date.

This is supposed to be a season of change. I get it. I’ve read the interviews. But the only change I’ve seen is a flattening of the character’s personalities that once attracted me to this show in the first place. Ken Cosgrove is suddenly dull and Harry Crane is inexplicably childish all of time. I can’t even bring myself to hate Pete Campbell, who is usually so slimy and sneaky that I’m squirming in my seat for the duration of his screen time. The women on the show are the only thing worth watching, but even they have fewer challenges than before. Peggy is apartment-hunting and dreaming of a domestic life with her weird boyfriend, Joan is still taking shit for being pretty in a position of power, and Megan has proved that Don’s wives would rather blankly stare so audiences can guess at their inner thoughts instead of properly conveying emotions like everyone else around them. Let’s hope that this painfully boring first half of the season is just the calm before a violent storm of all the alpha males acting out once they recognize the dissolution of their power. Otherwise, I think I’ll follow SCDP’s clients to find something a little less stale.

city of blinding lights

i went to atlantic city this weekend and a few songs come to mind for my reactions:

city of blinding lights by u2

all of the lights by kanye west

and of course, atlantic city by the boss himself bruce springsteen

i was amazed to walk in to the new jersey hotel/resort and find thousands of slot machines, poker tables, and other various attractions covered in lights and sounds and buttons. i had never been to atlantic city before, nor had i been to anywhere similar like las vegas or maybe certain clubs in new york or la. so for me, this weekend was full of new experiences and festivities. 

while some people may walk in to a casino and think of all the money they plan on winning, i walked in and found art. the neon lights filled up every inch of the gaming floor. everything about the machines are meant to draw you in, its an advertisement in itself. not only to slot machines have their infamous reputation for attracting gambling addicts, but it's clear that these machines are after a much broader audience. i find it so interesting that the casino is intricately manufactured to attract every type of person male or female, gay or straight, young or old. it is far too easy to think of advertisements as just posters or commercials and we tend to forget that just the layout of a thing itself can be all the advertisement you need.

needless to say i was drawn in. not all the way in, i kept my respectable, money-keeping distance. but i did spend a lot of time admiring the floor. neon lights everywhere. happy musical dinging and whirring. shouts of laughter and joy (accompanied of course by the moans and yells of angry drunks losing their money). the floor is a piece of art and whoever constructed it is most definitely an artist. i must say it's not too hard to attract the tourists in atlantic city whose main goal in going to this rundown beach town is to drink and gamble, but i'm glad they did put in this much effort because it was such a sight for me to see. 

Food is Power. Guantánamo to Crumble—There’ll Be No Cake.

No one force fed Ghandi, why are Guantanamo prisoners being fed against their will?

It seems what President Obama pledged years ago, will be accomplished by one of the oldest forms of political protest within a matter of weeks. Approximately 100 of 160 prisoners are currently participating in a hunger strike.  Yesterday the NY Times reported a story in which President Obama questioned the goals of the detention center, “All of us should reflect on why exactly are we doing this? Why are we doing this?” 

On Tuesday the President recommitted to closing the detention center. Surely, talks of closing the detention center will be met with many obstacles. Many inmates have been held without trail for over a decade, while others do not have right to trail.

What I find most interesting in all of this is the ethical issue of feeding ‘hunger strike’ prisoners.  Here’s what some experts are saying:

Regardeless of what your stance is on this issue it seems evitable that Gitmo will close, and food or lack there of, will be at the forefront. 

loRRa on the rise in these streets

loRRa mid-city, a young high-end streetwear clothing line, is beginnning to flood the urban fashion scene. lmc was started in Los Angeles by a young entrepenuer known as Jiro Jocelyn. jiro grew up in mid-city los angeles, but had the opportunity to travel to his families' native countries france and japan. the guy is brilliant and has a great fashion sense; one that would allow rappers to look stylish in streets and not have to wear skirts.

the logo of the clothing line is two large RR's as shown on the back the vietnam war jacket worn in the picture above. jiro's creativity is innovative to the streets, like how he used the french children's book character barbar and the news of mexican cocaine in sharks as ideas shirts and filled in RR's in the classic nike air force 1's. people are loving it.

my art collective, stachebox kings, collaborated with jiro to realease the first set of LA Bombers shirts, which was a trend this past summer. now, baRbaR is the trend in LA along with his loRRa lighter chains and loRRa bandanas.

 

 

apparently Matilda is a musical now

Once upon a time I used to take theatre classes in high school, and I paid attention to the Broadway scene. Today, after looking at the Tony Award nominees I realized just how out of touch I am.

I have no idea what "Kinky Boots" is about but apparently it was nominated for 13 different categories. Shoe salesmen gone wild??? I have no idea but the girl in pink seems to have missed the memo about wearing thigh highs. 

"Matilda" is close behind with twelve nominations. At least I'm familiar with the story here-a girl genius with evil parents finds out that she has telekinetic abilites. It's based on a great book by Roald Dahl (there's also a movie) but when I read it as a child, I never thought it needed to be turned into a show. I can't really picture Miss Trunchbull singing about anything.

The other two nominees for best musical are "Bring It On: The Musical" and "A Christmas Story: The Musical." I don't understand why a show about cheerleaders is included here. And don't shoot me, but I've never actually watched A Christmas Story. Well, I watched the scene where the kid gets his tongue stuck to the pole. And I know there's a leg lamp. But again, did it really need to be on Broadway? 

I guess it's all about the money but why can't anyone leave the movies alone and come up with something original?  Why can't a musical just be a musical? Why does it have to be based off of Shrek or Lord of the Rings or Spider-Man? Some of my favorite shows (Les Mis, Phantom) are adaptations of books but this is starting to get ridiculous. Next thing you know, Snooki and Honey Boo Boo will be on the Great White Way, rolling in the dough.

I respect it, but timing may affect free agency

recently, Jason Collins, 34-year-old Washington Wizard's center, expressed to the world his homosexuality. Collins has played in the league for 11 years with six different teams. i respect this and i am in total support of his coming out, but why now? i believe Collins used his sexuality as a stepping stone for social progress in major league sports, but a minor component attributes to getting some teams to look his way for the upcoming season. Whether good or bad looks, he will be looked at.

 

 this season, he averaged 1.1 ppg and 1.6 rpg playing with the Wizards. after this season, the veteran will become a free agent. i find it very unlikely that any team, especially the Wizards will sign the guy. although he has taken the title of the first active pro athlete to come out, i doubt he'll continue to be "active" after this season. his season ended long before the playoffs even started. No team wants him unless there's a dying need for a body during the labor day signings. JC isn't the only athlete to start the conversation of homosexuality in sports.  John Amaechi, the first NBA player to come out four years after his career, spoke on this before.

 

timing is everything, and Collins chose this time to tell us of his homosexuality. the time where his career is plummeted and he's a veteran free agent. JC's coming out now makes him somewhat exotic in the NBA. his marketability becomes questionable as he stated in an interview with Sports Illustrated's  Jon Wertheim. since the league is a business, it just may benefit or hurt some teams' sales/revenue to consider Jason Collins, the first active gay pro athlete, on their squad, but who knows?

 

On Instagram straight flexin'

    Instagram is app on smart phones for young bored people to take pictures of every day objects and with the correct filter the picture becomes artistic. Not to say that I am not guilty of shamelessly instrgraming numerous pictures of my cat but doing so I do not believe that I have a talent in photography. I have sat at my family’s dinner table and my oldest sister is across from me rearranging her wine glass, knife, fork, napkin, and turning her plate different ways to create the most ideal composition for a picture she is going to instagram, so that her one hundred some followers can see what the Taylor Family ate for Sunday night dinner. The whole idea behind Instagram and all social media networks for that matter is very egoistical, like does any one really care that while you were walking to work you saw a tree that with the right sepia tone looks edgy. Yes, the different filters do make a yellow pencil on a white lined notebook look weirdly enticing but it does not make you Annie Leibovitz.

A very calculated picture taken by my sister

My cat named Oatmeal. Therefore this is a picture of a box of Oatmeal. Punny I know.

 

Crocs: Why God Hates Us.

Lets talk about Crocs for a second. Despite being the world’s ugliest shoe they became super popular in 2007. Now six years later people are still wearing them. Why? For those of you who are lucky enough not to know what these monstrosities are, they are essentially clogs with holes in them made out of plastic, with a strap on for your heel. Barf. There are only two types people who can wear these shoes: anyone under the age of two and a gardener. Other than that, run away. It blows my mind when I see people in college wearing these. For people who’s argument is that they are comfortable,: No I do not buy it. Flip flops are comfortable, if you have the right sneaker, that is comfortable. Crocs are ugly. Also do you think that is really going to help you find someone who will want to date you? Probably not. I am pretty sure that no one has ever gotten laid because they were wearing crocs and if they did, ew. 

Cute!

Not even Chef Mario Batali can make this look cool. 

 

a very short novel

i had a copy of the anarchist cookbook, but i sold it to a psychopath for an ounce of weed in 1975.

lilou: the man with the ultimate moves

you may not consider a bboy to be among the most athletic humans in the world. i beg to differ. the best breakers are more "athletic" than the best athletes. take french bboy lilou for instance. compare his physique to the kobe bryants or lebron james of the sports world, and you may find me to be the fullest of shit. however, he trains daily, year round, no off-season, to invent, reinvent and perfect the art of breakdancing: where athleticism, grace and music intersect. lebron can jump from the freethrow line and jam it, but lilou can backflip corkscrew at eye-level to his competition. i've yet to see him injured, and if he loses, its usually because he focuses on  "clowning" the competition. in the words of trinidad james, "dont believe me just watch:"

Clowning = to debase a counterpart for comedic relief.  It is clowning/disrespectful to intercept a fellow bboy's limelight, despite being amdist a battle/cypher. 

 

he has won the red bull bc one twice (2005, 2009), an incomparable feat. he has been considered the best even when others have won. his 2005 championship battle against hong 10 is a glaring example of how his talents are beginning to recreate the art. 

the man with the ultimate moves #dope