TV – Paint a Mental Picture

I love ‘Love Actually’, actually, to quote Kitty from Ghosts. British romcoms just have that thing about them, from my totally biased British opinion. They are cosy and unrealistic and feature a barrage of clumsy bumbling characters. Usually featuring Hugh Grant if you’re thinking of a certain time period for British romcoms. But yes, I love them. I love the stiff upper lip awkwardness, the double entendre, and yes, there are plenty of stereotypes. But movies have stereotypes. And, and this is my main point, movies are fictional.

You’ve probably seen the following kind of article lately. I watched this and I have questions. I watched that classic film and I was horrified. I’m watching love actually for the first time and it’s AWFUL!!! Yes. We get it. It was made in 2003 and you’re super offended by its lack of 2020 standards (and “oh the Andrew Lincoln scene is just creepy”). But is it that bad? I don’t think so. In fact, there’s so many good things about Love Actually that these people don’t seem to realise. The smattering of jokes unique to British humour. The singing priminister’s guard, the irony of a pair of movie body doubles struggling to ask each other out. Emma Thompson’s acting. References to the passengers aboard the planes of 9/11.

The scene between Keira Knightly and Andrew Lincoln is still my favourite scene. As he mentions, he’s confession to provide an explanation, clear the air. Not with any other motives. “With no agenda.”

The criticism around Love Actually and other films of the like, such as Four Weddings and a Funeral, has increased in the last year or two. The key criticism being too straight, or too white. As I say, we are not in the time we were. As for Four Weddings, in my opinion, it features one of the most modern and respectful depictions of a gay couple, even by the depictions used today (such James Corden in that Netflix film… Prom, is it?). In a sea of incorrect and potentially hurtful stereotypes of gay men, we saw a couple that weren’t characatures for cheap jokes. We just saw a couple, the only couple among that group of romantically unsuccessful friends, fully accepted by all.

We need to edge away from the idea that all movies need to depict social issues, need to shoehorn characters in for the sake of diversity. So many films focus on one group of people, and yet today there seems to be this pressure to feature as many racial, cultural and LGBTQ groups as possible into mainstream movies. So much so that it deviates from a true story. Love Actually may have its issues when viewed from the lenses of today, but it wasn’t made for that. It was made for audiences of then. Movies used to be made for escapism. To reflect technological advances. To tell a story. Today, even in a fantasy or a superhero flick, we are being reminded of social issues and imbalances. In the time we are currently in, do we need to be reminded in the evenings too that the world isn’t perfect? Do we need our TV shows to preach to us in a time of what we want to use for relaxation and switching off?

Yes, some movies should be made to deliver a message. But other movies can simply exist to have fun with. To watch when we just want to feel warm and fuzzy, or cry like no one is watching. What, I ask, is wrong with that?

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2020 in Review

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If there’s one phrase I keep hearing, its “I can’t wait for 2020 to be over” and the like. And yes, I get that. Its been a turbulent year. But the reality is that the pandemic will not be limited to 2020. In fact, the pandemic for many parts of the world began before 2020. Today, I wondered whether I’d still be judging people for not wearing a mask or standing 2 meters apart in a year’s time. It feels like second nature now, to distance and mask up each time I’m in a shop, and sneer at those for not doing so. Its been a unique year, to say the least.

But does that mean its write off? For many who have lost loved ones, who have been isolated, or who have faced this pandemic from the front line, perhaps that is the case. 2020 for many has, in short, been an absolute shit storm. Redundancies, job losses, cut backs, companies closing because they cannot fund running in the midst of a virus that results in reduced custom. But for the rest of us, 2020 has meant more time with family, working in the comfort of our jammies, and having just that little bit more time to take stock of our mental and physical health. Rather than declare 2020 as just a year that shouldn’t count, I’m taking it from my privileged position as a period in history in which I was there. Taking the good with the bad.

So what has 2020 been to me? And yes, I’m focusing on the positives. There’s too much negativity in the world to begin with.

2020 has meant branching out. More and different books, trying a few different crafts, watching a few different films. TV shows I’ve never thought about watching before. Having that time has meant not being too tired after a day’s work to do anything more than flopping on the sofa to watch the same old same old.

2020 has meant more time for education. I started and finished (and passed) my first module for my masters degree. Due to working from home, my lunch breaks and down time were filled with essays and reading as opposed to mindless scrolling through my phone.

2020 has meant fitness goals. Back in March I ran my first 10km, as I was meant to be doing a charity 10k elsewhere. Instead, I did it on my own, on a treadmill, in my living room, with a virtual tour of Vienna on the go on my TV. I’ve also been working more on my yoga, and I’m sure I’ve progressed (somehow).

2020 has meant more painting. Art has been in my life since my first bronchiosaurus drawing at the age of 5. But this year I’ve done many more commisions than usual, and its given me the chance to develop. I’ve painted birds and babies for the first time. Turns out I’m not too shabby if I do say so myself.

2020 has meant new experiences. I’ve never worked from home before, and I do quite like it. I passed my 1 year anniversary at my job on the 18th. Its also given me the drive to take my first long weekend trip on my own, which was not only greatly needed, but a big kick in my confidence of my own independence too.

2020 has meant moving out – last week, I moved in to an apartment with my fiance. A couple of arguments with the company selling us our table later (a further couple about the broadband) and I think we’re actually formulating a home.

2020 has, in short, meant progress. I’m a true believer in baby steps, that progress counts everywhere, and can happen anywhere. If you’re reading this, you have survived this pandemic so far. Maybe you’ve partaken in the plays streamed on YouTube, taken up a long distance course to pass the time. Maybe you’ve used your time to learn a few guitar chords. Whatever this year has been, its been an experience. Whether good or bad, we’re still here.

Merry Chrimbo and a Happy New Year

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Escapism Through the Screen – TV Shows

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If I thought of all the TV shows I’d watched over the years, all the hours I’d spent sat down and switching on to switch off, I probably wouldn’t sound like a very productive person (a matter of perspective maybe). The last couple of months have been a real journey of discovery into (almost exclusively) British comedy shows I’d never seen, or never wanted to commit any time to. Side note…these are all quite short shows, and as of yet accessible for free.

1. Green Wing – Green Wing is one of those off the wall shows with not one serious bone in its body. Despite being set in a hospital, none of its plots are medically related, and it’s characters spend their screen time cartwheeling or playing out romances that feel like caricatures of those in more serious shows, and are just as gripping to watch.

2. Spaced – continuing the channel 4 comedy route, Spaced has been one I’ve watched on repeat for years now, once again during my time at home. It’s constant references to pop culture seem fresh in a modern TV world convoluted with geeky stereotypes who eye roll every time someone says they haven’t watched Star Wars.

3. Black Books – More 4. I know. At this point, you start spotting many of the same actors in each, and there’s a nice kind of familiarity with that. Bernard and Manny are great polar opposites as serial pessimist and serial optimist, while Fran offers the perspective of somewhere in between. Its fast and chaotic at times, exaggerated in its principle setting of a cluttered book shop.

4. The League of Gentlemen – today, some of the characters used in The League of Gentlemen, as well as some of the jokes, do seem quite outdated. But the black humour is niche, and simply reflects the attitudes of the time (some of the characters are meant to be somewhat socially isolated, after all). The characters span between the weirdly mundane to the wacky and offensive, each independent and rarely (if ever) meeting. It is bizarre, and difficult to explain why this kind of humour is so addictive to me, and I think thats part of the charm.

5. Inside No 9 – sticking with Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith, Inside no 9 is an anthology…well it’s difficult to define it besides that. Comedy, horror, crime, drama…everything, really. Each as unique as the last. As a fan of older anthologies such as Hammer House of Horror and Tales of the Unexpected, I believe anthologies can never get old.

6. The Mighty Boosh – probably the most outlandish of the lot, it’s humour deviates from relatable and typical to funny words, quite beautiful imagery and total randomness. The characters are all bizarre or exaggerated versions of stereotypes we might be familiar with, but besides that it is a world in and of itself.

Honorable mentions

1. Car Share – I watched this in the space of one evening. I love any TV show or movie that can create something from one principle setting, and rely entirely on dialogue to create what it’s meant to.

2. Psychoville – I think you have to be fan of Shearsmith and Pemberton for this, but that’s just my point of view. Much like The League of Gentlemen, several characters are played by the same actors, and once again the humour comes from the mundane characters who are essentially oddballs. And it is, in places, genuinely creepy. To me, anyway.

3. Ghosts – Unmistakably British I think, with a number of typically English stereotypes such as the stuff upper lip WW2 captain, the sleazy politician, and the anguished poet. It’s jokes are fast paced, and its humour is silly and occasionally essentially adult.