Viggo Mortensen is one of those actors that all Scandinavians love. As far as we are concerned he is a Scandinavian actor and keeps up the Nordic cool for us abroad. His dedication to and his performance in the role of Aragorn in LOTR was nothing less than amazing. He threw himself headlong into it and pulled off a performance most actors can only dream of achieving. He literally became Aragorn.
He is very popular and respected here. So hearing him referenced on American TV shows is always interesting.
When I was watchng NCIS:LA recently I did a double take when I heard his name. In episode 4x18 Deeks is in a spa and states he is waiting for:"Viggo Mortensen to jump out and start pummeling him". I will probably never ever get what he was meant to be referring to as there were certainly no spas involved in LOTR and I have yet to hear of Mortensen randomly pummeling people on the news.
In episode 5x05 of NCIS they have a Russian character with the pseudonym Viggo. So Abby happily references to him as:"Viggo as in Mortenses". My first thought when I heard her say this was: "Wow she knows who Viggo Mortensen is". And then I remembered he is famous in America. So silly of me.
But two things about those references to Mortensen got me as:
-The name Viggo was pronounced like 'Veegoh' which is not right. In Scandinavia it is pronounced Viggo with an 'i' sound like in Hitler and short o at the end.
-The name Viggo is a crappy name for a Russian going undercover. It is a distinctly Scandinavian name, not Russian. It is like naming an Italian going undercover Vegas. It is something you notice.
I tend to be very ba when it comes to cultural references on TV shows but I did get the Mortensen one :) And they have references 'The Girl with the dragon tattoo' an incredible Swedish book! So yay for Scandinavian references on TV.
Monday, April 29, 2013
Sunday, April 28, 2013
Shippering - OhMy
Am I a shipper? Yes. I ship several couples or would-be couples on my favorite TV shows.
Castle- Castle and Beckett, Esposito and Lanie = Caskett and Esplanie
NCIS - Tony and Ziva = Tiva
NCIS - Kensi and Deeks, Nell and Eric = Densi, Neric
Five couples in total. I find it to be a fun part of the experience of watching these shows to see how those characters interact and behave with each other and how their relationships alter and change. It is often the most endearing part of the episode. And seeing those couples interact both makes me laugh and sigh and shake my head with how they behave.
But I do certainly not let the fact that I ship either affect my daily life or result in being mad at the producers when the show does not go my way. This is a very prevalent problem, particularly with Castle. I was speechless two years ago when a romantic scene between Castle and Beckett was ruined and the fans were so unhappy they stormed internet chatboards and Twitter and started insulting the producers to no end. The response amazed me. It is alright to be passionate about a TV show but when that passion drives people to be rude and insulting and behaving like little children throwing a temper tantrum it is not okay. That is too much.
People never deserve to be insulted for an innocent thing. Never. Insulting other people just because you did not get your way in an insignificant matter is not only incredibly childish but stupid. It amazes me that shippers take the time out of their day to send insulting tweets and throw an online temper tantrum just because their couple isn't together. Or have shipper wars between opposite shippers (like Nallen vs. Neric on NCIS:LA). It is nothing but a time waster. Criticising is a completely different thing and something I firmly believe in. It is what I do often on this blog. But there is a difference between honest criticism and just being plain rude. A big difference.
The whole shipper business seems so silly when it becomes so petty and laughable and I am glad it does not affect me. No matter how the relationships go my own little life carries on. It is TV reality which does not affect my daily life. And it shouldn't affect the life of others. TV is not real, this world is and I intend to live in it fully and not let things like this bother me.
And a fellow NCIS fan recently shared with me two kinds of ships - Gibbs and Abby and Ducky and Gibbs. It made me wince.
It is fine to be a shipper but never to be an idiotic one.
Castle- Castle and Beckett, Esposito and Lanie = Caskett and Esplanie
NCIS - Tony and Ziva = Tiva
NCIS - Kensi and Deeks, Nell and Eric = Densi, Neric
Five couples in total. I find it to be a fun part of the experience of watching these shows to see how those characters interact and behave with each other and how their relationships alter and change. It is often the most endearing part of the episode. And seeing those couples interact both makes me laugh and sigh and shake my head with how they behave.
But I do certainly not let the fact that I ship either affect my daily life or result in being mad at the producers when the show does not go my way. This is a very prevalent problem, particularly with Castle. I was speechless two years ago when a romantic scene between Castle and Beckett was ruined and the fans were so unhappy they stormed internet chatboards and Twitter and started insulting the producers to no end. The response amazed me. It is alright to be passionate about a TV show but when that passion drives people to be rude and insulting and behaving like little children throwing a temper tantrum it is not okay. That is too much.
People never deserve to be insulted for an innocent thing. Never. Insulting other people just because you did not get your way in an insignificant matter is not only incredibly childish but stupid. It amazes me that shippers take the time out of their day to send insulting tweets and throw an online temper tantrum just because their couple isn't together. Or have shipper wars between opposite shippers (like Nallen vs. Neric on NCIS:LA). It is nothing but a time waster. Criticising is a completely different thing and something I firmly believe in. It is what I do often on this blog. But there is a difference between honest criticism and just being plain rude. A big difference.
The whole shipper business seems so silly when it becomes so petty and laughable and I am glad it does not affect me. No matter how the relationships go my own little life carries on. It is TV reality which does not affect my daily life. And it shouldn't affect the life of others. TV is not real, this world is and I intend to live in it fully and not let things like this bother me.
And a fellow NCIS fan recently shared with me two kinds of ships - Gibbs and Abby and Ducky and Gibbs. It made me wince.
It is fine to be a shipper but never to be an idiotic one.
Friday, April 26, 2013
Castle - 'Still' the perfect fan girl episode
I just finished watching the episode 'Still' of Castle and it reminded me yet again of how much I enjoy this series. I have been watching Castle for 3 years now and the series continues to astonish and delight me. 'Still' was the perfect episode - bringing up the best moments, both the fun and the drama. I recognized every scene and could name which episode it came from instantly. Definitely a fangirl :)
The reason I enjoy Castle so much are the characters. They are all distinct personalities with their own strength and weaknesses. None of them is perfect and their interaction and relationships are always a delightful to watch, ranging from pure fun to heart rendering drama. Castle as a series has the best and strongest characterization on TV in my opinion. It is what makes it such a good show.
'Still' was the perfect episode for a Castle fan girl like me. It left me grinning and happy and brought all the best character moments. And if you are wandering - I was an ardent Castle shipper and still am and am a proud fangirl. To the point ot making my friends watch episodes and declaring Catsle as my favorite series on every single oral test I dd in high school.
Cheers for the past 4 years and here's toast for more Castle goodness to come!
The reason I enjoy Castle so much are the characters. They are all distinct personalities with their own strength and weaknesses. None of them is perfect and their interaction and relationships are always a delightful to watch, ranging from pure fun to heart rendering drama. Castle as a series has the best and strongest characterization on TV in my opinion. It is what makes it such a good show.
'Still' was the perfect episode for a Castle fan girl like me. It left me grinning and happy and brought all the best character moments. And if you are wandering - I was an ardent Castle shipper and still am and am a proud fangirl. To the point ot making my friends watch episodes and declaring Catsle as my favorite series on every single oral test I dd in high school.
Cheers for the past 4 years and here's toast for more Castle goodness to come!
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Characterization on TV - The perfect syndrome on NCIS:LA - Sam Hanna
I love writing - I love having the freedom (and the overly active imagination) to create my own worlds, my own characters and have them however I want to. It is so much fun to be able to create a character from the beginning and be proud of it and know it's your own creation. I love it. You can let them do and be anything you want. They can experience everything you've ever wanted to do and by writing about it and creating their experience you get to be a part of it.
I am fascinated by characters. With TV characters I like exploring/discovering how they are created, how they behave, what are their quirks and personality, what are their annoying habits, what is their back story. And the characters are a collaboration of many people the directors, writers, producers and the actor. I can only imagine how much fun it is to be able to get to know a character and act him/her and make your own choices about how they change and who they are and what affects them. I imagine that is one of the best things about acting. To be able to inhabit and experience what it's like to be someone else than who you are. And being involved n the process of that creation.
The characters that last best on TV are those that are human, that the TV viewers respond to and remind them of themselves, of our own inevitable humanity. TV is a fictional world but when it is a fictional world inhabited by realistic people it becomes that much more enjoyable to watch. My favorite TV shows all have in common that they have extremely good characters that are well grounded and realistic. Some started off that way and with others it took time. I will delve into that later on. The characters that end up becoming my favorite are always the one's that are most human, make mistakes, blunder, look silly, are emotional and are not perfect. If I don't see that in characters, I stop watching. Sometimes the characters jump out straight off the bat, realistic and nuanced and with others it takes time.
Sam Hanna on NCIS;Los Angeles is an example of a character where it took time for him to become more than a cardboard, one-dimensional type and emerge as a person. I gladly admit that when I first started watching NCIS:LA it took me a long to actually enjoy Sam Hanna as a character. He was a former Navy S.E.A.L., spoke fluently two extremely different languages (Japanese and Arabic), never lost a shot in battle or was wounded, cracked a joke no matter how bad the situation was and seemed to be perfectly uninfluenced by whatever went on around him. He was just too perfect.
Just like happened with Kensi, the producers started off with a character that was far too perfect. To be able to give a person so many positive, amazing characteristics must be fun but it detracts from the humanness of the person. Everyone is imperfect in the real world and it is nauseating watching perfect TV characters week after week. Becasue you know no one is like that and it is hard to actually get caught in a show, knowing nothing about the characters is human.
Sam Hanna was a superhero all through season 1. It wasn't until season 2 he became more nuanced and realistic. It surprised me when he actually started responding emotionally to situations and showing a softer side of himself. Episode 2x05 'Little Angels' was the first one where I truly liked his character and the first episode he seemed genuinely human. And it's all been uphill since then. I enjoy him much more now as a character than before.
I believe the reason viewers responded so well to Deeks and Nell from the start is because they were realistic from the beginning. Nell admitted her personality vices embarassed (I laughed so hard during that scene) and was nuanced from the beginning. Deeks makes mistakes and is silly and listens to musicals. Whereas as with the other characters it took all of season 1 to get them going, the new one's emerged good straightaway. And in season 2 the series hit it's stride. There are definite hiccups along the way but the characters are actually enjoyable now. And that is why I watch it.
I am fascinated by characters. With TV characters I like exploring/discovering how they are created, how they behave, what are their quirks and personality, what are their annoying habits, what is their back story. And the characters are a collaboration of many people the directors, writers, producers and the actor. I can only imagine how much fun it is to be able to get to know a character and act him/her and make your own choices about how they change and who they are and what affects them. I imagine that is one of the best things about acting. To be able to inhabit and experience what it's like to be someone else than who you are. And being involved n the process of that creation.
The characters that last best on TV are those that are human, that the TV viewers respond to and remind them of themselves, of our own inevitable humanity. TV is a fictional world but when it is a fictional world inhabited by realistic people it becomes that much more enjoyable to watch. My favorite TV shows all have in common that they have extremely good characters that are well grounded and realistic. Some started off that way and with others it took time. I will delve into that later on. The characters that end up becoming my favorite are always the one's that are most human, make mistakes, blunder, look silly, are emotional and are not perfect. If I don't see that in characters, I stop watching. Sometimes the characters jump out straight off the bat, realistic and nuanced and with others it takes time.
Sam Hanna on NCIS;Los Angeles is an example of a character where it took time for him to become more than a cardboard, one-dimensional type and emerge as a person. I gladly admit that when I first started watching NCIS:LA it took me a long to actually enjoy Sam Hanna as a character. He was a former Navy S.E.A.L., spoke fluently two extremely different languages (Japanese and Arabic), never lost a shot in battle or was wounded, cracked a joke no matter how bad the situation was and seemed to be perfectly uninfluenced by whatever went on around him. He was just too perfect.
Just like happened with Kensi, the producers started off with a character that was far too perfect. To be able to give a person so many positive, amazing characteristics must be fun but it detracts from the humanness of the person. Everyone is imperfect in the real world and it is nauseating watching perfect TV characters week after week. Becasue you know no one is like that and it is hard to actually get caught in a show, knowing nothing about the characters is human.
Sam Hanna was a superhero all through season 1. It wasn't until season 2 he became more nuanced and realistic. It surprised me when he actually started responding emotionally to situations and showing a softer side of himself. Episode 2x05 'Little Angels' was the first one where I truly liked his character and the first episode he seemed genuinely human. And it's all been uphill since then. I enjoy him much more now as a character than before.
I believe the reason viewers responded so well to Deeks and Nell from the start is because they were realistic from the beginning. Nell admitted her personality vices embarassed (I laughed so hard during that scene) and was nuanced from the beginning. Deeks makes mistakes and is silly and listens to musicals. Whereas as with the other characters it took all of season 1 to get them going, the new one's emerged good straightaway. And in season 2 the series hit it's stride. There are definite hiccups along the way but the characters are actually enjoyable now. And that is why I watch it.
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Europe in media - Icelandic/Swedish edition
I recently wrote about the 'continent syndrome' and four silly fails when it comes to Europe in media. And to my delight I found this video this morning. This incest app has been all over the news lately and I am fearful that some may believe it is meant to be a serious app when in reality it is a fun, nonsensical app for Icelanders. It pokes good natured fun at not only the teeny, tiny size of their population but also their obsession with genetics and family history and the fact that ethnic Icelanders share ancestors because until the middle of the 20th century, the inhabitants were less than 100.000 and today they are a measly 320.000. So it can be said that all Icelanders are related!
This is so very representative and a completely non-stereotypical image of Icelanders obviously.
I do not watch Jimmy Kimmel but this sketch certainly made me laugh. It is always fun to see people make good natured fun of Scandinavians and the crazy things that go on over here.
And this scene from Conan O'Brien trying to pronounce Jake Gyllenhaal's name right. I can assure that he is way off with the pronunciation :)
But still, it is necessary for us Scandinavians to be reminded off that despite the fact that we consider ourselves to be really cool and suave, we're not. We have some extraordinarily inflated egos when it comes to our nationality and pride in our culture and language. The only people that are allowed to poke fun at Scandinavians are us, ourselves. Heaven forbid anyone else should do it. So videos like this are a good reminder of how silly we really are.
But this gem is Scandinavians making fun of themselves and our languages. As a speaker of Scandinavian languages, I can vouch for that this video is spot on. This is how we speak. I personally feel that one of the Scandinavian languages I speak (Danish) is the ugliest one on the planet. And it is features in this video.
And this - a personal favorite of mine
This is so very representative and a completely non-stereotypical image of Icelanders obviously.
And this scene from Conan O'Brien trying to pronounce Jake Gyllenhaal's name right. I can assure that he is way off with the pronunciation :)
But still, it is necessary for us Scandinavians to be reminded off that despite the fact that we consider ourselves to be really cool and suave, we're not. We have some extraordinarily inflated egos when it comes to our nationality and pride in our culture and language. The only people that are allowed to poke fun at Scandinavians are us, ourselves. Heaven forbid anyone else should do it. So videos like this are a good reminder of how silly we really are.
But this gem is Scandinavians making fun of themselves and our languages. As a speaker of Scandinavian languages, I can vouch for that this video is spot on. This is how we speak. I personally feel that one of the Scandinavian languages I speak (Danish) is the ugliest one on the planet. And it is features in this video.
And this - a personal favorite of mine
Monday, April 22, 2013
Background music in TV episodes - what I like and don't like
As a musician I am always listening to music and noticing it in my environment. What kind of music is being played, how well it works, how much I like it et cetera. So naturally I pay attention to the music on TV shows. How well it works, how it reflects what is going on in the episode and the ever important - how much do I like it. And here is a short synopsis on music in my favorite TV shows.
NCIS has the best music score hands down. It is always such a delight to listen to and it makes a good episode even better. What I have also noticed is that I respond most emotionally to the music on NCIS. It's simple but very effective music and it conveys so much without words. In my opinion it expresses emotion so well, I have even got teary eyed over listening to the music.
My most favorite all time NCIS song is "Aliyah" - I just love it and that song has a very personal meaning for me. I regularly listen to it just before I fall asleep, it is so soothing and calming. I love the quiet melody, the simpleness of the song and the serenity it brings but there is still that touch of melancholy. It's one of my most favorite songs of all time.
And all the other NCIS soundtrack songs are amazing but "Aliyah" is the best one
And I have to mention Cote de Pablo's wonderful performance of "Temptation". I am a big Jazz and blues fan and that song is amazing. I listen to it regularly and love the mysterious aura it has.
NCIS:Los Angeles is unfortunately not nearly as good when it comes to the background music. I never enjoy it. It always feels forced or just a bit too much. If there is an exciting scene it blasts way too much and when there's a funny scene the music turns extra, nauseatingly light and fun. So I tend to twitch in my seat when I listen to the music.
But I did like this song they played in one scene.
Castle, just like NCIS, has excellent background music. I love it how subtle and soft their music is but it still adds great atmosphere to scenes when needed and can convey the mood of each scene perfectly. I am also enjoying how much the composer uses piano melodies - they are always simple but effective. They use both the music of their official composer and music from pop artists.
This song from 2x13 by Pearl Jam I absolutely love.
But the music in the end scene of episode 4x24 is just so amazing. I enjoy the way the cello melody and the piano melody are twinned together and how the music conveys the mood of the characters. This is in my opinion a good example of well composed TV score. The music I am referring to begins around minute 2.
Truth be told I have never noticed much the TV score in Criminal Minds. It is so much in the background. But the way they incorporated music into episode 6x16 "Coda" was very good. And that score was so well done.
I am always on the lookout for good music. And TV does provide some :)
NCIS has the best music score hands down. It is always such a delight to listen to and it makes a good episode even better. What I have also noticed is that I respond most emotionally to the music on NCIS. It's simple but very effective music and it conveys so much without words. In my opinion it expresses emotion so well, I have even got teary eyed over listening to the music.
My most favorite all time NCIS song is "Aliyah" - I just love it and that song has a very personal meaning for me. I regularly listen to it just before I fall asleep, it is so soothing and calming. I love the quiet melody, the simpleness of the song and the serenity it brings but there is still that touch of melancholy. It's one of my most favorite songs of all time.
And all the other NCIS soundtrack songs are amazing but "Aliyah" is the best one
And I have to mention Cote de Pablo's wonderful performance of "Temptation". I am a big Jazz and blues fan and that song is amazing. I listen to it regularly and love the mysterious aura it has.
NCIS:Los Angeles is unfortunately not nearly as good when it comes to the background music. I never enjoy it. It always feels forced or just a bit too much. If there is an exciting scene it blasts way too much and when there's a funny scene the music turns extra, nauseatingly light and fun. So I tend to twitch in my seat when I listen to the music.
Castle, just like NCIS, has excellent background music. I love it how subtle and soft their music is but it still adds great atmosphere to scenes when needed and can convey the mood of each scene perfectly. I am also enjoying how much the composer uses piano melodies - they are always simple but effective. They use both the music of their official composer and music from pop artists.
This song from 2x13 by Pearl Jam I absolutely love.
But the music in the end scene of episode 4x24 is just so amazing. I enjoy the way the cello melody and the piano melody are twinned together and how the music conveys the mood of the characters. This is in my opinion a good example of well composed TV score. The music I am referring to begins around minute 2.
Truth be told I have never noticed much the TV score in Criminal Minds. It is so much in the background. But the way they incorporated music into episode 6x16 "Coda" was very good. And that score was so well done.
I am always on the lookout for good music. And TV does provide some :)
Saturday, April 20, 2013
When the media is forced to teach a geography lesson
In light of the terrible recent events in Boston, things have spurred into a frenzy. Mainly a geographical frenzy. The two brothers that were apprehended were of Chechen origin. However, a lot people seem to have decided that meant they were from the Czech Republic.
Those are two entirely separate countries. The Czech Republic is in Central Europe and Chechnya is located in south Russia. There are 1700 miles between those two countries. These are two entirely different nations with very different background and history. Chechnya is unfortunately known for being a violent country. The Czech republic is however a very peaceful nation.
The ambassador of the Czech republic shouldn't have to release a statement warning people that these are two different countries. It is terrible that people are shouting bad things and threatening violence to a nation that was not involved in the attack. It is a stupid and cowardly action. One should never answer violence with violence
I am not making light of what has been happening recently. I never will. Put I urge people to be calm and think rationally and not jump to conclusions. Threatening others is not the way to deal with things. The suspects have been apprehended, their family (who I feel very sorry for) has condemned their actions. Now is the time to grief, come together and think how events like this can be stopped from happening again. Not to rise to stupid action and make a bad thing incredibly worse. Because it serves no one. Least of all those that were most impacted by the attack.
Independent article on the subject but please ignore the comment section
And if people want to see an explanation of where the Chechen republic is and the political situation there - Episode 4x13 of NCIS:Los Angeles provides a good explanation early in the episode. It makes me sad to watch it now, knowing that what they dealt with in the episode really did happen :/
(And for the record, everyone I know can locate the Czech republic on a map comfortably but I don't think many of us could locate the state of Maine f.ex. so the geography stupidity goes both ways in some respects)
Those are two entirely separate countries. The Czech Republic is in Central Europe and Chechnya is located in south Russia. There are 1700 miles between those two countries. These are two entirely different nations with very different background and history. Chechnya is unfortunately known for being a violent country. The Czech republic is however a very peaceful nation.
The ambassador of the Czech republic shouldn't have to release a statement warning people that these are two different countries. It is terrible that people are shouting bad things and threatening violence to a nation that was not involved in the attack. It is a stupid and cowardly action. One should never answer violence with violence
I am not making light of what has been happening recently. I never will. Put I urge people to be calm and think rationally and not jump to conclusions. Threatening others is not the way to deal with things. The suspects have been apprehended, their family (who I feel very sorry for) has condemned their actions. Now is the time to grief, come together and think how events like this can be stopped from happening again. Not to rise to stupid action and make a bad thing incredibly worse. Because it serves no one. Least of all those that were most impacted by the attack.
Independent article on the subject but please ignore the comment section
And if people want to see an explanation of where the Chechen republic is and the political situation there - Episode 4x13 of NCIS:Los Angeles provides a good explanation early in the episode. It makes me sad to watch it now, knowing that what they dealt with in the episode really did happen :/
(And for the record, everyone I know can locate the Czech republic on a map comfortably but I don't think many of us could locate the state of Maine f.ex. so the geography stupidity goes both ways in some respects)
When the news gets it wrong - Fox News, Norway edition
Yesterday I looked up videos from Fox News on youtube on the Utoya terror accident - what a big mistake it was. I wanted to see how they reported on that act of terror compared to the recent events. And boy did Fox News bring it on or what. Some may think that I am being too sensitive and that this happened years ago. But when you see clips like this about a place that you truly love there are no words
Norway is not a democracy because not everyone owns guns
Every Scandinavian country is a democracy! We have strict gun laws to protect our society and guns are not a part of our culture. For us, owing guns is not our civil right. It is people in the military, police, law enforcement, forest rangers that need them. Not the majority of the public. But apparently that is undemocratic. All I am going to say is this - human lives matter infinitely more than the right to own a gun.
Breivik apparently did the act of terror because he was 'conerned' about Muslim fundamentalist
There are no words for this..... It makes me want to it my head against the wall listening
And then Glenn Beck came with this gem which made my blood boil
First of all - likening the camp to Hitler Youth camp is disrespecting the victims terribly. It is making light of terrible events and is victim blaming
Secondly - Germany invaded Norway. I have been where people were mercilessly murdered by the Germans and know the history. They even set up breeding camps in Norway where they put together German men and Norwegian women to breed the ultimate Aryan race. With history like that.... nothing is further off for us than to follow in Hitler's footsteps
The power of media to screw things and represent them badly is amazing. Absolutely stunning.
Norway is not a democracy because not everyone owns guns
Breivik apparently did the act of terror because he was 'conerned' about Muslim fundamentalist
There are no words for this..... It makes me want to it my head against the wall listening
And then Glenn Beck came with this gem which made my blood boil
First of all - likening the camp to Hitler Youth camp is disrespecting the victims terribly. It is making light of terrible events and is victim blaming
Secondly - Germany invaded Norway. I have been where people were mercilessly murdered by the Germans and know the history. They even set up breeding camps in Norway where they put together German men and Norwegian women to breed the ultimate Aryan race. With history like that.... nothing is further off for us than to follow in Hitler's footsteps
The power of media to screw things and represent them badly is amazing. Absolutely stunning.
Friday, April 19, 2013
Muslim faith in media - Part 1 - How NCIS:LA has dealth with it
This is a very touchy subject - how the Muslim faith is portrayed in media and just in general. I had the remarkable pleasure of attending a lecture a few weeks back about women in the Islamic faith. To say it was awesome would be an understatement. The lecture was delivered by a highly educated German-Iranian woman and it was a treat to listen to her. Not only did she make incredibly good points about women's rights in Islam but also about how Muslims are presented in media.
The point that struck me most was when she said that whenever something bad happens in Middle-Eastern countries, be it violence, terrorism, women's rights being infringed upon and other issues, the Islamic faith is always said to be the cause. She said it was never the cause when bad things happened in other parts of the world. Such as when the terrible domestic terrorism attack happened in Norway July 22nd 2011 (peace be unto the victims) it was stated that Breivik was a Christian, yet no one blamed his faith as the basis of his actions. If this had happened in a Muslim country, the Islamic faith would have been blamed.
It is striking how easily everything that takes place in the Middle East is is blamed upon the Islamic faith. Things are so much more complicated than that. Faith is a big part of people's lives all over the world and drives them to action, both good and bad. In America, abortion clinics are bombed by fundamentalist Christians. It is a tragic when that happens and it angers me as a Christian that people treat the live of a fetus seriously when they ignore the lives of other people. Yet, despite that, the entire Christian faith has not been blamed as a whole. So why do people blame the entire Islamic faith and all Muslims based on isolated events?
That's why episode 4x13, "The Chosen One" of NCIS:Los Angeles was so interesting to me. NCIS:LA has not always been exactly smooth when it comes to dealing with the Islamic faith but this episode was interesting in many ways.
-It presented the view of a person that had been converted after listening to Malcolm X, who was a muslim. the character stated she just wanted to feel "clean", meaning renewed and the faith gave her that. Unfortunately, the faith was terribly twisted and Callen acknowledged that. This view on the Islamic faith is not often presented.
-When Kensi interrogated the Chechen terrorist I was impressed with the fact that she was the one that stated a well known passage from the Quran about the sin of killing people. Throughout that scene, she and the character fought with different views on the act of committing terrorism because of faith. I thought it was interesting they had Kensi defending the Islamic faith. Generally it is condemned by the main characters.
-I was however NOT impressed with the scene they had Callen and one of the terrorist performing prayers. Praying is a very sacred ritual in every faith and is one to be treated with care. Praying is very important to me as a Christian. The same goes for muslims. So to have a character pretending to be a Muslim and participating in such a ritual and that just before a supposed bomb attack is not only extremely offensive to the faith but also misleading about the faith in general. Prayer is the time people come before their God and have a conversation with him, abide in him, love him, get their answers. It is such a sacred and important ritual and I was not happy with the lightness with which they treated it.
-And in episode 4x02 there was one very offensive scene in my opinion. They had Kensi don a traditional burqa with her face covered and everything. Then she entered a shooting scene speaking Arabic and suddenly she pulled out a gun from under her clothes and started firing around. That scene shocked me. I thought it was completely unnecessary first of all to have her enter in such a terrible way and secondly, it was very offensive in my opinion. It supported the stereotypical image of the "shooting Arabic woman" that is so wrong. And it disgraced a traditional outfit of faith I was surprised they even thought of doing this on the show. Thankfully this has not been done since and I hope not to see it again. Like the Germany debacle, it was demeaning to what is a good show.
I respect the fact they decided to attack this issue and they did parts of it very well but it needs to be treated with care and respect. They could have skipped the prayer scene and the episode would have been just as good. Sensitivity is needed when it comes to dealing with religion, every religion. Sensitvity, respect and to remember always that something very important is being portrayed. People can make an effective and thoughtful point while maintaining respectability.
Next up for dissecting i ow NCIS deals with the Muslim faith
The point that struck me most was when she said that whenever something bad happens in Middle-Eastern countries, be it violence, terrorism, women's rights being infringed upon and other issues, the Islamic faith is always said to be the cause. She said it was never the cause when bad things happened in other parts of the world. Such as when the terrible domestic terrorism attack happened in Norway July 22nd 2011 (peace be unto the victims) it was stated that Breivik was a Christian, yet no one blamed his faith as the basis of his actions. If this had happened in a Muslim country, the Islamic faith would have been blamed.
It is striking how easily everything that takes place in the Middle East is is blamed upon the Islamic faith. Things are so much more complicated than that. Faith is a big part of people's lives all over the world and drives them to action, both good and bad. In America, abortion clinics are bombed by fundamentalist Christians. It is a tragic when that happens and it angers me as a Christian that people treat the live of a fetus seriously when they ignore the lives of other people. Yet, despite that, the entire Christian faith has not been blamed as a whole. So why do people blame the entire Islamic faith and all Muslims based on isolated events?
That's why episode 4x13, "The Chosen One" of NCIS:Los Angeles was so interesting to me. NCIS:LA has not always been exactly smooth when it comes to dealing with the Islamic faith but this episode was interesting in many ways.
-It presented the view of a person that had been converted after listening to Malcolm X, who was a muslim. the character stated she just wanted to feel "clean", meaning renewed and the faith gave her that. Unfortunately, the faith was terribly twisted and Callen acknowledged that. This view on the Islamic faith is not often presented.
-When Kensi interrogated the Chechen terrorist I was impressed with the fact that she was the one that stated a well known passage from the Quran about the sin of killing people. Throughout that scene, she and the character fought with different views on the act of committing terrorism because of faith. I thought it was interesting they had Kensi defending the Islamic faith. Generally it is condemned by the main characters.
-I was however NOT impressed with the scene they had Callen and one of the terrorist performing prayers. Praying is a very sacred ritual in every faith and is one to be treated with care. Praying is very important to me as a Christian. The same goes for muslims. So to have a character pretending to be a Muslim and participating in such a ritual and that just before a supposed bomb attack is not only extremely offensive to the faith but also misleading about the faith in general. Prayer is the time people come before their God and have a conversation with him, abide in him, love him, get their answers. It is such a sacred and important ritual and I was not happy with the lightness with which they treated it.
-And in episode 4x02 there was one very offensive scene in my opinion. They had Kensi don a traditional burqa with her face covered and everything. Then she entered a shooting scene speaking Arabic and suddenly she pulled out a gun from under her clothes and started firing around. That scene shocked me. I thought it was completely unnecessary first of all to have her enter in such a terrible way and secondly, it was very offensive in my opinion. It supported the stereotypical image of the "shooting Arabic woman" that is so wrong. And it disgraced a traditional outfit of faith I was surprised they even thought of doing this on the show. Thankfully this has not been done since and I hope not to see it again. Like the Germany debacle, it was demeaning to what is a good show.
I respect the fact they decided to attack this issue and they did parts of it very well but it needs to be treated with care and respect. They could have skipped the prayer scene and the episode would have been just as good. Sensitivity is needed when it comes to dealing with religion, every religion. Sensitvity, respect and to remember always that something very important is being portrayed. People can make an effective and thoughtful point while maintaining respectability.
Next up for dissecting i ow NCIS deals with the Muslim faith
Thursday, April 18, 2013
English - when a foreigner doesn't get things
If you are wondering about the sudden increase in posting - exam season is upon me.
Now as I've said previously I am an English student doing my undergraduate degree in linguistics and British/American literature. So I naturally have a great love of English as a language. I can work my way through centuries old literature and analyze it to smithereens like it ain't no thing, ramble on incessantly abut British (royals) and American History (particularly immigration and racial history), work my way through complicated linguistics and listen to all sorts of accents and understand them.. But, because I am not a native speaker the language can throw me for a loop. Specifically when it comes to spelling and sometimes auditory English. And I still don´t know what the word 'mutton' means or 'veal'.
So watching my favorite shows can be quite a ride sometimes. Especially when I don't catch what the actors are saying. It's simply a fact that I sometimes need to listen to the audio several times before I catch what the characters are saying. And sometimes it leads to terrible misunderstandings:
In episode 1x20 of NCIS:LA Kensi talks about a man complementing her boots and calling them unique. I heard 'boobs' - needless to say I sat there open-mouthed wondering what on earth I was hearing.
In one episode of season 3 (I do not remember which one) Granger is talking about someone's fiancé - I heard Beyoncé and started wondering why on earth they were mentioning her.
In Modern Family Gloria has a great scene where she talks about having asked for a box of Baby Cheeses and instead got a Baby Jesus - I had to say both words out loud several times to catch the difference between them phonetically.
In episode 8x22 of NCIS DiNozzo shouts: "You can't outrun me, I'm wearing tubesocks!". And I sat wondering what in the world tube socks are. So I googled it .
But sometimes, watching TV shows really helps.
NCIS has proved to be quite the linguistic tool for me when they correct Ziva's use of idioms. I don't know half of the idioms she uses so I honestly love learning them. So it's an extra bonus for English language idiots for me to watch the show.
And in Castle episode 2x02 Castle was correcting use of language and grammar throughout the entire episode and talked about the proper use of irony. It was a treat for me to watch as a linguistics student.
In one episode of NCIS:LA Kensi corrected Deek's pronunciation of the word "lightning". It was actually interesting for me to hear. I´d be very happy if they'd one day cover the word "comfortably" which I hate pronouncing.
So watching TV is not only interesting but also educating!
Now as I've said previously I am an English student doing my undergraduate degree in linguistics and British/American literature. So I naturally have a great love of English as a language. I can work my way through centuries old literature and analyze it to smithereens like it ain't no thing, ramble on incessantly abut British (royals) and American History (particularly immigration and racial history), work my way through complicated linguistics and listen to all sorts of accents and understand them.. But, because I am not a native speaker the language can throw me for a loop. Specifically when it comes to spelling and sometimes auditory English. And I still don´t know what the word 'mutton' means or 'veal'.
So watching my favorite shows can be quite a ride sometimes. Especially when I don't catch what the actors are saying. It's simply a fact that I sometimes need to listen to the audio several times before I catch what the characters are saying. And sometimes it leads to terrible misunderstandings:
In episode 1x20 of NCIS:LA Kensi talks about a man complementing her boots and calling them unique. I heard 'boobs' - needless to say I sat there open-mouthed wondering what on earth I was hearing.
In one episode of season 3 (I do not remember which one) Granger is talking about someone's fiancé - I heard Beyoncé and started wondering why on earth they were mentioning her.
In Modern Family Gloria has a great scene where she talks about having asked for a box of Baby Cheeses and instead got a Baby Jesus - I had to say both words out loud several times to catch the difference between them phonetically.
In episode 8x22 of NCIS DiNozzo shouts: "You can't outrun me, I'm wearing tubesocks!". And I sat wondering what in the world tube socks are. So I googled it .
But sometimes, watching TV shows really helps.
NCIS has proved to be quite the linguistic tool for me when they correct Ziva's use of idioms. I don't know half of the idioms she uses so I honestly love learning them. So it's an extra bonus for English language idiots for me to watch the show.
And in Castle episode 2x02 Castle was correcting use of language and grammar throughout the entire episode and talked about the proper use of irony. It was a treat for me to watch as a linguistics student.
In one episode of NCIS:LA Kensi corrected Deek's pronunciation of the word "lightning". It was actually interesting for me to hear. I´d be very happy if they'd one day cover the word "comfortably" which I hate pronouncing.
So watching TV is not only interesting but also educating!
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
The continent syndrome - European edition
One of the things I really like to observe on American TV shows is how Europe is represented. Most of the times TV shows do a very good job but sometimes they fail. Today's post is dedicated to silly fails.
Episode 3x21 "A touch of death" of NCIS:Los Angeles has a scene where they show the spread of a dangerous virus on a digital map should it break out. The map looked really cool and the virus spread over a pretty large area. However I noticed one mistake - the virus would not spread to Iceland apparently. The best part of Europe became blood red but Iceland remained nicely green.
-This is a definite fail since Iceland serves as a gateway for international travel between America and Europe. It would be one of the first places to be contaminated.
Numb3rs once had an episode where they found ancient remains of a human skeleton. They had the skull recreated on a computer program and a picture emerged. One of the characters took one look at the photo and said:"Yeah that guy definitely looks European".
-The person recreated in said picture was a Caucasian, that's it. And exactly how can you tell with one glance that a person is European? I at least cannot.
In last episode of NCIS they were talking about where Bodnar was situated in the world and they specifically mentioned he was believed to be in Rome. Later in the same episode McGee said they believed he was used in Western-Europe. It turns out he was in Berlin.
-Europe is a huge continent with a lot of countries and no one really knows where Western-Europe begins or ends. We´re talking about over 20 countries that fall into that category. So that is a lot of area to cover and a lot of languages to know.
In episode 2x02 (I think) of NCIS:Los Angeles, Sam Hanna plans to have Hetty send him on a military mission to Iceland because then he will have been t every place a James Bond movie has been shot
-Iceland does not have an army or a navy although the US army had a base their for some decades. So having Sam go their on a military mission today is impossible. Unless he´d be going to the place Reagan and Gorbachev met in on a history trip. And secondly, since there used to be an American army base there and Iceland is the gateway of international travel between America and Europe, he would definitely have stopped there at some point on his travels.
The oh so dear continent syndrome that every single TV show is guilty of. Whenever characters refer to having traveled to European countries, knowing a European or mention anything to a related European country they always talk about Europe. It is seldom differentiated between countries like UK, Spain, Chezch Republic, Norway, Slovenia or that. The continent is always referred to as a whole.
-I know it´s a more convenient way but still. Always referring to Europe as a whole is ignoring the fact that it is an extremely diverse continent with many countries and languages and very different cultures. Scandinavians for example are overly proud of their heritage and nationality and generally do not appreciate when people forget that. Trust me.
And it always makes me laugh when TV characters are meant to be abroad and in Europe and every single person they meet that is supposed to be from the country they are in speaks not only perfect English but with an American accent.
-Many European countries have people that speak fluent English or have at least good command of it but most people speak it with an accent, often a heavy one. And in many countries English is not spoken at all. So it would be way more realistic for the characters to be subjected to very thick accents and have to resort to acting out things most of the time. I am English student at an international University - exactly one person in my class speaks with a native British accent. The rest (me included) speak with variations of Polish/Russian/Balkan/Scandinavian/Spanish/French/Semi-American/Chinese. So most native speakers would shiver when listening to us butcher English in class or saying "What is the word for...?" :)
And just as a last bit -
Episode 3x21 "A touch of death" of NCIS:Los Angeles has a scene where they show the spread of a dangerous virus on a digital map should it break out. The map looked really cool and the virus spread over a pretty large area. However I noticed one mistake - the virus would not spread to Iceland apparently. The best part of Europe became blood red but Iceland remained nicely green.
-This is a definite fail since Iceland serves as a gateway for international travel between America and Europe. It would be one of the first places to be contaminated.
Numb3rs once had an episode where they found ancient remains of a human skeleton. They had the skull recreated on a computer program and a picture emerged. One of the characters took one look at the photo and said:"Yeah that guy definitely looks European".
-The person recreated in said picture was a Caucasian, that's it. And exactly how can you tell with one glance that a person is European? I at least cannot.
In last episode of NCIS they were talking about where Bodnar was situated in the world and they specifically mentioned he was believed to be in Rome. Later in the same episode McGee said they believed he was used in Western-Europe. It turns out he was in Berlin.
-Europe is a huge continent with a lot of countries and no one really knows where Western-Europe begins or ends. We´re talking about over 20 countries that fall into that category. So that is a lot of area to cover and a lot of languages to know.
In episode 2x02 (I think) of NCIS:Los Angeles, Sam Hanna plans to have Hetty send him on a military mission to Iceland because then he will have been t every place a James Bond movie has been shot
-Iceland does not have an army or a navy although the US army had a base their for some decades. So having Sam go their on a military mission today is impossible. Unless he´d be going to the place Reagan and Gorbachev met in on a history trip. And secondly, since there used to be an American army base there and Iceland is the gateway of international travel between America and Europe, he would definitely have stopped there at some point on his travels.
The oh so dear continent syndrome that every single TV show is guilty of. Whenever characters refer to having traveled to European countries, knowing a European or mention anything to a related European country they always talk about Europe. It is seldom differentiated between countries like UK, Spain, Chezch Republic, Norway, Slovenia or that. The continent is always referred to as a whole.
-I know it´s a more convenient way but still. Always referring to Europe as a whole is ignoring the fact that it is an extremely diverse continent with many countries and languages and very different cultures. Scandinavians for example are overly proud of their heritage and nationality and generally do not appreciate when people forget that. Trust me.
And it always makes me laugh when TV characters are meant to be abroad and in Europe and every single person they meet that is supposed to be from the country they are in speaks not only perfect English but with an American accent.
-Many European countries have people that speak fluent English or have at least good command of it but most people speak it with an accent, often a heavy one. And in many countries English is not spoken at all. So it would be way more realistic for the characters to be subjected to very thick accents and have to resort to acting out things most of the time. I am English student at an international University - exactly one person in my class speaks with a native British accent. The rest (me included) speak with variations of Polish/Russian/Balkan/Scandinavian/Spanish/French/Semi-American/Chinese. So most native speakers would shiver when listening to us butcher English in class or saying "What is the word for...?" :)
And just as a last bit -
Icelandic ass-cloud - this is the horrible Icelandic accent in all it´s glory
Monday, April 15, 2013
Racism in Media - Why in the effing does skin color matter?!
Now this post is not strictly TV related but it is media related so I´m letting it pass.
As I have already stated earlier I am a Scandinavian Caucasian with the whole shebang, formerly blond hair which mysteriously turned light brown a few years back, blue eyes and the skin color of a vampire. And because of that, the color of my skin, my race, I am save from racial slurs. Never, ever have I in my entire life encountered racial slurs based on my skin color. Not once.
But if the tables were turned and I was actually African, Hispanic or Asian I would have encountered a lot of racial slurs at my age. I would have been subjected to stereotypial remarks, racial slurs, prejudice and gross conjectures. All because of the color of my skin.
The only difference between me and girls my age that are of different races is the skin color and our looks. Nothing else. Yet, because of my ivory skin color I am safe from racial slurs, from predjudice.
It makes me want to hit my head against the wall that things work like that. Why on earth am I safer just because my skin color is pale? It is obviously not my fault I am white. I am an ethnic Scandinavian so it comes with the territory. But I am no more deserving than others of being safe from racism just because I sport a white skin. It is just my skin color and looks, nothing else.
I hate the fact that because of being pale/Caucasian/looking like a vampire/having skin that always burns in the sunlight, people enjoy more rights, they are more safe, they get more chances.
The media offers an excellent look at just how prevalent racism is still today. Quvenzhané Wallis was subjected to the c-word. It´d not have happened had she been Caucasian
Amandla Stenberg was subjected to racism as well because of her skin color. People actually tweeted they were turned off by the fact that Rue was meant to be black. It says so in the bloody book! Unless people are color blind and read the word 'white' everywhere instead of 'black'.
Malia Obama was subjected to racism because of a t-shirt she was wearing
This article here on Rookie explains it all Rookie Magazine (click on it!)
Had those girls been white they would not have been subjected to those atrocities Their skin color determined people's belief of whether they could be talked badly about and subjected to prejudice or not. Because they had dark skin it was deemed okay.
I am flabbergasted and furious that it is our skin color that determines whether it is okay to slander people or not. We all deserve respect and sensitivity IRREGARDLESS OF OUR SKIN COLOR.
I am worth no more and am a no better person because I look like a vampire. What determines my worth and how I should be treated in media (were I a public figure which I am thankfully not) is that I am a person, I am alive. The same goes for those beautiful girls and every single person that is subjected to racism in media. They all deserve it.
Every person deserves to be treated with respect and sensitivity. It is that simple.It is a no-brainer and it is something we all need to be aware of
As I have already stated earlier I am a Scandinavian Caucasian with the whole shebang, formerly blond hair which mysteriously turned light brown a few years back, blue eyes and the skin color of a vampire. And because of that, the color of my skin, my race, I am save from racial slurs. Never, ever have I in my entire life encountered racial slurs based on my skin color. Not once.
But if the tables were turned and I was actually African, Hispanic or Asian I would have encountered a lot of racial slurs at my age. I would have been subjected to stereotypial remarks, racial slurs, prejudice and gross conjectures. All because of the color of my skin.
The only difference between me and girls my age that are of different races is the skin color and our looks. Nothing else. Yet, because of my ivory skin color I am safe from racial slurs, from predjudice.
It makes me want to hit my head against the wall that things work like that. Why on earth am I safer just because my skin color is pale? It is obviously not my fault I am white. I am an ethnic Scandinavian so it comes with the territory. But I am no more deserving than others of being safe from racism just because I sport a white skin. It is just my skin color and looks, nothing else.
I hate the fact that because of being pale/Caucasian/looking like a vampire/having skin that always burns in the sunlight, people enjoy more rights, they are more safe, they get more chances.
The media offers an excellent look at just how prevalent racism is still today. Quvenzhané Wallis was subjected to the c-word. It´d not have happened had she been Caucasian
Amandla Stenberg was subjected to racism as well because of her skin color. People actually tweeted they were turned off by the fact that Rue was meant to be black. It says so in the bloody book! Unless people are color blind and read the word 'white' everywhere instead of 'black'.
Malia Obama was subjected to racism because of a t-shirt she was wearing
This article here on Rookie explains it all Rookie Magazine (click on it!)
Had those girls been white they would not have been subjected to those atrocities Their skin color determined people's belief of whether they could be talked badly about and subjected to prejudice or not. Because they had dark skin it was deemed okay.
I am flabbergasted and furious that it is our skin color that determines whether it is okay to slander people or not. We all deserve respect and sensitivity IRREGARDLESS OF OUR SKIN COLOR.
I am worth no more and am a no better person because I look like a vampire. What determines my worth and how I should be treated in media (were I a public figure which I am thankfully not) is that I am a person, I am alive. The same goes for those beautiful girls and every single person that is subjected to racism in media. They all deserve it.
Every person deserves to be treated with respect and sensitivity. It is that simple.It is a no-brainer and it is something we all need to be aware of
Sunday, April 14, 2013
Barrett Foa singing as Mitt Romney - an ode of love (and a rant on politics)
So just to get it cleared up - I love musicals, absolutely love them. I am a classically trained musician and music is a big part of my life. And I am a proud musical geek (favorites are Wicked and Mary Poppins).
So understandably I devour any piece from a new musical that comes my way.
But I am also a thinker and an observer with a great interest in international matters and media. And learning new things. And I have a tendency to get extremely interested in certain things and try learning about them as much as possible (this includes my long standing love affair with Russian culture and the language). And last autumn was an absolute field day for a nerd like me. The American presidential election was on!
I dove into it with enthusiasm and started following Romney and Obama and enlightening myself on their policies on various matters, the most interesting one being taxes, health care reform and international matters. And was I in for a "treat" (written with great sarcasm). or what. From the beginning of the campaigns, I sat in shock in front of my computer as I watched video after video, read article after article with misconceptions and slander about Europe as a whole. Mind you, the entire continent was spoken about as if we were one collective country (which we are NOT!).
Europe as a whole continent was called a socialist state and candidates promised they would NOT have a socialist government like Europe.
Because yes, we are all socialist pigs and all belong to the same country and all have the same government
Russia was declared as USA's main enemy
The Cold War and WWII are still going on apparently and Russia still aims to destroy USA - the rest of Europe did not get the memo apparently
European health care was described as terrible over and over again
Yes, our hospitals are ran by government agent with the sole purpose of killing people, you found us out USA sadly
European governments control everything people do and have their nose in people´s personal affairs
Yes the government watches my every action and even has a camera in my bedroom
I can tell you that my jaw fell to the floor over and over again and I ranted again and again about the insanity of this. And Romney was at the top of his game when it came to international policy and Europe.
His Europe trip was England, Poland and Israel. Apparently Europe only consists of three countries.
His vice president candidate declared Russia to be USA's number one enemy and talked about it being communist
He spoke in his foreign policy (and I read this with my own eyes) of having people come over to USA from Russia to get ideas on democracy and such things and then they cold go back home to Russia and educate people on it.
And Europe was time and again declared a socialist place (nice putting us all under one hat)
And to cap it off he had international policy towards all continents except Africa and Europe. he had a specific international policy towards Russia (so quite clearly we do not exist as a continent).
So I was feeling like losing my head. You might say I was letting this get too much to me but I care dearly about where I come from and seeing it talked about like that annoyed me to no end. It was as if the world had gone mad for a while. And I was not okay with it.
So when I found the gem of a song that is Barett Foa singing as Mitt Romney it meant a lot to me. I know it sounds incredibly silly (and it is) but the song instantly got to me. I loved it so much and still do. It made sense to me in so many ways and considering the politic situation it was perfect. I listened to it over and over again and each time I laughed my head off. I learned it by heart and started singing it when on my way to work. I realize how dorky this is but I arrived in good spirit at work every time. I still listen to it regularly and it makes me grin each and every time.
And here is why
-The song is a very good musical number - like really good
-Barrett Foa sings it really well - he has an excellent voice and you can tell he is a trained singer
-The lyrics - all my opinions and thoughts on Romney and politics in general expressed in fund and thoughtful lyrics - it expressed everything but also had valid political concerns
-It was fun - I love things that make me happy and make me laugh and this did and still does
It was such a relief to get this song and it came at the right time. I have played it for friends and family and they all think it's great. Barrett Foa managed to address the concerns and thoughts of pretty much all Scandinavians (save a few) in one song when it came to politics and Romney.
Music is something I respond very strongly to (I am a classically trained musician and have been a music nerd since infancy) and it helps me make sense of things. And this song did.
So thank you Mr. Foa for saving the political sanity of a Scandinavian :) And for making me laugh time and again!
And here is the gem on a youtube link - Click here!
So understandably I devour any piece from a new musical that comes my way.
But I am also a thinker and an observer with a great interest in international matters and media. And learning new things. And I have a tendency to get extremely interested in certain things and try learning about them as much as possible (this includes my long standing love affair with Russian culture and the language). And last autumn was an absolute field day for a nerd like me. The American presidential election was on!
I dove into it with enthusiasm and started following Romney and Obama and enlightening myself on their policies on various matters, the most interesting one being taxes, health care reform and international matters. And was I in for a "treat" (written with great sarcasm). or what. From the beginning of the campaigns, I sat in shock in front of my computer as I watched video after video, read article after article with misconceptions and slander about Europe as a whole. Mind you, the entire continent was spoken about as if we were one collective country (which we are NOT!).
Europe as a whole continent was called a socialist state and candidates promised they would NOT have a socialist government like Europe.
Because yes, we are all socialist pigs and all belong to the same country and all have the same government
Russia was declared as USA's main enemy
The Cold War and WWII are still going on apparently and Russia still aims to destroy USA - the rest of Europe did not get the memo apparently
European health care was described as terrible over and over again
Yes, our hospitals are ran by government agent with the sole purpose of killing people, you found us out USA sadly
European governments control everything people do and have their nose in people´s personal affairs
Yes the government watches my every action and even has a camera in my bedroom
I can tell you that my jaw fell to the floor over and over again and I ranted again and again about the insanity of this. And Romney was at the top of his game when it came to international policy and Europe.
His Europe trip was England, Poland and Israel. Apparently Europe only consists of three countries.
His vice president candidate declared Russia to be USA's number one enemy and talked about it being communist
He spoke in his foreign policy (and I read this with my own eyes) of having people come over to USA from Russia to get ideas on democracy and such things and then they cold go back home to Russia and educate people on it.
And Europe was time and again declared a socialist place (nice putting us all under one hat)
And to cap it off he had international policy towards all continents except Africa and Europe. he had a specific international policy towards Russia (so quite clearly we do not exist as a continent).
So I was feeling like losing my head. You might say I was letting this get too much to me but I care dearly about where I come from and seeing it talked about like that annoyed me to no end. It was as if the world had gone mad for a while. And I was not okay with it.
So when I found the gem of a song that is Barett Foa singing as Mitt Romney it meant a lot to me. I know it sounds incredibly silly (and it is) but the song instantly got to me. I loved it so much and still do. It made sense to me in so many ways and considering the politic situation it was perfect. I listened to it over and over again and each time I laughed my head off. I learned it by heart and started singing it when on my way to work. I realize how dorky this is but I arrived in good spirit at work every time. I still listen to it regularly and it makes me grin each and every time.
And here is why
-The song is a very good musical number - like really good
-Barrett Foa sings it really well - he has an excellent voice and you can tell he is a trained singer
-The lyrics - all my opinions and thoughts on Romney and politics in general expressed in fund and thoughtful lyrics - it expressed everything but also had valid political concerns
-It was fun - I love things that make me happy and make me laugh and this did and still does
It was such a relief to get this song and it came at the right time. I have played it for friends and family and they all think it's great. Barrett Foa managed to address the concerns and thoughts of pretty much all Scandinavians (save a few) in one song when it came to politics and Romney.
Music is something I respond very strongly to (I am a classically trained musician and have been a music nerd since infancy) and it helps me make sense of things. And this song did.
So thank you Mr. Foa for saving the political sanity of a Scandinavian :) And for making me laugh time and again!
And here is the gem on a youtube link - Click here!
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
NCIS:RED - I liked it
So I guess my readers are all eager to know how I liked the NCIS:RED launch seeing how annoyed I was with the initial descriptions of the characters. Well, I needed to eat up my own words as I was very pleasantly surprised with the way it turned out. I mean very surprised but it caught my interest and I want to see more of it.
So here´s in bulleting points what I liked about the show
-Kim Raver - First of all I was completely surprised with Kim Raver´s performance. I don´t know her as an actress and I was very impressed with her! She did a great job as Paris and I thought she was very believable. She gave Paris a nuance and made her feel realistic. I thoroughly enjoyed her performance!
-Gillian Alexy - Another actress I did not know but she impressed me as well. She has an awesome Australian accent and she carried herself with great confidence, even swagger which I enjoyed a lot.
-Scott Grimes - I enjoyed him a lot. He definitely pulled out the funniest performance!
-Paris Summerskill - The character was actually very well realized and you got heaps of interesting back story about her. She´s even part French! I was impressed with how realistic and well nuanced she was straight from the beginning. And I really want to see more of her.
-Claire Keats - She was my favorite! She was so self confident, sarcastic (which I bloody loved), enthusiastic, had a bit of a swagger, nicely weird and obviously very smart. I loved her in her scenes with Sam where she was so enthusiastic and just very genuine in her behavior. And her accent was so wonderful to listen to.
-The humour - Scott Grimes kept me laughing with his cooking prowess, his commentary on vegetarians and vegans (I totally recognized that being the long suffering sister of a strict vegetarian), his comment on the socks Keats gave him and adorable awkwardness. He was like Eric Beale and I enjoyed that.
-The storyline - I was actually really intrigued by the storyline and thought the twists and turns were fun. It certainly kept me on my toes and I did NOT expect the ending
-The spark between Paris and Callen - I adored it. The actors pulled well off the atmosphere of cautious but wondering curiosity and they were very earnest with each other. I thought it was lovely to see them and Callen deserves to have someone.
-The clothes - can I just say that I thought they were wonderful. I want all of Paris´s and Claire´s outfits already.
-The fact that there is a woman in charge - seeing how the TV world works today I loved that and it's a step up for CBS to actually have a TV series with a woman in charge (aside from Hetty maybe)
What I did not like
-The shoes the actresses were - minor detail but still, you do NOT wear shoes with heels when fighting someone/playing an agent
-Roy Haines - somehow he didn't quite get to me as a character. He was just a bit too... annoying and he did not seem to listen to Paris. But he can definitely improve
-Kai Ashe´s accent - this sounds extremely petty and mean but when I first heard his accent I was lost and couldn't grasp properly what he was saying. I had to listen a few times to get it. It did put me off.
But once I got used to it, it was much easier to listen to. I have excellent auditory English skills but sometimes I cannot hear properly what the actors say and it does throw me off to have to listen to a clip several times just to get the words.
Best scenes
-Claire and Dave sharing the chocolate bar. It was such a fun scene. They seemed so comfortable with each other sharing it and it was so normal for them. That did it for me. I laughed my head off when I saw it
-Dave talking about the socks that Claire gave him
-Dave worrying about allergies
-Callen and Paris discussing calling her P
-Hetty checking in on everyone
-Claire being over excited in the coffee house with Sam
-Dave trying to speak Spanish - what a wonderful scene it was!
Overall I thought it was a nice introduction to a new series and I am happy that a lot of my earlier misgivings proved untrue. I was apprehensive about it but now I do hope it´ll be put to a series. It definitely has potential and could turn out to be really really good. It's also allow for more overlap with NCIS:LA which would be fun. I do want to see Kensi and Deeks visit the Red team and Nell and Eric too.
So CBS you got me, please put it to series!
But I still stand by what I said when I first read the descriptions of the characters - they were terrible but thank goodness you improved.
So here´s in bulleting points what I liked about the show
-Kim Raver - First of all I was completely surprised with Kim Raver´s performance. I don´t know her as an actress and I was very impressed with her! She did a great job as Paris and I thought she was very believable. She gave Paris a nuance and made her feel realistic. I thoroughly enjoyed her performance!
-Gillian Alexy - Another actress I did not know but she impressed me as well. She has an awesome Australian accent and she carried herself with great confidence, even swagger which I enjoyed a lot.
-Scott Grimes - I enjoyed him a lot. He definitely pulled out the funniest performance!
-Paris Summerskill - The character was actually very well realized and you got heaps of interesting back story about her. She´s even part French! I was impressed with how realistic and well nuanced she was straight from the beginning. And I really want to see more of her.
-Claire Keats - She was my favorite! She was so self confident, sarcastic (which I bloody loved), enthusiastic, had a bit of a swagger, nicely weird and obviously very smart. I loved her in her scenes with Sam where she was so enthusiastic and just very genuine in her behavior. And her accent was so wonderful to listen to.
-The humour - Scott Grimes kept me laughing with his cooking prowess, his commentary on vegetarians and vegans (I totally recognized that being the long suffering sister of a strict vegetarian), his comment on the socks Keats gave him and adorable awkwardness. He was like Eric Beale and I enjoyed that.
-The storyline - I was actually really intrigued by the storyline and thought the twists and turns were fun. It certainly kept me on my toes and I did NOT expect the ending
-The spark between Paris and Callen - I adored it. The actors pulled well off the atmosphere of cautious but wondering curiosity and they were very earnest with each other. I thought it was lovely to see them and Callen deserves to have someone.
-The clothes - can I just say that I thought they were wonderful. I want all of Paris´s and Claire´s outfits already.
-The fact that there is a woman in charge - seeing how the TV world works today I loved that and it's a step up for CBS to actually have a TV series with a woman in charge (aside from Hetty maybe)
What I did not like
-The shoes the actresses were - minor detail but still, you do NOT wear shoes with heels when fighting someone/playing an agent
-Roy Haines - somehow he didn't quite get to me as a character. He was just a bit too... annoying and he did not seem to listen to Paris. But he can definitely improve
-Kai Ashe´s accent - this sounds extremely petty and mean but when I first heard his accent I was lost and couldn't grasp properly what he was saying. I had to listen a few times to get it. It did put me off.
But once I got used to it, it was much easier to listen to. I have excellent auditory English skills but sometimes I cannot hear properly what the actors say and it does throw me off to have to listen to a clip several times just to get the words.
Best scenes
-Claire and Dave sharing the chocolate bar. It was such a fun scene. They seemed so comfortable with each other sharing it and it was so normal for them. That did it for me. I laughed my head off when I saw it
-Dave talking about the socks that Claire gave him
-Dave worrying about allergies
-Callen and Paris discussing calling her P
-Hetty checking in on everyone
-Claire being over excited in the coffee house with Sam
-Dave trying to speak Spanish - what a wonderful scene it was!
Overall I thought it was a nice introduction to a new series and I am happy that a lot of my earlier misgivings proved untrue. I was apprehensive about it but now I do hope it´ll be put to a series. It definitely has potential and could turn out to be really really good. It's also allow for more overlap with NCIS:LA which would be fun. I do want to see Kensi and Deeks visit the Red team and Nell and Eric too.
So CBS you got me, please put it to series!
But I still stand by what I said when I first read the descriptions of the characters - they were terrible but thank goodness you improved.
Can we all just agree not to hate celebrities?
Today I was reading yet another article on why people hate Anne Hathaway? Really, there exists an entire mob out there dedicated to spewing out bad things and insults against her on the internet. I am flabbergasted. Why do people do that? Why on earth?
Why do people take special time out of their day to write badly about others on the internet, especially people they do not know?!
Is it okay for us as people to badmouth celebrities and talk terribly about them online and tweet that garbage?
Is it somehow our moral right because they are famous?
Was it okay for the Onion to tweet the c-word about Quvenzhané Wallis because now she is famous?
I mean, I regularly wish I had the paycheck that celebrities have. And it can be annoying to see them look perfect all the time when I personally end up looking like a frazzled hen with my hair all over the place and my braces (yeps, rocking them at over 20). And yes they tend to be seriously successful in their work. And sometimes celebrities annoy me a tiny bit (don´t get me started on the "new mother" covers which make me gag) but it does not affect my daily life. I prefer happiness and not bothering with being annoyed with things that in the end do not matter.
Celebrities are also human. They definitely look and feel grumpy when in private and I am certain they enjoy looking like pigs like the rest of us every once in a while. And they have their own makeup and hair stylist on set so no wonder they look perfect on TV/Film all the time. We'd all look gorgeous all day long if we had that! They probably had money worries before their fame and might still. And they still have their successes and downfalls. And in the end what is success? I know of some incredibly successful people that will leave behind them (and have left) a legacy and have touched so many people with their work. Those folks were/are all teachers. And us normal people get privacy!
And just because celebrities are famous does not make them immune to reality. Fame often has nothing to do with that. And before they were famous, many celebrities actually had a really difficult life. Are we going to call someone that went through verbal/emotional and physical abuse and lived in poverty when younger "immune to reality" because that person achieves fame later on? Former experiences do not fade away with a larger paycheck.
And they continue to have difficulties. Divorces, miscarriages, losing their children, marital difficulties, losing a loved one, drug and alcohol use and the list goes on. Money and fame do not change the fact that those are difficult things to deal with. And celebrities do it in the spotlight with the whole world watching, waiting and judging. The rest of us do it in peace, in quiet.
Behind the glossy pictures in the magazines and the endless smiling perfect interviews and cheesy pictures there is a person. And every person is hurt by words. No matter who they are. No one of like being called names, especially by people that don´t know us and never will. People only see one side of celebrities very often and that often a side that is easy to judge. So very incredibly easy. I have no doubt it hurts like hell to see constant tweets and articles about why people hate you. It pretty hard to ignore when the entire internet becomes hell bent on a personal vendetta against a person. Especially people who do not know squat about who you are.
Some celebrities and famous people do end up acting like absolute gits and idiots. I am not trying to dispute that and in my opinion their actions can be judged, just like with anyone else. Yet again, fame does not stop people from acting like idiots and neither does no fame. There are idiots in every occupation and their actions can be discussed.
But 95% of people are decent, hard working people that are not idiots. Not perfect of course, but not idiots. And I prefer not wasting my time on being annoyed by those people. Because at the end of the day, does it really matter? So lets just quit it and concentrate on the things that really matter in life
(I personally much prefer the occupation of fangirling. Way more fun and brings back the nostalgia of teenage years spent on admiring Orlando Bloom and Heath Ledger. And of course my current regular occupation of listening to Barrett Foa singing as Mitt Romney over and over again while studying and making other people listen to it as well. It just makes me grin from ear to ear each time I hear it)
Why do people take special time out of their day to write badly about others on the internet, especially people they do not know?!
Is it okay for us as people to badmouth celebrities and talk terribly about them online and tweet that garbage?
Is it somehow our moral right because they are famous?
Was it okay for the Onion to tweet the c-word about Quvenzhané Wallis because now she is famous?
I mean, I regularly wish I had the paycheck that celebrities have. And it can be annoying to see them look perfect all the time when I personally end up looking like a frazzled hen with my hair all over the place and my braces (yeps, rocking them at over 20). And yes they tend to be seriously successful in their work. And sometimes celebrities annoy me a tiny bit (don´t get me started on the "new mother" covers which make me gag) but it does not affect my daily life. I prefer happiness and not bothering with being annoyed with things that in the end do not matter.
Celebrities are also human. They definitely look and feel grumpy when in private and I am certain they enjoy looking like pigs like the rest of us every once in a while. And they have their own makeup and hair stylist on set so no wonder they look perfect on TV/Film all the time. We'd all look gorgeous all day long if we had that! They probably had money worries before their fame and might still. And they still have their successes and downfalls. And in the end what is success? I know of some incredibly successful people that will leave behind them (and have left) a legacy and have touched so many people with their work. Those folks were/are all teachers. And us normal people get privacy!
And just because celebrities are famous does not make them immune to reality. Fame often has nothing to do with that. And before they were famous, many celebrities actually had a really difficult life. Are we going to call someone that went through verbal/emotional and physical abuse and lived in poverty when younger "immune to reality" because that person achieves fame later on? Former experiences do not fade away with a larger paycheck.
And they continue to have difficulties. Divorces, miscarriages, losing their children, marital difficulties, losing a loved one, drug and alcohol use and the list goes on. Money and fame do not change the fact that those are difficult things to deal with. And celebrities do it in the spotlight with the whole world watching, waiting and judging. The rest of us do it in peace, in quiet.
Behind the glossy pictures in the magazines and the endless smiling perfect interviews and cheesy pictures there is a person. And every person is hurt by words. No matter who they are. No one of like being called names, especially by people that don´t know us and never will. People only see one side of celebrities very often and that often a side that is easy to judge. So very incredibly easy. I have no doubt it hurts like hell to see constant tweets and articles about why people hate you. It pretty hard to ignore when the entire internet becomes hell bent on a personal vendetta against a person. Especially people who do not know squat about who you are.
Some celebrities and famous people do end up acting like absolute gits and idiots. I am not trying to dispute that and in my opinion their actions can be judged, just like with anyone else. Yet again, fame does not stop people from acting like idiots and neither does no fame. There are idiots in every occupation and their actions can be discussed.
But 95% of people are decent, hard working people that are not idiots. Not perfect of course, but not idiots. And I prefer not wasting my time on being annoyed by those people. Because at the end of the day, does it really matter? So lets just quit it and concentrate on the things that really matter in life
(I personally much prefer the occupation of fangirling. Way more fun and brings back the nostalgia of teenage years spent on admiring Orlando Bloom and Heath Ledger. And of course my current regular occupation of listening to Barrett Foa singing as Mitt Romney over and over again while studying and making other people listen to it as well. It just makes me grin from ear to ear each time I hear it)
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Tiva Goodness!!
Now I am a NCIS fangirl and proud of it and a Tiva shipper. I am pretty quiet about it but get me going and I can blabber on endlessly. Case in point, I have had a fangirl moment at my University with another girl when we discussed our favorite Ducky moments, dished on Abby and quoted our favorite scenes word for word. Yes, even here in the cold North we watch NCIS :)
So lets just say I grinned when I saw this picture (click)
And read that Tony and Ziva will be travelling alone to Berlin together to track down her father´s killer. Berlin is perhaps not the most romantic city in the world but Tony and Ziva, alone and dancing. It is pure heaven for the Tiva fans and I personally can not wait to see it.
I know not to expect too much but still - anything that goes on between these two is pure greatness.
And I can not wait!
And if you are interested - Abby´s best scenes is without a doubt when she discusses with McGee not listening that she is pregnant with Gibbs's baby. It makes me laugh every time I see it.
So lets just say I grinned when I saw this picture (click)
And read that Tony and Ziva will be travelling alone to Berlin together to track down her father´s killer. Berlin is perhaps not the most romantic city in the world but Tony and Ziva, alone and dancing. It is pure heaven for the Tiva fans and I personally can not wait to see it.
I know not to expect too much but still - anything that goes on between these two is pure greatness.
And I can not wait!
And if you are interested - Abby´s best scenes is without a doubt when she discusses with McGee not listening that she is pregnant with Gibbs's baby. It makes me laugh every time I see it.
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Implicating history - sensitvity is needed
I have always been clear on the fact that I am a NCIS:LA fan. I think it´s a great show. But sometimes they aren´t too good when it comes to dealing with sensitive matters, particularly when dealing with international matters. I have written about the seemingly obsessive interest they have with Russians. But they also have an obsessive interest in Germans. And unfortunately, in my opinion, they don´t handle it very well.
Everyone is aware of the history of Germany and the terrible things that took place their in WWII when jews, gays, disabled people, roma people, anyone Hitler deemed as unfit to live were marched to camps to be tortured and killed so that Arians could become the dominating race. It´s something that has left a scar on Europe that will never heal. It´s impact is felt very strongly here and will always be. I cannot emphasize enough the effect this had upon Europe. It´s history that makes us ashamed. More ashamed than people realize.
So I was particularly annoyed (well angry) when NCIS:LA so candidly decided to focus on Germany in episode 2x09 Absolution. I know it aired 2 years ago but I still need to criticize it because what was said in that episode was terrible. I have wondered about why they put those lines in. Obviously they were meant to be funny but the point is, you don´t mock certain things, least of all WWII/German history.
Everyone is aware of the history of Germany and the terrible things that took place their in WWII when jews, gays, disabled people, roma people, anyone Hitler deemed as unfit to live were marched to camps to be tortured and killed so that Arians could become the dominating race. It´s something that has left a scar on Europe that will never heal. It´s impact is felt very strongly here and will always be. I cannot emphasize enough the effect this had upon Europe. It´s history that makes us ashamed. More ashamed than people realize.
So I was particularly annoyed (well angry) when NCIS:LA so candidly decided to focus on Germany in episode 2x09 Absolution. I know it aired 2 years ago but I still need to criticize it because what was said in that episode was terrible. I have wondered about why they put those lines in. Obviously they were meant to be funny but the point is, you don´t mock certain things, least of all WWII/German history.
Marty Deeks: Then again, they are Germans. They could just be getting their kink on.
Eric Beale: I'm half German.
Sam Hanna: I can see that.
What Deeks says there makes me bristle. Yes, what happened in WWII, everything that Germans have ever done can be related to them "getting their kink on". Because obviously killing millions of people and torturing them is just following a natural urge that Germans have. So, no big deal.
Excuse me! That is not only incredibly offensive but also making fun of what is a tragic history. Germans will never recover from what happened, the shame is very deep and no matter how much they atone it´ll always be there staring them in the face. I am not apologizing or minimizing what they did. I never will. But I know personally about the deep shame they carry.
And what about Jews? This is history that affected them, systematic killing and torture of people only based on their religion. Jews suffered unspeakably tragedies during this time and they will never recover from it. Anti-semitism is still going strong today and Jews have to live with the fact that only 60 years ago, they weren´t deemed worthy of live because of their religion.
So go ahead Hollywood. Mock history and make it sound as if what happened was just Germans getting their kink on. How very historically sensitive
And then there´s this gem of a conversation:
Marty Deeks: Why did the Germans whack him now?
Henrietta 'Hetty' Lange: Ah. One never knows with the Germans.
Marty Deeks: [Deeks scoffs] Right.
Eric Beale: Come on guys! I'm right here!
Henrietta 'Hetty' Lange: Apologies, her Beale.
Eric Beale: Danke.
Yes Hetty, obviously one never knows with the Germans. They are just mindless creatures that go around killing and torturing people for the fun of it. So everything that has happened in German history is related to their biological urges and not something they can control.
This coming from the country that pretty much wiped out Native-Americans. Oh and had slavery until the late 19th century.
Thank goodness that they had Eric Beale be offended and bothered with their insensitive comments and he was vocal about it. I have always suspected that they put those lines in later as to make the effect of what Deeks and Hetty said a little less.
But sorry it didn´t work.
NCIS:LA has since been a little bit more gentle and tried to even out their criticism of foreign countries. But this was not one of their finest moments.
I know America is a country of free speech but with that also comes the responsibility of not behaving like an absolute twit. With rights come responsibilities. And that includes being respectful and sensitive. Because certain things are not meant be made fun of.
Conversation was copied from this link IMDB - All rights go to them
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