In July I decided on a whim to start watching Parks and Rec. I had heard good things about it, I have been following SmartGirls for a few months, I have seen the Golden Globe opening monologue with Amy Poehler and Tina Fey around a hundred times and it seemed intriguing. So I dove into the abyss and it was 'love' at first sight! I have seen pretty much every episode now and have howled with laughter, snickered, grinned and gotten slightly teary-eyed while watching it. This series is pure gold and I'm going to explain in bullet points why:
-Leslie Knope - that character is absolute gold. She is funny, realistic, ambitious, hard working, has strong convictions, silly, makes mistakes and blunders, a nerd, a good friend, a feminist and what not. She is realistic and very well developed and I believe a lot of people can identify with her. You see Leslie doing some amazing things but she is not perfect - she embarrasses herself and blunders in her behavior and has some things to learn. I am so happy to see a character that is so well grounded.
-The feminist theme - Parks and Rec is a strongly feminist show and is vocal and supportive of such issues. Leslie is the front and center of the show and she is a strong woman that is inspired and empowered by other strong women. She has an entire wall with pictures of women that have done some amazing things! And Leslie herself is displayed as being empowered and strong woman. And the feminist message is a big part of the show. I am more than thrilled with the great message the show sends about female empowerment. It is wonderfully refreshing.
-The constant nerdy references - There are some many sweet and funny little references in the show and they are all to nerdy little things. I am personally so happy that they portray Leslie and Ben as being fantasy nerds. Ben loves Star Trek and Game of Thrones and Leslie loves Harry Potter and they both love LoTR. I am happy how easily such fun references are put into the show and have become a part of it. I also loved the show where Tom and Donna fell in love with Twilight. I am happy to see nerdy and fun references that are not being mocked but which are seemly portrayed as being a part of what people like, of who they are. The series shows 'nerds' in a positive light.
-Ron Swanson - this character is more than epic. I did not think I'd enjoy him so much when I first saw him but he has become my favorite. His hatred of government, love of bacon and meat, overly simplistic lifestyle, his peculiarities, his opinions, his strange humor - all of it combined makes him one of the funniest characters on TV. I regularly watch clips on youtube just with Ron Swanson as it gets me laughing. He also has some sweet moments of realism which I like.
-The characters - Ron and Leslie are my favorite but the rest are all awesome. Ann is such a sweet character but also hilarious in some gentle ways and a great contrast to Leslie. April is the most cynical character on TV but such fun. I laugh just thinking about Chris's 'literally'. Andy is a duffs but a loveable and hilarious one. I love his undercover character of Burt Maclin - it feels like an excellent parody of Sam Hanna. Ben and Tom are just so good. Donna and Jerry are excellent and I love how they make a funny scene even more funnier with their behavior. In short, I absolutely enjoy all the characters to bits.
-The political satire and commentary. Parks and Rec is about politics. It both satirizes them and deals with some very difficult truths regarding the way they work and how it affects people. It makes politics seem more accessible. I loved the way they handled gay marriage but I have also felt angry when watching the show. When Leslie had to give up her office for Jamm I felt annoyed. I can't imagine how many women have had to deal with an attitude like that in government and I think the show dealt with it very deftly.
-The humor. Parks and Rec makes me laugh so much and it makes me happy to watch it. It's an absolute treat and I love the subtle and sweet humor in it. It doesn't try so hard to be funny. Instead it just is. The acting is top-notch and I love the humorous deliveries. Parks and Rec is 20 minutes of non-stop humor and is the expert show on deadpan delivery.
-The sweet real moments - I love the way they dealt with the love between Ben and Leslie. It was well handled and felt sweet. I was ready to cry in the episode 'The trial of Leslie Knope', it was so sweet. The show manages to deliver some sweet and lovely moments between the characters which I adore. It gets woven into the show in a very good way.
-The way it challenges me - I am happy to announce that not once have I ran into trouble with understanding or getting what the characters say. I get the English 100% which I am happy with. But the way the show deals with politics and feminism has challenged me and made me think things through which I love. I will delve more into that later but I love watching a show that challenges me.
All in all, I have come to highly enjoy the show and will watch it next year. It is a good balance to my love of detective shows. I will
-Leslie Knope - that character is absolute gold. She is funny, realistic, ambitious, hard working, has strong convictions, silly, makes mistakes and blunders, a nerd, a good friend, a feminist and what not. She is realistic and very well developed and I believe a lot of people can identify with her. You see Leslie doing some amazing things but she is not perfect - she embarrasses herself and blunders in her behavior and has some things to learn. I am so happy to see a character that is so well grounded.
-The feminist theme - Parks and Rec is a strongly feminist show and is vocal and supportive of such issues. Leslie is the front and center of the show and she is a strong woman that is inspired and empowered by other strong women. She has an entire wall with pictures of women that have done some amazing things! And Leslie herself is displayed as being empowered and strong woman. And the feminist message is a big part of the show. I am more than thrilled with the great message the show sends about female empowerment. It is wonderfully refreshing.
-The constant nerdy references - There are some many sweet and funny little references in the show and they are all to nerdy little things. I am personally so happy that they portray Leslie and Ben as being fantasy nerds. Ben loves Star Trek and Game of Thrones and Leslie loves Harry Potter and they both love LoTR. I am happy how easily such fun references are put into the show and have become a part of it. I also loved the show where Tom and Donna fell in love with Twilight. I am happy to see nerdy and fun references that are not being mocked but which are seemly portrayed as being a part of what people like, of who they are. The series shows 'nerds' in a positive light.
-Ron Swanson - this character is more than epic. I did not think I'd enjoy him so much when I first saw him but he has become my favorite. His hatred of government, love of bacon and meat, overly simplistic lifestyle, his peculiarities, his opinions, his strange humor - all of it combined makes him one of the funniest characters on TV. I regularly watch clips on youtube just with Ron Swanson as it gets me laughing. He also has some sweet moments of realism which I like.
-The characters - Ron and Leslie are my favorite but the rest are all awesome. Ann is such a sweet character but also hilarious in some gentle ways and a great contrast to Leslie. April is the most cynical character on TV but such fun. I laugh just thinking about Chris's 'literally'. Andy is a duffs but a loveable and hilarious one. I love his undercover character of Burt Maclin - it feels like an excellent parody of Sam Hanna. Ben and Tom are just so good. Donna and Jerry are excellent and I love how they make a funny scene even more funnier with their behavior. In short, I absolutely enjoy all the characters to bits.
-The political satire and commentary. Parks and Rec is about politics. It both satirizes them and deals with some very difficult truths regarding the way they work and how it affects people. It makes politics seem more accessible. I loved the way they handled gay marriage but I have also felt angry when watching the show. When Leslie had to give up her office for Jamm I felt annoyed. I can't imagine how many women have had to deal with an attitude like that in government and I think the show dealt with it very deftly.
-The humor. Parks and Rec makes me laugh so much and it makes me happy to watch it. It's an absolute treat and I love the subtle and sweet humor in it. It doesn't try so hard to be funny. Instead it just is. The acting is top-notch and I love the humorous deliveries. Parks and Rec is 20 minutes of non-stop humor and is the expert show on deadpan delivery.
-The sweet real moments - I love the way they dealt with the love between Ben and Leslie. It was well handled and felt sweet. I was ready to cry in the episode 'The trial of Leslie Knope', it was so sweet. The show manages to deliver some sweet and lovely moments between the characters which I adore. It gets woven into the show in a very good way.
-The way it challenges me - I am happy to announce that not once have I ran into trouble with understanding or getting what the characters say. I get the English 100% which I am happy with. But the way the show deals with politics and feminism has challenged me and made me think things through which I love. I will delve more into that later but I love watching a show that challenges me.
All in all, I have come to highly enjoy the show and will watch it next year. It is a good balance to my love of detective shows. I will
No comments:
Post a Comment