Saturday, October 17, 2015

Girls Meets Restraint

One of the best things about Girl Meets World is it's willingness to hold back. I think that tonight's episode:



Any other show on TV -- whether made for tweens, teens, or adults -- would have had the two of them kiss. Then the action of the kiss would have been the focus of the next episode(s) rather than the reason for or meaning of the kiss. Friends would get angry but eventually make up. New couples may form and all friendships would be tested. But in no way would they actually look at the feelings beneath the kiss.

Girl Meets World choose to stop these two from kissing and now they have to deal with the emotions. The emotions that Maya has been trying to suppress because she's afraid of losing her best friend and surrogate family. The emotions that Lucas is afraid to let out because he works so hard to not upset people. The emotions that Riley have involving how quickly she wants to grow up versus how quickly the rest of the world wants her to grow up.

Sure, these things will, at best, get one episode, the one on tomorrow night, but at least the show is sophisticated enough to try.

Wednesday, October 14, 2015

That Next Marvel Movie

Dear Marvel Movies:

Re: Captain America: Civil War

Your movie has the same problem as the comic book event did.

You insist that both sides are equally right. That there is no right answer to whatever the question will be, but two are given and we, the audience, are supposed to decide which of our heroes are correct.

I'm here to tell you that once you put Captain America on a side, you have your right answer. We all have the right answer.

The movies, since Captain America: The First Avenger, have been building Captain America as the American ideal. Not because of his super-strength and mighty shield, but because he's brave and spunky and relentless and eager to do what's right even before he's shot up with an ex-Nazi's magic juice. He tried to enlist a half-dozen times. He jumped on the grenade when everyone else ran. His first thought was to rescue the kid who could swim. He happily served in an integrated Army. Time and again, in the movies he's been shown to be morally right. The moral choice for America.

If Captain America is the physical representation of America's morality, how can Iron Man also be right?

Also, if the movie ends like the comic did, please do this for the next Avengers movie:

Fuck the Winter Soldier. Falcon for America!