So I was going to embed some YouTube videos of the delightful canceled-too-soon British sitcom Spaced. But the embedding has been "disabled by request."
But if you follow this link, you can see my one of my favorite scenes.
The show's premise: Friends Daisy and Tim need to find new places to live, and they decide to pretend to be a couple to get a flat advertised for "professional couple only." They befriend the other tenants and bring their weird friends into the mix, and for the most part, they do what normal 20-somethings do. They're all geeks and reference pop-culture and science fiction regularly throughout the show (note the great Star Wars reference in the link above). It features Simon Pegg before he was famous, and really captures the feel of the late 90s/early 00s.
It may just be one of the best shows of the last 10 years. Seriously. Pegg and company put together this great little show while Friends was at its peaked, and the two sitcoms could not be more different. While Friends featured yuppies with posh jobs and rather superficial dilemmas, Spaced captured the reality of living in crappy apartments and working shit jobs, all the while featuring a group of odd-balls who could live in the apartment next to you -- with some exaggerations. It' very much a product of 10 years ago, yet I still relate to it (not in the least because Daisy is a freelance journalist who makes no money...)
So go out and rent it!
Showing posts with label the British. Show all posts
Showing posts with label the British. Show all posts
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
The Spice Girls Revisited
As an ardent fan of only "good music" and a true progressive feminist, I have to openly admit: I still love the Spice Girls.
It has been 10 years since Geri left the band. I remember watching 9 and 10 year old British girls crying on TV. I was 15 and I remember thinking how pathetic it was that 9 year old girls thought their lives were over because Ginger left the group. I was just leaving my pop music stage, opting for artists like Beck and Fiona Apple.
But I loved the Spice Girls. They were so crazy and their music was fun. And they had this mantra of Girl Power that I liked. They even had the 10 Golden Rules of Girl Power:
1. Be positive
2. Be strong
3. Don't let anyone put you down.
4. Be in control of your own life and your destiny.
5. Support your girl friends,
6. and let them support you, too.
7. Say what's on your mind.
8. Approach life with attitude.
9. Don't let anyone tell you that you can never do something because you're a girl.
10. Have fun!
But with 10 years of perspective and maturity, I realize that Spice Girls were a source of conflict instead of empowerment.
They were a fabrication, entirely fake, including their nicknames. All of it was to make money, and I knew it. As much as I consumed their happy music, I knew I was being fooled.
More conflicting, though, was their sexuality. They oozed it, flaunted it, waved it in front of all our faces. Unlike teenage Britney, they knew exactly what they were doing. They were all in their 20s, young and beautiful with no reason to keep covered up. The feminist in me understands but can't quite applaud.
They had legions of young fans. Very young fans. Pre-pubescent fans who didn't understand that blatant sexuality. As a teenager, I was uncomfortable to see the little kids I babysat emulate the Spice Girls. I didn't know how to process the Spice Girls' message - how could they?
I still love Wannabe. I still know most of the words of Say You'll Be There. I admit this 10 years later, still wondering what's appropriate and how feminism can practically adapt to our media-saturated society.
It has been 10 years since Geri left the band. I remember watching 9 and 10 year old British girls crying on TV. I was 15 and I remember thinking how pathetic it was that 9 year old girls thought their lives were over because Ginger left the group. I was just leaving my pop music stage, opting for artists like Beck and Fiona Apple.
But I loved the Spice Girls. They were so crazy and their music was fun. And they had this mantra of Girl Power that I liked. They even had the 10 Golden Rules of Girl Power:
1. Be positive
2. Be strong
3. Don't let anyone put you down.
4. Be in control of your own life and your destiny.
5. Support your girl friends,
6. and let them support you, too.
7. Say what's on your mind.
8. Approach life with attitude.
9. Don't let anyone tell you that you can never do something because you're a girl.
10. Have fun!
But with 10 years of perspective and maturity, I realize that Spice Girls were a source of conflict instead of empowerment.
They were a fabrication, entirely fake, including their nicknames. All of it was to make money, and I knew it. As much as I consumed their happy music, I knew I was being fooled.
More conflicting, though, was their sexuality. They oozed it, flaunted it, waved it in front of all our faces. Unlike teenage Britney, they knew exactly what they were doing. They were all in their 20s, young and beautiful with no reason to keep covered up. The feminist in me understands but can't quite applaud.
They had legions of young fans. Very young fans. Pre-pubescent fans who didn't understand that blatant sexuality. As a teenager, I was uncomfortable to see the little kids I babysat emulate the Spice Girls. I didn't know how to process the Spice Girls' message - how could they?
I still love Wannabe. I still know most of the words of Say You'll Be There. I admit this 10 years later, still wondering what's appropriate and how feminism can practically adapt to our media-saturated society.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Stateside Vindication
I just found an article from Variety magazine about how the American version of The Office is winning over British fans. I feel this is a small victory because I've argued with a few people about the show. These people say the British version is much funnier - the American version just doesn't compare. I disagree.
First of all, these people seem to be obnoxious Anglophiles who use British words around to show how "cultured" they are. Or they're pretentious psuedo-intellectuals who pride themselves on their appreciation of the fringes of pop culture. How could someone like something as mainstream as an NBC show?
I will admit, Season 1's mere six episodes do mirror the British series, but the writers are smart and created scenarios that only enhanced the excellent ensemble cast. The British series never revealed the comic mishaps of more minor characters, instead focusing mostly on the boss and the Dawn/Tim relationship. It was short-lived, so who knows what would have happened had the show lasted another season or two.
Even though the American show has plateaued in Seasons 3 and 4, I can see why British audiences would find it funny - it is funny. Plus, I've come to really care about the characters. The writers are very clever, and Steve Carrell is good in just about every episode without overpowering the ensemble. I would venture to say it's an even better ensemble than (gasp!) America's beloved Friends.
I think NBC's other Thursday night gem, 30 Rock, is turning out to be the better comedy, with all the farce and parody, and Flight of the Concords may just beat both as the best comedy on television. But The Office is still may favorite, maybe out sentimentality. The season finale was great. It met the gold standard set by Emmy-winning Season 2.
The American show has incorporated the British show's awkward comedic genius while becoming distinctively American. So don't tell me the British version is better. Two different shows, two different countries. I'm fan either way, and I'm glad to see British people are, too.
First of all, these people seem to be obnoxious Anglophiles who use British words around to show how "cultured" they are. Or they're pretentious psuedo-intellectuals who pride themselves on their appreciation of the fringes of pop culture. How could someone like something as mainstream as an NBC show?
I will admit, Season 1's mere six episodes do mirror the British series, but the writers are smart and created scenarios that only enhanced the excellent ensemble cast. The British series never revealed the comic mishaps of more minor characters, instead focusing mostly on the boss and the Dawn/Tim relationship. It was short-lived, so who knows what would have happened had the show lasted another season or two.
Even though the American show has plateaued in Seasons 3 and 4, I can see why British audiences would find it funny - it is funny. Plus, I've come to really care about the characters. The writers are very clever, and Steve Carrell is good in just about every episode without overpowering the ensemble. I would venture to say it's an even better ensemble than (gasp!) America's beloved Friends.
I think NBC's other Thursday night gem, 30 Rock, is turning out to be the better comedy, with all the farce and parody, and Flight of the Concords may just beat both as the best comedy on television. But The Office is still may favorite, maybe out sentimentality. The season finale was great. It met the gold standard set by Emmy-winning Season 2.
The American show has incorporated the British show's awkward comedic genius while becoming distinctively American. So don't tell me the British version is better. Two different shows, two different countries. I'm fan either way, and I'm glad to see British people are, too.
Monday, November 5, 2007
I Heart England (or do I?)
I have a pink luggage tag that says "I Heart London." My mom bought it for me at a dollar store. It came in a set, and the other reads "I Heart New York." I've always been slightly embarrassed by these tags, but kept them on my luggage because they are accurate. I do genuinely love New York, but then I have to ask myself, do I really love London?
I have a true love/hate relationship with the English and their culture. I am (gasp!) an Anglophile. That damn island is so charming, I can't hate it. As much as I want to, I can't. England and her people are allusive to me. They seem so closely related to us Americans but still are different. I found it easier to live in Italy and just accept the cultural differences there than I did while living in the U.K. The British didn't seem different enough to be so, well, different. And they can be annoying.
Let me explain. They are arrogant, the British. They once ruled the world, and now that they just have Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales to rule over, I think they're disappointed. They seem to dislike Americans for the same reason: an arrogant sense of cultural superiority. It's warranted, I will freely admit it. My country has done a lot lately I'm not proud of, and I think a lot European criticism of the U.S., especially of our foreign policy, is justly deserved. But come on - British colonialism did more to fuck up the world than anything else in the last 200 years.
So I'll put the arrogance aside. Both countries royally fucked up the world. Okay. That's settled. I can get over British arrogance.
English people, especially those in the South of England, are cold, unwelcoming, and just plain rude. (As a side, it always seems to be the "South of England" and never "southern England." I'm not sure why.) In shops, they hardly recognize the presence of a customer, let alone offer help. If some poor soul were stranded on the side of the road with a flat, I doubt they'd be offered assistance by a passing driver. I was deathly afraid to ask for directions, for fear that no self-respecting English citizen would sacrifice 30 seconds of his or her time to help, of all people, a stupid, lost American. It was easier to forgo all human dignity and get lost and pray a friend would notice I was missing and come find me. Luckily, it only happened once.
I guess I didn't find the English to be as charming as the landscape, and I wanted to love it there. I wanted it to become my new home, and it didn't. Once I returned to the United States, I worked for an international company that had many stateside British employees. There were some clashes in management styles and different expectations for admins (I will never be a personal assistant for a British exec. Never.) There was some petty behavior, as there is in most offices, but all in all, I came to like many of my English co-workers. I would ask some of them questions about England and try to reconnect with a country that, deep down, I had to admit I liked. Maybe not loved, but liked. And they were some small connection back to that place.
After moving back to the American South, I find, for the first time in two years, there are no English people in my life. None. I long to hear someone say "trolley" instead of "cart" or "nackered" instead of "tired." (And ask me why Americans always include the full stop inside the quotation mark.) I recently rented the British version of "The Office" and while I prefer the American show, I just wanted to hear the accents again. I even thought about pretending to be British for a day, faking an accent and providing people with an elaborate back story about how I grew up in London and had a British mother and an American father. I would tell them I had duel citizenship and decided to move to America to experience it more fully than just visiting.
Ironically, it is Guy Fawkes Day, an important British holiday akin to Fourth of July, fireworks and all. I must admit on this most patriotic day of the British calendar that I love (yes, love) Britain, and I miss having British people in my life.
I have a true love/hate relationship with the English and their culture. I am (gasp!) an Anglophile. That damn island is so charming, I can't hate it. As much as I want to, I can't. England and her people are allusive to me. They seem so closely related to us Americans but still are different. I found it easier to live in Italy and just accept the cultural differences there than I did while living in the U.K. The British didn't seem different enough to be so, well, different. And they can be annoying.
Let me explain. They are arrogant, the British. They once ruled the world, and now that they just have Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales to rule over, I think they're disappointed. They seem to dislike Americans for the same reason: an arrogant sense of cultural superiority. It's warranted, I will freely admit it. My country has done a lot lately I'm not proud of, and I think a lot European criticism of the U.S., especially of our foreign policy, is justly deserved. But come on - British colonialism did more to fuck up the world than anything else in the last 200 years.
So I'll put the arrogance aside. Both countries royally fucked up the world. Okay. That's settled. I can get over British arrogance.
English people, especially those in the South of England, are cold, unwelcoming, and just plain rude. (As a side, it always seems to be the "South of England" and never "southern England." I'm not sure why.) In shops, they hardly recognize the presence of a customer, let alone offer help. If some poor soul were stranded on the side of the road with a flat, I doubt they'd be offered assistance by a passing driver. I was deathly afraid to ask for directions, for fear that no self-respecting English citizen would sacrifice 30 seconds of his or her time to help, of all people, a stupid, lost American. It was easier to forgo all human dignity and get lost and pray a friend would notice I was missing and come find me. Luckily, it only happened once.
I guess I didn't find the English to be as charming as the landscape, and I wanted to love it there. I wanted it to become my new home, and it didn't. Once I returned to the United States, I worked for an international company that had many stateside British employees. There were some clashes in management styles and different expectations for admins (I will never be a personal assistant for a British exec. Never.) There was some petty behavior, as there is in most offices, but all in all, I came to like many of my English co-workers. I would ask some of them questions about England and try to reconnect with a country that, deep down, I had to admit I liked. Maybe not loved, but liked. And they were some small connection back to that place.
After moving back to the American South, I find, for the first time in two years, there are no English people in my life. None. I long to hear someone say "trolley" instead of "cart" or "nackered" instead of "tired." (And ask me why Americans always include the full stop inside the quotation mark.) I recently rented the British version of "The Office" and while I prefer the American show, I just wanted to hear the accents again. I even thought about pretending to be British for a day, faking an accent and providing people with an elaborate back story about how I grew up in London and had a British mother and an American father. I would tell them I had duel citizenship and decided to move to America to experience it more fully than just visiting.
Ironically, it is Guy Fawkes Day, an important British holiday akin to Fourth of July, fireworks and all. I must admit on this most patriotic day of the British calendar that I love (yes, love) Britain, and I miss having British people in my life.
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