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aruanThe second season of Showtime's brilliantly honest series Queer As Folk is now available for pre-order on amazon.com. I haven't had a chance to see more than a couple of episodes owing to the lamentable lack of cable in the dorms, but it's definitely on the Wish List.
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Date: February 7th, 2003 01:52 pm (UTC)It is unfortunately true that although talking about one minority, the two shows are mostly ignoring all other minorities. So for that, QAF isn't very good. Every single important character is white. And now that you've mentioned it, I can't remember noticing colored people anywhere on the shows. So no reaching the minorities of the minorities. :-(
I am watching it with the eyes of a French person, though, and it's undeniable that even though important, race issues are not treated the same, here. So this aspect of the show did not strike me as lacking. But now that you've pointed it out to me... mmmm...
As for shocking... well, the show certainly is. Of course, it built a lot of its reputation on outrageous sex scenes. But it's far from being porn, and it's mostly within the story lines and related to the plot, so... I actually enjoy that aspect. *giggles*
An ideal show (ha!) would have no more emphasis on sexuality than it would on a character being a feminist or an ecologist or a man/woman.
I'm not sure I agree with you on this. Because then, an ideal show would be boring. Either that, or we would be living in a world where those things didn't make a difference, and we all lived happily together despite our differences. Sadly, that's not true. So I think a good show needs to dwell on something if they want to make things move. They need to have a purpose, a message, or really, what would be the point?
No, to me, a good show (ha! as you so justly said, lol) would certainly put emphasis on one aspect of things. One group of people, one culture... but then, would try and broach every single aspect of that chosen subject. Which as you so justly pointed out, isn't the case for QAF. To be ideal, they'd have to show a wider range of gay individuals from all races and classes, etc... and not just purely white queers.
But you know, I still love it, lol. I still enjoy the Justin/Brian dynamics, still love Michael, still adore Emmett to death. That show's got numerous flaws, but I like it because it brings characters that come alive through moving interpretation. I like that.
That said, I might look back on it in a few years and cringe, lol.
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Date: February 16th, 2003 02:14 pm (UTC)We do it because we love her ;-)
I am watching it with the eyes of a French person, though, and it's undeniable that even though important, race issues are not treated the same, here.
True, and I respect that. And the fact that the geographical as well as city/country distinctions comes into play on what people see and recognize. And in what is actually presented in a show that wishes to faithfully show a population's distribution. But there would still be the class representation to be considered even if race weren't an issue, wouldn't there?
I'm not sure I agree with you on this. Because then, an ideal show would be boring.
*g* That's my fault, I didn't define that well enough, in my agenda-advancing frenzy. I beg your pardon :-) Heh. I meant an ideal show that wants to be socially conscious, not necessarily one that wants good story-telling. And in the sense that ideals are never reachable, but they still serve a purpose. Because, yeah, I realize that it's the conflict which creates the drama. But one needs to envision the ideal show, then recognize the distance between that and where you are at before being able to straddle the middle ground and address the problems, in storytelling terms. What's currently happening in media is that they overlook it altogether. I fail to see any breadth or vision. But it does perfectly well for what it is doing... I just wish they would make a point of telling people that they are *only* representing that small portion.
That said, I might look back on it in a few years and cringe, lol.
*s* I hope not. Because, for what it's worth, I *do* think it does what it can, in the environment created by today's society and the demands of entertainment. Thanks for the response!