Pose

Although I've exclusively written film blogs in the past, television has made significant strides in the past few years. The lines between movies and TV are getting more blurred as time progresses. Television content is currently at the highest production level it has ever been at. It has a few advantages over film, such as long-form story telling. Therefore, I feel it appropriate to include periodical reviews of TV shows on my blog.

Let me begin with a bold statement: Ryan Murphy is a television god. In my last semester of college, I had the privilege of interning at an entertainment public relations company in Los Angeles. A huge part of my role throughout this internship involved assisting at red carpet events. When I was assisting at one of these events, I practically had an out-of-body experience when Ryan Murphy walked past me. I've really learned how to keep my cool while interacting with various celebrities, but I was simply starstruck by Ryan Murphy. He is known for creating, writing, directing and producing shows such as "Glee", "American Horror Story", "American Crime Story", and most recently, "Pose".

While I have always admired Murphy's work, I believe his most influential work to date has been for his most recent show, "Pose". This show came out in June of 2018. It has been critically lauded and was even nominated for a Golden Globe for "Best Television Series - Drama". It depicts life in New York City in the late 1980s. It's primarily centered around the African American and Latino ball culture of this time. These balls were places where queer and trans people of color could gather to "walk" for prizes. (I highly recommend the documentary "Paris is Burning" for further insight into the balls). It also touches upon subjects such as the rise of the yuppie, life in the height of the AIDS epidemic, and more. Not only is the cast comprised of Ryan Murphy long-time favorites such as Evan Peters, but has the largest transgender cast in the history of television. The show demonstrates the juxtaposition of wealthy white men and queer minorities in late 80s NYC. Characters grapple with challenges ranging from sexuality and self-identity to simply finding a way to access the basic necessities of daily life. Family dynamics are rewritten as house mothers take in lost souls such as Damon, a young man who was kicked out his home because he is gay. These houses compete at the balls, dressing to the nines and showcasing their attitudes. Although the characters consistently face tragedy, "Pose" serves as a celebration of life.

This show has glamour, ambition, and a lot of heart. Murphy isn't afraid to touch on subjects that others shy away from, such as what it's like to love someone with AIDs, and losing your family as a teenager after coming out. My favorite character in the series is Pray Tell, played by the wonderful Billy Porter (you may remember him from his iconic tuxedo dress worn at this year's Oscars). The show is as daring and full of extravagance as he is. Pray Tell is the emcee of the balls, calling out "and the category is..." as participants fiercely showcase their looks and attitudes. The cast of characters truly make this show. Viewers are exposed to many unique and heartfelt storylines. "Pose" shines a light on the transgender community in the wake of ball culture. Many people are unaware of the existence of ball culture. "Pose" gives a voice to a community that has not had a strong presence on television before. Not only is this culturally significant, but the show is simply downright entertaining. Every element that makes for good television is there. It is beautifully shot. The costumes are glamorous. The acting is superb. With season one being only 8 episodes total, I highly recommend bingeing this before season two airs later this year.

Belated 2019 Academy Awards Thoughts

Although it has been some time now since the 2019 Academy Awards, I find my mind still wandering back to that night. In the years that I've had this blog, I've centered my content primarily around award season and critically acclaimed cinema. Since moving to New York in the fall and working in fashion public relations, my love for pop culture and movies has taken a back seat. With the high pressures of the fashion world, and just trying to keep up with the fast-paced life of city living, I've struggled to maintain a good balance in life that allows me to experience things I enjoy most- and a huge part of that is film.  Between fashion previews and commuter rush hours, I've been neglecting this blog simply to keep up with my surroundings. This introduction has been more personal than any of my previous blog content has been, but I felt it necessary to provide context for my inconsistencies.

Without further ado, let's go back in time now to February 24th, 2019...

As you may recall, this year famously had no host. A particularly strange sequence of events took place leading up to this year's awards show. The Academy decided at the last minute to retract their decision to not broadcast every single award. Then, drama around this year's host ensued as Kevin Hart stepped down as the host after making homophobic remarks. This was a big factor of this season's show. People were unsure of how a host-less Oscars would pan out. Personally, I immediately didn't take much issue with this fact. While a good host provides a lot of crucial elements to the show, there have been plenty of years that I found a host somewhat distracting. As it turned out, no host- no problem! The show went very smoothly without a host. In fact, it was nice to see some variety this year. For example, Maya Rudolph, Amy Poehler, and Tina Fey lightened the mood by roasting the Oscars. It allowed for the show to clip along at a good pace. I enjoyed the overall tone of the show this year. Freeing itself from the traditional format allowed for the show to have a fresh feel.

Straight out of the gate, the Oscars started off strong this year. With no host, everyone was unsure of how the ceremony would begin. The audience was immediately welcomed to the 2019 Oscars with a killer Queen performance (see what I did there?) featuring powerhouse Adam Lambert. The audience was on their feet and were having a ball (I promise to keep Queen puns to a minimum now). As for the awards themselves, let's start by discussing the biggest award of the night. Much to my dismay, "Green Book" took home the award for Best Picture. I know I'm far from the only person disappointed by this win. The movie is based on a true story about the friendship between a black classical pianist and his Italian driver as he tours the South. This film felt as if it spend two hours telling a 30 minute long story I did not do a separate blog post on "Green Book," but my overall consensus was that it felt like a very outdated film, and quite frankly, it bored me. It ironically had "Driving Miss Daisy" written all over it - this shouldn't be where films are at three decades later. Branded as a racially progressive story, this film felt condescending to me, as well as many other viewers. Tony, the Italian driver, transitions from a man throwing away glasses used by African Americans to an expert on African American culture in the blink of an eye. The saving grace of the film was Mahershala Ali's performance as concert pianist Don Shirley. His acting is perhaps the only part of the film that felt heartfelt and genuine. He breathed life into a complex character. We saw how Shirley struggled with his own identity over the course of the film. With that being said, I was exceptionally pleased that Ali won an award for Best Supporting Actor. Now that I've lauded Ali's win for Best Supporting Actor, I want to express my extreme joy over Regina King's win for Best Supporting Actress. In a previous blog, I praised her magnificent performance in "If Beale Street Could Talk". (By the way, the biggest snub of the year was this movie not being nominated for Best Picture). Not only was I pleased to see King graciously accept an award for this performance, but I was pleased that several black women received awards over the course of the evening. Although the Academy has a ways to go with recognizing minorities in the industry, it was nice to see more diversity in the wins this year.

Rami Malek won Best Actor for his role as Freddie Mercury in "Bohemian Rhapsody". I personally thought he was most deserving of this award. Christian Bale is always phenomenal in all of his roles, and his portrayal of Dick Cheney in "Vice" was no exception. That being said, Malek's performance as Mercury was honestly one of my favorite performances I've seen in recent years. He was incredibly captivating as the singer. It was clear that he studied Mercury's every movement. One could argue that he was mimicking Mercury as opposed to playing him, but it was truly incredible to see Malek appear on the screen as Queen's leading man. The most moving part of his performance was his portrayal of Freddie at the Live Aid concert. Malek truly nailed every nuance of Mercury and was entirely deserving of this award. Olivia Coleman won Best Actress for her work in "The Favorite". In my last blog, I expressed how this was not one of my personal favorite films. While that fact holds true, I commend Coleman on her performance as Queen Anne. She was hysterical in this role, capturing the queen's childlike tendencies as well as portraying her physical ailments. If you've seen the film, you know this queen is a little bananas. She is eccentric, irritable, and sad. Coleman truly brought each aspect of this character to life. 

Other noteworthy wins included Roma's win for Cinematography and Directing. Roma was definitely the most visually compelling movie of the year- the win was most deserving. Spike Lee finally got an Oscar! That man is SO worthy. He took home an award for Best Adapted Screenplay for BlackKklansman. Gaga may have won an Oscar for "Best Original Song" that night, but the one of the most talked about moments of the night was Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga's chilling performance of "Shallow" from "A Star is Born". Their incredible performance was filled with palpable chemistry. To wrap things up, although I think this was one of the least exciting award seasons overall, this year's Academy Awards shaped up to be better than expected. Though I would have honestly preferred any other nominated film to win Best Picture over "Green Book," other moments definitely helped to make up for this. I will be curious to see how the Academy Awards will continue to shift and develop as time progresses. Until next year, Academy Awards. I look forward to you as always.