All Forms of Art

  I have a confession :  Crew Girl  probably isn't  for me. From the very beginning, it has that unmistakable Gen Z teen-show vibe. A girl is forced to move to a small town, hates it, and then, naturally, meets a boy. Add some romance, complicated parents, friendships, and a few emotional secrets, and you have a formula we've seen many times before.  It reminded me of The Summer I Turned Pretty in a way I can't quite explain. Maybe it is Teagan (Miku Martineau) herself, who has something of Belly's closed-off, slightly awkward personality. At first, I found it a little boring. I'm not Gen Z, and I suspect some of the things that make this show immediately appealing to its target audience simply don't work on me in the same way. And Teagan isn't exactly the greatest actress either. But eventually,  something about  Crew Girl   gradually won me over. It is warm, funny, and sweet, even when it is also decidedly silly. More Than Just a Teen Roman...

  There was something comforting about The Summer I Turned Pretty when it started . It was a coming-of-age story about first love, family, grief, and the strange realization that childhood is slowly disappearing. Even when Belly was frustrating, her choices felt believable for a teenager trying to understand herself. By the third season, though, everyone is older—and somehow, they don't seem to have moved very far. Season 3 is easily my least favorite of the series. It isn't that the show suddenly becomes completely unwatchable. There are still emotional moments that work, and some characters get surprisingly good arcs. But the story that once felt like a bittersweet exploration of growing up now feels increasingly stuck in the same romantic drama. Growing Up Is Hard The season jumps ahead in time, immediately reminding us that these characters are meant to enter a different stage of their lives. Belly ( Lola Tung ) has opportunities ahead of her, including an internship i...

  The way I see it, Bridgerton is a story about a market of young girls available to men. Their future depends on how well they can attract a male.  The main characters are the Bridgerton family. Daphne (Phoebe Dynevor) has reached marriageable age. Her wedding will influence the whole family, including her sisters’ future. Yet, Daphne’s father died, and she depends on her older brother - an arrogant idiot. Well, in his defense, most of the characters are annoying. Appearances are everything, and don’t even make me talk about the Duke’s father.  So, what did I hate the most about this show? 1. Predictability The whole thing was predictable. That arrangement between Daphne and Duke? Wasn’t it obvious how it would end?  The Duke (Regé-Jean Page) is a slightly arrogant fool, with daddy issues, but quite fun nonetheless. Daphne was desperate for attention. So, their falling in love was painfully obvious from the first minute. The happy ending! Yes, they had a baby, ...