Ginny & Georgia, Rocks, and what is a Snyder's cut?
Two experiences of teenhood, plus one man's four-hour-long artistic vision
Hello!
On this week’s episode of Criticism Is Dead, we discuss Ginny & Georgia and Rocks, two works that happen to be about the huge presence of a mother (or lack thereof) in the lives of a teen daughter.
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03:47 Ginny & Georgia, a new Netflix series, is less interesting as a high school drama and more compelling as a story about the cycle of abuse, trauma, and neglect.
Okay, that description makes it sound more serious than it is, this show is actually mostly just an entertaining watch lol.
Centered on a young mom and a teen daughter (and a young son) in a WASP-y New England town, this show bears some surface-level similarities to Gilmore Girls, to the point where the show explicitly references the homage. But it’s actually very far from GG in tone, genre mashup, and most crucially, the mother-daughter dynamic. In contrast to the intimacy of Lorelai and Gilmore, it kinda feels like this mother and daughter have just met.
Despite that shortcoming, Ginny & Georgia is pretty fun to watch. It’s a bit of a disjointed mess of different genres, including teen drama and soap-y crime/mystery. But unlike many of the critics out there, we actually weren’t as into the ~intricacies of teen life~ part, which honestly feels like you could find it on any other high school show.
What was more intriguing is how Georgia, by trying to provide the opposite kind of upbringing for her kids than the one she had, ends up perpetuating different forms but similar effects of bad parenting and harm.
P.S. Pelin is right:
23:54 Rocks, also on Netflix, is a film about the warmth of teen girl friendship, the heartbreak of holding out for a mom who can't care for her children, and the terror of foster care and social services.
Rocks hits really close to home for Pelin, who also grew up in East London and experienced a similar kind of upbringing and complicated family dynamic. Featuring many first-time actors such as star Bukky Bakray, the movie is about a teenager being left to take care of her little brother, with the help of friends from school, after their mother becomes unavailable for them.
The production of this film was really collaborative, with the girls essentially in an acting workshop before and as they were filming. That explains, in part, how Rocks achieves a high level of ~authenticity~, at least in regards to the dialogue and the mannerisms of the girls. The use of social media also felt really naturally embedded, with real consequences, compared with many other works that try to incorporate how young people interact with each other now on the internet.
It’s an emotional rollercoaster of a film, with highs that are so ebullient (finding joy in friends!) and lows that punch you in the gut (the terror of fearing social services will split up sister and brother). It’s so good! Highly recommend watching soon because who knows when Netflix might stop hosting it?? Good luck at the BAFTAs, Rocks!
40:39 Plus, culture notes on WHAT IS A SNYDER’S CUT.
Pelin explains.
Also, I’ve apparently been calling it by the wrong name the whole time. It’s just “Snyder cut.” :(
Bonus links
Forgot to share this last week, but this essay about TikTok, taste, and growing up in the suburbs by Daisy Alioto is so exquisite.
ICYMI, last week we talked about Lingua Franca, and director/star Isabel Sandoval acknowledged us like a QUEEN:
Sorry but lmaooooo:
Missing this style of hand-drawn animation :’(
Not that they need our promo or anything, but Slate is launching a new podcast about internet culture, called ICYMI, co-hosted by friend Rachelle Hampton!
Finally, I’m not really sure how to talk about this. But last week was really hard, and in the aftermath, it’s been a struggle to work, to read, to think of much else. So many other Asian American writers and activists have better things to say about the Atlanta shooting and the ongoing history of violence against Asians and others under American empire. Please go read them; I’m out of words.
Love and solidarity,
Jenny
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Some credits:
Music: REEKAH
Artwork and design: Sara Macias and Andrew Liu