Gossip Girl, The Pursuit of Love, and ScarJo vs. Disney
Complicated relationships between sisters (or cousins), plus we gotta to hand it to our Asian sister
Hello!
On this week’s episode of Criticism Is Dead, we discuss Gossip Girl, the loose sequel to the 2007 series, and The Pursuit of Love, the TV adaptation of the 1945 novel.
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05:32 Gossip Girl, streaming on HBO Max, was maybe always going to be a doomed attempt to cash in on nostalgia.
Top line: We do not really like this show.
Why: Poor writing and performances, it’s not particularly fun, the characters and their relationships with each other don’t really make sense, it’s timid in a way that shows how much it’s trying to get a handle on hyper awareness of privilege, the list goes on and on.
But here’s an important question: Was GG 1.0 really that much better than this iteration, or is it just the nostalgia goggles making it seem like it was?
And a follow-up question: Is there any way that a GG 2.0 could have succeeded in this current moment in culture — and if so, what would that take? (Our answer, fwiw, is “probably not.”)
(But one positive: the wild references scattered throughout the show, which actually provides some kind of campy fun. Even if they’re sometimes downright inaccurate.)
23:56 The Pursuit of Love, streaming on Amazon Video, is a period drama with modern sensibilities.
Full disclosure, Pelin liked this while I did not. But still, a short enough series (three episodes!) that it’s very easy to get through and might be worth checking out!
The show is based on the book that is based on the life of novelist Nancy Mitford, one of six sisters. Of those six sisters, three became Nazis, two socialists, and one a duchess. It’s kind of a fascinating history.
The Pursuit of Love isn’t autobiographical, but you can see where Mitford’s life may have informed some of the events, certainly some of the characters, the entire life that these British upper-crust girls are inhabiting. Fanny and Linda, the two central characters, represent some idea of the two sides of every woman, as well as the limitations that women were (and often still are) under with regards to marriage and life.
37:47 Plus, culture notes about the lawsuit that sent shockwaves throughout the industry and made us begrudgingly say, “Good for you, ScarJo.”
TL;DR of what’s happening: https://variety.com/2021/film/news/disney-scarlett-johansson-black-widow-lawsuit-response-pandemic-1235030837/
Bonus links
(sorry for the lack of links, it’s been busy!)
That’s it for this week. See you next time!
— Jenny
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Some credits:
Music: REEKAH
Artwork and design: Sara Macias and Andrew Liu