What does Natalie Portman have to do to convince you that she’s not just that little girl from The Professional anymore? Star in Black Swan? Smooch her (female) costar in Black Swan? Dance a lot in Black Swan? Win an Oscar for Black Swan? Have a baby with the male dancer from Black Swan? Nope? Well, she’ll show you! Jaw set with fierce empowered-adult determination, Portman is now venturing out into the world of television producing. And not just any sort of television producing. Slightly-naughty-subject-material television producing! Continue reading →
Ah, Friday. A time when all things seem new and possible. Unless you’re me, in which case you live in Portland so it’s raining and you have to get up at five-thirty in the morning and immediately interact with six-year-olds, which is a fate I would wish upon very few people. But though my socks might be dampened, my spirit is not–plus, it was quite the week for television. Continue reading →
Awards season heralds swag, celebrity fashion and, in the case of certain film students (yours truly), outcomes of mostly meaningless awards races that I will be bitter about for years to come (I’m looking at you, A Beautiful Mind beating out Fellowship of the Ring.) Continue reading →
Television is all about performance art. We’re used to seeing actors work their stuff in front of the cameras, so we’ve become a bit accustomed to stellar acting. Even other types of performance art like singing and dancing can become a bit run-of-the-mill, with shows like Glee, Dancing with the Stars, America’s Got Talent, and similar shows regularly showing us grade-A visual entertainment.
While it’s certainly expected that actors would hog the spotlight on TV, let’s not overlook the incredible talent of different types of artists. There are painters, musicians, craftsmen, designers, and a whole range incredibly talented individuals who deserve our respect. Let’s take a look at some of TV’s most talented (and occasionally overlooked) artists.
Buddy Valastro – Cake Boss
Batter is his canvas and icing is his paint. Despite the fact that Buddy’s creations are about 99% sugar, that doesn’t make his delectable masterpieces any less breath-taking. If you feel your heart rush when Buddy rolls out one of his world-famous, flawless cakes, then the sugar rush you get from eating a slice should get you heart rate up to dangerous highs.
Connor – Face Off
While I admit that I am a bit of a Face Offfanboy, that doesn’t make Season 1’s winner, Connor, any less worthy to be on the list. He blew judges out of the water with his consistently detailed an imaginative make-up designs.
Image: Spacecast
Carmindy – What Not to Wear
Not every artist on the list has to make alien costumes or lava-spewing cakes to make the list. What Not to Wear’s Carmindy has a much more subtle but no less impressive art form. Carmindy shows what an artistic master can do with just a little bit of materials, transforming average people into red carpet beauties.
This burly, mustachioed bike fanatic isn’t what most people envision when they hear the word “artist,” but the bikes that Senior makes are nothing less than marvels of modern engineering.
Image: TV Guide
Ami James and Chris Nunez – Miami Ink
My grandmother would balk at the mere suggestion that tattoos are art, but the talented artists at Miami Ink regularly create original pieces so stunning that people are willing to carry around their work for life. That’s gotta count for something, right?
With 9 winners across just as many seasons, it’s hard to pick a single winner whose designs stand out the most. Suffice to say, each of these winners have come up with some fab designs that are fierce, chic, and several other fashion-related terms that I’m not used to saying.
It’s like I always tell my husband…TLC’s “What Not To Wear” is so much more than a simple makeover show. Every episode in which the fashion savvy duo, Stacy and Clinton, bombard some unsuspecting victim dressed in frumpy duds makes my husband wonder how many times I can watch. He wonders how the application of lipstick and swipe of a couple of coats of mascara could possibly transform a life. But the show is about so much more than mere makeup application!
Sure it’s fun to watch someone who has given up on personal presentation altogether become transformed into a confident, attractive person, but it’s also consistently amazing to see how many people decide that taking care of themselves physically is either selfish, unnecessary, or superficial.
image: tlc.com
What my husband doesn’t realize (but might if he’d just sit down and be quiet and watch it with me already) is that the show is largely about self discovery. It’s also about expecting more from ourselves and treating ourselves with respect and dignity.
image: tlc.com
After watching dozens of episodes and seeing women from all walks of life and varying ages undergo jaw-dropping transformations both physically and otherwise, here are three main themes I’ve noticed episode after episode:
A Little Goes a Long Way
“What Not To Wear” shows us that not only in how we dress, but in life in general, a little effort goes a long way! If years go by without evaluation, whether it’s evaluating your hair and wardrobe, or your relationships and career standing, how can you be certain you’re on the right track? Re-considering a dated hair-do can do wonders for framing a face, and taking the time to make fresh efforts in relationships or in life can make all the difference as well!
It’s Ok To Put Yourself First Sometimes
We watch Stacy and Clinton go to great lengths to convince over-worked career women and mothers that there’s nothing wrong with putting their needs first from time to time. Making an effort to dress in flattering clothes is a good start, and helps boost overall confidence which spills over into other ares of life. Others that you care about and tend to will appreciate a person who loves themselves as well.
image: fanpop.com
Everyone Likes to Feel Attractive
Regardless of sexual preferences, age, if they are tom-boyish or more concerned with saving the whales then keeping up with coloring their hair, every participant on “What Not To Wear” has ended up admitting that looking presentable matters and affects how they feel about themselves. Even those who came on the show stubborn and adamant that looks shouldn’t matter came to admit that making an effort towards presentation and taking care of their physical selves made them feel good.
So there ya have it! Good lessons to learn from television while enjoying a makeover in action.
A new year heralds an overabundance of eggnog, a new generation becoming intensely confused about the meaning of the words “Auld Lang Syne”, a fresh slew of singing competitions, and, if the fates are kind, a new season of Project Runway. Continue reading →
There’s something so satisfying, at the end of a long day, in coming home to sit on the couch and watch women TV personalities break down on television making us feel better about ourselves and our mundane days. We tune in not so much to appreciate how well written the dialogue or how compelling the plot, but because watching these women freak out, break down, make awkward confessions, or act downright crazy is oh-so-entertaining. Let’s take a look at 5 of the least emotionally stable TV characters to entertain us this past year of 2011:
Talent shows are American favorites and a broad audience of millions tune in to a variety of programs that showcase eager auditions of fresh faces wanting to be the next big thing. These talent shows have been around for decades giving a chance at the limelight to those with raw talent who just need a stage to shine upon. Shows such as, “American Idol”, “America’s Got Talent”, and “X Factor” draw in hundreds of aspiring singers which we never seem to get sick of hearing belt out the same, “You’re Gonna Love Me” or, “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” renditions season after season. After the stage lights have dimmed and tears have been shed over touching performances and a winner has been declared the best of the best, how many of these people do we see go mainstream and have promised success after the show has ended? Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood undoubtedly made it big, but who since then has had similar success? Do we have room for all the aspiring new crooners on the billboard charts?
