Are You Watching This?

In case you are unaware, there is a new TV show on the Disney Channel called Girl Meets World. It is, as you may have guessed, a spin-off of much beloved TGIF show Boy Meets World that ran on ABC from 1993 – 2000. The series is set in New York City where Cory and Topanga now live, happily married with two children. It centers around their oldest child, Riley, who is in the seventh grade at John Quincy Adams Middle School (named for John Adams High School where her parents went).

The show, only two episodes in, clearly follows the same general outline as the original series. At the center, one kid from a ridiculously happy nuclear family, the troubled best friend from a broken home with absentee parents, the school teacher who teaches life lessons with a little bit of history thrown in, and even the overly confident super nerd with one weird name. The new show also promises guest stars from the original show. William Daniels (Mr. Feeny) appeared in the Series Premiere. Lee Norris (Stuart Minkus) will be seen in a shortly upcoming episode. And this picture was recently released:

So get excited for this in an upcoming Holiday episode which will include William Russ (Alan Matthews), Betsy Randle (Amy Matthews), and Rider Strong (obviously Shawn Hunter). Other familiar faces are also promised (proposed) for later in the season as well as the series including the long awaited return of Mr. Turner.

The show is clearly intended for younger viewers as you can see it on the Disney Channel, but as our generation is known for its over attachment to nostalgia, they are clearly catering to the fans of the original series. Like shows for younger audiences in the 90s, each episode is trying to teach kids a greater life lesson. The guest stars are coming, which is clearly for those of us who loved the show growing up and not for the new audience who has no idea who Mr. Feeny is. And, thankfully, Cory has not changed one bit.

The series premiere was cute, but the references to the “world” were a little overbearing at times. Pilots are always difficult as they are trying to establish an entire series in 30 minutes. The second episode was completely adorable and harkened back to the days when Cory was still trying to figure out how to talk to girls and Shawn was still trying to figure out how to get Cory to talk to girls. It’s sweet and brings back memories of one of the most beloved shows of our childhood. At least check it out.

Here are a couple of trailers to show you just what I have been talking about.

Taking this one to the grave.

I have notoriously bad taste in music. Not that all the music I like is bad, but I have been listening to the same music for about 15 years. I have no real interest in expanding my musical knowledge to included anything newer. I love 90s music and The Beatles and that is about it.

Oh, and I also love Taylor Swift. Now, most people would call Taylor Swift a guilty pleasure. Her music is not always synonymous with quality and when I mention her to friends of mine, they tend to cringe. The implication of calling Taylor Swift a guilty pleasure is that I should feel shame for liking her music. But I don’t. My taste in music is not something I feel the need to defend. I love Taylor Swift. Her music is fun. I like fun. Where is the issue here?

While writing this post, I am watching last night’s episode of Pretty Little Liars. This is one of my favorite shows. The target audience is teenage girls. I am a grown woman. I have seen every episode and have gotten several friends into the series. Do I feel guilty about the fact that I have spent almost 100 hours of my life watching this television series? No. A resounding No. When it comes to television, I will watch just about anything. I am not picky. Whether it is a series about a vampire/human love triangle or a sitcom about 20-somethings hanging out in a bar, I will watch it. I don’t care if the target audience is middle aged men or pre-teen girls. If it is entertaining, I will watch it. And admit it, you will too. The difference seems to be, I don’t feel the least bit bad about it.

Not every TV show I watch is an Emmy Award Winner. Not every book I read is on the short list for the Pulitzer Prize. But do I need to be ashamed of that? Absolutely not. In fact, why is it that Chick Lit and Rom Coms are so often considered guilty pleasures, when fratty, gross-out comedies are summer blockbusters?

Sure, there are some books I read that are a little more trashy than I would like my mother to realize. Not two weeks ago, I flat out refused to watch True Blood in mixed company. But these are not things I am ashamed of. In fact, that same series of books, I am responsible for passing around to half of the ladies in the last shop I worked in. I am not saying that my less than High-Brow taste is something I advertise. Nowhere on an online profile will you find The Secret History of the Pink Carnation by Lauren Willig listed as my favorite book or playing Nancy Drew computer games as a hobby. This is not because I am ashamed, but because an online persona tends to be a highlights only situation.  I don’t hide this information. These books are not hidden under my mattress. I am in no way embarrassed to be telling you this information now. I truly do not understand why I should be.

Why are certain things considered guilty pleasures while others are mainstream and therefore ok. Why is my affinity for Taylor Swift embarrassing, when Daft Punk is acceptable. Why is The Secret History of the Pink Carnation trashy while 50 Shades of Grey is becoming a major motion picture? Who decides what is shameful and what is cool? As far I am concerned, I do. What I like is cool and the garbage you watch (read, listen to) sucks. So, there.

The Fault in Our Stars

The Fault in Our Stars is a film based on the book of the same title by John Green. You can read my recommendation for the book here. This post is about the film.

My first recommendation is that you go on a school night, or during the day, or any time that teenage girls are less likely to be able to get a ride to the movie theatre. I made the choice to go opening weekend and I can honestly say that I have not been in the same room as so many teenager girls since the boys and girls were separated in gym class my freshman year of high school. It was overwhelming, to say the least. And totally irritating when the chick behind me quoted certain lines of the film, most likely to show her friends exactly how well she knows the book (and not so the woman in front of her would spend the better part of two hours contemplating punching her in the face, or at the very least, getting her kicked out of the theatre for being disruptive).

Everyone knows that the book is (almost) always better than the movie. There are many reasons this is true: your favorite scenes may be edited out for time or continuity, the plot may be changed in ways that are detrimental to the story you fell in love with, the actors or technical elements may not live up to the way you imagined them. None of this is true for this film. There were definitely a few scenes missing, but nothing that I felt affected the storytelling. I have never, in all of my copious movie watching experience, seen a film that was more true to the book.

If you have read the book, I highly doubt I need to say any more to convince you to see the movie. If you have not read the book, I certainly don’t want to say anything that will ruin the experience. This is a truly lovely film about kids who fall in love in the face of cancer. If you have heard anything about the film, you probably know to bring tissues. Don’t let that deter you. It is a tear-jerker. It is about teenagers with cancer. I believe that this film will be to teens today what The Notebook was to us ten years ago, and in another decade it may just be that movie we watched when we needed a good cry. For today, it may just give you the catharsis you have been missing since the day you could no longer stomach the never ending tear-fests with the girls in the dorms and decided it was better to cry over real boys than to waste all your tears on ones who never existed.