Homeland Scores Home Run

I started watching Homeland because I'd run out of series to watch and I thought 'oh, another Americo-centric series oozing arrogance and perpetuating ill-informed ideas about people from other countries and cultures'.

It nods it's hat to the Israeli 3 part series 'Prisoners of War'.  I'd seen the first episode of the Israeli series and somehow had missed the other two episodes.  What I'd seen was fantastic, so I was expecting the Yankee homage to end up a part measure of the original.  Not only does Homeland apply a respectful adaptation, it fleshes out the story in delicious detail (there are two series with a third to be screened soon) and surprises with unexpected twists and turns.  I was not only pleasantly surprised, I was enthralled, addicted and astonished at this amazing series.

Nick Brody played by Damian Lewis

The basic plot (I promise no big or important spoilers to follow) is two United States soldiers were captured and held by rebel forces, Al Qaeda, and we focus on Nick Brody (above), who is found and returned to the U.S.  An enthusiastic and unorthodox CIA Analyst Carrie Mathison (below) suspects something is amiss and bends rules galore to try and get to the truth.  Carrie can get a bit annoying but I think because of her predisposed nature (ooh!) it is something that comes with the territory.  I also think they portray and deal with mental illness in a realistic and frank fashion.

Carrie Mathison aka Claire Danes

I'd Leap Into Sam Beckett's Bed

Is this the ultimate man?  He's smart, likeable, has a strong moral compass and fixes things that would otherwise result in death, destruction or unhappiness.  He'd be great to have as a date because he'd be able to mould into any social situation.  He's a pretty kind person, he doesn't tolerate racism, sexism (kind of), or bullying of any kind.  He encourages you to be confident and to be yourself.

He does however, have a few vices:
- despite time travelling on a frequent basis, his hair continues to look 80s-ish.
- just when things start to get good he leaves

- he has an imaginary friend (who advocates womanising) and is frequently persuaded to do things by this friend
- he can't commit to staying with you

- don't have a shower and approach him, he could electrocute you.  Especially if you've just been through a life changing situation

Take stock of the sock

Archive: Textual Analysis

Why is it safe to say she loves her socks?  It might have something to do with the obvious pleasure she derives from wearing them (signification), as demonstrated in the series of three pictures at the left (signifieds).

This is an American Apparel advertisement that is advertising socks, and sex.  It exists in a textual and narrative context, and blurs the lines existing within a generic context. 

It is a polysemic text that is anchored down by the brand name – American Apparel (signifier).  There are a series of other statements (signifiers) in white, framing the image of the nearly-naked, yet sock-wearing model.  As mentioned earlier it states “Safe to say she loves her socks.”, and on the bottom right “Meet Lauren Phoenix. 150 pounds of magic.  Actress.  Director.  Look her up on Google.”  Intriguing, especially if you’re a young male who may have previously encountered Lauren Phoenix’s ‘acting’ skills in pornographic films.  In any fashion, if you’re going to Google Lauren Phoenix, you are bound to find out about her ‘acting’ career.  This dialogic inference within intertextuality and push for us to follow her life story or narrative, encourages the reader to further link sex to socks (signification).

A bit of a leap?  Tying selling to sex is as old as advertising.  However this marriage of soft pornography and undergarments is a narrative that American Apparel has been espousing in recent history.  The brand is an American version of a Bond’s style of clothing.  Young men and women may look to the brand to promote and establish their sexual identities.  American Apparel advertisements don’t mess around with subtlety when pursuing metonomy, as they blatantly state their products are associated with sexuality.

With central image, the ‘come hither’ direct eye contact Phoenix is making with the camera, the actress is appealing and attempting to connect to those that are viewing the advertisement.  If we delve deeper, it’s notable that this is a common image that is portrayed in her media history, Phoenix deeply staring into lens of the camera.  It appears to make up a part of the brand of ‘Lauren Phoenix’.  Again, in the series of photos on the left hand side of the advertisement, the initial photo involves Phoenix directly looking at the camera whilst involved in some serious sock wearing excitement.

There are further anchors which tie this advertisement down, including information about selling points, company contact information, and in small print on the left hand, bottom side “Made in Downtown LA, Sweatshop Free – Brand-Free Clothes”, as if the tagline is an afterthought.

When consuming this advertisement, it is hard to tell if it is advertising, soft pornography, or informative in nature.  The context is confusing and crosses many genres.  It has interactive elements (Googling), visual elements, and facts to take in.

The strong metaphor here is wearing American Apparel will make you sexier, or get you involved in the act of sex.  CEO of American Apparel Dov Charney, apparently certainly encourages this in his ‘hands on’ approach to photo shoots.  Whilst under his command, the company has been associated with multiple lawsuits involving sexual harassment.  Charney has soldiered on through the lawsuits and continued to apply a unique perspective to selling undergarments, creating a sexual discourse through the American Apparel advertisements.

This sexual socks advertisement is pluralistic in nature, that is, it offers an alternative or democratic view within the mediasphere.  It assumes there is a choice, but if you want to enhance your sexuality, this is the sock of choice. 

Whilst building an advertisement from that age old ‘sex sells’ formula, this text takes it to another level – showing Phoenix in what it seems is mid coitus and somehow linking it to the socks she wears.  It gives an entirely new context to the saying ‘sock it to her’.

The Block Sky High - An Addiction

They say that getting high isn't addictive, but in many circles they believe it to be a gateway to other reality TV programs.  Each week I'm dripfed a montage of hope in the form of renovations.  I am itching to see the 'reveal', which really is just a week long attempt at a makeover by amateurs.

Trixie and Johnno's 'her' bathroom

So Monday to Thursday I'm given snippets of hope that these everyday people (who, let's be honest, are paying professionals to actually do the work) are going to work their magic and turn a derelict household room into something you would only see if you had the opportunity to stay in a really flash hotel in a developing country.

Friday and Saturday nights are filled with longing to reconnect with the guys, as if your own friends aren't worthy of your company (and wouldn't be able to present 2 bathrooms in a week, I suspect).

Sunday night, ahhh, sigh of relief, room reveals are finally here!  With the majesty of a royal enthusiast finally getting a tour of Buckingham Palace, and the deep mystery of the depths of Egyptian pyramids, we are finally taken under Scotty's wing, given a debrief on the week we've already watched and after much ado, we see the final product.  We get escorted by the judges who often provide the antidote to our addiction, with their snobbish airs and smug verdicts.

Finally the couples are lined up and Scotty repeats what the Judges have just said.  He chalks up their points on the board with counterfeit suspense, upon a ridiculous mechanical contraption and reveals all to the couples with a full spectrum of emotions.

And then it's over.  A feeling of deflation, and then a tiny bit of elation because there is hope of seeing a slim chance of the final product on Monday's show.  A fix of hope!@!