From the Mind of Jen

Honestly, I am far from up to date on pop culture and the latest TV series, but I just finished watching Scream Queens and am shocked that no one is talking about it or, at least, very few people. This series warrants much more attention that it has thus far received and I truly believe that it is the most feminist, socially critical, and funny series of 2015. By this time you have probably correctly assumed that I am a big Ryan Murphy fan (loved Glee!), but I never really saw this coming from him and on a channel like Fox (in many instances the series is explicitly liberal). The series somehow manages to combine bitchy and witty in a new and exciting way while at the same time poking fun at social cliches and commenting on real social issues, such as contemporary female stereotypes and college life. As a millennial, I have to confess that much of what is portrayed in the show is not far from the truth (dating, Tinder, and girl-on-girl hate), especially what so many people have critiqued. First off, pretty girls DO curse, a lot! The prettier they are, the dirtier their mouths tend to be and the crazier their antics. Women ARE extremely competitive and we ARE each others’ worst enemies. What my high school girlfriends said to me about my weight and my looks hurt more than what any guy has ever said, which, by the way, very few guys would go so far as to insult girls to their faces the way that these girls do to each other. The humour in the show and the perfectly timed and well-concealed comments on political and social issues (gay rights, catcalling, campus suicides, police ineptitude, etc.) saves it from being just some other crude remark on how my generation sucks. If anything, I felt, watching the show, that it redeemed eighteen to twenty-something-year-olds all across America. Because, yes, we have too much sex with both random guys and each others’ friends and or boy/girlfriends (half the time I believe that if one person in my social circle had a STD we would all have it within a month), we make rampant use of social media to air each and every one of our grievances and our thoughts on things that no one cares about, we are starved for attention and obsessed with our looks, and we all crave to be rich and famous (even the hipsters), BUT we are also smart, determined, strong, and aware of the things going on in the world around us. Somehow we manage to balance school, family, love, and friends without losing our minds. Or, maybe like the show states, we are all freaking insane but we can't tell because we're surrounded by equally insane people. The fact that the girls are still thinking about their social reputations, their looks, and their boyfriends in the midst of a serial killer’s murder spree is a clear critique to our self-centered contemporary culture. On a daily basis we hear or witness mass starvation, murder, and brutal wars across the globe and we still go on dieting, shopping, and partying with maybe a day a month dedicated to some charitable cause, which is always some huge social event where we make sure everyone knows we attended.        I have heard many times that the show represses women and maintains the stereotype that we are overly emotional and unstable, but I have to disagree. Yes, the girls are running around screaming and making irrational decisions constantly, but this does not make them weak or dumb. Most of us would run and scream if we saw a friend’s dead body and a murderer chasing after us and most of us would jump to insane conclusions trying to figure out who the killer was but the fact that they even stayed to figure out really says a lot. I feel the show is extremely feminist in nature (just listen to their dialogue and their speeches on women's rights and social expectations).

Excerpt: “I recently took a women’s studies class, yes, because it was a requirement, but I learned a lot anyways. Like the culture that says its ok for a man to objectify a woman for her appearance is the same culture that pressures girls as young as ten to have eating disorders.” - Chanel Oberlin

These words out the mouth of a female character that appears to be too stupid and shallow to have ever read a book or be even slightly aware of the consequences of the insane diets she subjects herself and her friends to (cotton balls?!) Besides, despite witnessing multiple murders, the female characters remain strong, smart (mostly), and determined. They do not allow anyone to bully them into abandoning each other or their house and they face off with authority figures and male characters with confidence and a good dose of bad-ass bitchiness. Even the characters who are meant to be dumb demonstrate moments of profound depth and intelligence when they comment on the way women treat each other or society (hidden behind stupid actions and irrational logic, but that is kind of the whole point of the show and gives it humour). The Chanels represent, in every way, the epitome of what contemporary society demands of young women: to be skinny, beautiful, dumb, overly confident, narcissistic, trendy, and willing to do anything to be with the guy they want. The lengths to which Chanel Oberlin would go to keep her boyfriend, Chad, who was himself the epitome of young millennial men (misogynistic, rude, narcissistic, and selfish), are really what most women contemplate doing or actually do to keep the men they believe they love. And Hester is, at the end of the day, the product of a system which teaches young women to care only for themselves and to climb over each other to be the prettiest and most desirable object of male attention. Each and every one of the female characters in this show is redeemable by the simple fact that they are behaving the way that society has taught them to behave and that they are not at all as stupid as they feign to be (it's almost like they pretend to be stupid so they are more attractive...hmmm). They are the perfect product of contemporary American culture, everything America has to be proud of: rich, pretty, and competitive.

Please tell me how to trust again

Because my heart has fallen

Into the hole punched in my chest

All my goodness has turned to dust

You may have never made a promise

It was meant to be only a subtle a glance

My eyes skittering across your face; searching,

Trying to understand who this man was

I had heard so much of; hated and loved...

What made you a leader to some and a joke to many more?

 You happened to be looking at me just then

And so began a dance I should have refused 

I would look at anywhere but you

And you would draw me attention back with a smile

your feet shuffle, you speak, you laugh,

How do I ignore you without seeming to do so?

My heart is racing and my cheeks are flushed

Why do I keep looking over, hungry for another look

“The only time a girl says no and really means yes is when they offer her a molten chocolate fudge cake during bikini season.”

Dime por favor en que vacío, no está tu sombra llenando los centros; dónde mi soledad es ella misma, y no el sentir que tú te encuentras lejos.

Dime por favor por qué camino, podré yo caminar, sin ser tu huella; dónde podré correr no por buscarte, y dónde descanzar de mi tristeza.

Dime por favor cuál es la noche, que no tiene el color de tu mirada; cuál es el sol, que tiene luz tan solo, y no la sensación de que me llamas.

Dime por favor donde hay un mar, que no susurre a mis oídos tus palabras.

Dime por favor en qué rincón, nadie podrá ver mi tristeza; dime cuál es el hueco de mi almohada, que no tiene apoyada tu cabeza.