Post by affrosponge88 on Dec 31, 2012 1:03:29 GMT -6
Freaks and Geeks: "Carded and Discarded" Review
by Something Quirky
Freaks -
“You’re not one of them; you’re a different breed.”
This is the message everyone tries to get across to Lindsay Weir. But that doesn’t matter; she wants to be one of them. She has changed from her old self, she knows that, and has accepted that (although others haven’t), but she is still unsure of who she is and who she is becoming.
In the ‘Freaks’ plot, Linsday shows how just how much she’s changed when she is the one to suggest getting fake IDs in order to watch a band play at a bar (because apparently that’s where “all the cool stuff happens”).
Also, Lindsay spends a lot of time actively rejecting the guidance counsellor’s attempts to help her, which currently involve talking to her about college. He tries a bit of an extreme scenario (“I'll come visit you. In the prison, where you'll be living, and give you some really good advice, like should you get shanked in the yard or the dining hall? And when you have your baby, which prison guard should take care of it?”) to which she replies "....See you at the prison yard.” The smart-ass response shows that Lindsay is still an intelligent young woman. Her avoiding the situation is understandable though. Trying to figure out and plan your future when you’re still unsure of who you are and what you want? It’s damn scary, and sometimes the easiest way to deal with that kind of pressure is to avoid it. Of course, then the question becomes how long can you (or should you) avoid it?
Of course, the original plan for fake IDs doesn’t quite work out (the clothes in that store were very amusing, as were the muscular silver mannequins), partly because apparently there is a large population of Vietnamese people in Alberta who are willing to send off their drivers licenses, and not so many people with “brown eyes, lovely brown hair.”, so Lindsay has to borrow knowledge from her previous life by asking Millie about her dodgy cousin (“He was dropped on his head as a baby. We think that’s why he’s such a bad seed.”) and going to see him about fake IDs.
Just a quick segue here – Lindsay and Millie’s relationship often reminds me of Angela and Sharon’s from My So-Called Life. Although Lindsay is embarrassed by Millie and what she says, she is still pleasant to her, and of course will still use her if she needs something.
Nick saying “Hey… hey babies” to the chickens (well, rooster, apparently) in such a nice voice warmed my heart, of course. I had to mention it.
“You can’t just go to any store and buy one (a laminator) like it’s a toaster oven or something.”
They finally get their IDs, and we find out that Daniel has already been held back two years (which I feel should maybe be addressed more). At the bar, they get carded and let into the gig, with the Diff’rent Strokes loving bouncers knowing full well that the IDs are fake. They sit down (I know- everyone sitting around tables for a bar gig?) and the relief of getting in and the excitement that they have done it, as well as the comfort now that they’re in, sets in. The band starts to play, and the lead singer is none other than the guidance counsellor, singing the song he played at the beginning, Alice Cooper’s ‘I’m Eighteen’. Of course he notices them and interrupts their getting of alcohol (“just as I was beginning to like that guy”) and deflates their impressed-with-themselves comfort bubble. But, they had fun. There was a journey to this point, and they made it. If the only consequence was not having beer, they did pretty well and had a good adventure.
And (the parents)-
Mr Weir wants the kids to spend more time with him, and tells the kids that they are going to spend time at home on Friday night like a family, playing the game Pit. He is annoyed (and possibly a little scared) that the kids are growing up and not wanting to spend as much time around their parents as they used to. Mrs Weir eventually convinces him to loosen the reigns a little and let them go and be free, in the hope that they will come back and willingly spend time with their parents and appreciate them like they used to. The kids still chose to go out on Friday night, but Mr Weir is begrudgingly placated by the offer of sex (question, where is Mr Weir headed when Mrs Weir calls after
him “In the bedroom!”?).
At the risk of sounding a bit old and preachy, kids do take their parents for granted. If you have decent parents, you should spend time with them and treasure the time that you have. Yes, parents can be annoying and interfering and lame, but they provide for you and care for you and just want what’s best for you.
Geeks -
Ah, the slow motion walking of a pretty girl with a background of French music.
In the ‘Geeks’ plot, a new girl, Maureen (actress Kayla Ewell, who looks like Jessica Alba crossed with Scarlett Johannsen) appears in Sam’s grade, and befriends him, Neal and Bill, much to their delight.
“I feel like this is a dream… At any moment, Maureen and I are going to make love”
“Ew.”
“Then what are we doing here?!?”
That interaction encapsulates the differences between Neal, Bill and Sam quite well. Neal is often living in a slight fantasy world of his creating, with the impressions and outlook on the future. Sam is the more down to earth, logical one, and Bill, well, he’s still a bit unsure of the world beyond what he knows.
The rocket launching montage looks fun. This is the good part of the high school years. Having random fun with your friends, and it sometimes involves unexpected awesome companions. And the important lesson here? Biggest does not always mean best. Sometimes it means easier to end up burning.
“Now you can go fart in front of her. You’ll make quite the impression.”
The boys handle their problem of each of them having a crush on Maureen with fairness, a name pick out of a hat. The telling thing here is that, despite the complaints and his apparent cheating, the other guys let Bill keep his victory. Of course, then the question still kind of remains – why does one of them have to ask her out now; why not wait and see what develops? But that wouldn’t be as interesting. However, Bill never does ask her out.
When the boys see Maureen talking to Vicki the cheerleader, their anxieties kick in. What if the popular kids like her? Then she won’t hang out with them anymore. Maybe they’re not giving themselves and their personalities enough credit. Maybe they’re not thinking highly enough of Maureen in their assumption that she would ditch them just to hang out with the popular kids. Or maybe they’re just socially aware enough to know that, although they are relatively fine with who they are and their social standing, most kids their age want to be seen as popular and have that lifestyle. Time will tell. For now, “special” kid Eli provides a distraction so that they can keep Maureen to themselves for a little while longer. Their protectiveness over their friendship with Maureen is partly selfish and creepy, but partly understandable. They have this good thing happening that doesn’t happen very often, and they’re scared of losing it and having their negative thoughts about their social standing confirmed. No-one wants to be shown that, hey, no matter how decent your personality is, you’re gonna lose out when a better offer comes along.
After finding out that she is going to go to Vicki’s party on Saturday, the boys decide to show Maureen the best night ever on Friday (thanks to help from perpetual spiritual guide and advice giver Harris) by taking her to all you can eat at The Iron Horse Restaurant (which is apparently the only thing that can compete with a popular kid party). The bread basket is huge. Again, this shows the group having a great time with some simple fun – sharing a giant heap of ribs while talking and laughing. She says she hopes they do it again, and she means it. But the cloud still hangs over the night – are they going to lose her? After seeing her changes to the specials board (‘pan fried butt’), Bill asks the inherently depressing question “How are we not supposed to be in love with her?”.
School comes around on Monday, and it’s crunch time. Maureen asks the boys if they mind if she sits with Vicki etc. for lunch. They say of course not. Then she asks if they want to join, an idea they quickly shoot down (“You don’t have to sit here forever if you don’t want to.” “Yeah, but we like it here.”). They then give her warnings about the people in that group in what I think is an attempt to equal parts discourage her and protect her (“the jocks only want one thing”, “She’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing”), but it’s the last warning that’s the most interesting. Bill says “Don’t believe everything they say about people in the school, coz they don’t always take the time to get to know everyone.”
Maureen avoids their concerns and leaves. Shortly afterwards, Eli appears and asks if the fourth seat is taken, and the boys welcome him into their group. They seem to begrudgingly, and almost happily accept their situation. It’s a bittersweet ending.
On a personal note:
One of the reasons I love Freaks and Geeks so much is how relatable it is. I mean, I’ve been out of high school for almost 7 years and can still relate to so many things about this. There are specific things that are relatable, like Lindsay’s avoidance of thinking about college, and her trying to work out her place and melding who she used to be with who she is and who she is becoming, and things that are relatable in less direct ways, such as Sam’s group’s fear of losing Maureen to the popular people, and even Mr Weir’s wanting the kids to appreciate him.
--------------
There was actually a lot that came into my head after the final scene, and it’s a little difficult to put into coherent thoughts and questions, but I will try to just ask the basic questions. Although we have seen the jocks be mean to that “Geek” group, you can’t help but think aren’t they being a little hypocritical in their judgement? Are the boys actually playing a part in possibly losing that friendship by not being more open to something like sitting at the other table? Are they willing to accept that that’s how things will go; they’ll possibly lose the girl, but at least they’ve sort of made a new friend? Will they actually work to maintain the friendship with Maureen, or will they just continue to perceive it as an us-or-them situation? Are they being overly cynical, or just realistic? And was I the only one that found them to be selfish and stubborn in places that they didn’t need to be, which possibly makes their situation worse, or did they even mind their situation that much (this could be down to the acting and direction)?
by Something Quirky
Freaks -
“You’re not one of them; you’re a different breed.”
This is the message everyone tries to get across to Lindsay Weir. But that doesn’t matter; she wants to be one of them. She has changed from her old self, she knows that, and has accepted that (although others haven’t), but she is still unsure of who she is and who she is becoming.
In the ‘Freaks’ plot, Linsday shows how just how much she’s changed when she is the one to suggest getting fake IDs in order to watch a band play at a bar (because apparently that’s where “all the cool stuff happens”).
Also, Lindsay spends a lot of time actively rejecting the guidance counsellor’s attempts to help her, which currently involve talking to her about college. He tries a bit of an extreme scenario (“I'll come visit you. In the prison, where you'll be living, and give you some really good advice, like should you get shanked in the yard or the dining hall? And when you have your baby, which prison guard should take care of it?”) to which she replies "....See you at the prison yard.” The smart-ass response shows that Lindsay is still an intelligent young woman. Her avoiding the situation is understandable though. Trying to figure out and plan your future when you’re still unsure of who you are and what you want? It’s damn scary, and sometimes the easiest way to deal with that kind of pressure is to avoid it. Of course, then the question becomes how long can you (or should you) avoid it?
Of course, the original plan for fake IDs doesn’t quite work out (the clothes in that store were very amusing, as were the muscular silver mannequins), partly because apparently there is a large population of Vietnamese people in Alberta who are willing to send off their drivers licenses, and not so many people with “brown eyes, lovely brown hair.”, so Lindsay has to borrow knowledge from her previous life by asking Millie about her dodgy cousin (“He was dropped on his head as a baby. We think that’s why he’s such a bad seed.”) and going to see him about fake IDs.
Just a quick segue here – Lindsay and Millie’s relationship often reminds me of Angela and Sharon’s from My So-Called Life. Although Lindsay is embarrassed by Millie and what she says, she is still pleasant to her, and of course will still use her if she needs something.
Nick saying “Hey… hey babies” to the chickens (well, rooster, apparently) in such a nice voice warmed my heart, of course. I had to mention it.
“You can’t just go to any store and buy one (a laminator) like it’s a toaster oven or something.”
They finally get their IDs, and we find out that Daniel has already been held back two years (which I feel should maybe be addressed more). At the bar, they get carded and let into the gig, with the Diff’rent Strokes loving bouncers knowing full well that the IDs are fake. They sit down (I know- everyone sitting around tables for a bar gig?) and the relief of getting in and the excitement that they have done it, as well as the comfort now that they’re in, sets in. The band starts to play, and the lead singer is none other than the guidance counsellor, singing the song he played at the beginning, Alice Cooper’s ‘I’m Eighteen’. Of course he notices them and interrupts their getting of alcohol (“just as I was beginning to like that guy”) and deflates their impressed-with-themselves comfort bubble. But, they had fun. There was a journey to this point, and they made it. If the only consequence was not having beer, they did pretty well and had a good adventure.
And (the parents)-
Mr Weir wants the kids to spend more time with him, and tells the kids that they are going to spend time at home on Friday night like a family, playing the game Pit. He is annoyed (and possibly a little scared) that the kids are growing up and not wanting to spend as much time around their parents as they used to. Mrs Weir eventually convinces him to loosen the reigns a little and let them go and be free, in the hope that they will come back and willingly spend time with their parents and appreciate them like they used to. The kids still chose to go out on Friday night, but Mr Weir is begrudgingly placated by the offer of sex (question, where is Mr Weir headed when Mrs Weir calls after
him “In the bedroom!”?).
At the risk of sounding a bit old and preachy, kids do take their parents for granted. If you have decent parents, you should spend time with them and treasure the time that you have. Yes, parents can be annoying and interfering and lame, but they provide for you and care for you and just want what’s best for you.
Geeks -
Ah, the slow motion walking of a pretty girl with a background of French music.
In the ‘Geeks’ plot, a new girl, Maureen (actress Kayla Ewell, who looks like Jessica Alba crossed with Scarlett Johannsen) appears in Sam’s grade, and befriends him, Neal and Bill, much to their delight.
“I feel like this is a dream… At any moment, Maureen and I are going to make love”
“Ew.”
“Then what are we doing here?!?”
That interaction encapsulates the differences between Neal, Bill and Sam quite well. Neal is often living in a slight fantasy world of his creating, with the impressions and outlook on the future. Sam is the more down to earth, logical one, and Bill, well, he’s still a bit unsure of the world beyond what he knows.
The rocket launching montage looks fun. This is the good part of the high school years. Having random fun with your friends, and it sometimes involves unexpected awesome companions. And the important lesson here? Biggest does not always mean best. Sometimes it means easier to end up burning.
“Now you can go fart in front of her. You’ll make quite the impression.”
The boys handle their problem of each of them having a crush on Maureen with fairness, a name pick out of a hat. The telling thing here is that, despite the complaints and his apparent cheating, the other guys let Bill keep his victory. Of course, then the question still kind of remains – why does one of them have to ask her out now; why not wait and see what develops? But that wouldn’t be as interesting. However, Bill never does ask her out.
When the boys see Maureen talking to Vicki the cheerleader, their anxieties kick in. What if the popular kids like her? Then she won’t hang out with them anymore. Maybe they’re not giving themselves and their personalities enough credit. Maybe they’re not thinking highly enough of Maureen in their assumption that she would ditch them just to hang out with the popular kids. Or maybe they’re just socially aware enough to know that, although they are relatively fine with who they are and their social standing, most kids their age want to be seen as popular and have that lifestyle. Time will tell. For now, “special” kid Eli provides a distraction so that they can keep Maureen to themselves for a little while longer. Their protectiveness over their friendship with Maureen is partly selfish and creepy, but partly understandable. They have this good thing happening that doesn’t happen very often, and they’re scared of losing it and having their negative thoughts about their social standing confirmed. No-one wants to be shown that, hey, no matter how decent your personality is, you’re gonna lose out when a better offer comes along.
After finding out that she is going to go to Vicki’s party on Saturday, the boys decide to show Maureen the best night ever on Friday (thanks to help from perpetual spiritual guide and advice giver Harris) by taking her to all you can eat at The Iron Horse Restaurant (which is apparently the only thing that can compete with a popular kid party). The bread basket is huge. Again, this shows the group having a great time with some simple fun – sharing a giant heap of ribs while talking and laughing. She says she hopes they do it again, and she means it. But the cloud still hangs over the night – are they going to lose her? After seeing her changes to the specials board (‘pan fried butt’), Bill asks the inherently depressing question “How are we not supposed to be in love with her?”.
School comes around on Monday, and it’s crunch time. Maureen asks the boys if they mind if she sits with Vicki etc. for lunch. They say of course not. Then she asks if they want to join, an idea they quickly shoot down (“You don’t have to sit here forever if you don’t want to.” “Yeah, but we like it here.”). They then give her warnings about the people in that group in what I think is an attempt to equal parts discourage her and protect her (“the jocks only want one thing”, “She’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing”), but it’s the last warning that’s the most interesting. Bill says “Don’t believe everything they say about people in the school, coz they don’t always take the time to get to know everyone.”
Maureen avoids their concerns and leaves. Shortly afterwards, Eli appears and asks if the fourth seat is taken, and the boys welcome him into their group. They seem to begrudgingly, and almost happily accept their situation. It’s a bittersweet ending.
On a personal note:
One of the reasons I love Freaks and Geeks so much is how relatable it is. I mean, I’ve been out of high school for almost 7 years and can still relate to so many things about this. There are specific things that are relatable, like Lindsay’s avoidance of thinking about college, and her trying to work out her place and melding who she used to be with who she is and who she is becoming, and things that are relatable in less direct ways, such as Sam’s group’s fear of losing Maureen to the popular people, and even Mr Weir’s wanting the kids to appreciate him.
--------------
There was actually a lot that came into my head after the final scene, and it’s a little difficult to put into coherent thoughts and questions, but I will try to just ask the basic questions. Although we have seen the jocks be mean to that “Geek” group, you can’t help but think aren’t they being a little hypocritical in their judgement? Are the boys actually playing a part in possibly losing that friendship by not being more open to something like sitting at the other table? Are they willing to accept that that’s how things will go; they’ll possibly lose the girl, but at least they’ve sort of made a new friend? Will they actually work to maintain the friendship with Maureen, or will they just continue to perceive it as an us-or-them situation? Are they being overly cynical, or just realistic? And was I the only one that found them to be selfish and stubborn in places that they didn’t need to be, which possibly makes their situation worse, or did they even mind their situation that much (this could be down to the acting and direction)?
