Once Upon a Time Dating

I have been so wrapped up in midterms I have yet to comment on the fourth installment of American Horror Story, which is Freak Show. The season is only two episodes in (the third episode airs tonight at 10 PM on FX), and I am already mesmerized.

This season is set in 1952 Jupiter, Florida, and tells the story of the last remaining freak show led by Elsa Mars (Jessica Lange). In the first episode Elsa recruits conjoined twins Bette and Dot (Sarah Paulson) to join her troupe of freaks that consists of “Lobster Boy” (Evan Peters), a bearded lady (Kathy Bates), a strong man (Micharl Chiklis), a three breasted woman (Angela Bassett), and others. What I love most about the show is that the majority of the “freaks” are not actors, but people who actually have the conditions that freak shows would exploit. Elsa’s assistant Ma Petite is played by Jyoti Amge, who is the world’s smallest living woman with a height of 2 feet. I think the misconception about this show is that it is portraying “freaks” as scary, when in fact the horror element of the show surrounds the murders occurring around the freak show by Twisty the Clown (John Carroll Lynch), and the super creepy freak show groupie Dandy Mott (Finn Wittrock) and his mother Gloria (Frances Conroy). If anything, this show is promoting tolerance and showing that people we label as “freaks” are no different than anyone else.

I loved the first season of AHS (Murder House), had some issues with the second season (Asylum), loved the third season (Coven), but I think Freak Show is the best one yet. There is no such thing as a haunted house, Anne Frank’s death was not a hoax, there is no such thing as witches, but freak shows really did exist. The realistic element of this installment of AHS sets it apart from the rest, and the result is magnificent.

The Affair is quickly becoming my favorite new show. It is beautifully written, has a breathtaking aesthetic, and has the most compelling and unique premise I have seen on television.

The show uses the Rashomon effect to demonstrate how two people can have contradictory recollections of the same event. In The Affair, the two individuals are Noah and Alison, and both are being asked to recall their extramarital affair that transpired years ago in True Detective– like interrogations about which we (so far) know very little. Each episode devotes the entire hour to the same day and events, but the first half-hour shows Noah’s perspective, and the second half-hour shows Alison’s. The discrepancies in their memories are sometimes glaring, and other times subtle. For example, in the first episode Noah’s daughter chokes on a marble at the diner where Alison works (she is their waitress, and this is how they meet). Noah and Alison both remember her choking, but in Noah’s scene he saves his daughter, and in Alison’s scene she is the one who saves her. In Noah’s memory his wife wears glasses, and in Alison’s memory she does not. In Noah’s memory Alison offers him a cigarette, and in Alison’s memory Noah offers her a cigarette. I imagine as the show evolves the inconsistencies in their stories will become more and more consequential.

The Affair examines the disparities in how others perceive us and how we perceive ourselves, as well as how self-perception can skew the truth in our memories. The show is artistic and romantic, but with criminal undertones that add an air of mystery to this captivating story.

You need to see The Affair to truly understand it. There have only been two episodes, so catch up… Sundays, 10 PM, Showtime.

Not That Kind Of Girl arrived at my door yesterday at 12:00 pm, and I finished it almost exactly 24 hours later.

Lena Dunham’s collection of personal essays is undoubtedly the best book I have ever read. I actually cried at certain points, because she describes experiences, fears, and thoughts almost identical to ones I have had in such a beautiful and funny way. I felt less alone.

The essays are broken down into sections by topic:

“Love & Sex”

This section had the most number of personal essays, which shouldn’t surprise anyone who watches her show Girls. I recommend that every woman AND man read this section in particular. If you are a guy and don’t feel like reading every essay, then please just read “Girls & Jerks” and “Barry”. The essays in this section were intense, but she dispersed comedy throughout to lighten the mood.

“Body”

I interestingly identified with this section even though I have a completely inverted relationship with food than the one Lena describes. Seeing things from her perspective was incredibly helpful though.

“Friendship”

I think every girl can relate to the complexity and evolution of female friendship that Lena describes. I particularly enjoyed the essay, “Grace”, which describes her relationship with her sister because it is very similar to the relationship I have with mine.

“Work”

As a college student, I loved the essay “This is Supposed to be Fun? Making the Most of Your Education”. There is such a misconception that college is the most easy-going and fun period of your life. I think adults look back on college with rose-colored glasses and forget how overwhelming it was. College is so much about figuring out who you are and finding independence, which at times is liberating, but mostly just confusing.

“Big Picture”

This was the section I identified with the most and the one that made me the most emotional. I won’t go into it too much because a lot of what I related to is very personal, but I will say that I didn’t realize until reading these essays that I am not alone in certain struggles. I applaud Lena Dunham for being so candid and fearless in her self-expression.

This book was hilarious, poignant, and fiercely honest. Thank you, Lena Dunham. Not That Kind Of Girl is a gift to us all.