#Carina Chocano
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Hustle has always been romanticized in American culture, which promises that nobly sacrificing yourself on the altar of endless work will pay off in the end. But it’s increasingly clear that for most people, it won’t...The notion that hustle will eventually pay off is an insidious pipe dream. Everyone is in survival mode all the time. The system has failed. The place is unfixable.
— Carina Chocano, How ‘The Bear’ Captures the Panic of Modern Work (The New York Times Magazine, Published Aug. 3, 2022. Updated June 22, 2023)
#Carina Chocano#hustle#work hard#hard work#work ethic#work#American Dream#survive#The Bear#jeremy allen white
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"The difference, according to Slavoj Žižek, between the way ideology used to work and the way it works now is that we used to accept it at face value. Now our naïveté has been replaced by a cynical awareness - what he calls the "paradox of an enlightened false consciousness." We see the gap between reality and the distorted representation of reality, and we understand it's lying to us. We don't renounce it, we just note that we are noting it. We mock it. Susan J. Douglas talks about a similar shift in feminism in her book The Rise of Enlightened Sexism. If you grew up in the seventies and eighties, then you thought of yourself as living in a postfeminist world. You solved the problem of living in a sexist world that pretended not to be sexist anymore by noticing it in quotation marks and not caring, by detaching and shrugging it off as though it were all a joke, or unreal."
- You Play The Girl, Carina Chocano
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How ‘The Bear’ Captures the Panic of Modern Work by Carina Chocano
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"'The girl' was the adult version of 'the princess'. As a kid, I'd believed the princess was the protagonist, because she'd seemed most central to the story. The word protagonist comes from the Greek for 'the leading actor in a contest or cause', and a protagonist is a person who wants something and does something to get it. 'The girl' doesn't act, though-- she behaves. She has no cause, but a plight. She doesn't want anything, she is wanted. She isn't a winner, she's won. She doesn't self-actualize but aids the hero in self-actualization."
-You Play the Girl by Carina Chocano
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[O]nce you’ve engaged in enough feminist readings of The Iliad, or performed close textual analyses of Alf, or written papers limning the intertextual relationship between Videodrome and Madame Bovary — once, in other words, you’ve glimpsed the social, political, historical, and ideological underpinnings of every text ever constructed — you’ll never again see stories in the same way.
—Carina Chocano, You Play the Girl: On Playboy Bunnies, Stepford Wives, Train Wrecks, and Other Mixed Messages
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Walking slowly through the crowd, she seems to give herself over to the experience, allowing herself to become a spectacle, subject to the men’s (and the audience’s) scrutinizing, consuming gaze.
-- Carina Chocano
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from Salon.com
24/02/00
Pick me! I'm a real multimillionaire!
A "shocked and outraged" Trey Parker speaks out on Fox's fumble.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
By Carina Chocano
Feb. 24, 2000 | Oh sure, he meets lots of girls. They follow him around even.
But "South Park's" Trey Parker is still reeling from news of the cancellation
of Fox's "Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire?" I caught up with Parker at
home in Hawaii, where he is attempting to recover from the loss.
"I am shocked and outraged," says Parker. "I had finally figured out how I'd
find my wife-to-be. I can't believe they cancelled the show because of one
asshole."
You think he's kidding? You try being famous and looking for love in Los
Angeles. "It makes perfect sense. You get 300 people together and have your mom
narrow it down for you."
How did Fox manage to mess up the solution to what Parker calls "my problem"?
("What problem?" "The problem of not being able to find anyone to marry." "Oh
... Really?" "Yeah! We work all the time and live in Los Angeles." "Oh.")
"The producers messed up," he says. "They had plenty of time to really check
these people out."
When he first heard about the show, he says, he wondered, "What makes a
millionaire? I mean, how much was this guy worth? I don't remember who said
that 'Nowadays, any asshole with a million dollars thinks he's rich.' It's
totally true. To be a millionaire now you need at least $4 million, after taxes
and other stuff. I wouldn't wipe my ass with $750,000. [Laughs] I'm a
millionaire! I'm the guy they should have brought on the show!"
Then there was the problem of the questions. If they really wanted to rip off
"Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," they should have asked questions that that
required, say, "a minimal understanding of history. So you could have an
intelligent conversation."
So here's what Parker proposes. Fox does another special, he'll be the
bachelor. But the rules have to change.
First, no secret bachelors. "There isn't any reason to have the guy concealed."
I suggest that, in this particular case, there was.
"Well, see, that's the problem. They shouldn't be talking to 40-year-old guys
worth $2 million. They should be talking to 30-year-old guys worth $15 million.
That's the shit."
Second, "and this makes it more fair to the women, once [the producers] pick
the guy, then they should send out that guy's picture and bio, and women can
decide, based on that, whether they want to go on the show. Then both are
making the choice. It's not just, because you're a woman, all you get to know
about is the money. So they would say, at the end of a show: 'Here's who's
going to be on next time, call if you want to be on.'"
Third, "You ask mentally challenging questions, and if they don't get them,
they're out. I would ask questions that would at least show that they knew
something. Like, 'What's the difference between astronomy and astrology?"
"I have the two most important questions to ask a woman," Parker says. "The
first one is, 'How's your relationship with your father?' Because nine times
out of 10, if the answer is 'I hate my father,' or 'I haven't seen my father in
10 years,' or 'My father is dead,' then they have issues. It doesn't
necessarily mean no way, but it's a big warning.
"The second question is, 'Who won the Civil War?'"
Parker's roommate later asks, "Did he tell you the story? He asked one girl,
just as a joke, who won the Civil War, and she had no idea. Then he asked
another one, and she said, 'The North,' but had never heard of the Union or the
Confederacy. Then it just became a running thing."
And finally, to keep the stakes really high, you'd be bound by the rules of the
game. "It could even be funny," he says. "Say there's this woman you're totally
attracted to, she's totally beautiful and she's gotten a lot of questions
right. You're totally stoked on her. And then they ask her, say, the Civil War
question and she gets it wrong? She's out, whether you want her to be or not.
That would be sweet! 'Cause then you'd be like, 'Nooo!' Meanwhile everyone was
rooting for her and you were too!"
Also, he says, that would have taken the sting out of making it as sexist as it
was. "It would then be equally fucked-up for everybody."
(We are briefly interrupted by a woman asking Parker a question. "That was my
cleaning woman. For my house in Hawaii. I'm a millionaire! I'm not fuckin'
around!")
Then the conversation takes a tender turn.
"I'm actually in a smaller but similar situation. I got nominated for an
Academy Award [for his song "Blame Canada," co-written with Marc Shaiman for
the "South Park: Bigger, Longer, Uncut" soundtrack] and I'm trying to get a
date for the show. 'Cause that's a sweet date! I should be able to get an
awesome date for that! But, again, everyone that I know, I already know. And
everyone in L.A. that I know ... I don't really like that much. And I'd rather
take someone who has nothing to do with that scene.
"My dream would be either someone who is a marine biologist or a forensic
scientist."
I am momentarily confused. "Like Quincy?"
"Not an autopsy person necessarily," he says. "Someone who takes the bullet and
says, 'It came from this direction, he died then because of this.' Or a marine
biologist. One of those chicks that does stuff with Shamu. I would be so stoked
on that! Those two things I totally get into, but I don't have time for them.
So if I had a partner that was, it would be awesome. Crime-story stuff? I love
that stuff.
"And the problem is, my choices are all the people I know in L.A. And we'd just
talk about Hollywood. And I hate talking about Hollywood because I live
Hollywood. It's pretty hard to find a marine biologist or a forensic scientist
here."
"Someone from where I'm from, like Colorado or Arizona, someone who's getting
their masters in one of those two things ... well, I guess you wouldn't be
getting your master's in marine biology in Colorado, but you know what I mean
... that would be great. But, obviously, I have no bones about saying that she
should be a knockout ... 'cause I deserve it! 'Cause I'm not big, fat and gross
or anything."
"Yeah, but last time I saw you," I say, "you didn't have any hair."
"I'd shaved it off. But it's all grown back now."
Then I think. Then I say, "You're not serious about any of this, are you?"
"Oh, yeah!" he says, "Totally!"
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lets do a tag thingy, why not!
@annaraksta agged me to list 23 books i am excited to read in 2023 & even though my goodreads to read list is in the hundreds (and i will never get through it all lol) there are some books that i am already planning/wanting to read this year so lets go!
the order is not really in priority i guess, just what pops to mind first/what jumps out while scrolling up & down my tbr
1. Fleabag: The Scriptures by Phoebe Waller-Bridge (was gifted to me by a friend a couple months ago)
2. I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy (have already lined up the audiobook from the library)
3. Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir (i want to read fantasy more & have heard Good Things)
4. Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo (same as above hah)
5. The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller (has been in my tbr foreveeer & i loved circe so pretty sure this will be a good read)
6. Vengeful by V.E. Schwab (read the first part of the duology recently & enjoyed it very much)
7. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (i have read it, but twas long ago & i am itching for a reread)
8. Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe (i loved his book on the sackler dynasty & am a nonfiction person at heart hah)
9. My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh (have it lined up at the library so just gotta go & pick it up)
10. Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder (a wild concept & great name, what else can i say)
11. Empireland: How Imperialism has Shaped Modern Britain by Sathnam Sanghera (i am in uk for most of the year, so yeah, lets put this one here as well)
12. The Vampire Knitting Club by Nancy Warren (knitting!!! and cute!! a friend read it & said it was great and cheesy)
13. Finlay Donovan Knocks 'Em Dead by Elle Cosimano (read the first one last year, it was good enough to keep me interested on what happens next)
14. Harlots, Whores & Hackabouts: A History of Sex for Sale by Kate Lister (love the name, interesting topic)
15. Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid (reallly loved the plot description)
16. Kochland: The Secret History of Koch Industries and Corporate Power in America by Christopher Leonard (read some stuff about the kochs last year & i guess i just like reading about depressing stuff hah)
17. The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (sprinkling in the fantasy)
18. You Play the Girl: On Playboy Bunnies, Stepford Wives, Train Wrecks, & Other Mixed Messages by Carina Chocano (adding back some nonfiction for the balance)
19. Book Lovers by Emily Henry (enjoyed beach read by the same author)
20. Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree (a cheesy fantasy romance)
21. Democracy in Chains: The Deep History of the Radical Right's Stealth Plan for America by Nancy MacLean (i know this topic is depressing about the state of the world and whatnot but i enjoy absorbing this type of knowledge)
22. Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism by Amanda Montell (a lovely cover & an interesting topic)
23. The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater (lets finish the list with something i am currently reading & i am excited to see how this all ends)
tagging @evilmermaidsinc & @editem to share their lists if they wish
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Actually crying reading this article at 1am because I love Bob's Burgers so much
[movie spoilers below; not in article but in my post]
This all started because I was thinking about the Bob's Burgers movie and the scene w/ Bob's mom and I started tearing up at that, so you know that I was bound to cry reading this article. I wanted to look into more about Bob's mom and found this in my search. Soon found myself crying over Bouchard and his mom, but also over his dedication to the show as well as the dedication of other cast and crew members, over how much the show is like a family, over all the joy and kindness in the show, over the Belchers themselves.... Really worth the read. Here are a few highlights:
With “Bob’s,” Bouchard wanted to create something equally rooted in kindness, rejecting the classic sitcom convention of the family as a conflict machine. (He recalls one executive saying the family members “love each other a little too much,” warning him that “even a family that loves each other fights.”)
[kindness <3]
“Obviously I have to frame our whole childhood around our mother’s death,” Erica told me. “There was sort of the before and the after” — a house full of love and laughter and then a death that left the family “rudderless for a long time.”
[Bouchard's sister on the death of their mother.]
a picture of Bouchard & his mother, used in the article, supplied by Loren Bouchard
Watching a Zoom meeting of “Bob’s” writers, I was struck not only by the ease and lack of hierarchy — like a family writing about a family — but by the way that, as adjustments were made to a script, the better joke didn’t always win; pacing, tone and trueness to character were more essential. The show’s humor, Bouchard would tell me later, is so character-driven as to be almost fragile.
[family & characters]
and the big conclusion to the article:
Many of the show’s fans turn to it, in part, because it can be soothing. Lately I have found myself watching it for the same reason. Bad, unfair things happen all the time — a bad, unfair thing happened to me while writing this — and it can be consoling to see others struggle, together, without losing hope. The Belchers, decidedly nonaspirational, exist in an unjust, disappointing, fart-choked world. But they have built something comforting within it. They create meaning by focusing on the next burger; on the next musical showstopper; on the next “erotic friend fiction” story or power-hungry scheme; and of course, more than anything and always, on one another.
-- Carina Chocano
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Of all American cities, Chicago is the one whose mythos is most closely associated with a particular kind of work: honest, meaty, broad-shouldered labor that forges you into something bigger, nobler. Like the city it’s set in, the restaurant in “The Bear” is an unpretentious place, humbly catering to “the working man.” But “the working man,” we soon learn — as a young, Black, female sous-chef mocks an older, white, male manager’s use of the label — is a contested term, especially in an environment where nobody does anything but work, and pretty much nobody has anything to show for it.
How ‘The Bear’ Captures the Panic of Modern Work by Carina Chocano
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Media in August
Tv/Film
The Gray Man
The Sea Beast
Black
Spirited Away
Wedding Season
Not Okay
Love Is Blind: Japan
Look Both Ways
Royalteen
Just The Way You Are
Sneakerella
How I Met Your Father (season one)
Sex Appeal
Articles
Pinterest, Tumblr and the Trouble With ‘Curation’ by Carina Chocano
The History of the Suit by Decade by Jake Woolf
Why do so many women go blonde? by Emily Sohn
The problem with TikTok's 'clean girl' aesthetic by Tiana Randall
The fallacy of random acts of kindness videos by Roisin Lanigan
The number of lonely, single men is on the rise by Serena Smith
Video (Essays)
The Tumblr Sexyman Iceberg by STRANGE ÆONS
The Weird World Of Mary Sues by Izzzyzzz
Purity, Shame, and Surgery | How Hollywood Warps Our Perception of Puberty by Cheyenne Lin
An appropriately unhinged recap of Glee (part 2) by Mike's Mic
Simone de Beauvoir on Existentialism & God (1959) by Philosophy Overdose
Designing Awesome Gen Z Brands that Improve Everyday Lives | Katrina Romulo by Jesse Nyberg
not okay is... okay? 📱🐹💄 (not okay 2022 movie review) by ModernGurlz
The Problem with Dark Academia by Rowan Ellis
Spring Breakers and the End of Indie Sleaze by Broey Deschanel
Music
Devon Cole
Knox
ella jane
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A profile of Duolingo CEO Luis von Ahn, who co-created CAPTCHA and reCAPTCHA, as he predicts AI will eventually make computers better teachers than humans (Carina Chocano/New Yorker)
http://dlvr.it/SmrtYB
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"In ‘White Lotus,’ Beauty and Truth Are All Mixed Up" by Carina Chocano via NYT Magazine https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/07/magazine/the-white-lotus-monica-vitti.html?partner=IFTTT
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"The 'cult of true womanhood' was the capitalist answer to the 'woman question'-- as in, What is to be done about them and their infernal demands? It was the trope versus women of the Victorian era, the original backlash against liberal reforms that played out in the press, popular media, and advertising, and it dominated the popular media in overt and covert, pandering and hectoring, polemical and service-oriented ways, as it does now. It sold papers and magazines, inspired sermons, launched letters to the editor, and moved a lot of soap. It provided a materialist answer to an existential question, filling the void left by the end of the old, 'divine' feudal social order and replaced it with the 'natural' social order based in 'science'. The 'cult of true womanhood' split the symbolic world in two, sorting everything into categories. To men went the 'public sphere' of commerce, politics, law, culture, reason, and science; and to women-- 'true women'-- went the 'private sphere' of the home, the children, morals, and feeling.
From here sprang the notion of wifehood and motherhood as a 'job', and not just any job but a calling so noble and exalted that it could be done only for love, not for anything as corrupting as money or status. The 'true woman' was tasked with creating a serene, restorative refuge for her husband, far removed from the filthy, corrupting world of capital where he went out to stalk his prey. In compensation for her complete civic and financial disenfranchisement, the upper-middle-class wife was given the run of the house-- assuming she was fortunate enough to acquire one in marriage. The job included managing the servants, administrating the household budget, overseeing the social, moral, and spiritual development of her husband and children, and devoting herself to accurately telegraphing her husband's status through 'the ladylike consumption of luxury goods'. Safe at home in her 'walled garden', she stoked and quelled her social and status anxieties at once by heeding the counsel of magazines such as Godey's Lady's Book (1830-1878), which offered fashion tips, hints on practical housekeeping, advice on social-etiquette questions, intimate glimpses into the lives of aristocrats and socialites, and advertisements featuring all the latest must-haves. The stuff that made a lady a lady.
That few could afford the lifestyles portrayed here, or keep to all the contradictory advice, was entirely beside the point. (Working-class women, with their labor for wages, were always too 'real' to be 'true'.) 'True womanhood' was nothing if not aspirational anyway, because there's nothing like trying to live up to an impossible standard to keep a woman in her place."
-You Play the Girl by Carina Chocano
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"Why Is ‘Bob’s Burgers’ So Freakishly Lovable? This Guy." by BY CARINA CHOCANO via NYT Magazine https://ift.tt/elpncZg
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"You Play The Girl: On Playboy Bunnies, Princesses, Trainwrecks and Other Man-Made Women"
Book by Carina Chocano
#Carina Chocano#You Play the Girl#reading#sandra gilbert#susan gubar#the madwoman in the attic#the story of adele h
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