Thirsty for a Fresh Take on All Things True Blood?

WELCOME! Thirsty for a fresh take on all things True Blood? Pull up a virtual barstool at the Pierced Pomegranate Tavern where sisters Rachel and Rebecca are serving up juicy feminist analysis with a twist and opening a vein of thoughtful sociocultural dialogue on HBO's hit series.

Like the epic literary salons of eras past - theaters for conversation and debate which were, incidentally, started and run by women; where the spirited debate about the issues of the day ran as copiously as the actual spirits did - but updated for the digital age, the Pierced Pomegranate Tavern is a fun forum for exploring questions ripe for discourse about the human condition & today's most crucial social issues through the medium of True Blood.

Your salonnières are not peddling liquor per se, but they are offering up new and alternative ideas informed by such diverse influences as pop culture, art, music, cultural history, Goddess studies, transformative theory, literature and poetry, and archaeomythology, filtered through the sieve of their own lived experiences as feminist women of a particular age, background, and culture.

This is a space where you - patrons and passersby alike - can view and engage with these perspectives through the lens of True Blood and contribute your own thoughts. So, no matter if you're a Truebie or a more casual viewer of True Blood, or your drink of choice is a pomegranate martini - one of Rachel's favorite cocktails to drink and Rebecca's to mix - an herbal tea, a frothy double mocha latte, or a can of Fresca (wink, wink) you're invited to join the conversation on the show's complexities in a way that can spark transformation.

Hopefully you'll find something to sink your teeth...err...straw, into! PLEASE ENJOY RESPONSIBLY ;-)

YOU'VE BEEN SERVED (A WARNING)...

The Pierced Pomegranate Tavern is dedicated to exploring social issues and more through the lens of True Blood. As such, you may encounter:

*SPOILERS
*TRIGGERS
related to the often provocative and adult themes presented by the show

If you choose to enter and participate in this virtual salon, please be prepared to do so in a thoughtful, respectful, and mature fashion with the above in mind. Click here to check out our comment policy. Thanks!

Disclaimer

No copyright infringement is intended, all rights to True Blood belong to HBO, credit is ascribed to sites where images appearing here were originally found.

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

INSPIRATION

"Tiredness fuels empty thoughts
 I find myself disposed
Brightness fills empty space
In search of INSPIRATION" - Damien Rice, lyrics from Eskimo

......That's the funny thing about INSPIRATION you never know when it's going to hit, or in this case, grab you by the neck and twist your head around until you cough up blood! INSPIRATION!!!!!

     To say that I am a fan of True Blood would be an understatement. I have watched and re-watched every episode from the last three seasons and my reaction is always the same. Every week without fail, at the first sight of the end credits, my head hits my hands in suspended disbelief that the show is over. I will have to wait a WHOLE WEEK to get another fix!

TRUE BLOOD- equal parts drama, comedy, suspense, love story and social/political commentary. The perfect mix to keep me wanting more.

     So there I was, three episodes into the third season, another Sunday night. Tired form the work week, ready to relax and watch what was sure to be another great episode of my favorite show. The house was quiet. I was sitting alone on the couch, crawled up like a child, as close to the screen as I could get without hurting my eyes. The show began, but I couldn't relax. I was nervous, anxious, staring wide-eyed at the screen as the room around me seemed to fade into the background. Then IT happened, INSPIRATION!
     I watched as our hero, the Vampire Bill Compton, clad in black and white, as he had been all episode (perhaps a nod to the duality of Man?) entered his room promptly removing his milky white jacket, as if shedding his skin. Following not far behind was Lorena mocking the "bravura performance" he gave while lying to the King of Mississippi. I saw a character normally in control begin to unravel before my eyes. In a boiling fit of rage he cried "You have won! You have deprived me of my home, my freedom, my humanity". I saw him pin Lorena to the wall exclaiming " I will never, ever love you". I watched Lorena, as if baited by rejection grab Bill by the face and kiss him, a last ditch effort to win the affections of the man she still loved. I heard him repeat to her "never" as he hurled her onto the bed. "Never" as he bit her neck. "Never, I will never" as an answer to her plea for him to make love to her. "Never", as he ripped off her clothes and began forcibly thrusting himself inside of her, raping her, degrading her; proving his power over her. For, just  as a wife who is beaten time and time again will "stand by her man", she [Lorena]  is paralyzed by her own unrequited love. I watched as he continued this violent sex act by taking Lorena's head and twisting it 180 degrees until her face was to the floor. I watched as she, out of her own desire for companionship, allowed him to violate her to the very core. Twisted, broken and bleeding she confessed after all she had endured "William, I still love you".
     What I saw disturbed every fiber of my being, so much so that I felt the need to call my sister Rachel, and warn her (without giving anything away) about what she was about to see.....she thanked me later! You see, Rachel and I don't watch True Blood like most people- we experience it! I must admit I'm not above taking notes so that Rae (as I call her) and I can thoroughly discuss our thoughts on an episode the next time we talk.....and boy did we talk! We talked about the show, the now (in)famous head-twisting scene and how it made us feel. We noted other peoples' reaction to the scene, some laughed, some turned away in horror, others said "Lorena got what she deserved, Bill should have killed her". As we recounted our experience with this scene we realized our reaction differed greatly from what could have well been most of the viewing public.
     For the good of the blog I decided to revisit this episode, perhaps with a clearer head. Watching again, after weeks of letting this disturbing scene settle in the recesses of my mind, I was once again squirming with anxiety, horrified at what I was witnessing. I was angry, confused, saddened to the point of tears, that anyone could look at a scene like this and say "she got what she deserved" Too often in our society we judge women, victims of rape and violence as "getting what they deserved". Since when do we as a culture condone this treatment of women? It was in asking that question I realized, this history goes back further then I or anyone would care to remember.
     Had HBO exploited that fact? Had True Blood taken it too far? If you ask me my answer is NO. I applaud HBO and the writers, directors, producers and actors of True Blood for their bravery in taking on issues such as these in order to allow for open dialogue... to call attention to issues such as rape, torture, and violence against women; and most importantly to serve as INSPIRATION for two sisters from New York to create a blog to discuss just that! ~ Rebecca