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.

Monday, February 21, 2011

I BEG TO DREAM AND DIFFER FROM THE HOLLOW LIES...SEX, BLOOD & ROCK-AND-ROLL AND AN AMERICAN IDIOT

I know what you're thinking: "Judging from its title (well, all of it except for the 'blood' part), what does this post have to do with True Blood, Rachel? Unless I'm mistaken, isn't that a lyric from a Green Day song? Have you decided to switch gears here at the PPT and dump TB in favor of sex, drugs, and rock-and-roll?

Not in the least...it's actually interesting how all things are connected...especially for us, the connoisseurs of pop culture in some way socially or politically conscious that we are...and besides, the title of this post does come from a song, just like the titles of True Blood episodes do - so in that way (and more) the PPT theme is intact :-)

This past Saturday night, Rebecca and I (accompanied by my husband Bobby) braved the punishing 60mph winds and trooped into NYC to take in Green Day's rock opera American Idiot.




 
In the interest of full disclosure, we started out at the Hard Rock Cafe, where I did, in fact, have a Pomegranate Martini!



Hark Rockin' it!


yes, we like to stage our drinks

Rebecca holding my drink; isn't her ring awesome?
 No, we didn't meet or get autographs signed by Billie Joe Armstrong - the lead singer of Green Day who, for a limited time only, is playing the pivotal role of





in the stage production...




...but something we did see in the dazzling, high-energy show took us a little off guard in terms of its connection back to True Blood.

The American Idiot set features many flat screen TVs of varying sizes inset into the backdrop, rising from stage level to ceiling on all walls. These screens, at times, flash video montages meant to convey the meaning and feel of the scenes as they play out; images bursting and shimmering in time with actors singing, dancing, and swinging from harnesses in aerial numbers.

During one scene in particular, the screens frenetically flashed war imagery juxtaposed with former President George W. Bush speechifying; these images and sound bites punctuated and underscored the movements of the actors - who were now in military fatigues - whirling and diving onstage to give the impression of the bombs and bullets of any given theater of war we're now engaged in exploding and flying around them.

And then - for several startling moments - this image flashed:


Look familiar? It should...this politically-loaded image which was created by comic book artist and illustrator Alex Ross and ran on the cover of The Village Voice in October 26, 2004 is hanging on the wall of Fangtasia!


What do you think?

With the surge of interest around vampires in our culture, is this image becoming a potent touchstone for dissent?

Your opinion is valued, so please weigh in on this one...and oh, by the way...Happy President's Day ;-)

~ Rachel

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