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| Looks like Fangtasia and/or Merlottes is stocking up too... ...for more on that check out the Inside True Blood blog! |
Showing posts with label Fangtasia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fangtasia. Show all posts
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Checking Our Inventory & Restocking Our Shelves...
Getting
ready for the True Blood season 5 premiere! New content coming soon!!!
~ Rebecca & Rachel
Saturday, June 4, 2011
COUNTDOWN'S ON! THE PIERCED POMEGRANATE TAVERN IS RE-LAUNCHING FOR SEASON 4 OF TRUE BLOOD; HERE'S WHAT'S TO COME AS PART OF OUR SOFT REOPENING!
22 DAYS TO GO UNTIL SEASON 4 OF TRUE BLOOD PREMIERES ON HBO, AND THE PIERCED POMEGRANATE TAVERN IS RE-LAUNCHING FOR THE OCCASION!
HERE'S SOME OF WHAT WE'VE GOT PLANNED FOR OUR SOFT RE-OPENING
BETWEEN NOW AND S4's PREMIERE ON JUNE 26TH AT 9PM:
IT'S LAST CALL FOR SOME OF THE IDEAS DISTILLED AT THE END OF SEASON 3 THAT WE HAVE YET TO SERVE UP; AT LEAST A FEW OF THESE TASTY LIBATIONS WILL BE WHIPPED UP INTO POSTS HERE AT THE PPT BEFORE SEASON 4 PREOCCUPIES US (AND YOU!):
Part II: A Wounded Warrior
Part III: Chivalry is Undead
Part IV: The Ladies Man...And It's Not Who You Think
Part V: The Ladies Man...And It Is Who You Think
WE'LL WHET YOUR WHISTLE FOR TRUE BLOOD'S "SEASON OF THE WITCH" WITH ANALYSIS AND COMMENTARY ON THE S4 CLIPS & TEASERS RELEASED BY HBO, LIKE:
Season 4 Sneak Peek
Rebecca's been brewing up a piece on the parallels between fangbangers and groupies; isn't it interesting the way guys get to be fans, but when it comes to females, there's always that sneaking suspicion that we've got some sleep-with-the-band-or-bust ulterior motive?
In this Season 4 teaser, we see the pejorative fangbanger applied for the first time to a straight man (if you recall, Mike Spencer's 19-year-old assistant, burned to death along with the Monroe vampires in Season 1, was also called a fangbanger but it appears as though he gay, and gay men are certainly no strangers to essentialist views of their sexuality, being judged and disparaged for their sexual preferences, etc.).
Hoyt is goaded by a Light of Day Institute t-shirt wearing fundamentalist rabble rouser who calls him a fangbanger. After Hoyt defends his relationship wiht Jessica and challenges the pro-Steve Newlin's hate-fueled so-called Christianity, his friend who is videotaping the steadlily escalating exchange outside Fangtasia calls Jessica a vamp whore (what a suprise; a woman being judged based on assumptions regarding her sexuality!) and the tense mob scene quickly devolves into violence.
This teaser is rife with sociopolitical material to dish about - hopefully a sign of things to come for Season 4!
WE'LL ALSO GIVE YOU A FIRST TASTE OF SOME OF THE ELEMENTS AND FEATURES THAT WILL BE ON THE PPT'S REGULAR MENU OF ANALYSIS AND COMMENTARY COME SEASON 4, LIKE:
More about our soft re-opening to come in our next post, please stay tuned!
~ Rachel
HERE'S SOME OF WHAT WE'VE GOT PLANNED FOR OUR SOFT RE-OPENING
BETWEEN NOW AND S4's PREMIERE ON JUNE 26TH AT 9PM:
IT'S LAST CALL FOR SOME OF THE IDEAS DISTILLED AT THE END OF SEASON 3 THAT WE HAVE YET TO SERVE UP; AT LEAST A FEW OF THESE TASTY LIBATIONS WILL BE WHIPPED UP INTO POSTS HERE AT THE PPT BEFORE SEASON 4 PREOCCUPIES US (AND YOU!):
- "Ain't I a Woman?": Protection, Privilege & Preferential Treatment
- The Heroine's Journey: A Non-Linear Path
- The Great Goddess in Bon Temps
- MINE
- The Shifter's Tale: A Passing Narrative?
- Good Girls, Bitches, Fang Bangers, & Powerful Women
- An (Unlikely) Ecofeminist Philosopher
- Pack of Wolves"
- "There is NO Excuse for Domestic Violence"
- "Take It To Him Tommy": Passage to Manhood through a Crucible of Violence
- Paradigm Shift: Images of Holism in True Blood
- A Series on Tomorrow's Man Today
Part II: A Wounded Warrior
Part III: Chivalry is Undead
Part IV: The Ladies Man...And It's Not Who You Think
Part V: The Ladies Man...And It Is Who You Think
WE'LL WHET YOUR WHISTLE FOR TRUE BLOOD'S "SEASON OF THE WITCH" WITH ANALYSIS AND COMMENTARY ON THE S4 CLIPS & TEASERS RELEASED BY HBO, LIKE:
Season 4 Sneak Peek
Rebecca's been brewing up a piece on the parallels between fangbangers and groupies; isn't it interesting the way guys get to be fans, but when it comes to females, there's always that sneaking suspicion that we've got some sleep-with-the-band-or-bust ulterior motive?
In this Season 4 teaser, we see the pejorative fangbanger applied for the first time to a straight man (if you recall, Mike Spencer's 19-year-old assistant, burned to death along with the Monroe vampires in Season 1, was also called a fangbanger but it appears as though he gay, and gay men are certainly no strangers to essentialist views of their sexuality, being judged and disparaged for their sexual preferences, etc.).
Hoyt is goaded by a Light of Day Institute t-shirt wearing fundamentalist rabble rouser who calls him a fangbanger. After Hoyt defends his relationship wiht Jessica and challenges the pro-Steve Newlin's hate-fueled so-called Christianity, his friend who is videotaping the steadlily escalating exchange outside Fangtasia calls Jessica a vamp whore (what a suprise; a woman being judged based on assumptions regarding her sexuality!) and the tense mob scene quickly devolves into violence.
This teaser is rife with sociopolitical material to dish about - hopefully a sign of things to come for Season 4!
WE'LL ALSO GIVE YOU A FIRST TASTE OF SOME OF THE ELEMENTS AND FEATURES THAT WILL BE ON THE PPT'S REGULAR MENU OF ANALYSIS AND COMMENTARY COME SEASON 4, LIKE:
- "2fers" - You'll get your first taste of this Season 4 regular menu item in the form of the forthcoming piece Rebecca and I will write on our recent interview with True Blood's Tanya Wright, written in a back-and-forth, co-authored, conversational style
More about our soft re-opening to come in our next post, please stay tuned!
~ Rachel
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!
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:
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? |
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
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
...and speaking of fine detail TV viewers may or may not be able to see on True Blood sets: a quick aside
Since I'm popping into the tavern just to point out something Fangtasia-related, I think I'll grab a quick bottle of Tru Blood A neg (my blood type, TMI?) served at the requisite 98.6 degrees - as Tara would tell would-be experimental imbibers like Hoyt - for the road since I'm about to head out to the diner for some actual nourishment in a few minutes...
You'll recall that in my last post I summarized the "True & A" panelists' response to Rebecca's question about how the unique locales in and around Bon Temps like the Stackhouse home, Merlotte's, and Fangtasia - when thought of as characters on the show in their own right - might influence or shade the actors' performance. Sam, Kristin, and Michelle seemed to unanimously agree that the sets' fine detail (which TV viewers may or may not ever see) has an immense impact on how they interpret and get into their characters, how they play their scenes with co-stars, etc.
Speaking of fine details on sets, I leave you to ponder an image we noticed in the background at Fangtasia very early on in Season 1; last time we checked, it was still occupying a relatively visible spot behind the bar:
You'll recall that in my last post I summarized the "True & A" panelists' response to Rebecca's question about how the unique locales in and around Bon Temps like the Stackhouse home, Merlotte's, and Fangtasia - when thought of as characters on the show in their own right - might influence or shade the actors' performance. Sam, Kristin, and Michelle seemed to unanimously agree that the sets' fine detail (which TV viewers may or may not ever see) has an immense impact on how they interpret and get into their characters, how they play their scenes with co-stars, etc.
Speaking of fine details on sets, I leave you to ponder an image we noticed in the background at Fangtasia very early on in Season 1; last time we checked, it was still occupying a relatively visible spot behind the bar:
 |
| former U.S. President George W. Bush taking a bite out of Lady Liberty |
Some thoughts/questions:
- Does this image make a statement on Eric, Pam, or even the late Longshadow's politics?
- Or more likely Alan Ball's?
- What meaning can we take from the (strategic?) placement of images like this?
- Is using imagery like this on set - even in the background where it is not directly addressed by the characters or involved in the action or in the ongoing narrative - an effective means of communicating ideas or catalyzing discourse?
- What background images have YOU noticed on True Blood - even if they appeared on screen only for a split second - that you think may have been put there to make a statement or send a message?
Talk amongst yourselves, I'll be back to sum up the insights we gleaned from all three Dragon * Con True Blood panels.
~ Rachel
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