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Does HBO Hate Women?

Last Friday on Cocktails with Patrick, Patrick and his guest Jensen Karp were talking about how douchey the guys on Entourage are and how horribly they treat women. I have always thought that, but it got me thinking about the treatment of women on the other HBO shows as I was watching Sunday night.

Other than Sex and the City, most HBO over the years have been dominated by the male perspective. And, Sex and the City did have a male showrunner, though it has a lot of female staffers and writers.

I remember watching Dream On and The Mind of the Married Man and thinking how marginal the women were. I wasn’t able to watch either of these shows for their entire run because I just didn’t find them enjoyable in the long run.

The women of Six Feet Under were more developed, although Nate’s love interests seemed to be cast in typical Madonna-whore symbolism.I enjoyed where they took the mother’s character over the years as she learned to be a fully realized woman rather than just her husband’s wife.

Arliss’s Rita Wu held her own in a male-dominated world, and the world of sports agenting comes with an inherent level of sexism, so I don’t expect a lot of female-centric storylines. As does the fantasy genre covered by Game of Thrones.

The women on Sunday’s episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm existed solely to service Larry, fight his battles and do his shopping, or serve as comic relief.

Entourage was pretty par for the course, with Turtle being upset that his girlfriend might have her own life and career and Ari freaking out that his wife might find someone who treats her better than he does.

True Blood is a pretty equal opportunity character torturer, so I will give it a pass.

What do you think? Do you think HBO needs more realistic portrayals of women? Or am I just being hypersensitive after listening to a couple guys rip Entourage a new one on the radio?

As an aside, Patrick and his guest thought Entourage was totally unrealistic, but Angelica Bridges said it was completely accurate but doesn’t go far enough in depicting how Hollywood is on Sunday’s episode of Hollywood Uncensored.

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Tags: hbo, television, women on television

Uncategorized | thejen | August 2, 2011 6:47 am | Comments (0)

Pop Culture Roundup, February 11

So, my laptop spent some time in limbo these past few days, deciding whether it would die or whether it just needed a good reformat. The reformat worked, but I still need to do some work to get it to recognize that it does, indeed, have a DVD drive installed. The joy of technology!

Movie Stuff
TV Stories
Supernatural
Random 80s Flashback

Movie Stuff

Dune Film Finds a New Writer
I haven’t decided if I want to see the new Dune movie. I was such a fan of David Lynch’s version (and, yes, I would sit through the entire 13 hour director’s cut) that I am afraid to read the books because they may ruin my perceptions of that movie. I love Lynchs style, and Dune was a great early example of the director who would create my favorite TV show of all time. But, I really enjoyed Taken, so I think this writer has a good chance of making a film I could enjoy. That Sci Fi Channel adaptation was booooooooring.

TV Stories

Why I Caved, Bought Cable TV, and Gave Up on My “Hulu Household”
We’re not there yet, but man, when we can get all of our television content over the Internet, I am so there.

Women Can’t Create, White Men Can’t Jump: Worst Network Pilot Season for Women Pt. 2
Nikki Finke looked at the dearth of female writers in this season’s pilot pickups in this post. Neely Swanson posted an interesting response/further research on the issue. It’s a nice look at the realities of the Hollywood system and the fear that women are not reliable at bringing in audiences.

Dancing with the Scars
Leave it to Chelsea Handler to make me want to read a story about a washed-up Playboy bunny and her stint on a reality show I have never and will never watch.

Friday Night Lights: 10 Reasons Why Season 4 Is the Series’ Best
I know that not everyone agrees with me (and that’s okay, Katie), but I think season 4 has been a return to what makes FNL great. It has felt like season 1 to me, with the depth of storylines and the great acting. I hope all of you who haven’t been watching this show on DirecTV catch it when it premieres on NBC this April. Last night, we said goodbye to some favorite characters and saw others get hurt, get punished, and play some football.

Supernatural

Let’s Talk Supernatural, The Song Remains the Same
Maureen Ryan’s recap and review of last week’s episode. She also includes information about a charity auction to benefit the relief efforts in Haiti.

Supernatural: The Song Remains the Same
Another recap/review of last week’s episode, this one from the San Diego Tribune blog.

Supernatural: The Song Remains the Same
Suzanne has our final recap over at Damsel Undistressed. She loved the episode, but I think she might have been basking in the afterglow of the amazing season premiere of Last last week.

Supernatural and Vampire Diaries Taking a 5-Week Hiatus
Sadly, My Bloody Valentine is our last episode of Supernatural for a while. They had best come back from this hiatus with an episode in which we get to see Death. That was my biggest disappointment with this set of episodes. They didn’t resolve the cliffhanger.

Two Previews of Supernatural’s My Bloody Valentine
Need to get the scoop on tonight’s episode? Here are two clips to whet your appetite.

From Smallville to Capain America
More rumors that Jensen Ackles might be Captain America. Make of it what you will.

Supernatural: Preview of Episode 5.13 “The Song Remains the Same”Get ready for tonight’s episode with a synopsis and a clip.

Random 80s Flashback

Secret Admirer
Most movies from the 80s just don’t hold up. The humor was too steeped in the time frame, and the jokes no longer work. The exceptions, though, are great. All of the John Hughes teen films remain awesome. And Secret Admirer, starring a very young Lori Loughlin, Kelly Preston, and C. Thomas Howell (we called him Tommy and looked at his dreamy photos in Bop and Tiger Beat back then), is another timeless comedy. It centers around misplaced love letters, and the stellar cast of adults and teens help keep it from being too formulaic. Rent it from Netflix or catch it on the Reelz Channel.

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