Television
AMERICAN CRIME
Why Drug Addiction Is
Sometimes Impossible to Kick
Nothing in Aubry’s (Caitlin Gerard) life in American Crime Episode 5 is as important or as enticing as drugs. Not even love. And, she’ll put her life and Carter (Elvis Nolasko) at great risk to get her fix. What are Aubry and Carter running from in Episode 5 of American Crime? Drug addiction isn’t the…
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MAD MEN Season 7 Episode 8
Don Draper’s Dream &
The Mother He Lost
Mad Men Season 7, Episode 8, Severance, shows us just how much Don Draper needs therapy. Psychoanalysis would be even better, with his traumatic history, one he’s unconsciously living out. Don’s needed therapy for a long time. But, now, with Meagan gone, this loss repeats earlier losses. And, with Don finally opening up about the…
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AMERICAN CRIME
The Damages Of Living
Under Someone Else’s Thumb
Living under someone else’s thumb is damaging to the spirit. We see that very clearly in the different ways the parents in American Crime try to control their kids. In my office, I see the effects of the shoulds. The “have to’s.” The chain of believing the only way to be loved is to please.…
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AMERICAN CRIME Episode 3
The Lure Of Sex & Drugs
When Love’s In Short Supply
As secrets continue to unfold in American Crime Episode 3, drugs, sex, and complicated family histories are increasingly implicated in the crime against Matt and Gwen. Drugs and sex are not infrequently turned to as ‘answers’ to various kinds of desperate circumstances and pasts. Gwen turned to sex. Matt turned to drugs. Aubrey Taylor (Caitlin…
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UNBREAKABLE KIMMY SCHMIDT
5 Ways The Series Repeats
Kimmy’s Original Problems
SPOILER ALERT: You might not want to read this post until you’ve watched the entire series. It’s terribly difficult to write a comedy about something as traumatic as kidnapping, sexual exploitation, and brainwashing. Netflix’s Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (created by Tina Fey and Robert Carlock) tries to do just that. Does it work? Is there a…
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SHONDA RHIMES
Coming Out The Other Side
Of Loneliness
In her Human Rights Campaign award speech on 3/14/15, Shonda Rhimes said that writing as a child saved her. I’m sure it did. Yet, I think her ability to create a world of people who served as placeholders until she could find her “people in the real world” is the most important thing. Shonda was…
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