Comments on: Mocking Jonathan Franzen: A links round-up

By: Alice

Alice — Mon, 25 May 2015 19:54:14 +0000

Oh, Dorothy, you wit!

After the last two episodes, I have found my interest in watching GoT waning. The sex and violence has always been gratuitous, but now, more so… (for a lack of better words).

By: litlove

litlove — Sun, 24 May 2015 16:43:59 +0000

Your links are a delight, as always. And it’s lovely to see Dorothy Parker on an outing. We do not have enough Dorothy Parker in our lives; there should be a minimum quota.

By: Athira

Athira — Sun, 24 May 2015 16:10:10 +0000

I haven’t read Franzen but I don’t have a great opinion of him anyways and do enjoy all the internet jokes about him, lol.

I was recently re-listening to Roxane Gay’s essay in Bad Feminist about women in Hollywood so the Black Widow article you shared is very timely. It is very disappointing to see women be puppets in a male character’s story. One of the books I am reading right now, although brilliant, has the same problem. Why is it so hard to flesh out a woman character – will the audience hate it?

By: Jean @ Howling Frog

Jean @ Howling Frog — Fri, 22 May 2015 20:31:59 +0000

I too am glad to see people dropping GoT. And I’ve never read a thing by this Franzen guy…but those quotations are horrifying comedy gold.

Personally I liked Black Widow’s part in the Avengers movie. I liked the whole thing. I liked Hawkeye’s family, I liked the Hulk/BW whatever-it-was (not a romance, more a not-romance. Let’s bring the word jodi into American film, yeah?). Maybe I’m just not picky, but I’m also not sure that we’re going to get lots more women superheroes if we eviscerate the director every time because said woman isn’t perfect, stereotype-busting, messy, and empathetic–all at the same time.

By: Heather

Heather — Fri, 22 May 2015 18:10:14 +0000

Tis the season? It must be a YEAR LONG SEASON then. Woot!

By: Stefanie

Stefanie — Fri, 22 May 2015 13:41:04 +0000

Franzen is so easy to make fun of. I wonder how he feels about it? But then his ego is so big the mocking probably doesn’t even penetrate. As for GoT, the Sansa thing royally pissed me off. I’m glad The Mary Sue made that decision. I have decided to stop watching it. Between the Jamie/Cersei episode last season and the constant and unnecessary barrage of female nudity and objectification I’ve had enough.

By: Lisa

Lisa — Fri, 22 May 2015 11:26:48 +0000

An excellent round up! I am always happy to join in the Franzen mocking, though the only things of his I’ve read are the New Yorker pieces. And that last one I sort of hate read, the one about the birds.

I didn’t even make it through the first Game of Thrones books, so there was no way I was going to watch the TV show.

By: Lory @ Emerald City Book Review

Lory @ Emerald City Book Review — Fri, 22 May 2015 10:48:10 +0000

I love the piece about the tripartite titles. Power of three…

By: Simon T (Stuck in a Book)

Simon T (Stuck in a Book) — Fri, 22 May 2015 10:45:10 +0000

That Dorothy P quotation is hilair; belloc standards, no less. I’m not sure I’ve got over her dissing of Winnie the Pooh, but I might give her another go on the strength of that.