Portlandia Television Show - Movie Review Example

Portlandia Critique Introduction Portlandia refers to a satiric sketch comedy television series (Sidereel 1). It was set and shot in Portland, Oregon. The film features Saturday Night Live actors, Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein. Carries Brownstein is the lead singer and guitarist for Wild Flag. Andrew Singer and Jonathan Krisel of IFC Original Productions and Broadway Film Television take credit for production of the film. The film debuted on the Independent Film Channel on 21st January, 2011 (Sidereel 1). This paper will discuss the Portlandia television show. It will discuss the ways in which Portland is portrayed to its audience, which parts of Portland city are presented in the film, and how people look like in the show. It will also discuss how the people in the film talk, points of view of filmmakers regarding the city life, and what people from Portland and who live outside Portland think about the show. Finally, it will discuss whether the film is well-done or not, whether there should be a season three or not, and if there should be, which topics should it address. To the audience, at a first glance, Portlandia looks like a coterie television series that could only be clear to former university radio disc jockeys in their late 20s and early 30s. Featuring the dubious trio of Saturday Night Live's Sleater Kinney, Carrie Brownstein and Fred Armisen, Portlandia is created atop a complicated system of allusions, nods, and winks. Andrew Singer and Jonathan Krisel directed the film specifically to post-hipsters, post-post-punk viewers, and to post-collegiate (Sidereel 1). Its humor might effortlessly alienate viewers from a variety of demographics. The series, which just concluded its leading season, turns this slim focus into its greatest force (Sidereel 1). Parts of the city that are presented in the show are In Other Words. It refers to a feminist bookstore that sells mostly books for ladies. The book store features heavily in season one. The second place is Gilt Club. Gilt Club refers to the restaurant which Fred and Carrie try to find out facts regarding chicken in the pilot episode. The third place that features mostly in the show is Oblique Coffee Roasters. This refers to the place where Fred and Carrie meet with the mayor of Portlandia to discuss setting up a basketball team for Portland. Voodoo Doughnut is also one of the major spotlights of the show (Sidereel 1). The joint was dominant during the scavenger hunt where the team looked for clues in the doughnuts. Portland Esplanade was also covered in the show. Portland Esplanade was where the music video for Dream of the 90’s was shot. Wealth Underground Farm was also covered in the show. The farm was seen in the pilot episode at the time Carrie and Fred fell under the influence of its charming leader. Finally, the place where the rehearsal dinner took place is referred to as the Cathedral City Park. In relation to how people in Portlandia look like, numerous social practices occur outside the art world, both public and private in nature. Portlandia citizens have these personalities. One explanation why they are concerned with social practice is because it concerns expanding the potential of an art practice. They prove that art is not a professional, elite or a lone act. It can be a spirit or a means of living in the world. The Portlandia citizens are seen as supporters of this spirit. With regards to the way people in the show talk, the tone is set from the leading episode. Coming back from a trip in Portland, Fred asks Carrie: “Do you ever think of the 90s? Individuals were conversing about getting piercings, having tribal tattoos and they were singing about saving the world and setting bands. There is still a region where that thought lives.” Fred also reminds Carrie of the poem concerning Portland which recommended sleeping till 11 in the morning and not doing any job. The poem had an outstanding chorus, “The tattoo ink will never run out.” It was composed by a bearded man wearing a leather jacket, tiny Speedos and nothing else. Portland, Fred concludes, refers to “where youthful individuals go to retire” (Sidereel 1). According to filmmakers, Portland is full of miniatures. They think of the place as full of vignettes. The film features an array of people who prefer to eat locally produced food, theoretical artists, and light-bulb makers. They think of the region as where the 90’s dream is still alive and kicking. In the show, the city mayor comes out as a reggae bassist. To some people residing in Portland and outside, the show might seem to offend them in various ways. To some also residing in Portland and outside the show might thrill them because of various reasons. This is why the show has a majority of viewers (Sidereel 1). The show might seem to annoy some people because they are not conversant with comedies that mock a society. It might also annoy the people residing in Portland because the show does not mainly praise Portland. Those who like the show do so because they like watching funny comedies and it the end just laugh about its content. Many critics say that the series is well done. The brilliancy of Portlandia, and what individuals thought would be its driving force, was that the comic stories of Portlandia worked as a tool that rated culture, as well as absurdism. Viewers may find Fred's kamikaze bike messenger or Carrie's feminist bookstore manager so funny because they picture them to be surrealist creations. They might find these characters as awkwardly accurate representations of real individuals (Sidereel 1). The ability of the characters to come out as both minutely observed cartoons and pythonesque nonsense are the driving force of Fred and Carrie's anxious satire. The series should indeed have a third season. This is because it would be unfair to deny people their right to laugh and have fun. Funny ideas that season three can incorporate are applying the current trends that are happening in the Portland society. This means creating a show that focuses on the recent political and social trends. People love to watch comedies that make fun of politics and their own culture. Portlandia producers, Andrew Singer and Jonathan Krisel could also make use of media personalities to come up with an enhanced comedy. They could use the existing formats: commercials, news programs, soap operas among others to create even funnier scenarios. In conclusion, plans for the upcoming season of the series should progress as the film portrays creativity and is truly hilarious which is liked by many viewers. Work Cited Sidereel. Portlandia. NP, 2012. Web. Read More