Comments on: From Veronica Mars to Pretty Little Liars

By: Evamarie

Evamarie — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 17:32:12 +0000

I actually never thought of the refrigerator as a thing where she “has to be saved by a man”. I always read that scene as a harsh reminder that, despite all the awesome that Veronica possesses, she’s still just a tiny little teenager. I always loved that scene because she seems truly vulnerable and even though it is television, there is a real sense of danger and potential death. Kristin Bell sells it hardcore.
I can see your point, but I didn’t interpret it as a man/woman thing. I saw it as a child/adult thing.

By: Faye Woods

Faye Woods — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 18:20:33 +0000

Yes, the TV critic Dan Feinberg was pointing up the squicky statutory rape elements of PLL and Life Unexpected – with the showrunners of PLL i believe calling it a ‘statutory romance’ in response to questions at critics tour. Particularly when you link it in with the ‘teacher as rapist’ storyline of 90210. I’m normally fine with older actor ages (we discussed this in my teaching the other day actually), but its when it’s such an outlier in relation to the ensemble – say Teddy in 90210 – as in PLL that it pushes me out.

The trailers that run on Viva (our free-to-air MTV spin off station) for PLL are a bit confusing to me in their context – they are in the pink and green/yello branding of VIva – and are a series of whispered read outs of onscreen status messages in US accents in the vein of ‘OMG, can you believe what’s happening’. I’ve always assumed these were US ones grafted in, as the dates of the status don’t match the UK airings and its general promos are -as a sexy older lady – a rare US ‘voice’ on Viva, which usually goes for E4 rip-off blustery male style VOs.

By: Louisa Stein

Louisa Stein — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 14:44:10 +0000

You get right to the heart of it here!:

Although PLL is wrapped in more conventional trappings, it’s arguably more subversive in presenting multiple female protagonists, such that female agency can be more broadly asserted.

That’s absolutely what I think is going on, and I’m fascinated by how PLL is wrapped in these conventional trappings (although still connected to a noir-like mystery about sexual violence…) and yet still potentially quite subversive, arguably (dare I say it?) more so than Buffy and VM. Buffy shared her power with the potential slayers only at the very end of the series, as an act of closure, shifting the series from its predominant focus on female empowerment as exceptionalism to a more collective sense of female power that the series could imagine but not depict long term–PLL uses that female network as its starting point.

I don’t mean at all to undermine or oversimplify VM and Buffy, two shows that I love dearly. But I do feel that because of PLL’s conventional trappings (as you so rightly put it) the series’ place in this trajectory of 3rd wave feminist shows could be overlooked.

Thanks for commenting!

By: Louisa Stein

Louisa Stein — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 14:25:46 +0000

Hi Faye–Thanks very much for commenting! In full disclosure, I actually gave up on PLL during my first attempt, and only came back to it very recently, initially skipping a few and thus realizing that it is (thankfully) much more a serial mystery than an episodic teen show with a few serial tendencies. I’ve been thinking recently about how different viewers have their different litmus tests: for you it sounds like it’s about believability and tied to both production value and actor age, for me I’m perfectly happy to suspend disbelief re: character ages (actually, I’m pretty much primed to do so now!) if the plot has enough serial complexity & mystery.

I’m also quite fascinated by the trend toward teacher/student romance; there are currently three (count them, three!) currently-airing TV shows featuring teacher/student romance. Gossip Girl even went out of its way to retrofit a teacher/student romance into its primary mythos.

I’d love to hear about the UK marketing and trailers that are emphasizing the networked teen girl aspect!

By: ihops

ihops — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 12:41:13 +0000

It seems to me like you resolve your disappointment with VM in your final sentence here: the crucial difference between the two shows, as you note, is that PLL doesn’t concentrate all of its heroism into a single character. The various female leads can save each other and it remains empowering, while still narratively realistic. Conversely, on VM, Veronica was resourceful and saved herself regularly — to think that she’d be able to it time after time is implausible and narratively unsatisfying (honestly, would Veronica finding a way out of the fridge on her own have been any *less* disappointing?). The only difference is that, because Veronica was the only female protagonist (until Mac became a regular, at least), her rescue had to be effected by a man. On PLL, the reality of occasionally needing help — as any human being does — can be balanced with the political ideal of female empowerment simply because there are more women participating in the narrative.

As wonderful a show as VM was, there was a lot of exceptionalism built into the strong female role at its center. Although PLL is wrapped in more conventional trappings, it’s arguably more subversive in presenting multiple female protagonists, such that female agency can be more broadly asserted. (If we’re comparing seminal female-centered teen shows, it’s kind of like how Buffy shared her power with all the potential Slayers! That was awesome.)

By: Faye Woods

Faye Woods — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 11:01:46 +0000

Interesting post Louisa, though I do shudder at the aligning of the show with my beloved VM. I tried hard with PLL, but due to a lack of time it ultimately lost out in my affections to Make It or Break It, (the battle of the UK imports of ABC Family shows!) which I preferred for its female representations. I love a bit of teen camp – and i’d enjoyed the lead actress in Privileged – and i’d originally positioned PLL as my replacement for One Tree Hill (which lost steam in last season for me), but I think that my ultimate problem with it came down to both production factors. The actresses playing high school friends had such an obvious range of ages it just got in the way of my submitting to its world, with at least one looking mid-20s (plus, Kendra from Buffy still playing a high school student many many years later). Additionally, I got a bit squicked out by the teacher/student romance. You present an interesting read of the networked world of the teen girl though – which at least in the UK is expanded out into the marketing and trailers of PLL.

By: Louisa Stein

Louisa Stein — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 15:16:42 +0000

Glad to hear I’ve inspired you to give it a try! I would say that if it doesn’t grab you at first, do keep watching. It took me a couple of tries to realize that it was worth sticking with. And I’d love to hear your comparisons once you’ve dug in!

By: Anne Helen Petersen

Anne Helen Petersen — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 15:07:01 +0000

Great post, Louisa — and I have little to add save you’ve definitely convinced me to watch (and compare)…..