File this under shameless self-promotion, but also because you may dig the bigger picture here — I have a story up at The Rayanne Project, an fiercely smart Tumblr with some fucking sharp writing on My So-Called Life and the character of Rayanne Graff, the good-time girl who was having such a blast that they had to make her the sidekick. Girl culture! Female friendship! The 90s! Right up some of your alleys, I think. It’s all with an eye for left-field portrayals of teenage girls, which sadly still don’t quite get the complexity they deserve often. (And sorry, Manic Pixie Dream Girls don’t count. Although a brilliant film studies essay could be had from looking at Rayanne Graff vs. MPDGs, HINT HINT.)
My story’s kind of odd and pervy (but was super-fun to write because I finally got to use the phrase “boob protection posture” in a proper aesthetic context), and it’s nestled among pieces by other sharp writers like Sarah from The Rejectionist, Sarah Jaffe and Cherie Contillo. So many smart ladies, it has the spirit of a great comp zine-in-progress and the brain of a cool cultural studies reader. You should read! You should contribute! And you should look at these dope pictures of Rayanne and Angela and miss “My So-Called Life”! I’m kind of amazed, after all these years, that it even got on the air at all, but I am glad that it did.
this is completely unrelated to the beautiful piece you wrote, but one of the things I really love about My So-Called Life is that the characters all really had a wardrobe – they all had favorite pieces they wore again and again. with a lot of shows, I get the feeling that ‘being into fashion’ (or ‘expressing yourself through fashion’) is being equalled to ‘wearing something different every day, never the same item twice’.
i actually really dislike that about some tv shows — when characters never wear the same things, because that’s just not how people dress. that was actually the only real thing i could criticize about ‘buffy,’ which of course isn’t realistic, but come on — esp. in the season when buffy was ‘struggling with real life’ but managed to wear a designer outfit every episode? but you’re right re: MSCL, they did wear a lot of the same wardrobe, which is great. all those plaid shirts, i loved it.
and thank you for reading
<3
xo k.
I seem to remember that the costume department on Law and Order just bought a wardrobe of clothes for each main character, and let the actors choose from them for each day. I thought that was a great idea, at least for a show like that–it gives the characters more reality and the costumers more time to think about that episode’s guest stars.
wow, that is actually a brilliant idea, and incredibly practical, i think, although i’m sure the continuity person must’ve really been on their toes! xo k.
Wow, this is pretty great. Who doesn’t love Rayanne? I can’t say I really like her clothes anymore, but then again, I don’t think I ever really did.
I also have been thinking about awesome women from the TV shows of the past, and I thought you guys might enjoy it: http://johndeboercustom.wordpress.com/2011/07/28/pizzazz-the-realest-punk-of-the-80s/
SO STOKED TO RAD THIS!! (i mean ‘READ’ it! freudian!)
not as stoked as i am to RAD YOURS!!!!! xo k.
let’s rad each other forever and ever
Kat, I thought your story was beautiful, it felt really real & natural.
thank you for reading it!! xo k.
Your story was kind of painful, like being a teenaged girl.
writing it was def. an exercise in reliving awkwardness!! or as i like to say, AWKWACY. xo k.
[...] from The Rayanne Project, a smart blog I discovered via nogoodforme.com. My So-Called Life, you still know no [...]