Fan Mail!

Hello readers,

I think it's about time that I take a look into my fan mail bag and answer some of your letters. Here's one from Stephanie K. of Richmond, VA. Stephanie writes:

Dear Brigitte,
Hi! Long time reader, first time writer. I love your reviews of MTV reality shows, and I especially loved your write up of 16 and Pregnant. I was just wondering--have you been watching the follow up show, Teen Mom? They just had their season finale special last night with Dr. Drew (I love him!). I've been reading every week and I keep waiting for you to blog about this series, but I haven't seen anything in your blog posts about Teen Mom (at least not for a long time) and I was just wondering: do you watch the show? What's your take on it? Do you think it's really helping any kids by showing the grim reality of raising a baby as a teenager, or do you think it's in some ways glamorizing teenage pregnancy? Or is it just exploitative of these young girls? Personally I'm a fan, but I'd love to hear your take.
Sincerely,
Stephanie

Thanks for the letter Stephanie. Yes, I do watch Teen Mom--in fact it's one of the few shows that I've been watching regularly as it airs each week. I know, it's been awhile since I've written about this series, and I apologize. I've been so absorbed in my Avatar craze that I haven't had time for much of anything in my life. In fact, I've recently sunk into a deep depression because I will never experience living in Pandora. It's so beautiful...why was I created never to experience such beauty! Damn you, James Cameron. I've only recently stopped attending the "It's OK that I'll never experience the Titanic's maiden voyage and tragic shipwreck" support group, and now this! I was depressed enough when the I came down from the high of watching Titanic and settled back into my own bleak, pointless reality.

After first seeing Titanic back in 1997, I knew that my day to day life would never be as compelling or as tragically romantic as the love that existed between Rose and Jack. I knew that I would never face something as historically significant as those passengers aboard the Titanic did that cold, dark night. I knew I'd never feel the icy water surrounding an iceburg. The only thing that made me feel again was watching Titanic, over and over. I began to neglect my family, friends, school...and after awhile, even watching the movie wasn't enough. I would take pour bags of ice into my parents bathtub and sit in the icy cold water until my mom wondered what was taking me so long in the bathroom and I ended up in the emergency room. I would dress in turn of the century clothes and a life vest, but still it wasn't enough. I never thought I'd be able to experience beauty in my own life after viewing something as awesome as Titanic. But time passed, I got involved in a good support group and started seeing a therapist twice a week, and slowly, things got better. Little by little, the world around me began to come alive once again. I began to date real men instead of just writing letter after old fashioned letter to Jack, assuring him in each that I would never let go. I did let go, however, and I was making real progress. And then Avatar came along.

I knew I shouldn't go see it. I didn't want to. I figured that I already knew the plot, the characters would be one-dimensional and predictable, and really, 3+ hours seemed like a long time to sit in a movie theater.

Oh, how wrong I was.

I could have sat in that theater for 33 hours, until I finally lept from my seat into the magical world of Pandora. And now I find myself in a predicament very similar to the one I was left in so many years ago. Why, James Cameron, Why?! I was just moving on with my life!

I'm sorry...what was the question? Oh yes, Teen Mom. Well, I don't think it's necessarily making teenage pregnancy seem glamorous. I think that the series certainly tries to show how difficult being a teen mom really is, and how many sacrifices these young people have had to make. As to whether or not this series is making any strides in preventing teenage pregnancy...who knows. Probably not. Is the show exploitative? Does a Na'vi average three meters in hight and chose a mate for life? I think that answers your question.

Stay tuned for more fan fiction next week. I was just too depressed to write any this week, but I promise that my next post will be entirely devoted to my fan fiction...one of the few things that gets me out of bed in the morning.

[Ed. note -- the pseudo-exploitation will continue next Summer, as MTV has announced Teen Mom has been renewed for a second season! Also, Bentley is the cutest baby ever.]

Fan Mail!

Hey bloggers! Every day, I get loads of fan mail. Yes, I get comments and emails from fans, but that's not what I'm referring to--I'm talking about real, paper, postmarked, SWAK* letters from my fans around the world. How they manage to track me down, I'm not entirely sure, but that's beside the point. I've been a bad celebrity. Typically, I try to respond to each letter personally--typically this involves a drunken dictation to Qualler, who so willingly gives his time to help me respond to my fans because he's able to pretty easily respond to his own modest fanbase while I struggle to keep up with the heaps upon heaps of letters I get each day. However, I've been busy lately and I haven't been able to respond personally, so I thought I'd do the next best thing. I thought I would take some time to respond here--that way all my readers could see what kinds of questions I'm typically asked and benefit from my insightful response!

(*Editor's Note: Brigitte says this acronym stands for,"Sealed With a Kiss.")

This first letter comes from Steve in Santa Barbara, CA. Steve writes:

Dear Brigitte,
Hi! I love your posts. U R SO MUCH FUNNIER than Qualler. Anyway, I just wanted to ask: r u sick of HDuff on GG cause I am!! She is such a Texas fatty, OMG. I wish Dan would get back with Serena already, don't u?

Keep rockin, UR GR8!

Steve S.
Thanks for the letter, Steve. First of all, I have to take a moment to say that I don't like the term "Texas Fatty." I think that Hilary Duff is a beautiful young woman, and I think it's refreshing to see someone on the cast of Gossip Girl who is not built just like Leighton and Blake (no disrespect to those ladies either, they're definitely hot--but it takes all kinds, folks). However, to respond to your query: I'm torn as to how I feel about her on the show. I find her character annoying and unbelievable, and I kinda feel like she's still just playing Lizzy McGuire (but if something works, why change it, right?). However, I'm a big fan of HDuff in general, and I do NOT want Dan and Serena back together, ever. In fact, the character I AM totally tired of is Dan. Leave the show, please. Things would be so much more interesting without you there. And HDuff can stick around--maybe she can be Blair's new best friend who teaches her the true meaning of Thanksgiving.

Speaking of Thanksgiving, this next letter comes from Brandy in Newark, NJ. Brandy writes:

Dear Brigitte, Just gotta say, first off, that I LOVE your posts. Thursdays are my favorite days of the week thanks to you! I especially enjoyed your brief series about Halloween movies. I have to ask, will you be writing a similar series for Thanksgiving and Christmas films? Do you have any favorite Thanksgiving or Christmas movies that you like to watch every year? Thanks, and keep the funny coming! Your fan, Brandy

I'm glad you enjoyed those posts, Brandy! I hope others did as well. I actually hoped to do even more scary movie reviews, but I just ran out of time, what with trying to keep up with all my favorite shows. I will definitely try to do something similar with Christmas movies, but I hadn't thought about Thanksgiving. To be honest, I don't have many Thanksgiving favorites, so this could be an interesting challenge. I find that Halloween and Christmas are the prime seasons for holiday specials on TV as well as in theaters. I'm sure we can all name our favorite Christmas films--mine is Home Alone Two: Lost in New York.

But Thanksgiving films are a bit trickier! What I might do instead is review a series of Thanksgiving television specials. Most of my favorite shows have a Thanksgiving episode, and I LOVE these episodes. Take Beverly Hills, 90210, for example. The Walsh Thanksgivings that feature the whole gang going over to Jim and Cindy's for an unexpected dinner and the time the gang spent creating Thanksgiving memories at the Peach Pit are among my own most treasured holiday moments. And there's always a fantastic lesson to be learned. I find that with Christmas episodes, something supernatural is often involved, namely angels. I don't care for these "angel" episodes (or the mysterious old homeless man who may or may not actually be Santa Claus). I feel that they are more often than not "fillers" that stray too much from the show's other episodes. The Thanksgiving episodes, however, manage to be holiday theme appropriate but continue to move the plot forward without any ridiculous supernatural devices or tricks.

Well, it looks like we have time for just one more letter. This one comes from Cynthia in Austin, TX. Cynthia writes:

Dear Brigitte, I often read your blog, and you seem like a reasonable, intelligent woman. It's a wonder to me, then, that you continue to not only watch but also blog about a show like America's Next Top Model. It's disgusting. Don't you see that even when you ridicule it, you participate in its popularity? When you ridicule Tyra, you add to her celebrity, and when you make fun of the girls, you ignore the very real and very present objectification of all women in our society. Frankly, I don't know how you can be a self-professed fan of this show and look at yourself in the mirror each day. Don't you feel that it's time to stop giving your readers the same worn-out run-downs of a show that is basically unchanging from season to season? Don't you feel that it's time to move on, as a blogger and as a human being, and stop watching this horrible, horrible show? ~Cynthia

Dear Cynthia,
No.

I hope you enjoyed taking a peek into my fan mail and reading my responses. Keep the letters coming, and keep on believing in your dreams!