Season two of REVENGE kicked off on September 30th with a BANG! The 26-year old Canadian-born actress, Emily VanCamp, plays a powerful woman with convincing control. At the start of the 2011 series, the premise of a girl who had grown up as a troubled youth, the daughter of a murderer, being found on the street by a rich benefactor, a young man her father had wisely invested in before the unfortunate turn of events, required a great deal of suspended disbelief in its neatly arranged packaging. But if that wasn't enough, the very same street urchin with dyed-black hair and punk clothes with an attitude to match suddenly becomes a swan with a polished, poised, and well-dressed blondely-ambitious mean streak? Thanks entirely to VanCamp, the audience not only believes, we're completely enthralled!!!
But what makes a show like REVENGE so appealing, besides the fetching VanCamp??? It's all in the title....
We all live in the human community. So we all know the barbaric behavior human beings are capable of. Who hasn't wanted to act out some form of revenge on those who have committed heinous wrongs, irreparably changing our lives forever?
The 17th century poet, George Herbert, is well known for his quote, "Living well is the best revenge." But is it? We're not talking about the jerk who cat-calls as you walk into the mall, or whoever it was that dinged the side of your brand new car. We're talking about the people who actually hate you with enough vehemance that they attempt to irreparably alter your life by diminishing you--for Emily VanCamp's character, that means framing her father for murder and arranging for his untimely death, institutionalizing/disappearing her mother, and of course, institutionalizing/disappearing her. For the rest of us, it might mean a supervisor who, before firing you, tortured you with pointed, visceral harassment for a year and a half. And after that, ruining your professional reputation with deliberation, thereby, diminishing your ability to earn so that you can no longer provide for yourself, your family, or, your future. Maybe it's that old flame who became your stalker, attacking you at the mall in broad daylight while you held your newborn in your arms, altering your sense of trust in humanity and the world... forever. Perhaps it was a relative who abused you, a parent who neglected you, or a teacher who abused their power over you as a child. All irreparable, heinous acts that permanently change a person forever. And if you have ever had such an unfortunate experience, most of the time, you're powerless to turn back the hands of time and prevent whatever happened from occurring. You're powerless to bring justice to the perpetrators. You're powerless to take back the things you lost as a result of their actions. Basically, you are left hopeless and helpless. But what if you could exact strategic revenge on those people, and not suffer any further negative reprecussions? Would you do it? Or, would you simply say, "Living well is the best revenge," and go buy yourself the latest Viutton?
The fantasy of getting back the people who have irreparably damaged our lives, and in so doing, irreparably damaged us as individuals, is too deliciously tempting. But in the hands of any other actor, such enacted desire would appear silly, if not down-right ridiculous. Not so with VanCamp!
If only she were real, and for hire! Sadly, the satisfaction of watching Emily (VanCamp's aptly named character) on screen for an hour will have to suffice for most of us.
This season, REVENGE is sweetly sandwiched between the fairytale mystery adventure, ONCE UPON A TIME, and a new devilshly delightful series, 666 PARK PLACE. Hello, fall! We're happy you're back...and, that you brought a little taste of REVENGE with you.
The new season of REVENGE is #PopCultureProfessor APPROVED! If you've ever had someone take away something precious from your life, this show is for you! And with the numbers of unemployed Americans on the rise...I'd say this series isn't going anywhere fast.
But what makes a show like REVENGE so appealing, besides the fetching VanCamp??? It's all in the title....
We all live in the human community. So we all know the barbaric behavior human beings are capable of. Who hasn't wanted to act out some form of revenge on those who have committed heinous wrongs, irreparably changing our lives forever?
The 17th century poet, George Herbert, is well known for his quote, "Living well is the best revenge." But is it? We're not talking about the jerk who cat-calls as you walk into the mall, or whoever it was that dinged the side of your brand new car. We're talking about the people who actually hate you with enough vehemance that they attempt to irreparably alter your life by diminishing you--for Emily VanCamp's character, that means framing her father for murder and arranging for his untimely death, institutionalizing/disappearing her mother, and of course, institutionalizing/disappearing her. For the rest of us, it might mean a supervisor who, before firing you, tortured you with pointed, visceral harassment for a year and a half. And after that, ruining your professional reputation with deliberation, thereby, diminishing your ability to earn so that you can no longer provide for yourself, your family, or, your future. Maybe it's that old flame who became your stalker, attacking you at the mall in broad daylight while you held your newborn in your arms, altering your sense of trust in humanity and the world... forever. Perhaps it was a relative who abused you, a parent who neglected you, or a teacher who abused their power over you as a child. All irreparable, heinous acts that permanently change a person forever. And if you have ever had such an unfortunate experience, most of the time, you're powerless to turn back the hands of time and prevent whatever happened from occurring. You're powerless to bring justice to the perpetrators. You're powerless to take back the things you lost as a result of their actions. Basically, you are left hopeless and helpless. But what if you could exact strategic revenge on those people, and not suffer any further negative reprecussions? Would you do it? Or, would you simply say, "Living well is the best revenge," and go buy yourself the latest Viutton?
The fantasy of getting back the people who have irreparably damaged our lives, and in so doing, irreparably damaged us as individuals, is too deliciously tempting. But in the hands of any other actor, such enacted desire would appear silly, if not down-right ridiculous. Not so with VanCamp!
If only she were real, and for hire! Sadly, the satisfaction of watching Emily (VanCamp's aptly named character) on screen for an hour will have to suffice for most of us.
This season, REVENGE is sweetly sandwiched between the fairytale mystery adventure, ONCE UPON A TIME, and a new devilshly delightful series, 666 PARK PLACE. Hello, fall! We're happy you're back...and, that you brought a little taste of REVENGE with you.
The new season of REVENGE is #PopCultureProfessor APPROVED! If you've ever had someone take away something precious from your life, this show is for you! And with the numbers of unemployed Americans on the rise...I'd say this series isn't going anywhere fast.
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