ABOUT THE BLOG
Let me take after one of my favourite undergrad professors and start by saying:
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I’m sorry. Netflix will never be the same again.
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Eight summers ago, in one of those windowless basement lecture halls reserved exclusively for humanities students, my instructor apologized. “I’m about to ruin your favourite TV shows, movies, and novels forever.”
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Good thing she was only lecturing to about eight 20-somethings who’d been suckered into summer school. But ten minutes into her talk, I knew she was right. “Andie abandons her career dreams so she can keep hanging out with some guy she met two weeks ago.” There goes your guilt-free re-watch of How to Lose A Guy In 10 Days.
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Fast forward eight years: I’m neck-deep in fertility research. Not for myself; for every woman out there who’s ever wondered if it’s actually possible to Have It All. My third book is about babies: when you should have them, if you want a fighting chance at a career and/or relationship. And in doing the research for this book, I’ve uncovered a lot about the popular beliefs that hold women back — beliefs that make fictional characters like Andie choose the guy over the dream job, and that make the real women watching her go all heart-eyes emoji, thinking she's doing the right thing.
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I built this blog to shine a light on those beliefs — especially, the ones we see playing out in our favourite TV shows. I talk about them in two ways. First, these shows are like mirrors, reflecting our beliefs back to us. But second, TV shows can also shape those beliefs. They make some things seem normal, and others, strange. Most often, TV shows work in both of these ways at the same time. By reflecting already-popular beliefs, TV shows keep them alive.
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So, I’m sorry. Read this blog at your own risk. Prime time will never be the same again.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
After graduating from Canada’s National Ballet School, Nicole completed her B.A. and M.A. in English at the University of Toronto. She won seven performance-based scholarships and awards during her time at U of T, where she has also managed a team of research assistants for the past seven years. Nicole currently works in communications and marketing, and is a freelance writer and editor.
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Nicole is currently at work on her third and fourth books. The Best of Times assesses the consequences of having children at different ages and life stages, and The Consumer Society takes a sociological approach to the analysis of our ever-growing materialism.
Legal Stuff
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The views expressed on this blog and on my social media accounts are my own and do not necessarily represent those of my employer or publishers. All content is my own opinion. Imagery is mainly from Creative Commons photo websites unless otherwise stated. I do not own the rights to any of the televisions shows I discuss. Please feel free to share content from this blog, so long as you give credit to the content owners.