TV review: 13 REASONS WHY season 2 (Netflix)

This blog contains spoilers for season 2 of 13 Reasons Why.

Since its release last March, 13 Reasons Why, the Netflix adaptation of Jay Asher’s novel, chronicling why High School student Hannah Baker took her own life, was met with controversy. Many people felt the show glamorised suicide, not least in the way Hannah made 13 cassette recordings with a reason and person named on each tape, to be listened to by the people who contributed to her decision to commit suicide. In season 1, the characters named on the tape, unsurprisingly, were wracked with guilt and recriminations over who was ‘most’ culpable, flew between the accused.

The world can be a nasty place.

I recently watched Thirteen Reasons Why, the Selena Gomez-prouced Netflix TV show essaying a High School student, Hannah Baker, who commits suicide, and leaves behind 13 tapes outlining why.

Whatever one's thoughts on the show and how dangerously close it sails to romanticising suicide, I have to admit that, drama-wise, it is certainly compelling to watch. Episode 9, 'Tape 5, side A' contained a rather unsavoury sexual assault of one of Hannah's friends, and was rated 18.

I e-mailed the BBFC querying why this episode was an 18, as, horrible as it was to watch, an episode of Orange is the New Black featured Pennsatucky getting raped not once but twice, by two different men, and was only a 15:

Depictions of sexual violence in two Netflix shows 

I am writing to ask about the depiction of rape in two Netflix shows, Orange is the New Black season 3 episode 10 (A Tittin' and a Hairin'), rated 15, and Thirteen Reasons Why season 1 episode 9 (Tape 5 Side A), rated 18. 

Both these episodes contain rape scenes which are aversive and disturbing, as likely intended by the directors. The level of detail in both episodes are comparable. 

Yet in the 15-rated OITNB episode, the same character gets raped by two different men in the same episode, whereas in the 18-rated Thirteen Reasons Why episode, the character is raped once (albeit with the scenes shown repeatedly). 

I was wondering why this was, and if it perhaps due to the ages of the characters? 

Because speaking as a viewer, I found the OITNB episode more distressing to watch, not least because in the second attack, the blank expression on the character's face suggested she was 'resigned' to being raped. Furthermore, the cumulative effect of watching the same character getting raped twice and its impact on her (already precarious) mental state was more distressing. 

Thank you for taking the time to read my email and looking forward to your response.

This was their response:

This is by far the most complete response they've given to me (for reference, see these two emails I sent them last year: un et deux). 

I would just quibble with their saying depictions of rape at 15 'must be discreet', mind, because Wind River, a 15, showed the naked buttocks of the victim when she was being assaulted, which I would say was even worse than showing the attacker's bum. But I CBA to e-mail them; e-mailing back and forth about sexual violence is not my favourite thing to do with my spare time!

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Remember how perturbed I was to see a full stop where there ought to have been a comma in Get Out's BBFC short insight? Well, checking the back of the DVD, I was happy to see they removed that error for DVD distribution:

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For more film rating nerdiness click here!

Look what Cara Delevingne’s bad acting made Taylor Swift do.

Just like every other woman with a perpetual mental age of about 15, I watched Taylor Swift’s ‘Look What You Made Me Do’ music video as soon as it dropped, and have re-watched it several times to unpack all the shady Easter eggs not-so-subtly littered throughout.

I’m a fan of the regression-to-playground-levels-of-petty on display in the video (Amy Dunne recognises Amy Dunne, shall we say), and absolutely belly-laughed at the dig at Tom Hiddleston (he deserves it for being in High-Rise).

I noticed something curious in the coda of the music video, however, that piqued my interest. 

It's when Taylor Swift has 15 versions of herself lined up and riffs on the public’s perceptions of her. In the Taylor Swift of You Belong to Me era, she is wearing a T-shirt with several of her squad’s names on (for example, Selena [Gomez], Lena [Dunham, ew], Ed [Sheeran] and the three HAIM sisters). Look...

Cara Delevingne is missing!

10 Fittest Ladies in Film, 2013.

I had a lot of fun screencap-and-gif-searching for this blog post! The top four, of which three women are in joint second place, has the highest calibre of beautiful women since I started posting this list!

10. Marine Vacth,  Jeune et Jolie 

Film review: THE BIG SHORT (Adam McKay, 2015)

The financial crisis of 2007-2008 was quite the talking point. People became bankrupt; many lost their jobs and their homes. The haphazard behaviour of bankers cost many people’s livelihoods and the developed world has never fully recovered. Adam McKay, famed for directing entertaining comedies such as Anchorman and The Other Guys, steps into the realms of the big boys with the multi Oscar-nominated The Big Short, an adaptation of The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine by financial journalist Michael Lewis.

My favourite film critic Mark Kermode has a trope he often enlists in film reviews, known as ‘Meg Ryan as an airplane pilot’ (an allusion to Courage Under Fire), whenever he comes across a piece of casting in a film that nobody would buy in real life because the actor is too glamorous or mis-suited to the role. Well, going by that benchmark, there are three Meg Ryan as airplane pilots in The Big Short, with mis-casting so shockingly woeful, these proverbial helicopters would easily crash into each other.

Firstly, Ryan Gosling as a smarmy banker, complete with brunette hair-dye and poor treatment of his Yes-man of an assistant, does not ring true in the least. In films such as Crazy, Stupid, Love and The Notebook, dishy Gosling was in his element playing the dreamy heart-throb. Even in grittier, violent movies such as Drive or Only God Forgives, Gosling is able to transcend his good looks and lends credibility to the role of guys who will travel through the road to hell, laced with good intentions, trying to do what they believe is right. But in The Big Short, as the know-it-all smug Deutsche Bank employee Jared Vennett who spots a loophole in the fragile housing market that he can capitalise on to his gains, he does not convince, and no amount of dark hair or sharp suits will make him a credible banker.

Then we’ve got Christian Bale. Somehow, miraculously recipient of an Academy Award nomination for his portrayal of Michael Burry (although Jennifer Lawrence is on four Oscar nominations now, so, there’s no accounting for taste), a former doctor-come-number cruncher who runs his own asset management company, Bale reaches his intense peaks of American Psycho and The Fighter, but nowhere near the same level of credibility. As his eyes dart around at you (one of his eyes is a glass eye, although I never worked out which) in an attempt to convey Burry’s inability to relate to other people, I couldn’t help but feel faintly embarrassed. The heavy metal music and frenetic drumming that his character has a penchant for are all components in the novel, but by retaining them all in The Big Short for Bale, they do nothing other than illustrate how mis-suited he is to the role. As he is photographed lying on the ground, notes strewn across the floor, I never buy the frame as anything other than an over-cherographed scene of MOVIE STAR Christian Bale, surrounded by some finance notes.

Brad Pitt completes the Holy Trinity of awkward casing. He, like Gosling, has to overcome the hurdle of having to transcend his good looks, and his role in The Big Short is as misanthropic eco-aware Ben Rickett, who, having worked there previously, despises everything Wall Street stands for, but begrudgingly uses his reputation to get a seat at the table for The Brownfield Trust, a small investment firm run by yuppies played by Finn Wittrock and John Magaro. These two lads who a

re not particularly likeable in their roles but at least one of the film’s few believable elements, in their earnest, callow enthusiasm, and their interactions with each other as they stumble upon the mess of sub-prime lending are some of the slightly more nuanced elements of The Big Short's shambles of a screenplay. In one scene, Pitt's character lectures Wittrock and Magaro for being excited that their bets against the housing market are coming in, because whilst it's good news for them, it's awful news for many others. This is certainly true, but having handsome Brad Pitt playing morose with nothing but an unconvincing wig deliver it definitely dampens the strength of the message significantly.

Of the A-list poster-billed cast, only Steve Carell escapes with any pride in tact. His character is angry and has a very personal score to settle with the finance world, having a brother who worked there who suicided years previously. Carrell balances the pathos that this loss causes his character, along with amusing comedy of his raging tirades and general poor social etiquette, so that when his character is disgusted by the amoral people in finance and the little caution they throw to the wind when dealing with other people’s lives, we, too, share his disgust. The crew who work for him, which includes Rafe Spall, are also a semi-honourable bunch, amidst all the other wankers, and the camaraderie and fraternity between them, and the way they look out for Carell’s character, was one of the few elements of The Big Short I enjoyed.

Many critics have commended The Big Short’s irreverent take on the subject and off-the-wall execution. Admittedly, there are some effective scenes; the use of Gorillaz’s Feel Good Inc was nostalgic heaven, and the use of pop culture references to depict the passing of time certainly sits quite well. But mostly, the machine-gun, rat-tat-tat, not staying with any scene for too long, breaking the fourth wall and making Family Guy-style cutaways film ultimately gave me a headache.

I love Margot Robbie and Selena Gomez as much as the next person. But to enlist them to dumb down the subprime mortgage crisis to me, when I hold an Economics degree from the University of Bath, was the wrong side of off-kilter, and downright patronising. Margot Robbie, covered in bubbles, tells us that whenever we hear the word ‘sub-prime loan’, we should think ‘shit’. Well, in that vein, whenever someone mentions The Big Short, you should think, The Big Sh…

5/10

Girlcrush List, 2014.

We are not talking about the horrendous American Hustle love-in that was the BAFTAs last night. I'm delighted 12 Years a Slave won Best Film, because it was comfortably the best movie of 2013 and possibly one of the best of all time, and Barkhad Abdi winning Supporting Actor was awesome. But as for the AH love-in, and to a lesser extent, the Gravity one, the less the said the better.

So, to take my mind off that shambles, it's time for the 2014 edition of my lovely ladies!

10. Taylor Swift (new entrant)

I don't know if it was when I was thinking about the poignancy of the lyrics of Teardrops on my Guitar, or bopping along to I Knew You Were Trouble., that I realised, I really appreciate Swift's failed love life. Because it allows her to write some incredibly perceptive, true pieces of the messiness that is amour, set to her country music surroundings. Furthermore, her music has evolved with time, so that now and then there'll be a trendy smattering of dub step in her ditties, but she never deviates too far from the Nashville roots that served her so well. Plus, despite having legs all the way up to heaven, she doesn't flash her skin that much at all, which for a young woman trying to sell records, is mighty refreshing. Unlike the likes of Miley Cyrus, Taylor Swift doesn't have to work her ass off trying to shock. She just lets her sweet music do the talking.

09. Lupita Nyong'o (new entrant)

To say I was displeased when Jennifer Lawrence won Supporting Actress at the BAFTAs last night is an understatement. How Lawrence's overbaked caricature of a New Jersey housewife won over Nyong'o's measured, heartbreaking turn as poor abused slave Patsey is a goddamn travesty. Now, the way the precursors have gone, it looks like Jlaw will indeed win her second Oscar in a row, so stealing the crown that is rightfully Lupita's. But no matter who wins the golden statue come March, Lupita owns Jlaw, nay, all of Hollywood, in the fashion stakes. From the moment she rocked up to the Golden Globes in a red cape, to the dazzling emerald ensemble she wore last night, Nyong'o is queen at rocking block colour in a less-is-more approach to high fashion. Oscar or not, this Yale graduate is a brilliant actress with fantastic sartorial choices, and will go far.

08. Sarah Hyland (new entrant)

Famous for playing the bimbo big sister off Modern Family, the most striking part of Sarah Hyland's appearance are her big beautiful eyes. These are complemented with other classical beauty features - button nose, soft cheeks, gorgeous smile, as well as a skinny figure I'd simply kill for, and decent cleavage that is sported proudly throughout the show in a, to quote Phoebe off Friends, "obviously, yet classy way". Hubba bubba.

07. Miranda Kerr (up 3 places)

I like it when strong, attractive women shed themselves of their deadbeat spouses, and when I heard Miranda Kerr had dropped her crap actor of a husband, Orlando Bloom, I loved her even more, so propelling this dime of a lady even higher on my girl crush list. She's all over Mango when I go in, and I think she's the perfect choice for that store, as their outfits are as sleek, classy and chic as Miss Kerr herself. And let's not forget her knockout bod; you don't become a Victoria's Secret model for nothing, after all.

06. Cara Delevingne (new entrant)

Such is Cara's swaggering confidence, that I was surprised to discover she was only 1m 71cm tall. Not that that's short by anyone's standards, but to be a catwalk model you generally have to be 5'8''. That Delevingne could toss out the rulebook shows she had a certain je ne sais quoi that dazzled all the chief designers. Her striking eyebrows remain her most famous attribute, but this sleek-limbed queen also has a tidy body, great skin and beguiling grey-blue eyes, the latter of which reel you in in every photo I've seen of her. Verily I say, in a few years time, she will have displaced Kate Moss as the alpha supermodel.

05. Kristen Stewart (up 2 places)

Poor, beleaguered Kristen. Mocked for her acting, and now, mocked for her poetry, as she bared her soul by revealing some of her scribblings. Granted, it was a little overwrought. A bit try hard. That enjambment tho!!!

Literary pretension aside, verily I say, this list isn't an acting competition, and Stewart's awkward, aloof presence at awards ceremonies and promos is miles away from Anne Hathaway's polished Oscar campaign last year, where she kept insisting repeatedly that she wasn't fussed whether she won or not (she was only convincing herself). Stewart may not be the most likeable, but she is 100% herself, and for that, I thoroughly respect and admire her.

04. Mila Kunis (up 1 place)

Last Friday, in the Wetherspoon's at Victoria Station. I was talking to two of my colleagues about the scene in Black Swan where Mila Kunis goes down on Natalie Portman. "It's really intense", I'd said. "At one point, when she's really getting into it, she looks up from what she's doing and Mila's eyes look SOOOO BIG".

That is all.

03. Selena Gomez (up three places)

What I said previously about how I love it when powerful women ditch their loser spouses? Well Selena Gomez did the mother of all ditches when she rid herself of Justin Bieber, who, it was rumoured, couldn't deal with Gomez's fame and fortune. Well he can shove it, because not only is SG a great screen presence (on TV, movies and on stage), but her baby-faced cuteness is now evolving into something darker, showing hints of a tigress veneer under the innocent smiles. She was the best thing about the shambles that was Spring Breakers, and Come and Get it was one of my jams of 2013. Keep being awesome, Selena.

02. Dianna Agron (non-mover)

Whilst I'd deem some of the other girls on this list as sexy, Dianna Agron will forever be beautiful. She is beauty personified. The epitome of elegance. Pretty blonde hair, those cut-glass cheekbones, plump lips and best of all, her amber eyes, which are Disney-wide and hold my gaze whenever I'm watching her. Now that she's not on Glee, I don't even bother with that crap any more, and only Dianna Agron's loveliness could entice me into parting dollar to watch ballacks like The Family.

01. Lana del Rey (non-mover)

Ohai. My Queen Lana. Hated by many but never bettered, Lana's alternative, kooky charms will never be for everyone, but are fully for me. Her song Young and Beautiful was the only highlight (bar Leonardo DiCaprio) of Baz Lurhmann's messy Great Gatsby remake, and whilst it's been a quiet year for her overall, when she does pop up with songs, they never fail to satiate my appetite - she did a haunting cover of Once Upon a Dream for the upcoming Disney movie Maleficient, which is now top of my most eagerly awaited 2014 releases because of that. I'm hoping 2014 will be a bit busier than last year for Lana on the music front, but even if it isn't, she'll probably top this list next year anyway. She just has that kind of spell over me.

*Frankie Sandford off The Saturdays, a frequent entry on my girl crush list, missed it this year, because, unlike Miranda Kerr and Selena Gomez, she hasn't shed her deadbeat yet.

A day without you is like a year without rain.

Another lunch in my rather pricey University canteen:

Salmon, chips (dunked in balsamic vinegar - nom!), and shortbread. £6.85.

Emma's girlcrushes, 2013.

I like to do a yearly update of this list, so I can trawl tumblr for beautiful ladies. Here was last year's list, in case you were wondering.

10. Miranda Kerr

A new entrant on the list, I've always been a fan of her angelic, baby-faced beauty, but she really turned my head when she wore a dress to the Golden Globes that had both a) a slit up the thigh and b) plunging cleavage. Fashion rules dictate that you should only really have one or the other, but Miranda Kerr is stunning enough to work it. She has a wonderful physique - they don't let out-of-shape girls be Victoria's Secret models, and has to adhere to a very strict diet to maintain it, rendering her the very epitome of "yummy mummy".

09. Rooney Mara

I'm watching Side Effects tonight, and Miss Mara is one of the main draws; I loved her arresting turn in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and really thought she deserved the Oscar above Streep. The first film I saw Rooney Mara in, The Social Network, she was pretty, but nothing traffic-stopping, but it was David Fincher's movie that made her notice her as an actress, and her gorgeous red carpet appearances promoting the film that made me realise she was also a rather tasty bit of eye candy, too.

08. Rihanna

So-called "feminist" Caitlin Moran likes to frequently feign concern for Rihanna, telling the Barbados singer that she needs to "wear a cardi" more. Frankly, I couldn't care less what Rihanna does or doesn't wear, and find Moran's stream of thinking it's in her control to tell either women what they should be wearing extremely patronizing. Anyway, I feel Rihanna is always unfairly overlooked as a singer and an artist - listen to the raw emotion on her voice as she belts out Love the Way You Lie; she's no autotone troll. The fact that she's sung many of my nightclub favourites and the effortless swagger she had in the What's My Name video as she strutted down the video means that she's pretty much my cool-ness icon.

07. Kristen Stewart

Poor Kristen got the worst time after she got caught last year, when the Twittersphere practically imploded on itself, with Twihards rushing to dub her a "trampire." It is extremely misogynistic to slut-shame a girl for having an affair, when men do it - and get praised for it - all the time. As far as I'm concerned, the only thing Kristen has to be sorry for is appearing in Snow White and the Huntsman, one of the dullest films I've seen in recent years. But then, a few months later, I watched her in On the Road and realised she was actually a rather accomplished actress, given the right roles. The fact that she proved to be a bit of a minx on the side, as far as I'm concerned, just adds to her allure, now.

06. Selena Gomez

Baby-faced Selena Gomez is the object of my wardrobe envy - everything she's sported at film premieres and public appearances, I've wanted. At 20, she still has the cheeks that served her so well as a Disney chick, but as she enters her twenties, she wants us to know that she's more than that, and hence her appearance on the risque-looking Spring Break, which, judging  from the trailers, she spends the entire movie in just a bikini. Hey, I'm certainly not complaining.

05. Mila Kunis

Mila Kunis had a very distinctive eye colour. It started out with one eye being brown and the other green, but with time the two colours converged to produce something that is the best of both worlds. She also has incredibly large eyes, a soft button nose and incredible legs and bum. Yeah, I just really like staring at her.

04. Frankie Sandford

A regular of the Top Three (where she has been comfortably for the last two years), I'm afraid I've had to bump Frankie down one place, simply because I just don't understand why she's still with that weed Wayne Bridge. As for the rest, she's stunning; possessing the most stunning abs ever, which she knows how to show off with a pretty belly bar, and the most infectious smile in The Saturdays. Gorgeous, gorgeous girl.

03. Kaya Scodelario

Kaya simply gets sexier with age. And, bearing in mind that she already had the vamp factor pretty much up to a maximum as Effy in Skins, is really saying something. So attractive that she's frequently cast as the femme fatale in music videos (She Said, Stay Too Long, Candy), she's learn to work the ice queen schtick so well that it feels like a second skin. Soft, round grey eyes that I could stare at all day, the figure of a model and a range of hairstyles that bring out her best features, she is quite the stunner.

02. Dianna Agron

Glee is a mess these days. Honestly, I have no idea why I continue  watching, each episode just leaves me banging my head against the desk. But on the rare occasions when Quinn pops up, I do feel that my perseverance is rewarded. Dianna Agron is responsible for what remains, to this day, my favourite Glee cover (the "I Feel Pretty/Unpretty" mashup), and her dulcet tunes suit my ears like a bee to honey. A twist on the classic blonde beauty look, Miss Agron has amber eyes instead of blue eyes, but this unusual blend just adds to her aesthetic appeal.

01. Lana del Rey

Lana was at Anfield on Sunday, and given my thoughts on Liverpool Football Club, you'd think that would put me off her. No such thing. Despite the paltriness of her surroundings, the sight of Lana smiling her irresistible smile at the football ground had me grinning too. She's my favourite artist - my boyfriend and I cuddle to her songs all the time, and her keenness to use Lolita imagery throughout her songwriting simply adds to her vixenesque appeal. Luscious lips, hair that's full of volume and eyes as round and delicious as cherry pies, Lana remains the definitive girlcrush, Anfield or not.

The way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed.

It was the lads yesterday, and now, here come the girls. And what beautiful girls they are!

10. Rooney Mara

If it were up to me, Miss Mara would have won Best Actress at the Oscars this year instead of Meryl Streep. Noomi Rapace's excellent performance in the original The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo takes some beating, but Mara gave her own wonderful spin on one of the most unique literary characters. Her current jet-black bob is an unusual haircut, definitely, but such are her striking features and slender frame, that she pulls it off, and then some.

09. Troian Bellisario

All the four leads in Pretty Little Liars are absolutely stunning, and Aria, with her big doll eyes and Hannah, with her classic blonde-hair-blue-eyes combination, could probably be considered the more "obvious" pick than Spencer Hastings. But Spencer is the smart, preppy one of the group, the one who always has to call the shots whilst the others panic, and Troian Bellisario exudes this beauty&brains combination perfectly.

08. Naya Rivera

Glee has been nothing short of a mess this series, but the only bright spot is that Santana is being allowed more solos, because Naya Rivera has the voice - and the star power - to justify it. She's incredibly versatile in her vocal range, owns the badass character, and if I had a millionth of the amount of sass this Queen had, I'd be happy. Werq!

07. Mila Kunis

My main obsession point with Kunis is the thing that Justim Timberlake's character in Friends with Benefits highlights: her big, beautiful eyes. Wow. ♥

06. Emma Stone

One word: charisma!!! Emma Stone has it in spades. She made Easy A with her loveable facial expressions and deadpan deliveries and has all the makings of a fine comedic actress. Plus, from interviews and stuff, she seems like an absolute hoot to be mates with.

05. Rihanna

As with Grint on yesterday's list, she's pretty much guaranteed tenure on my girlcrush list due to the fact that so many of her hits are amongst my favourites to dance to in nightclubs! Last year she went redhead, and I think it suited her deliciously.

04. Selena Gomez

Miss Gomez is actually younger than me, but I don't care. I think she's wonderful, she has the best outfits in all her photos, and I love how willing and ready she is to smile for the camera! After all, the smile, as we all know, is the sexiest curve on a woman's body. :)

And... it's a three way tie for first place! ;)

01. Dianna Agron

Dianna is divine. ♥ I've pretty much waxed lyrical about everything I can say about her, but seriously guys, those hazel eyes. WOW.

01. Frankie Sandford

The absolute only thing Miss Wayne Bridge needs to train is to have better taste in men! Queen.

01. Lana del Rey

A new entrant, and straight to number one! I am genuinely baffled by the backlash Lana has received; her history as Lizzy Grant doesn't hinder or help my opinion of her whatsoever - plenty of musicians have stage names. As for picking holes in her live performances, I just put that down to nerves, and believe she will better with experience. The fact of the matter is, her songs themselves are stunning, absolutely stunning, and Off to the Races is one of the most layered songs I've ever heard, seriously. And then there's her lips. I really am not fussed if they're fake; I think they look stunning.

You've got a smile that could light up this whole town.

I've been revisiting the Taylor Swift tracks on my iPod recently, and I don't care what anyone else says, I still find her songs a delight. One lyric in her "You Belong with Me" song, particularly rings out to me, I find it charming in its corniness, you've got a smile that could light up this whole town. And it got me thinking, several of my favourite celebrities genuinely do have smiles so fabulous they could metaphorically light up a town. Here be a few of my favourites!

06. Adam Johnson



There are plenty of footballers whom I fancy more than AJ, but his smile, but the unadulterated joy radiating from the half moon on his face is just a joy to behold. Adorable!

05. Selena Gomez




Her cheeks are absolutely gorgeous and I love how easily her lovely smiles come. Her hair, a cascade of curls also frame her face perfectly and the endless supply of lipgloss she has only makes her smiles lovelier.

04. Mila Kunis



The cheekiness that comes with her grins adds to their awesome, and she has the largest, most unforgettable eyes ever.

03. Harry Styles

This boy most certainly does know he's beautiful, but I don't even care. He's a jack the lad, but so, so, hot with it. And that cheeky grin, goddamn.

02. Hailee Steinfeld

This gif of Hailee giggling is one of my all-time favourites. Her effortless charm and unpretentious, natural happiness is completely infectious. I adore her!

01. Dianna Agron
Oh, she is divine. The combination of Lolita lips, exquisitely unusual eye colour and long eyelashes, as well as her flawless skin and bone structure, make for the most beautiful smile I have ever seen, bar none.


How lovely! *___*