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L word

Discussion in 'Entertainment and Technology' started by indiqo, Jan 4, 2015.

  1. indiqo

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    what do people think of the L word?

    this has probably been discussed 389383 times and I'm too lazy to search.

    I tried to watch it recently (I live under a rock so it's the first time I've watched it). I really just couldn't. please tell me it gets better? it was just cringe.

    also, why is everyone walking around naked? is that going to be a massive theme throughout because if so I probably shouldn't be watching this with my mother ;D
     
  2. DelvSeigible

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    So I am just here to waste your time. First off I wikied, second off I make inference, third I did not watch :| the show has 4 seasons and a multitude of beautiful people in it... It does not take a genius like me to state that THE show was a success in some form. My advice for watcing movies that frustrate you: passive consumerism; skip around!

    Best luck getting to understanding lgbt materials you are brave, do not get idea poisoning
    -E
     
  3. waitwhat

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    Personally, I think it just gets cringier (is that a word?) Oh well. Yeah, some aspects get better, some get worse. And IMO it is not the best representation of real lesbians and/or bisexuals.
     
  4. stocking

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    I like the show the L word but I really think they did a huge disservice to the bisexual characters in the show like telling Alice to pick a side then near the last season her sexuality goes away and suddenly she just turns lesbian . Then the show had everyone cheating no one was faithful . Sure it makes great tv but I hope the people who weren't lgbt who were watching this show realizes it's just entertainment and not all lesbians are like that .
     
  5. gogreen

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    I liked it in the same way that I like a lot of totally unrealistic TV drama shows like Grey's Anatomy. But with hot sex scenes, and I DEFINITELY would not watch it with my mother!!!
     
  6. indiqo

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    thankyou!

    I'm not sure what you meant by the last part.

    at least I'm not the only person who never saw this show before. my mum said the same as you, about everyone being attractive, it happens a lot :/

    well it is a word now :')

    do you have any recommendations? I have only heard of this show and blue is the warmest colour. even my mum said, "it's like lesbians only have lesbian friends". I'm sure there is always going to be a misrepresentation and blah blah but there's so few programmes exclusively about same-sex relationships, it sucks they can't be more realistic.

    that's ridiculous. it would have made me angry to see. I guess those things are said a lot to bisexual people, but to show it as something which can be done :***:

    this is the point, if it misrepresented us then hopefully people will forget it anyway.

    I watch a lot of trash. but this could inadvertently influence people. I don't expect things to be super realistic, just to avoid misinformation. tv programmes are one place people who are otherwise unexposed to same-sex relationships are getting an education :/

    haah thankyou, I will avoid watching with my mum in future:icon_redf
     
    #6 indiqo, Jan 5, 2015
    Last edited: Jan 5, 2015
  7. treatmeright

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    First of all I don't know why some people harshly criticize it. For Goodness sake it was the first lesbian focus show ever and it ran for 6 seasons from 2004 to 2009. When did we ever had that?

    We can't expect one show to represent all the lesbians and you can't expected to be all good representation. There are a lot of tv shows with crabby relations look only at "the bold nd the beautiful" Brooke slept with the father the son the brother and the grandson, well that is cheating.

    I first saw Bette and Tina's clips in YouTube then I managed to download a torrents for the 6 seasons. It had its ups and downs and I hatted season 3 and loved season 5 and was confused during season6.
    But the bottom line is we got the chance to see and feel all those emotions where before the L Word there was null.

    And because of that show I came out to myself as a lesbian.

    And for the all sexy actresses in the show it can't be true that all lesbians are sexy and beautiful!!! Well yes but look in this website For example all the women here are beautiful and sexy. so?

    I loved L Word, I loved The cast and I laughed cried pulled my hair sometimes. But I was greatful and it opened the door for others to follow.
     
  8. jay777

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  9. indiqo

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    I just recently figured out how to quote several people :grin:

    these things just frustrate me because they perpetuate misconceptions.

    BUT I haven't seen it, so I can't truly comment. I guess my question was should I continue watching it, or is it going to annoy me.

    I think I will try, but without my mum :icon_redf

    thankyou so much, excellent thread.

    ^.^
     
  10. Fallingdown7

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    Honestly, I didn't like it at all. I know lesbians get excited to see lesbian representation on TV, but I felt like I couldn't relate to ANY of the characters. They were all cheating on each other which is OK for TV drama, but why make EVERY character like that?

    Show just came off that being a lesbian was a slutty thing which didn't make me feel good at all, they overdid it on the sex scenes including heterosexual ones (which made me sick to be honest, I don't want to see straight sex on a lesbian show, straight relationships are okay though), there was some biphobia, etc. Overall, just couldn't stand it.
     
  11. Skellington

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    I think people forget this part too often. The first episode of the L word aired on January 18th 2004, that's almost eleven years ago. Just like Queer as Folk before it (2000-2005 in the US) it was kind of groundbreaking when it comes to queer representation on TV.

    Is it the best representation or most accurate, faaaaaaaar from it. But hardly anything produced for mass media is. I know plenty of so called nerds and geeks who cringe at the Big Bang Theory, medically trained people who think Grey's Anatomy is the biggest joke ever and so on so forth. And don't get me started on crime shows.

    Yeah, there's bi erasure and they use the word tranny about Max but thankfully the times change and people learn. Where I live the national LGBT organization shunned bisexuals (forcing them to create their own organization) in the mid 2000s (they don't anymore) and it wasn't until 2010 or something that they stopped turning trans people away. That's unfortunately how things were 5-10 years ago.

    The point is, The L Word provided much needed exposure. Sure, there's a lot of sex scenes and unnecessary drama, but that's how it is on so many other TV shows too. I, for one, own all six seasons on DVD and just having the show to watch helped me tremendously in figuring out who I was (or the first piece of the puzzle anyhow) – most of the other gay representation I remember on TV at the time (early seasons at least) were overly stereotypical gay men in reality TV shows.

    End of the day, being LGBT doesn't mean you have to watch or enjoy a show like The L Word just like being a football player doesn't mean you have to watch Friday Night Lights.

    So, that was my rant about that. Now, to your questions.

    If you've only watched the first episode of The L Word, yes, that one is very cringy (it's the pilot after all) and it does get slightly better after, but like people have said, the six seaons have their ups and downs.

    If you're looking for other lesbian themed TV shows, there's a British one called Lip Service that I know very little about and then an American show called The Fosters that is about a lesbian couple and their (foster) kids. The latter I've watched and it's a lot more 'with the times' when it comes to correct language and stuff than The L Word was.

    Oh, and if you're feeling adventurous, there's always The Real L Word. Haha.
     
  12. Lifesbegun

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    I bought the box set and watched all 6 seasons last year, mostly enjoyed it to be fair.
     
  13. stocking

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    I love the show but it's no where near perfect but it's a lot better than the crappy lesbian show we had today .
    Speaking of Max boy did they treat him like shit it made me cringe at times .
    There was so many heterosexual sex scenes in that show that even straight people were complaining XD at least that changed a bit after the first season thank God .
     
    #13 stocking, Jan 6, 2015
    Last edited: Jan 6, 2015
  14. Lipstick Leuger

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    Meh. I would watch it if nothing else was on, but personally I was very frustrated that there were pretty much only Lipstick Lesbians(not Femmes) on it and no 'real' Butch/Femme pairings. I felt it gave the wrong impression that all lesbians have long/longer hair, and look girly. Even Shane, the so called 'Butch'. They were mean to Alice, the Bi girl, also. At least that was true to life. I could not relate to any of them. They could have really explored all the Lesbian community, instead of focusing on only a small subset.

    It was great for exposure, but to be honest, I totally LOVED QAF, and their Lesbian couple was actually more spot on. That show was made by gay guys. They showed a greater diversity of gay guys on QAF, than they did lesbians on L word. At least we are on tv now and hopefully it will get much better.
     
  15. stocking

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    Let's not forget Tina too at one time who was also bi .
     
  16. Haim

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    I started watching it but to be honest struggled, there were only a couple of characters I liked and I found the story lines frustrating. I ended up stopping in season 5 and just reading the episode re-caps and watching certain scenes. I did learn some new words/terminology though!

    But I'll agree, The L Word was an important show. I remember my extended family talking about it when it first came out and as a teenagers hearing people be positive about the lesbian community was great. The show helped expose people to a part of our culture, people who may not have normally even considered some of the struggles gay people go through.
     
  17. indiqo

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    thankyou everyone for your input :3

    thankyou for the suggestions! I have never watched any lgbt show before, it just occurred to me that I might like it, since so many people do, and also it could help me feel more comfortable with myself. I guess it's a personal thing, maybe I will grow to like it, or hate it.

    I was kind of wondering more about the quality of the show in terms of character/storyline development and diversity, rather than just the representation aspect. obviously those things directly impact representation issues but really it's not my primary concern because I'm aware that nothing fictional can accurately and realistically portray real life because it isn't supposed to, not without exaggerations and suspense >.<
     
  18. Hopeful

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    I loved the L Word! Yeah there's a lot of cheating and sex, but I honestly loved all the characters. I saw some people I knew from other things and got really excited to see them and there was a lot of good stuff in there. I kind of wish I hadn't seen it so I could watch it all over for the first time again...
     
  19. archerrose

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    I am watching L word right now. I liked Melanie and Lindsey on Queer as Folk a lot better.
    I don't like the bi/trans phobia. It would have been a lot more interesting if the bi characters had relationships with a couple. Also, if Jenny's boyfriend knew she liked women and had such a problem with it why did he marry her? Dumb plot line.
    I have seen a few episodes of Lip Service and the sex is hot!!! Haven't seen The Fosters or the real L Word. Looking on HBO is decent, more realistic than Queer as Folk
     
  20. stocking

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    As I recall he had know idea that she liked women

    ---------- Post added 8th Jan 2015 at 07:34 PM ----------

    I still like the show and re watch it .