UC Davis School of Law Commencement 2013

UC Davis School of Law 2013 Commencement at the Mondavi Center

House Minority Leader, Nancy Pelosi is our 2013 Commencement Speaker

Getting hooded by Professor Floyd Feeney.

Blog Feature: The Impudent Inquisitor

If you are anything like me, then you are always looking for a new blog to read and new interesting people to meet online. With that in mind, I'd like to introduce you to a new blogger who just joined Twitter and the blog-o-sphere: The Impudent Inquisitor (link). Asking to remain anonymous, this blogger wants to be known only by the questions he asks and the challenges he poses to the world. It is an interesting concept, especially because most of the questions you will come across on this blog are ones we have asked but have never spent the time thinking about.

The blog is a little edgy and a lot rude. But let's be honest, the best type of wit targets the absurdity in human behavior. The topics won't generally be offensive to anyone, but if you are looking for political correctness, you will not find it here.

You can also follow his brand new Twitter account @Mr_Impudent. I hope you check it out and let me know what you think!

Fandom Meltdowns

Though I am always looking for new topics on fandom to blog about, I did not expect to be writing this one. Mostly because no one could have predicted all the drama that went down this weekend. But that is all part of the fandom experience. More than anything else, being part of a fandom mean being party of a community--interacting with other fans--getting to know how they react while they get to know how you react.

This weekend was the New Jersey Supernatural Convention (NJ Con) and before the stars even arrived, the fandom had a total breakdown. As I witnessed this all happen live on Tumblr, it took a while to piece it all together. Here is how it finally broke down:

There were rumors going around on Saturday that Jensen Ackles requested that all questions be screened for shipping questions (i.e. questions about Destiel, character sexualities, etc.). According to a fan, who was supposedly told by a staff worker, the questions make him "uncomfortable." The rumor started after someone asked Misha Collins if his character Cas loved Dean. From what I understand of his answer, he played it off and essentially dodged the question. Fans appreciated Misha's effort but some were enraged by the rumors that Jensen was "banning" Destiel questions--interpreting his "uncomfort" as homophobia.

Fast forward to the Sunday panel. J2 begin their panel and the first question starts like this:  I’ve loved seeing Dean’s character become more comfortable with himself this season. As a bisexual, I’ve noticed some possible subtext... Immediately, the crowd began booing her question (you have to understand that though the fans may have been enraged at the "ban" they are equally sick of the shipping questions that just make the entire room roll their eyes). Before the fan could get any further in her question, J2's body guard approached her and prevented her from asking the rest of the question. While the fan was talking to the body guard, and as a response to both the question and to the crowd's reaction, Jensen looks around and says "Really, the first question?" Followed by a "Don't ruin it for everyone, now." At that point, it became obvious that the question was not going to be asked. Jensen says "I still don't know what the question was...I'm going to pretend like I don't know what the question was and move on." Next question was asked and the panel moved on. (You can see a video here. And the account from the fan who asked the question on her Tumblr here.)

Since none of my readers actually watch Supernatural, there are some things I need to explain: Most importantly, you should realize that the Supernatural fandom is heavily defined by their desire to ship characters and write fanfiction. More than any other fandom I've seen, this show's core fanbase runs on their ships and the show essentially would not survive without those fans (because of those fans, however, the show was renewed for a ninth season with no end in sight).

The strongest of these ships are between Dean Winchester and Castiel...= Destiel. To be completely honest, I had not realized quite how serious this ship was until this incident happened. I mean, I always thought that the bromance was a nice bond to the show. But for many fans, they interpret the relationship as much more than a bromance and they are severely looking for confirmation from the show (confirmation that they will, frankly, never get).

Because of this, however, the show's representatives must engage in a delicate balance--maintaining the show's reality but not alienating or upsetting the fans who have rewritten that reality for themselves. I know, this sounds harsh. But my main question when all this happened was simply "Why don't the actors just answer the question honestly?" I think the answer to that is because answering the question honestly would require the show to admit that there is no romance between the characters and they are afraid the fanbase won't stick around as a result. Personally, I think they are not giving the fans enough credit, but that isn't the point.

Now, I've seen fandoms have meltdowns before (remember the Clay Aiken/Kelly Rippa incident? Harry Styles/Taylor Swift? Joe Jonas/Taylor Swift? Ya, she comes up a lot.). But I've never seen it like this before. In just minutes, hundreds of posts flooded Tumblr with reactions ranging from Twitter trend campaigns declaring their support for Jensen to a an open letter from a "queer teenage girl" expressing the fear she feels because of "Mr. Ackles'"actions. Ya, that is for real.

I'm not really going to comment on the event itself, especially since you can probably glean my thoughts based on the tone of this post. But I'm more interested in the collective reaction of a fandom. How is it possible that one question could have sparked a meltdown of this magnitude? To be honest, I don't really know. My feeling is that there is a lot of conflating between the characters and the actors. Between the show and the fanfiction. And between what people are actually seeing/hearing/feeling and what they wish they were seeing/hearing/feeling.

Though I find Ms. "Queer Teenage Girl's" open letter impressively dramatic, she touches on the heart of the problem: 

"You look through every movie list, every book review, you watch and you read and you try to find a character like you....And then, one day, you turn on the tv and you find a character like you. He’s twenty six years old, he’s a man, he’s a monster-hunter."

There is something the fans connect to. That is probably what makes a fandom function more than anything else--the attachment you feel to a show/celebrity/musician/etc. This is not just fascination or desire the way we look at Marylyn Monroe and we are mesmerized by fame. Any fan will tell you that they have no interest in the fame of this person. But this connection makes us want to know that person. Until we do know that person, we fill in the rest with ideal and images of perfection. We impose on them a personality that we want them to have because it completes the connection we feel. Unfortunately, it's inevitable that the personality we impose is going to clash with reality. And once that happens, a fandom breaks.

And believe me, every fandom is guilty of this--though some more than others. As I have said in past posts, the complexities of a fandom fascinate me. Part of the reason I decided to write blog posts about fandoms was to 1) share what I've learned and 2) continue working through this human phenomenon. I apologize if this post was too insider for you. I tried to give you a summary and context, but I may have failed. If you have any thoughts (and especially if you are in the SPN fandom), I'd love to heard them. What was your reaction to the question? Why do you think the fandom was so susceptible to such outrage? Are fans asking too much of their show?

Renewing Smash

Over the years, I have collected come pretty solid data to support the theory that if I adore a show, there is about a 50% chance it will be prematurely cancelled. For every successful show that I faithfully love, there is one that didn't make it out of its second season. Usually, I get on my Twitter, Tumblr, Blog, etc. and eagerly campaign for the renewal of the show. This time, I'm making a preemptive strike--asking you to check out Smash BEFORE it gets cancelled. The show was barely renewed for a second season, it's ratings continue to plummet, and NBC just moved Smash to a death spot on Saturday nights.

For those of you who may have tuned in Season 1 and decided it wasn't great, I urge you to give it another chance. Between Seasons 1 and 2, the show fired the original show runner and brought in fresh blood in the hopes of re-energizing and redirecting the show. Smash has not radically changed, but it has changed in key aspects which elevate the entire quality of the show. Observe:

Eliminating tired characters: This is probably the most obvious (and most needed) change for the second season--leaving Leo, Frank, Dev, and Ellis behind. Dev was a good place for Karen to start. Small-town girl, remaining faithful to her stable and cute relationship. But she is the star of the show. You can't keep her without an evolving and conflicted love interest. It was time for Dev to go. I didn't love the way it went--but better he lose all credibility than she.

I think the Leo/Frank/Julia relationship was the worst. First, they are looking to adopt a kid, then Julia is having an affair, then Leo is on drugs and getting arrested, then Frank is maybe having an affair...this family (and storyline) is all over the place. If the writing were not bad enough, Frank and Leo two of the most boring characters on TV. Thankfully, we don't have to worry about seeing Julia's man-child for a while.

Widening the plot developments: While focusing on Bombshell during Season 1 was great, Season 2 needed more material. Some of the cast moved on to other shows and we began following a new production. The music is great and it adds a nice contrast to Bombshell, which is still struggling.

Focusing on plausible Broadway challenges: With a show that had so many inherent complications in the story, it really did not need such an overt villain. How absurd is it that one new assistant was going to take down all of Broadway? And by poisoning a peanut allergy? Think bigger, people.

Instead, the show should focus on those inherent challenges that  come with the territory. Competitive leads, financial troubles, director egos, bad Broadway reviews, etc. These all have so much potential and they are exactly the kind of stories that the show should focus on.

Thankfully, it seems like Season 2 has figured it out and fixed some of the iffier issues. Let me know if you watch the show, used to watch the show, or ever plan to watch the show.

Aokirama 2013

Hey readers! I'm sorry it's been a while. It is a crazy year for me--basically, one big event after the another. The first just happened this past week. I am very excited to say that it was a success so I wanted to share.

Each year, the UC Davis Law School puts on an annual talent show called Aokirama in the Spring where we celebrate the many talents that our students and faculty have beyond the law books. This year, I had the pleasure of chairing the event. We have been trying to keep most of the plans and behind-the-scenes photos under wraps until the show. So here is what we have been working on for the past 3 months:

Promos:

Dress Rehearsal:

Performance: Phantom of the Law School

Tribute to our late professor, Keith Aoki:

The 3L Video:

One of the most anticipated acts is the 3L video. It's a video that the 3L class puts together--commenting on their last three years at law school. Enjoy.

Show Night! (April 3rd and 4th):

Our students have so many talents beyond studying the law books. Here are just some of my favorite performances that I was able to catch while managing from backstage.

My hilarious emcees.

My Constitutional Law Professor Performs 99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall.

Song Parody of The Little Mermaid's Part of Your World, called "Part of Your Firm."

One of our performers serenades our MC with "I Dreamed a Dream"

The beautiful flowers everyone got me at the end of the show!

**For more photos and behind-the-scenes pictures, check out my Facebook album.