Film Reviews - Faith and Film
By Daniel B. Clendenin Ph.D.
Our latest film review is featured below. This and all previous reviews may be found in the Comprehensive Index of Film Reviews.
Portlandia (2011)
Portlandia is a clever television satire about all things hip in Portland: the coffee culture, feminist book stores, "artisan light bulbs," the Allergy Pride Parade, bicycle rights activists, free range chicken, etc. In one episode, the Portland mayor sits on an exercise ball intead of an office chair in order to "work on his core." The show features writers-producers-stars Carrie Brownstein, who was in the indie girls rock band Sleater-Kinney for twelve years, and Fred Armisen, who starred at Saturday Night Live for ten years. I watched the show after reading a feature article about Portlandia in the New Yorker (January 2, 2012). In that article Brownstein recalls standing in line at Whole Foods when a guy asked why they didn't carry "locally made fresh pasta," to which the cashier responded, "sure we do, right there." The guy complained, "no, that's from Seattle." Brownstein concludes, "Really? You don't have a bigger battle?" Indeed! Six episodes from Season One are available on Netflix streaming. Season Two began in early 2012. Episodes are about 20 minutes each.