I have to say that I have always been somewhat bewildered by this Second Life concept and personally I find the idea of assuming a computer/game-based identity kind of depressing. So my post will rather focus on the Stein piece and this weeks Screening.

I do have to admit that I’m finding myself a little underwhelmed by Veronica Mars. I am by no means saying that it’s a bad show – not at all. I know that Veronica and Buffy – as referenced by Stein are icons of American pop culture or at least academia’s take on it. I liked both shows but had an issue with both of them. The mystery/monster-of-the-week usually bored me and drew too much attention from the far more interesting overarching seasonal mysteries. I see how this weeks episode of Veronica Mars tied in with Pretty Little Liars – a girl with a secret, her dissappearing and Veronica stepping in to help out to solve the mystery around her. Still, as I’m watching the show I find these weekly cases stall the far more interesting plot points of the show and that is kind of where I see the show might have lost its audience. I think a l lot about Veronica Mars is interesting but the bits and pieces are more compelling that the show altogether and as a viewer I could see myself just stop watching after a while. I haven’t watched all of the show but as mentioned in one of the article’s comments Veronica really is the (at this point) the only female character to identify with (her dead friend is neither involved in the present plot nor seems truly relatable) so Veronica’s empowerment seems somewhat limited as the show only has weak character’s and victimized women as other mode of femininity to offer.

Pretty Little Liars seems more varied in its representation of female characters. The girls all seem very femme fatale yet somewhat relatable. Aria, pursues Mr Fitz even though she realizes he thinks she’s a college student. Her friend Spencer tries to seduce her sister’s boyfriend to get even, while Hanna believes her self-confidence allows her to get away with everything, including theft. She might have taken cues from her mom who seems willing to do everything to get what she wants. Allison clearly is the most cut-throat out of all the characters, a Queen Bee par excellence. There really appears no homme fatale as the ladies run the show which I found refreshing. The show is female-centered and even the love interest seem only marginal – Emily’s female love interest being the notable exception. The show feels a bit like Desperate Housewives with teenagers. All of the positive aside though the plot development so far was a bit cliché and the student/teacher love story at this point feels like a dated teenshow device (Every teen show I can think of did it!).

I certainly agree with Stein’s point that despite its glammy look Pretty Little Liar offers an interesting new take on young females and their ability to stick up for themselves.