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Author: gwendolynfrenzel

Women in TV: Broad City and The Craft

Women in TV: Broad City and The Craft

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When I was applying to college, I considered a couple of all-women’s schools, namely Barnard and Wellesley. I loved both, but I also had qualms about them. They were, indeed, all women’s schools. Surrounded by other women entirely (surely brilliant, beautiful ones for the record), how would I make guy friends? Or find dates? (I was comically set in my perceived straightness as a high school junior). Given my concerns about how an all-female environment might affect my social life,…

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Bioshock Infinite Review

Bioshock Infinite Review

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Perhaps this is a bit late—Bioshock Infinite was released back in 2013—but I only just finished it, and let me just say, all the hype surrounding it was totally warranted. For my final blog, I would like to discuss this amazing game and hopefully make you interested enough to try it out for yourself, if you haven’t already. If you’ve ever played a Bioshock game before, you pretty much know what you’re going to get: a story-driven, linear, first-person shooter…

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Humor in George Saunders’ mock letter, “I can speak!™”

Humor in George Saunders’ mock letter, “I can speak!™”

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In honor of George Saunders’ lecture at Vassar this past week (which I found mostly quite funny), I am going to look at how humor works in one of his short works, “I can speak!™” “I can speak!™” is pseudo company-to-consumer letter in which Rick Sminks, product service representative at KidLuv Inc. writes to Mrs. Faniglia to express regret regarding her disappointment in their product. The reader soon finds out that this product is essentially a mini-robot in the form…

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Best of Assigned Reading: Intro Classes

Best of Assigned Reading: Intro Classes

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As preregistration descends upon us, wreaking panic and excitement in equal measures, students across Vassar interrogate friends and pore over catalogues to get a good idea of what classes might be like. Another good way to get a sense for classes, especially intro classes in a field that’s new to you, is to peruse their required reading. “But Elizabeth,” you say, “professors won’t send out reading lists until like August!” Fear not, friends, because I have taken a number of…

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Why Virginity Is Kind of a Really Stupid Concept

Why Virginity Is Kind of a Really Stupid Concept

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I feel like it’s generally common knowledge that the social construct of virginity can be harmful. What first tends to come to mind when one thinks of being “deflowered” or “popping the cherry” is the tearing of the hymen of a cis female after engaging in sexual intercourse. This idea of a hymen tearing during intercourse is simply not true. The hymen is a thin membrane surrounding the opening to the vagina that, yes, can be stretched by sex, but this can…

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Making Games is Hard

Making Games is Hard

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I’ve been making games independently since high school, mostly just simple 2D games for the PC, but the amount of work required for even the simplest games is staggering. It makes me think about all the hard work that goes into games made by small teams, like Dear Esther, Braid, The Path, Super Meat Boy…the list goes on. After watching the documentary Indie Game: The Movie (watch the trailer here) I better understood the pain and struggle of completing a…

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The Higher Importance of Zayn Malik’s Departure from One Direction

The Higher Importance of Zayn Malik’s Departure from One Direction

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By writing this blog, I will be revealing that I know much more about One Direction off of the top of my head than I would generally like to admit to the public. However, Zayn Malik’s recent move to quit the boyband has become fairly unavoidable news, and I think there are implications to his choice that merit examination even if you couldn’t care less about the band itself. Being half-Pakistani, Zayn was the only person of color in the…

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Three Rejections of Modern Works of Art in the 20th Century, And The Lack of Rejection of Art Today

Three Rejections of Modern Works of Art in the 20th Century, And The Lack of Rejection of Art Today

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In the 20th century, audiences were remarkably vocal when they believed a work of art was controversial or lacked artistic or intellectual value. I give you three examples: Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring. On May 29, 1913, the ballet The Rite of Spring, set to Stravinsky’s commissioned music of the same name, debuted in Paris and the Théâtre des Champs-Élysée. The audience began to boo a couple minutes into the piece, probably during that discordant minute when various instruments are…

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Why the Parks and Recreation Series Finale Was Everything I Wanted

Why the Parks and Recreation Series Finale Was Everything I Wanted

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Warning: This review contains spoilers of the Parks and Rec finale. The season 6 finale of Parks and Recreation, the one before the series’ actual finale that aired a few weeks ago, could have functioned just fine as an ending for the whole show. I wouldn’t have been happy about it, but it left off at a good point of transition for Leslie from local to federal government. There were unanswered questions, but the finale ended on a note of potential after…

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Faculty Books Coming Soon, English Department Edition

Faculty Books Coming Soon, English Department Edition

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Vassar prides itself on the faculty’s commitment to teaching, as part of their claim to fame as a small, rigorous liberal arts school–despite the “science bridge,” we’re not a large research university, in case you haven’t noticed. But this emphasis on teaching doesn’t mean that faculty don’t write and publish. In fact, they do so constantly and with significant volume. Vassar professors are constantly publishing academic articles, studies, and books, as well as novels, other articles, and personal essays. You…

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