Cynthia Scott
Stories (17/0)
10 Influential TV Shows from the 1980s and 1990s
Between 2000-2010, television entered a Golden Age. By the late nineties, cable television replaced first-run movie premieres, syndicated TV shows, and infomercials with original programming. Without broadcast standards to censor their productions, cable TV pushed the envelope by telling stories that were smart, mature, and challenging. Yet this era didn't exist in a vacuum. Both broadcast and cable television had been producing quality programming for years. In fact, between the 1980s and 1990s, it produced programs that were not only critically acclaimed but influential. This list highlights the Top 10 Most Influential TV shows from that era.
By Cynthia Scottabout a year ago in Geeks
9 Kate Bush Songs to Add to Your Spotify Playlist
Singer/songwriter Kate Bush has influenced everyone from Tori Amos to Maxwell. She's also collaborated with such artists as David Gilmour of Pink Floyd (who also discovered her), Peter Gabriel, and Prince. And though she hasn't recorded new material since 2011, she gained a generation of new fans after her song, "Running Up That Hill," was used in the popular Netflix drama Stranger Things. Bush began her musical career in the late '70s, so her discography can seem daunting to new fans. However, with this list of nine of her greatest recordings, fans can not build a playlist of her work but gain a greater appreciation for her artistry as a singer and song stylist.
By Cynthia Scottabout a year ago in Beat
A Short Piece on Pop Culture
Wuthering Heights is probably the only book that almost moved me to tears. There's one scene, an image really, that lingers in my head: Catherine's gravesite on the moors as the wind swept through the heather she loved. I admit I got a lump in my throat. There aren't many books that brought me to tears, though I've read plenty that should have––Katherine Paterson's Bridge to Terabithia, for instance, or C.S. Lewis's The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, both of which I read and loved in grade school.
By Cynthia Scottabout a year ago in Journal
A Little Humor Can Go A Long Way
I was watching The Devil's Hour, a six-part speculative series on Amazon Prime (which is great, if you haven't checked it out already) when I was reminded of how much I enjoy dramas that also have splashes of humor. Much of the series' more grim moments are lightened with humor, particularly from its main character, Lucy Chambers (Jessica Raine), a young social worker and mom who is haunted by moments of deja vu and time distortions, forcing her to question reality. Lucy is an engaging and personable character who also struggles with a son who is unable to emote (he doesn't laugh, cry, feel pain, or express love) and a recent separation from her husband Mike, who has rejected their son. But what makes Lucy such an interesting character is that she uses humor, often in awkward moments, to offset the emotional turmoil she feels inside.
By Cynthia Scottabout a year ago in Education
6 Tips to Survive Writer's Block
Every writer has gone through it at least once in her lifetime. Writer's block––an affliction that paralyzes the imagination––is singlehandedly one of the worst and most common problems any writer faces or will face during her career. Sometimes it attacks while in the middle of a writing project. Sometimes it occurs before a single word is committed to paper. It can last briefly, or it can afflict its victims for years on end. To its sufferers, it's a debilitating process to work through. When the creative juices stop flowing, any writer, no matter how established and lauded, loses confidence.
By Cynthia Scottabout a year ago in Journal
Rosemary's Baby: A Critique
FOR THOSE WHO'VE NEITHER READ THE NOVEL NOR SEEN THE MOVIE AND DON'T WANT TO BE SPOILED, THEN I SUGGEST YOU STOP READING HERE BECAUSE THIS ESSAY WILL ADDRESS THE ENDING AND HOW IT EXPLORES WOMEN'S BODILY AND SEXUAL AUTONOMY WITHIN PATRIARCHY.
By Cynthia Scottabout a year ago in Horror
The Art of Giving Up
This essay was originally published on my blog in 2014. After the publication of his classic novel, Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison spent over forty years working on his sophomore effort, Juneteenth. When asked by an interviewer to explain the delay, he blamed it on a fire which destroyed his manuscript during the early 1970s. But now, nearly twenty years after his death in 1994, scholars believe Ellison was stricken with self-doubt and insecurities from the pressure of being the token voice of Black America during the pre-Civil Rights era following his celebrated debut. Ellison suffered from the strains of creative paralysis, a condition that, for whatever the reasons, can strike any writer. I ought to know; it happened to me. It took me twenty years to finish a novel.
By Cynthia Scottabout a year ago in Journal
Top 10 Influential Artists Who Were Never U.S. Chart Toppers
In the world of music, you don't have to crack the top of the charts to be influential (though, let's face it, it doesn't hurt). In fact, some of the most influential music acts either never charted at all or rarely made it to the Top 40 in the United States. Only a few artists on this list eventually became successful in their own right decades later or, in one case, posthumously, but they all either influenced other musicians or charted new paths in musical genres without becoming major U.S. chart toppers.
By Cynthia Scottabout a year ago in Beat