Lukewarm takes

Story posted October 17, 2022 in CommRadio, Arts & Entertainment by CommRadio Arts & Entertainment Department

Everyone loves a good hot take, however there comes a point where a hot take is so widely shared, that it isn’t so shocking. Members from the CommRadio Arts department shared some of their hot takes that aren’t so controversial at this point.

Here are some lukewarm takes that may be controversial to some, but definitely not everyone.

The Grammy Awards Have Lost Credibility

The Grammy’s has a deep-rooted history of making unforgivable mistakes when it comes to their nominations and winners. For decades, they have snubbed obvious should-be-winners, instead making decisions that made nearly everyone scratch their heads.

Radiohead dropped two of the most influential albums of the last 50 years, and lost “Album of the Year,” to both Steely Dan and Bob Dylan. Both artists are legendary in retrospect, but cannot compare in quality and from a commercial standpoint when examining the masterpieces known as “OK Computer,’ and “Kid A.”

Grammy voters are absolutely clueless when it comes to rap music. The last rap album to win the award was in 2004 with Outkast’s “Speakerboxxx/The Love Below.” In 2016, “To Pimp a Butterfly” lost to “1989.” Sure, Taylor Swift swept the charts with singles from her record, but Kendrick Lamar was able to construct a complex examination of racial relations, politics, and power dynamics in a progressive, jazz-rap phenomenon. There is no other record that sounds like it to this day.

This was not the first time Kendrick got snubbed. In 2014, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis beat out him, Drake, Kanye West, and JAY-Z for “The Heist.” Even Macklemore himself sent out a message to Kendrick apologizing for the snub. 

There are plenty of other examples from the Travis Scott, Cardi B snub, to the Arcade Fire controversy, the list goes on and on. Multiple artists including Eminem, The Weeknd and Drake have started to boycott the Grammy’s entirely.

The Grammy’s clearly have some sort of weird agenda, and their errors have been too frequent to ignore. They have lost major credibility, especially in recent times, and I personally do not know what they can do to get any of it back.

- Caelan Chevrier

 

"Glee" was a Good Show

People can say what they want about the hit musical comedy-drama that was “Glee,” but they can’t deny that the show was good.

If based on critical acclaim alone, all of the people who trash this show are objectively wrong. “Glee” was nominated for and won many awards, including the Emmys, the Screen Actors Guild and even the People’s Choice Awards.

The premise of “Glee” is, admittedly, a recipe for disaster, but with an ensemble cast as amazing as the show had, it was never going to fail. The first season is undoubtedly some of the best work of Ryan Murphy’s career.

The show was very well-received and so important because it had material in it that was inspiring to a lot of people, especially those who are a part of the LGBTQ+ community. Also because of that scene of a teenager giving birth intercut with Broadway legend Jonathan Groff singing “Bohemian Rhapsody.”

“Glee” was at its best in the first season, when it was actually what it was intended to be from the beginning: a satire. Over the seasons, it lost sense of what it was, which eventually led to the show’s unfortunate, but inevitable, downfall. Even so, the show was a major moment in pop culture.

- Izzy Charboneau

 

Harry Styles should not be an actor

Don’t worry darling, you are neither the first nor the last person to claim that Harry Styles shouldn’t be acting.

The lukewarm take was born after the pop singer appeared in Christopher Nolan’s “Dunkirk” in 2017. A Twitter user recently posted “Harry Styles’ best role was Dunkirk, and that was because he said maybe 3 words the entire time…” Yikes.

Criticism of Styles’ acting only grew after he appeared in the end credits scene of Marvel’s “Eternals” last year. People had a hard time seeing him play the love god Eros (for all of two minutes), mostly because he did not look like a Marvel hero. He simply looked like himself in a quirky costume.

The most recent influx of lukewarm takes regarding Harry Styles’ career in Hollywood comes from his starring role in Olivia Wilde’s “Don’t Worry Darling.” Critics and average moviegoers alike were quick to praise Florence Pugh, who undeniably gave the best performance in the film, but to also send paragraphs of hate Harry’s way.

They were quick to crucify his creative choices that actually fit his character for the most part, and made plenty of parody TikToks. Posting hate or mockery towards Harry Styles in “Don’t Worry Darling'' or any of his other roles has become so overdone that it can easily be classified as a lukewarm take.

We get it, Harry makes enough money from his music and might not win an Oscar in the future, but that does not make degrading his acting a “hot take.” Twitter and TikTok alone prove that thousands of people agree.

- Kaitlyn Murphy

 

“Parks and Recreation” is better than “The Office.”

Yes, of course, this is controversial, but it isn’t really. At least saying “Parks and Rec” is better than “The Office” isn’t really a hot take anymore because more people who have seen both tend to agree.

The aggressive popularity of “The Offfice” is a huge factor in why liking its successor was so bold. But it should be remembered that while both series were on Netflix, “The Office” was the most popular, but “Parks and Rec” was right behind it in third.

Due to the nature of “Parks and Rec” being set up in a local government office, more can be done with the plot compared to a paper company.

“Parks and Rec” has compelling storylines, a beautifully crafted world, a more immersive ensemble, recurring guest stars, and gags that are better each time.

Both series have a weak six-episode first season, but that’s the exception of weak seasons for “Parks and Rec.” The same can’t be said for “The Office.”

“Parks and Rec” is beyond consistent and is so much more than just another “Office.”

In an ideal world, people could just enjoy both phenomenal mockumentaries, but we definitely do not live in that timeline.

Even if “Parks and Rec” over “The Office” becomes a popular take, I’ll still be siding with the crew from Pawnee, Indiana.

- Sophia D’Ovidio

“Riverdale” has smart writing choices

I said it… an opinion most don’t dare to think due to the mockery they could face.

An opinion so controversial that I could not finish my argument in person over my friends’ laughter.

An opinion that purports “the epic highs and lows of high school football” and Jughead’s famous “I’m Weird” speech are examples of some of the most clever attention grabs in modern television.

Oh yes, I intend to support the merits of the current six seasons of madness that is Riverdale.

I will start by saying Riverdale’s writing is far from good.

With alternate dimensions, organ-stealing cults, human sacrifice, body possession and musical episodes that induce tears and panic, one would think the show's writing staff was a room of 15-year-old WattPad fanfiction writers.

However, the show's bad writing is why the show succeeds.

The first season by itself was intriguing, but, going into Season 2, it seemed there was not much potential for growth and story development.

Yet, an internet fascination with some of the show's unintentionally bad dialogue and story direction led to Riverdale becoming a bit of a meme.

I believe around Season 3, the writers made a conscious decision to bank the show's success on what made it popular and viral to ensure longevity.

The writers and show runners choose to make it bad and continue banking money by trolling viewers who come back every season for the show’s messy antics.

This has effectively made Riverdale the Trisha Paytas of television.

- Eliza Casey

Caelan Chevrier is a third-year majoring in marketing. To contact him, email cjc6789@psu.edu.

Izzy Charboneau is a second-year majoring in journalism. To contact her, email ijc5186@psu.edu.

Kaitlyn Murphy is a first-year studying digital and print journalism. To contact her, email kvm6255@psu.edu.

Sophia D’Ovidio is a second-year majoring in communications. To contact her, email sgd5184@psu.edu.

Eliza Casey is a second-year majoring in telecommunications. To contact her, email egc5236@psu.edu.