The Pink Opaque - Tumblr Posts
this movie wrecked me honestly
can't stop thinking about this movie tbh..
Canceled episode of The Pink Opaque where Mr. Melancholy tries to recreate the “Tgirl Swag” that lets Tara and Isabel defeat his minions so easily
so i’m probably late to the party because the movie was just released here, but i really loved “i saw the tv glow” and thought it would be fun to write down some of the buffy coded stuff in it. so there’s the obvious “female lead supernatural teen drama with a monster of the week format that deals with adolescence and destiny etc etc etc” stuff but here’s a list of some of the other similarities/references i spotted:
List of Buffy References/Similarities I Found in “I Saw the TV Glow”
♡the opening credits of “the pink opaque” uses the same font as buffy
♡doublelunch = a reference to “doublemeat palace”
♡amber benson cameo (duh!)
♡a character named “tara” (bonus points because maddie/tara is a lesbian)
♡”the pink opaque” is cancelled at season 5 and buffy was meant to end at the 5th season
♡buffy season 6 starts with buffy having to claw herself out of her own grave after being brought back from the afterlife and (presumably) season 6 of “the pink opaque” would begin with isabel & tara also doing the same - we know maddie/tara does this obviously, but it’s left ambitious whether owen/isabel will but it’s implied that season 6 can’t properly start til owen/isabel does…
♡having actual irl musicians perform at a club just reminded me of when irl bands performed at “the bronze” (and also like in “p3” in “charmed” and other shows of that era) …not so much a reference but i thought that was neat
♡so “snail mail” did a cover of “tonight, tonight” for the film and on the cover of the single she’s holding a buffy style scythe
♡the plot kinda reminded me of “normal again” where due to demonic stuff buffy starts to believe her sunnydale life was just fantasy/delusion and that she’s just a regular girl in a mental institution in la
I saw I Saw The TV Glow last night, a while after being intrigued by a review of it by one of my fave youtubers. I went in knowing the message it was intending to convey but I don't want to spoil it here so I'll just say that I really enjoyed it and both the message it wants to share and many points beyond that were so coherent and vivid to me. It's a slow, intriguing, bleak, hopeful, frustrating, sweet, funny mix wrapped in a neon pink glow. I found myself smiling at little moments so much despite expecting it to be much more the opposite.
One of the things I knew I'd love though is the heavy 90s nostalgia and the focus on two things in particular that I adore so much from my past, and which had such a defining impact on me: Buffy and Smashing Pumpkins 🥰 I was literally Captain America-ing all over the place with so many cute nods, homages, tiny cameos, and clever depictions of how an awkward but immeasurable bond can grow from the magic of fandom. Perhaps not a film for everyone, it's very unique in style, but such a gorgeous nostalgia-fest for two great loves of my life and such an important message for everyone wrestling with their own sense of self.
haven't even gotten like 30 minutes into I Saw The TV Glow.... my heart HURTS
after first watching i saw the tv glow with my mother in our living room, all i could do was sit, for hours afterward, staring at the screen, waiting for more. before my mom went to bed, i was able only to say “i am tara”. i thought the same thing after convincing my friend to watch the film with me as we sat in silence through the entire thing. i am tara. i am waiting and hoping and i am free but i never truly will be without you.
