Entertainment
Perfect Buffy Episode Secretly Channels Greatest Movie Of All Time
By Chris Snellgrove
| Published
Normally, The Godfather is the last movie you’d associate with Buffy the Vampire Slayer. After all, the former is the greatest mafia film ever made, and the latter is a show about plucky teenagers fighting demons. As it turns out, though, one perfect episode of Buffy managed to honor The Godfather in a powerful way.
In the episode “Passion,” there is a fairly innocuous scene where a newly evil Angel harasses Joyce Summers, causing her to drop some oranges. Shortly after, Angel murders the Sunnydale High computer science teacher in a brutal attack. These may not seem like related events, but the whole thing is secretly an homage to The Godfather’s “orange motif,” which went on to inspire decades of groundbreaking cinema!
The Not-So-Annoying Orange
What the heck is the orange motif, you ask? If you go back and rewatch The Godfather, you’ll notice there are oranges in so many very important scenes. At first glance, they don’t seem to have much special significance, and you might be forgiven for thinking that director Francis Ford Coppola just has a thing for oranges.
However, what’s important is when the oranges appear: namely, they appear shortly before a character is killed. For example, Vito Corleone is killed, it is while he’s peeling oranges. When the titular Godfather is shot, he is buying oranges, which dramatically scatter on the ground. When the Five Families meet, you can see oranges near the Mafia leaders that would soon be killed.
Because The Godfather was so influential, “the orange motif” (as this phenomenon was eventually called after it was used in the subsequent Godfather films) started popping up in other movies, including Point Break, American Beauty, and Requiem for a Dream. Fittingly enough, the orange motif also popped up in The Sopranos, where we see Tony Soprano buy some orange juice shortly before someone tries to whack him. Before that, though, Joss Whedon hid an orange motif reference in an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Orange You Glad To See Him?
In “Passion,” Angel (who has recently lost his soul and become evil) harasses Joyce Summers outside of her own home, causing her to drop some oranges. While Joyce herself doesn’t die, those dropped oranges and the presence of the show’s scariest vampire foreshadow a major death right around the corner. Soon afterward, Angel kills Jenny Calendar, a beloved character whose death sends a chilling message to viewers: none of your favorites are guaranteed to make it out of Season 2 alive.
In retrospect, it’s not really all that shocking that Buffy the Vampire Slayer hid such a powerful reference to The Godfather in plain sight. After all, the show is filled with references to countless other movies and shows, mostly courtesy of quip-heavy characters like Buffy and Xander. Given how much of a film buff showrunner Joss Whedon and the rest of his team were, it’s not that surprising they wanted to homage one of the greatest movies of all time.
But is the orange motif from The Godfather the greatest cinematic trope of all time? It’s certainly one of the most prolific. As for me, I don’t really like this Godfather reference as much as some Buffy fans turned cinephiles. Why? Because, in the immortal words of Peter Griffin, it insists upon itself!
Entertainment
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Entertainment
Maddies Secret trailer reveals John Early as youve never seen him before
Comedian John Early makes his feature directorial debut with Maddie’s Secret, an offbeat homage to melodrama that he wrote and headlines as its eponymous heroine.
As an aspiring food influencer, Maddie Ralph (Early) is passionate about her cuisine. And at first glance, she’s got a picture-perfect life: a loving husband (Eric Rahill), a devoted best friend (Kate Berlant), and a job at a culinary content studio called Gourmaybe. But as the title suggests, there’s a side to Maddie she can’t stomach sharing with her loved ones. And this secret could kill her.
Out of the movie’s premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival last fall, I cheered Maddie’s Secret, writing in my review for Mashable, “The film is silly and strange, but even amid campy bits, sincere. So, you’ll laugh at its parody elements, but may well be genuinely moved by Early’s commitment to this strange and splendid film.”
I also said “John Early is a better ingénue than Sydney Sweeney,” comparing Maddie’s Secret to another earnest (but less entertaining) TIFF offering, Christy. And I stand by it.
Maddie’s Secret opens in theaters in New York on June 19, and in Los Angeles on June 26.
Entertainment
Pride is almost here! Check out the best dating apps for LGBTQ women.
We know Pride is all year round, but there is something special about the month of June. We’re not there quite yet, but if you want a main squeeze for all the parades and parties, you gotta start looking now. How about on a dating app?
As a lesbian, you probably know all about them. Lesbian Americans (along with bisexual and gay Americans) are far more likely to have ever used dating apps than straight Americans: 51 percent to 28 percent, according to the Pew Research Center.
There are a few reasons why LGBTQ people might turn to online dating more quickly than straight folks. For one, you might live in an area without a thriving LGBTQ community, and in-person dating may be hard. If you don’t know other lesbians to begin with, how can you meet more IRL to date? (Sometimes, lesbian spaces can also be co-opted by The Straights.) Unfortunately, in-person dating may also be less safe, depending on where you live.
Hookup apps for everyone
AdultFriendFinder
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readers’ pick for casual connections
Tinder
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top pick for finding hookups
Hinge
—
popular choice for regular meetups
Thankfully, we live in a time where we can find people like us with a few swipes. Lesbians are welcome on major dating apps, and there are also niche ones specifically for lesbians and other queer women and people. But which one to choose?
How to find the best dating apps for lesbians
Niche lesbian dating apps aren’t your only option for finding love.
Credit: Stacey Zhu / Mashable
In Mashable’s recommendations below, you’ll find both general dating apps and apps specifically for queer people. As the former appeals to the general population, you’ll find more users in these spaces. The caveat, however, is that when you swipe on other women, you might find those coupled with men who are looking for another woman to have a threesome with (aka unicorn hunters). No judgment here, but that’s probably not what you’re looking for. Then again, people of all types are on dating apps like Tinder and Hinge. You never know who you may come across.
Then there are apps specifically for the community, like HER and Lex. If you yearn for a smaller dating scene, head for these apps. While there’s no “Grindr for lesbians” — we go into why in the FAQ section — these apps are more so like stepping into your neighborhood lesbian bar than an app like Bumble.
You can also try multiple dating apps, as each one below has a free version. You can filter by the gender you identify with and are looking for, and sometimes, as with OkCupid, there are many options to choose from.
Diving into the dating pool isn’t easy, but the water’s fine. Check out our guide below for the full rundown of our recommendations and dating app reviews.
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Maddies Secret trailer reveals John Early as youve never seen him before
