Criticism Post #2

Neo Classical Criticism – The Canon

There are five parts that make up the Neo Classical Canon: Invention, arrangement, style, arrangement, and memory. I will not be comparing all five canons to my series I am writing about, Grace and Frankie, but I will briefly explain what each of these canons are:

• Invention – How did they come up with it, inspiration, how did they generate it.
• Arrangement – Putting it in order and why is it ordered this way. 
• Style – Has to do with the person’s style/delivery, embellishment. 
• Delivery – How is it delivered: gestures, movement, etc. How long are episodes, etc.
• Memory – What makes it memorable, why isn’t it memorable?

In Grace and Frankie, season 2, episode 3, The Canon can be seen as Grace and Frankie embark on their journey to invent and sell vibrators, geared towards an older consumer. I believe they came up with this idea in the heat of the moment, when they were both very angry at their children and ex-husbands, and it just kind of blurted out when they were yelling at them in the heat of the moment.

The inspiration for this, however, came from their best friend, Babe,  who just passed away (in the previous episode). Grace was given a vibrator from Babe’s will, and where Babe wrote her a note, telling her “it won’t break your heart.” Grace ends up injuring herself after using it for the first time, because it wasn’t adequately equipped for women of her age. And this is how the idea of a vibrator generated into something that would continue to be in the episodes and seasons to come. 

The style for Grace and Frankie’s new product was carefully thought out for their customers they had in mind. Even though they were offered a deal to purchase their product by a well known company, they didn’t like how they were trying to market their vibrators by misleading photos of themselves looking younger. They wanted to stay true to their age and own, real appearance, so they decided to sell it directly from  themselves only, which was through their website and online store. Not only was their branding for marketing a success, but the carefully designed product became a huge success, and so was their journey of being new business owners together.

A few things come to mind when it comes to the memory of the canon… Firstly, the product Grace and Frankie invented, a vibrator, makes this very memorable because it puts into perspective on how elderly people live their lives, and we forget how human we all are, no matter what age. Creating something like this geared towards seniors, is something that makes this product one of a kind. Also, the name and how they spell it is memorable in itself, Vybrant. Lastly, other episodes go into more detail on Grace and Frankie’s new business that leave a lasting impression on us viewers. For example, in season 3, episode 1, they run into many issues trying to get a loan approved for their product. They are discriminated against for their age, and also judged by the product they are trying to sell. 

The canon is a great way to explain Grace and Frankie’s new business journey, and us viewers can see this occurring in many of the episodes in this series.