I'm currently watching the latest season of Fargo, the television version of the Coen Brothers film. Like the movie, the series is quirky and over-the-top, with outlandish and caricature characters and awash in Minnesota accent. Without getting too deep into spoilers, the story revolves around Dot Lyon, a young wife with a young daughter, who fled from her violent first husband a decade or so earlier. Dot's husband is a clueless car salesman whose ruthless mother Lorraine Lyon (played by Jennifer Jason Leigh) runs a multibillion dollar debt collection company. Dot's as-ruthless first husband Roy Tillman (played by Jon Hamm) is a corrupt (naturally) sheriff who sent a psychopathic goon, and later a bunch of thugs, to retrieve Dot.
It's so difficult to watch ANY programming these days for exactly these reasons. If it attains the slightest visibility, narrativemongering is tacked onto it, and (as you link) the comments are the worst. It appeals to the worst aspects of nowadays. I refuse to engage. I can't compartmentalize the good in one scene from the delivery mechanism of yet-more-awful. It feels like complicity. And the thing is: it doesn't even matter if the ratings are good. The reviews are pre-written, the ratings don't matter - everything exists for the One True Message and everything else is superflous. (And pointing it out is "ragebait" etc.)
It's so exasperating.
Makes it hard for my wife and I to find new things to watch. The only weapon I have is complete blacklist for actors, writers, etc. who go along with it.
Luckily I like old stuff as much as I do...! Otherwise, forget it, I'd have nothing to watch. Which is the point: make it as unpopular a position as possible, freeze out those who refuse to pay the bribe with their attention, smear and lens every non-affirming reaction, etc.
I’ve been lamenting the same thing! I watched all six seasons of Madam Secretary recently. I didn’t want to watch it when it was introduced in 2015 because I knew it was just going to be a tiresome homage to Hillary C. But I think it was spot on in its portrayal of how our State Dept., Chief Executive, etc. pressures other governments. So far, so good.
But in the last 2 seasons (2018-2019), it was comparable to what PV described above—Republican villains (secret racists), Russian troll farms producing “hate,” a weasels outbreak with dying children caused by parents who didn’t vaccinate and hand-wringing at the State Dept., the White House, the CDC about “misinformation” being accessed by stupid Americans on the Internet. I had to keep checking the series end date. It was 2019. But it was basically the complete leftist playbook for the events of 2020 (minus the riots and permanent lawlessness that jumped into overdrive and the nearly universal mail-in balloting).
It made me consider watching more mainstream Hollywood shows. I’d like to know what they’re planning for us next.
I also watched a documentary about the early years of the A-bomb and accompanying fear porn and propaganda and, significantly, the bomb tests on Bikini Atoll, including footage of a military officer deceiving the natives of the area. So, a documented history of government deception and propaganda (which everyone can see through the lens of history). Leftists believe our government and military were evil and racist then BUT THEY AREN’T NOW. There’s no deception and propaganda coming out of the federal government, the web of agencies, the complicit media, Hollywood. Of course there’s not and you’re evil and racist if you question anything. Nothing to see here. Move along.
The presumption is - if our team is in charge of government, it's glory and kumbaya and puppies being rescued. If it's the other team, it's hate and evil and puppies being eaten.
It's a laughably childish attitude, but that's what it is.
I've found a lot to like on Britbox and Acorn. The very newest stuff does get the woke-wash to some degree, but it's less in your face than the domestic stuff.
It's unfortunate that the writers are essentially forced to Bennetonize all their content.
There's enough old stuff on BritBox to last me a lifetime. I'm currently making my way through the original All Creatures Great and Small and The Sandbaggers.
Mainstream Hollywood doesn't do subtlety well. It's as if subtlety wouldn't be appreciated by mainstream consumers of their product. And yet the best products always seem to have characters who aren't ALL good or ALL bad, who experience internal contradiction and irony.
The thing of it is, there *is* good writing out there. The first season of True Detective was brilliant, driven by the twin star power of McConaughey and Harrelson. But, absent writers creating those characters, they'd be just flapping gums. And this season of Fargo is strong as well, it's just this one bit that broke out of the quality.
This type of crap is always -- a word we don't get to use very often -- a reflection of the political beliefs of the showrunner. I've stayed away from "Fargo" specifically because I know that Noah Hawley, the showrunner, views all Republicans as different shades of evil, and he used to particularly hate the Federalist Society. I even skipped the season with Evan McGregor and Mary Elizabeth Winstead, which I wanted to watch both because they are great actors and they began a real-life relationship afterward, eventually leading to their marriage. But Hawley did an interview last month with The NY Times, in which he specifically laid out what branch of evil Republicanism that each character in this season was supposed to represent. I'm not sure whether the article has a paywall:
Q: In the ninth episode, Lorraine talks on the phone with someone she refers to as “Bill,” complaining that she can’t have someone killed. I assumed that was supposed to be William P. Barr, the former attorney general?
A: Yeah, she’s the biggest donor to the Federalist Society. One of the things that I was attempting in this season was basically not to tell a story about the poles of American life. All of the characters could be Republicans on some level. Dot and Wayne [David Rysdahl] might not be Trump voters, but they would vote for Romney. They’re sort of socially conservative. Lorraine is the Koch brothers billionaire class. Then Roy, obviously, is the sort of new alt-right, “Tiger King,” American Republican. I wanted to have the conversation within that sort of social dynamic, versus Republican-Democrat, liberal-conservative. All these people are satellites of the same planet, and yet they don’t seem to be speaking the same language.
So this is how this bozo sees the "Koch brothers billionaire class": people who think they're entitled to have other people killed. I'm surprised he doesn't have them wear Devil's horns.
The denouement was Lorraine using her pull via The Federalist Society to ensure that none of Roy's appeals succeed, and her power over debtors to ensure that he gets forever beaten and raped in prison.
It's leftist fantasy, of course, including the prison rape. What would have been more believable? The FBI agents coming in to tell Roy that being a cop killer is a sure way to endure perpetual misery from the COs, and that the pit full of dead bodies assured a lifetime in jail.
You struck a nerve with this one, especially when you mentioned the Jesus memes. It irks me to no end when people circulate memes stating or implying that Jesus was a socialist or was pushing some type of socialist agenda. Jesus advocated personal responsibility, and personal giving, not giving through government. Nowhere in the Bible is giving through government encouraged or endorsed. Each is to give individually, of his or her own free will, as he or she has determined to give - not because some bureaucrat demands it at gunpoint. Great piece Peter!
It's so difficult to watch ANY programming these days for exactly these reasons. If it attains the slightest visibility, narrativemongering is tacked onto it, and (as you link) the comments are the worst. It appeals to the worst aspects of nowadays. I refuse to engage. I can't compartmentalize the good in one scene from the delivery mechanism of yet-more-awful. It feels like complicity. And the thing is: it doesn't even matter if the ratings are good. The reviews are pre-written, the ratings don't matter - everything exists for the One True Message and everything else is superflous. (And pointing it out is "ragebait" etc.)
It's so exasperating.
Makes it hard for my wife and I to find new things to watch. The only weapon I have is complete blacklist for actors, writers, etc. who go along with it.
Luckily I like old stuff as much as I do...! Otherwise, forget it, I'd have nothing to watch. Which is the point: make it as unpopular a position as possible, freeze out those who refuse to pay the bribe with their attention, smear and lens every non-affirming reaction, etc.
I’ve been lamenting the same thing! I watched all six seasons of Madam Secretary recently. I didn’t want to watch it when it was introduced in 2015 because I knew it was just going to be a tiresome homage to Hillary C. But I think it was spot on in its portrayal of how our State Dept., Chief Executive, etc. pressures other governments. So far, so good.
But in the last 2 seasons (2018-2019), it was comparable to what PV described above—Republican villains (secret racists), Russian troll farms producing “hate,” a weasels outbreak with dying children caused by parents who didn’t vaccinate and hand-wringing at the State Dept., the White House, the CDC about “misinformation” being accessed by stupid Americans on the Internet. I had to keep checking the series end date. It was 2019. But it was basically the complete leftist playbook for the events of 2020 (minus the riots and permanent lawlessness that jumped into overdrive and the nearly universal mail-in balloting).
It made me consider watching more mainstream Hollywood shows. I’d like to know what they’re planning for us next.
I also watched a documentary about the early years of the A-bomb and accompanying fear porn and propaganda and, significantly, the bomb tests on Bikini Atoll, including footage of a military officer deceiving the natives of the area. So, a documented history of government deception and propaganda (which everyone can see through the lens of history). Leftists believe our government and military were evil and racist then BUT THEY AREN’T NOW. There’s no deception and propaganda coming out of the federal government, the web of agencies, the complicit media, Hollywood. Of course there’s not and you’re evil and racist if you question anything. Nothing to see here. Move along.
Sorry, measles outbreak.
I can't manage to watch anything produced for the broadcast networks. The formula is always the same, and it's always smash-your-face obvious.
The presumption is - if our team is in charge of government, it's glory and kumbaya and puppies being rescued. If it's the other team, it's hate and evil and puppies being eaten.
It's a laughably childish attitude, but that's what it is.
And it works, so it continues.
Hear hear.
I've found a lot to like on Britbox and Acorn. The very newest stuff does get the woke-wash to some degree, but it's less in your face than the domestic stuff.
It's unfortunate that the writers are essentially forced to Bennetonize all their content.
There's enough old stuff on BritBox to last me a lifetime. I'm currently making my way through the original All Creatures Great and Small and The Sandbaggers.
I've been wanting to check out Britbox. Thanks for the endorsement.
Mainstream Hollywood doesn't do subtlety well. It's as if subtlety wouldn't be appreciated by mainstream consumers of their product. And yet the best products always seem to have characters who aren't ALL good or ALL bad, who experience internal contradiction and irony.
The thing of it is, there *is* good writing out there. The first season of True Detective was brilliant, driven by the twin star power of McConaughey and Harrelson. But, absent writers creating those characters, they'd be just flapping gums. And this season of Fargo is strong as well, it's just this one bit that broke out of the quality.
This type of crap is always -- a word we don't get to use very often -- a reflection of the political beliefs of the showrunner. I've stayed away from "Fargo" specifically because I know that Noah Hawley, the showrunner, views all Republicans as different shades of evil, and he used to particularly hate the Federalist Society. I even skipped the season with Evan McGregor and Mary Elizabeth Winstead, which I wanted to watch both because they are great actors and they began a real-life relationship afterward, eventually leading to their marriage. But Hawley did an interview last month with The NY Times, in which he specifically laid out what branch of evil Republicanism that each character in this season was supposed to represent. I'm not sure whether the article has a paywall:
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/17/arts/television/noah-hawley-fargo.html
Paywalled, but I saw enough to get the gist. I haven't finished the season yet, but yeah.
From near the end:
Q: In the ninth episode, Lorraine talks on the phone with someone she refers to as “Bill,” complaining that she can’t have someone killed. I assumed that was supposed to be William P. Barr, the former attorney general?
A: Yeah, she’s the biggest donor to the Federalist Society. One of the things that I was attempting in this season was basically not to tell a story about the poles of American life. All of the characters could be Republicans on some level. Dot and Wayne [David Rysdahl] might not be Trump voters, but they would vote for Romney. They’re sort of socially conservative. Lorraine is the Koch brothers billionaire class. Then Roy, obviously, is the sort of new alt-right, “Tiger King,” American Republican. I wanted to have the conversation within that sort of social dynamic, versus Republican-Democrat, liberal-conservative. All these people are satellites of the same planet, and yet they don’t seem to be speaking the same language.
So this is how this bozo sees the "Koch brothers billionaire class": people who think they're entitled to have other people killed. I'm surprised he doesn't have them wear Devil's horns.
I just finished the series.
SPOILERS
The denouement was Lorraine using her pull via The Federalist Society to ensure that none of Roy's appeals succeed, and her power over debtors to ensure that he gets forever beaten and raped in prison.
It's leftist fantasy, of course, including the prison rape. What would have been more believable? The FBI agents coming in to tell Roy that being a cop killer is a sure way to endure perpetual misery from the COs, and that the pit full of dead bodies assured a lifetime in jail.
I'm not going to read this until I watch the episode.
You struck a nerve with this one, especially when you mentioned the Jesus memes. It irks me to no end when people circulate memes stating or implying that Jesus was a socialist or was pushing some type of socialist agenda. Jesus advocated personal responsibility, and personal giving, not giving through government. Nowhere in the Bible is giving through government encouraged or endorsed. Each is to give individually, of his or her own free will, as he or she has determined to give - not because some bureaucrat demands it at gunpoint. Great piece Peter!
If any one needs proof that Jesus is not a Socialist or a Communist it is this: He actually fed people.