True Detective Night Country
There is a culture war internet discourse happening around HBO’s newest show True Detective Night Country. The discourse can generally be summed up as follows: HBO newest show TD Night Country is the 4th season of an anthology mystery/crime miniseries. The first season came out ten years ago and it starred Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson as two detectives searching for a killer in Louisiana. The plot does not particularly matter, but the show is widely viewed as one of the greatest single seasons of TV ever. Speaking for myself, I agree with this assessment. I return to it every few years and I am still impressed at how good the acting, story, and cinematography are.
Fast forward ten years…two mediocre seasons (2 and 3) were released, and HBO announced the release of True Detective Season 4, co-named Night Country. Season 4 stars Jodie Foster and Kali Reis as two detectives unravelling a murder mystery in Alaska and people were very, very excited for this season. Prior to release, Night Country received overwhelming critical reception from TV critics. It currently has a 93% Rotten Tomatoes score (RT can be gamed, but the 93% score shows the general reception).
I was also very excited for this show. Critics were calling it the best season of True Detective since season 1; some were even saying it was better than season 1. With these very lofty expectations, I watched the show as it was released, week by week.
By episode two, I knew this show had problems. By episode four, I knew it just wasn’t very good. By episodes 5 and 6, I was hate watching. Many people have reviewed and discussed the show’s problems much more eloquently than I. This video is quite good and sums up the many many problems the show has:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=y2TCOd_YZF4
What I will say is that the show is simply…boring. It is a six-hour miniseries and at least 70% of the show is filled with boring relationship drama (the remaining 30% being focused on the actual…criminal investigation). The characters are uninteresting, low stakes, and unlikeable. The easter eggs paying homage to season 1 are like a frying pan to the face in their obviousness. The story carries no emotional weight, has major plot holes, and the ending is unsatisfying and bewildering. It’s bad. I would not recommend this show to anyone.
Now here is where the culture war comes into play. Online, fans of the True Detective series are panning the series. Go check out the audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, it is a paltry 61%. The True Detective subreddit is especially critical of the show. People are especially disappointed and confused given how critically hyped it was before its release.
But what has happened is that many critics, podcasters, even Issa Lopez, the director, are blaming the backlash on sexism and misogyny. They say that male fanboys of season 1 are brigading review sites and review bombing the show. They are saying that the viewers dislike the show because it features two women lead detectives and that viewers can’t stand the lack of masculinity that was so integral to season 1. Even the professional critics who have dared to post their negative opinions on Twitter are being called misogynistic.
The problem with this read is that…the show sucks. It’s just not good for all of the reasons I’ve listed above. It’s extremely frustrating to see people called misogynistic and “anti-woke” for criticizing a show with two women leads. I find it particularly unfair because other detective shows with women leads, such as Mare of Eastown or Sharp Objects, were fantastic. It didn’t receive the critical backlash because those shows were actually good. We now exist in a bizarre universe where a magazine like Rolling Stone overwhelmingly praises the show while a magazine like Forbes pans it.
I’m not one who normally gets involved in the culture war, but I found this discourse particularly egregious. I don’t know what the future of this series holds, but I’m hoping someone at HBO sees the light.
Update: Issa Lopez has been hired to write and direct season 5 of True Detective. Whoosh.
CanofWorms
9mo ago
Done with King Rat. I really enjoyed that book and would recommend it to all. Cool metaphor between the rats in the latrines and the prisoners in the camp.
I’ve become a bit fixated on Michael Jackson after having watched Leaving Neverland (for the second time) and seeing MJ The Musical. MJ the Musical was…good, not great. The MJ lead was absolutely outstanding, a 10/10 singer, dancer, and impersonator. But the story is flat and the dialogue really causes the show to drag. The musical numbers are, of course, outstanding.
Anyway, I tried researching the existence of a comprehensive biography of MJ, one that comes at it critically, yet truthfully. And what I’ve found…is that there really isn’t one. Not one that the public-at-large considers to be the definitive version. He was just too big and unknowable, it seems, and has been a challenge for all biographers to separate fact from fiction.
I ended up choosing The Genius of Michael Jackson. I’m about 120 pages and it’s good so far. A little short on how Michael actually views the world, but interesting to see his upbringing and rise to stardom. We’ll get to the kid diddling soon, I’m sure.
CanofWorms
9mo ago
I applaud you and your wife’s resolution to the argument, very mature and thoughtful.
Valentines Days is an interesting and tricky day. Most men (including myself) do not give a shit about Valentines Day. It is a capitalistic holiday that society has tricked women into thinking their man should spend money and time on them to prove the strength of their love and relationship. And if the man doesn’t live up to their expectations, then perhaps he doesn’t actually care about her and the entire relationship may be doomed.
Valentines Day has become especially pernicious in the social media age. With every woman posting the surprise gift/dinner/experience/proposal on Instagram, there is so much comparison and expectation and letdown. I’m not, and never will be, a big Valentines Day celebrator. I will buy my partner roses, a card, and either cook her a nice dinner or take her out somewhere nice. I think that is more than enough.
CanofWorms
9mo ago
Does anyone have a book recommendation about the history of policing in the United States? Looking for something that covers post American Revolution to modern day.
CanofWorms
9mo ago
No harm no foul
CanofWorms
9mo ago
Just a heads up George, Edenic typically posts this in the Small Question Sunday thread.
CanofWorms
10mo ago
Still running through King Rat. It’s a page turner for sure.
Perhaps slow is not the correct description. Bloated is probably more accurate. I thought it had a very Game of Thrones-esque style, that is, lots of characters, lots of side quests and plot tangents, while not clearly delineating the main plot.
The other issue I had, was the unrelenting machismo of the main character and the overdone honor-culture of the Japanese. I’m not saying it’s a bad book, it just didn’t suit my tastes.
CanofWorms
10mo ago
I finished up Beloved, which I thought was an astonishing work of literature. The main theme is about how slavery obliterates everything it comes into contact with, and specifically, the identity of the enslaved.
It’s a strange, metaphorical book. There is so much that is open to interpretation that a reader could spend hours thinking about the books true meaning. I see now why it was so popular in high school English classes; it’s an endless ocean for critique and analysis.
I’m onto King Rat by James Clavell. I tried reading Shogun a couple years ago, got about 50% of the way through it, and gave up. I found the plot very slow and the tendency of the Japanese to commit sepuku at the drop of a hat off-putting. King Rat seems much tighter and more interesting so far.
Did you ever finish Monte Cristo?
CanofWorms
10mo ago
What was your Hamilton reference?
CanofWorms
10mo ago
I finished Dreamland, I found it quite good though I wish it would have gone into more detail on the pharmaceutical companies and their internal machinations. I suppose a lot of that didn’t come out until a few years after the book was published.
Started Beloved. It’s not as slow as I originally thought and the writing is quite beautiful. Morrison crafts similes and analogies that are so striking and descriptive, it creates wonderful imagery in the minds eye. Looking forward to finishing it.
CanofWorms
10mo ago
It can’t be explained because it’s not a blue tribe signal at all. The people who wear masks in the US are those who really don’t want to get a cold, flu, or COVID. I see it mostly with Asian-Americans (who masked at a much higher percent prior to COVID), but present day maskers come in all shapes and size.
CanofWorms
10mo ago
This is well said and the advice OP should follow. I’ll just add that if OP starts getting more into the suit game, you can order nice suits from eBay and take them to a tailor. This is a great way to get really nice suit for pennies on the dollar.
But OP, definitely get your suit tailored. This is a non-negotiable and makes a night and day difference from something off the rack.
CanofWorms
10mo ago
Can you expand on what philosophy you think he's advocating for? My takeaway is he was advocating returning to a time where politics wasn't treated as entertainment or reality TV. Shows like Crossfire have a financial incentive to treat politics as a battle royale, a sporting event, to keep their viewers eyeballs glued to the screen. This has made it more difficult for politicians to have rational conversations and rational debates, because everything is spun and amped up and taken out of context. Politics doesn't need to be a form of entertainment or culture war; it can be a boring, grinding process, whereby serious people make serious decisions about the future of America.
I think about this pretty frequently. It's unfortunate in the US that today's politicians are those who look good or are entertaining on TV. We used to have scholars leading the country, men like Alexander Hamilton, Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, or Thomas Jefferson. Whatever these men's faults were, they were incredibly intelligent writers and thinkers. They made their bones via fighting in war or through consistent and intelligent writing. Today's political landscape has been so changed by TV and social media, it seems impossible to return to that style of politician.
Anyway, that's a bit beside the point, but I am curious how you think Jon Stewart's political advocacy has harmed America more than Tucker Carlson's.
CanofWorms
10mo ago
Even if that was his debate tactic, his point came off quite clearly. His point being, shows like Crossfire and pundits like Tucker Carlson are harming political discourse in America. It’s a debate style the hosts were not accustomed to and I think it works to good effect.
CanofWorms
10mo ago
Stephen Colbert correspondents dinner: https://youtube.com/watch?v=IJ-a2KeyCAY
Jon Stewart in Crossfire: https://youtube.com/watch?v=aFQFB5YpDZE
Both of these men have largely become more vanilla, but these clips really highlight their young brilliance.
CanofWorms
10mo ago
I feel for you buddy.
I broke up with my girlfriend of 7 years for largely the same reasons. My reasons were based more on the physical chemistry between us; I had largely lost physical attraction to her and, really, I wanted to have sex with other women.
This breakup was two years ago, and I still think about her often. Part of the reason is that we still talk from time to time so it hasn't been a complete break in relations. She was and is a wonderful woman and there were many things I admired about her. But I just wasn't sure she was the right one, and, like I said, I really wanted to mess around with other women.
Do I regret breaking up with her? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. When I was in the relationship, I felt largely unfulfilled. I would see a beautiful woman walking by and be filled with negative feelings about my own relationship. It was a major sticking point for me and, honestly, if I'd stuck it out, I would have lived with a lot of regret. At the same time, my ex adored me and treated me incredibly well. I don't think I will find another person who will treat me so well and who's intellect and work ethic I admire so much.
So...give it time. Six years is a long time to be with a person. It's good that you have cut off communication, this should make things heal more quickly. Just make sure you find things to do with your time and minimize time spent by yourself. I've always found alone time is what brings on the thoughts of rumination and regret. It's hard to break up with someone. It's especially hard to break up with someone, not because of anything they've done, but because it just didn't "feel" right or because you wanted to sleep around. Good luck to you.
CanofWorms
10mo ago
Can he be unbanned?
CanofWorms
10mo ago
Looking forward to your thoughts on Monte Cristo.
I’m almost done with Dreamland. Been enjoying it so far.
I just ordered a book of Kafka stories from eBay. I read The Metamorphosis in high school and recall enjoying it. We’ll see if his stuff is a bit too…grey for my liking.
CanofWorms
11mo ago
What an interesting prompt, I'm sure you will get a lot of feedback on this one.
For some context, I have always been a very competitive person myself. Where other people enjoy hiking, creating art, or unstructured socializing, I always wanted to play sports and games. Something with some level of competition with a clear winner and loser. I've lost many such contests over the course of my life, in soccer, tennis, golf, baseball, board games, card games, poker, debates etc. And every time, I have been unhappy to lose. This doesn't make me enjoy the competition any less, it just makes me want to play again and win.
One of the interesting things about this aspect of my personality is I don't enjoy games where I don't have at least a fighting chance to win. For example, I don't terribly enjoy basketball, it's a sport I've never been good at, and I lose frequently. So I don't play it. I've never been good at chess, and I don't particularly like being overmatched intellectually, so I don't play it. So my recommendation (if you could call it such) would be to find a competitive event where you have potential and are actually interested in. This might be something as simple as a card game like Hearts, or it might be something more nebulous like debating. Do you have any interests that have a level of competition? If so, I would focus on those activities and see if it can be transferred to other areas of your life.
CanofWorms
11mo ago
I enjoyed Rise and Fall, but also found it a bit…un-journalistic. If you have the chance, I really recommend Ian Kershaws one-volume Hitler Biography. I still maintain that is the best biography I’ve ever read. It focuses not just on Hitlers life, but the world context that allowed him to gain power. The parts on 1920s Germany and the power, influence, and independence of the German generals is particularly interesting.
CanofWorms
11mo ago
Not sure if this is up your alley, but Stephen Kings short stories are some of his finest work. His stuff from the 70s and 80s is great; he had a bite to his writing that sort of dissipated over time. Check out Skeleton Crew it has a few of Stephen Kings best short stories, The Raft and The Jaunt.
CanofWorms
11mo ago
The fact that Dumas was able to make 500 pages of conversation semi-interesting is indeed a feat. I just found myself unable to read long chunks at a time. I would fall asleep.
CanofWorms
11mo ago
Part of it has to do with the code of violence on the street corner. Taking a guy out from 200 yards away with a rifle does not show your manhood, swagger, and fearlessness. These men and boys on the corner want to be known and feared and you don’t get that from an assassination.
Now if we’re talking about the Marlo scenes where he is hanging out in the middle of an open park, I can’t say I’ve ever considered that before. It does seem fairly trivial that a gangster could get a rifle and take him out from one of the buildings.
Quite a few outlets have right criticized it, but quite a few have not. Rolling Stone for example:
https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-recaps/true-detective-night-country-series-finale-recap-jodie-foster-1234967345/
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