True Detective: A Pastoral Review (Part Two)

Before I unpack the demon of "disconnect" and begin speaking to everything I believe was right about True Detective, let's continue in Part Two with some of the criticisms. In case you missed Part One, clickhere.

The Criticisms continued --

#2  The Ending Removed the Conspiracy & Mystery the Show Built Itself Upon

Only minor plausibility can be applied to this criticism. Granted, the show created a dumpster load of material for fans to form speculative theories. Viewers of most any media these days have been conditioned to expect "plot twists." True Detective lacked the kind of sudden turns that an "M. Night Shyamalan generation" has come to expect.  Shyamalan's work in films like The Sixth Sense and The Village have created their own "media-meme:" an expectation of "getting duped" by the end.

Newsflash for the haters: LIFE doesn't work this way. In fact, we could easily make the case that in situations of extreme anguish or loss, the human mind is wired to grasp blindly at darkened mistruths. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle knew this to be a general human defect as he writes a famous line for his infamous detective:

"There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact."   -- Sherlock Holmes

I do understand and appreciate the let-down. Count me among the "duped." I was beyond certain that I had the ending figured out -- and to be totally honest, I wouldn't be surprised to find out in Season Two or later than I was in fact correct. Nevertheless, the twist I envisioned was simply a Nick Pizzolatto implant meant to reinforce the purpose of the script: Humans invent stories to cope with harsh realities.

The ending I envisioned was a projection of resolutions to unsolved problems in our shared human experience. Pizzolatto baited the hook masterfully and I took a bite at the lure. The final episode, "Form and Void" was a perfect illustration of how each of us cling to the implausible in the face of obvious facts when death is on the line. I will write more of this later, for now however, I am of the opinion that the criticism from those who took leaps of logic in the show's script were simply frustrated by the reality of hitting the ground. It's certainly part of what made the show exceptional, and the fact that I continue to hold to my theories despite evidence to the contrary in the season finale indicates how severely tied I am to my own belief structure.

And that's really the point of the ending. The mysterious and the supernatural will always be deceptive and alluring. To quote Samuel Taylor Coleridge, readers (or in our age viewers) will suspend disbelief where authors have infused "human interest and the semblance of truth." The obvious fact is the most deceptive: the human propensity to tell ourselves anything and believe it rather than accept the ordinary hard truths right under our noses, especially when the narratives we employ to escape are intrinsically pleasurable.

#3  The Violence / Language / Sexuality was Too Graphic

I've one simple rule about graphic content. If it bothers you, don't read or watch it. That's fairly straightforward. Personally, I felt like the violence was mostly handled tastefully, at least until the final episode. The black and white footage on the video tape was thankfully never shown, but even the thought of it was enough to make me sick. But overall I think this criticism is ridiculous - after all, part of the problem, if we take Pizzolatto seriously, is the we too often "avert our eyes" anyway.

The profanity felt forced at times, which to me diminishes the quality of the writing. I dislike the way we're made to believe that this is just how detectives speak to each other, but to each his own.

The sexuality presented in the series was rather shallow and rather haphazardly strung together using a variety of different (almost entirely male) fantasies and wish fulfillment scenarios. The Maggie / Rust meet-up, while it might have sizzled a bit, still came across as heavily contrived and felt almost as shallow as the plot-point it served in the script. "Making Flowers" is now the water-cooler expression of the month and may unfortunately serve as the most memorable phrases from a script full of incredible dialogue. All in all, I didn't find the sexuality so much overly graphic as it was distracting.

I suppose if I am to take anything about this particular criticism seriously, it would be that I regret that large swaths of the population will simply refuse to engage with True Detective because of the violence, language, and sexuality. Arguably, these sorts are the ones who would benefit most from watching it.

 #4  True Detective was Ultimately a Shallow Wild-Goose Chase

None of the reviewers have used this terminology exactly. Most of the ways I've heard it worded have been similar to this: "Light vs. dark? That's about as shallow as it gets given all the window dressing." I understand that some might view this work as ultimately pretty shallow literature. I disagree for a hundred and one reasons, only some of them I will make time to explain in the coming sections.

As far as a wild goose chase goes, I think it all boils down to where we chose to believe the real mystery lies. On the surface, the mystery is the murder of Dora Lang. On the surface, Moby Dick is an extended whale hunt tinkering on the edge of mutiny. As far as surfaces go, True Detective is probably a B+ detective story, at least season one. There could be reveals that come out in season two that elevate that grade a bit.

Nevertheless, I believe that anyone who chooses to view True Detective on the surface alone is missing quite a bit of richness. And yes, I do believe it is a literary masterpiece for reason that I will explore in the coming sections...

But first, as promised -- the demon of disconnect.  (continued next week)

True Detective: A Pastoral Review (Part One)

I believe HBO's first season of True Detective is the best television show ever made. It's time to make my case and I hope to do so in several parts... maybe even eight parts like the show. :)

First, the critics:

True Detective earned a tiny bit of its criticism, but most it is utter nonsense. I don't want to name names or slam reviewers, so I won't. For the record though, I really hate half-baked reviews. Anyone can have an opinion, but if I am going to spend time reading it, then I want it to be a well-informed one.

I will list here a smattering of the outcry, which truth be told has been silenced by the vast majority of fans and even many reviewers who've said it's the best, if not among the best, television shows ever made. Here's what we've heard from the naysayers:

#1  The Show Has Woman Problems.  Of all the criticisms received, this is by far the most balanced and worthy of consideration. True Detective is hyper-masculine... so was Palahniuk's Fight Club. I'm not so sure that delving into male psychosis, or as Rust puts it, "high functioning socio-pathology" is a bad thing anymore than a case study of 15,000 years of male psychology is bad.

For better or for worse (and most often for worse), male psychology is what has made the world turn for most of human history. The world's empires, religions, wars, and boundaries have been historically and primarily set by men. Wishing it were not such in a series of politically correct Op-Ed pieces doesn't much change this fact. If we are going to be real honest, it behooves us to understand male psychology if for no other reason than to keep our own shadows from creeping up on the human race.

I recognize and appreciate the need for strong female characters. But to put it candidly, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants this is not. True Detective is set in highly fictionalized (perhaps even fantasized)  male world -- even a man's sick world -- where women and children often end up paying the ultimate price for that sickness. Again, wishing the show wasn't this way in a review will not erase the cost of the suffering inflicted by male psychosis. It seems best, as Rust correctly asserts, "to get as much out in the open" as possible.

As a pastor of over 20 years there is one thing I know for certain: you must meet men where they're at if you ever hope to arouse change within them. If anything, it isn't the only women who should be frustrated by the shallow portrayals and violence against their gender. In my opinion, the men should be too -- at least up until the series finale.

Rust and Marty are anything but upstanding citizens as the show's protagonists. They are heavily fleshed out caricatures of male stereotypes and wish fulfillment. To stop our criticism at the level of demoralization of women, or lack of strong female characters, totally blows past the dysfunctional male characters in the story who have placed them in the narrative's margins. Apologies to my sisters, but harping on the "woman problems" in True Detective is truthfully mistaking the symptom for the disease.

True Detective is perfect if for no other reason than it goes for the jugular: it attacks male illness head-on. It is unfortunate that the mechanism employed is offensive: that strong female portrayals were noticeably absent and that most women were presented at victims; but not only is this our history as a species, it is our silent present we live in today as well. It will be our future if we don't (pardon the French here, but to again quote Rust:) "start asking the right f-n questions."  (Note: this link is NOT work-safe or kid-safe)

 

At the very heart of True Detective are two men, who although are not violent perpetrators against women and children themselves, ultimately engage in violence via a "manhunt" (emphasis mine) which results in each of the men confronting his own inner demon.

That demon has a name and a face -- it's called Disconnect. And it has everything to do with masks, averting eyes,

... and as Errol calls Rust in his sickened Carcosa: it is about "little priests."

More tomorrow.