Paul Levinson's Blog: Levinson at Large, page 116
October 4, 2020
Utopia: More Fun than the Real World
Just what we needed, right? A series about a virus that's spreading quickly from city to city -- and killing children no less? And the plot hinges on a hyped vaccine that may not be effective at all? So, yeah, Utopia on Amazon Prime is all of that and more, and at the worst possible time. But maybe at the best possible time, because I found the first season of this series really enjoyable and binge-watched all eight of its episodes yesterday.
As for the specific story, first, just to get this out of the way: the part I liked least -- by which I mean, it was ok, but did not in itself make Utopia worth watching -- was the graphic novel, i.e. comic book, set-up, which was the foundation of the narrative. At its best, the "Utopia" comic serves the same purpose as "The Grasshopper Lies Heavy" in The Man in the High Castle -- a secret manuscript which provides the heroes clues to what's going on -- and that was not my favorite part of The Man in High Castle, either. In Utopia, the comic book does provide entre into a fandom story, which was well done in terms of the individual characters, but cliched in its overall concept. So, in sum, I think Utopia could have done just as well without it.
The main strength of the series were the stunning surprises that pop up at or near the end of just about every episode. Excellent characters are unexpectedly killed, apparent allies are suddenly revealed as villains, and other villains themselves evolve into something better. Although the transformations could have been a bit more plausible, with better prior signalling of traits emerging or latent in the characters, they are believable enough, and make Utopia an adrenalin spurting rollercoaster ride, always welcome in a television series, and the essential element in a bingeable series, which Utopia most certainly is. (I'll note that I was very unhappy with the death of one of the characters, though it certainly moved the shocked needle way off the dial.)
The overall plot has touches of The Boys from Brazil, and also offers a familiar prosecution of the evils of corporate greed. But applied to the pandemic, it has a searing and even frightening relevance to our world off the screen, and since it (presumably) is not something that is current happening in our world, it is strangely refreshing to see. As I was watching it, I was thinking that Utopia threaded the needle between disconcerting because it was so close to our reality, and fun to see because it actually isn't that close (I hope), just perfectly. Amazon Prime deserves plaudits for scheduling and streaming Utopia in this crazy Fall of 2020.
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October 2, 2020
Podcast Review of Raised by Wolves 6-10
Welcome to Light On Light Through, Episode 148, in which I review episodes six to ten of Raised by Wolves.
Further listening:
podcast review of Raised by Wolves 1-3
podcast review of Raised by Wolves 4-5
Further reading:
Mind at Large: Knowing in the Technological Age
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Raised by Wolves Season One Finale: The Serpent
[spoilers follow]
The big reveal is that Mother and I and everyone was wrong about how her baby came to be, and what it in fact was. The virtual sex she had with her creator apparently didn't inseminate her via triggering some kind of organic material she already had insider her. Whatever it was that got her pregnant presumably came from this extraterrestrial Kepler world. I say "apparently" and "presumably" because I suppose it's still possible that this hellish serpent she delivered was indeed something that her creator embedded in her back on Earth, and this "baby" is indeed the future of humanity. But at this point it looks as if that entire virtual, remembered conversation and activity with her builder was just a piece of masterful misdirection.
Other than all of that, which was game-changing, the season finale had a variety of good touches, ranging from Father's jealousy to whatever was going on with Paul. Again, presumably, I'd say that the voices he heard in his head came not from Sol (of course not) but that ship that we saw hovering in the atmosphere. No doubt that ship will have a major role in the second season (and great that Raised by Wolves has already been renewed.
Another provocative element is the devolution of the beings on Kepler-22B. I've been thinking ever since we first saw one of those beings early on that there was a human-like quality to its head. A Neanderthal skull was also revealed in the finale -- works for me, Neanderthals were the centerpiece of my first novel, The Silk Code -- and that skull also raises the possibility that there was a connection between Kepler-22 and Earth in the distant past, if parallel evolution isn't the explanation for Neanderthals appearing on these two worlds, so very distant from each other.
Lots of fascinating issues left hanging. Good set-up for the second season!
See also Raised by Wolves 1.1: Fast Action and Deep Philosophy ... Raised by Wolves 1.2-3: More than Meets the Eye ... Raised by Wolves 1.4-5: Halfway to Dune ...Raised by Wolves 1.6-7: The Look on Mother's Face ... Raised by Wolves 1.8-1.9: Frankenstein and Motherhood
September 29, 2020
Biden vs. Trump Presidential Debate #1: Chris Wallace Should Have Cut Off Trump's Microphone
Donald Trump, who has destroyed or impaired so much of what we cherish and deem important in America, took his pickaxe to the First 2020 Presidential debate tonight, interrupting Joe Biden almost every time he spoke. And though Chris Wallace weakly protested this disruption many times, he failed to stop Trump's rampage. Wallace should have cut off Trump's microphone, or requested the audio engineer to do that.
Nonetheless, Biden did break through a good number of times, beginning with when he said to Trump, early in the debate, "will you shut up, man". Biden went on to be very effective when he looked at the camera and spoke directly to the American people about his positions about health care, Black Lives Matter, the importance of voting, and other crucial issues.
I just heard Nicole Wallace say on MSNBC that Trump abused Chris Wallace as moderator. That may be true, but the more important point is that Wallace had a responsibility to keep this abusive President in check. And although he tried from time to time, he let Trump interrupt Biden over and over again.
I've enjoyed Presidential debates since Kennedy-Nixon in 1960. Tonight's debate, although I thought Biden the better candidate won, was a disgrace. Civilized discourse lost, another victim of Trump and his contempt for reason. I hope subsequent moderators do better.
September 28, 2020
The Comey Rule Part 2: The Reality, Part 2
The second and concluding part of The Comey Rule, just concluded on Showtime, was every bit as powerful as the first. By which I mean to say, brilliantly acted and staged.
As to the facts of the story: well, it's frightening indeed to see what a narcissistic psycho Trump is, but we already knew that. I wish I could I say it was worse in this docu-drama than it was in real life, but it was just awful truth, enhanced by close-ups and Brendan Gleeson's stunning performance as Trump.
As for Comey, also superbly enacted by Jeff Daniels, you could almost feel sorry for this Shakespearean tragic character, from the day and way he was fired, so brutally by Trump, and in everything that followed. But I caught myself from falling into this emotion too deeply, because Comey did a lot of damage. As I indicated in my review of Part 1 last night, he may not have been totally responsible for Hillary's loss, but he certainly was at least in part.
But you know what the worst thing about watching this enactment of Trump's first months in office was for me? It was my obvious realization that all of this happened before the COVID pandemic, which has killed 200,000+ here in the United States. Was Trump completely responsible for this? Of course not, he didn't create the virus. But he was at least in part, in his worse than insanely irresponsible leadership when the pandemic hit.
So for all the horror portrayed so effectively in this mini-series, it was but a prelude of something much worse to come. And now we soon are having another election. I don't see how anyone who has lived through the past four years, who has lived through the pandemic, could vote for Trump. Or, not vote at all, which amounts to voting for Trump. And that's a conclusion we tragically do not need a superb mini-series to know, which is in itself an indication of the extent of our real-life tragedy.
See also The Comey Rule Part 1: The Reality, Part 1
September 27, 2020
The Comey Rule Part 1: The Reality, Part 1
I had planned on waiting until I saw all of The Comey Rule on Showtime -- the two parts -- before I reviewed it. But there are too many things I want to say about first part, on earlier tonight, to wait until tomorrow.
First, as for the craft of the docu-drama, including the acting, it was just superb, ranging from Jeff Daniels as Comey down to every FBI man and woman, in every scene, and also Comey's wife. Even Kingsley Ben-Adir in the relatively small part (in this narrative) of Obama was good. I could write all day about how well this first part was done, but the reality it describes cries out for comment.
No one can say with any certainty why Trump won the Electoral College vote, even as he lost the popular vote. The fact that this resulted in him becoming President, and the horrendous job he has done in that office, is more than enough reason to do away with that anachronistic "college" as soon as possible.
There are other villains in this true tragedy. Anthony Weiner unable to control his impulses, Jill Stein unable to control her ambitions, the Russian assault on our country via cyberspace, all played some role, and deserve some apportionment of blame.
And Comey? This first part of this two-part series shows at least three interlocking errors: the way he first announced the non-actionable result into the FBI investigation into Hillary's emails, his refusal to go public with the FBI's investigation into Trump's Russian connections, and his second announcement (in a letter to Congress) that the FBI was reopening the investigation into Hillary's emails just ten days prior to the election. Like a classic Shakespearean tragedy, Comey did those three things for noble reasons. But the result was the complete antithesis and annihilation of nobility, putting America into the most dangerous condition it has been in since the Civil War.
Can we reasonably say Trump in the White House was the result of Comey's actions? No doubt not completely, but also no doubt yes, at least in part. I will say, on Comey's behalf, that the writing of his book, A Higher Loyalty, the basis of this mini-series, is at least an attempt at retribution. And kudos to Showtime for putting this on at a most appropriate time, when we Americans are again focused on an impending Presidential election.
And I'll be back with thoughts on Part 2 tomorrow.
September 25, 2020
Raised by Wolves 1.8-9: Frankenstein and Motherhood
A question I started addressing in the 1980s when I first began considering artificial intelligence was the connection between artificial intelligence and life. Since the only intelligence that we know arose in living beings -- i.e., us, we humans - it struck me that an attempt to develop artificial intelligence truly worthy of the name without first understanding how intelligence arose out of our own DNA was "putting Descartes before the horse" (Mind at Large: Knowing in the Technological Age, 1988, p. 180; or see this if you don't want to read the book). Yet most artificial intelligence, in science fiction as well as our real world laboratories, has proceeded on the basis of non-living circuitry.
In fiction, the monster created by Dr. Frankenstein -- colloquially known as Frankenstein, in Mary Shelley's 1818 novel of the same name -- can be considered the first modern android. It is made of flesh and blood, and has a DNA-developed brain, so there is no reason he and his eventual almost-bride could not have had children -- indeed, it is Dr. Frankenstein fear of creating a species of monsters that gets him to abandon his project of giving the monster a mate. Even in the Boris Karloff movies made over a century later, in which a bride of the monster is created, one catastrophe or another that befalls the "monsters" always preclude them from reproducing. Which makes what was is happening in Raised by Wolves all the more remarkable.
How exactly Mother, now on the way to being a completely biologically apt name for her, came to be impregnated is not completely clear, and she doesn't completely or even mostly understand herself. She had virtual sex with her male human creator in a simulation. Presumably this triggered a fetus that developed from what already was inside her, in contrast to the embryos that were implanted in her and we met in the first episode.
With only one more episode left this season, it will be fascinating to see where this -- "the future of humanity" -- goes. It was good to see Father back to his senses, and all the children together, and Marcus get his comeuppance, though I hope he's not dead, he's too important and well-acted a character. (It occurred to me as an outside possibly that possibly Marcus had sex with Mother at some point after he so nearly kissed her, that we didn't see. Maybe that relates to that look on Mother's face that I talked about in my review last week.) Not likely, I'll be definitely back here next week with some thoughts on the season finale.
See also Raised by Wolves 1.1: Fast Action and Deep Philosophy ... Raised by Wolves 1.2-3: More than Meets the Eye ... Raised by Wolves 1.4-5: Halfway to Dune ...Raised by Wolves 1.6-7: The Look on Mother's Face
September 24, 2020
Spun Dreams on Bandcamp
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September 21, 2020
The Platform: Don't Watch Before Dinner
Parables come in all kinds of platforms. The Platform, a Spanish film with English subtitles now on Netflix, is a story about the essence of humanity tested to its very limits. That’s a worthy parable, to say the least. Unfortunately, this movie’s unique way of telling it is disgusting, in the literal sense of that word. The question is: was that kind of stomach-turning story necessary to convey such a crucial message?
The story features Goreng, who finds himself in a "Vertical Self-Management Center,” a tower with hundreds of levels, in which a big feast of a platter is prepared and sent down, level by level, allowing the two people in each cell it reaches to consume as much as they can in a short period of time. Such a set-up allows the people on the higher levels to eat more and much better than the people below them, who are left with successively fewer scraps until there’s nothing on the platter other than empty plates and the longing, furious stares of hungry people. Further, to make matters even more interesting, the inmates, or whatever exactly they are, are sent to higher or lower levels each month, for whatever random reason.
At this point, although watching people stuff their mouths with food is no pleasure to watch, I wouldn’t call The Platform disgusting. But it soon takes a turn which, though logical enough, is certainly physically revolting. When food on the platter is non-existent, there’s always cannibalism. We see this more than once, in blood-dripping detail.
After a series of unsuccessful ventures in moral persuasion – such as trying to convince the people on the upper levels to forego a meal so that the people on the lower levels have a crumb or more to eat – Goreng teams up with Baharat, and together they plan a way of getting the administration of this mostly involuntary hotel to see the error of their system. The two awake one month on a very high level, and a pristine panna cotta is on the platter they receive. If they jump onto the platform with the platter, and take it all the way down to the bottom level, then back up to the top, with the panna cotta uneaten, they can show the administration that the human beings in the tower have self-restraint, and don’t deserve to be treated like animals. Indeed, apropos Marshall McLuhan’s “The medium is the message,” the two voyagers come up with and repeat the mantra that “The panna is the message.”
I won’t tell you the specifics of the very end, except that the mantra changes, and I’m not sure that the new mantra works as well as the panna in this parable. The shift in metaphor feels a little heavy handed. As did the depicted cannibalism and other gross activities that were in one way or another related to food. The movie at least was leavened in places with a little humor – as when Goreng says to a woman who brings her sausage dog with her, “In here, he’s more a sausage than a dog.” My advice: a bit more humor, a lot less gore, would have made this parable more effective. Not that a parable has to be effortlessly palatable to make its point, but it needn’t make you gag.
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September 20, 2020
Review of Anthony Marinelli's Virtual Production of Sartre's No Exit
Just saw Anthony Marinelli's virtual production of Jean-Paul Sartre's No Exit. A scorchingly brilliant two hours.
First, seeing this play on a screen was in many ways better than in person. The close-ups of the faces lent an additional dimension to the performances. Jeff Musillo's facial expressions in the relatively minor role of The Valet at the beginning of the play, for example, were just perfect, at once powerful and subtle, and would have been not quite as effective when seen from a seat in a physical theater, unless that seat was in a very close front row. (The virtual rather than physical presentation also made this seem like a full-fledged play, not a "reading," which it is technically billed as being.)
The three performances of the major characters were stellar. I saw Amanda Greer as a kick-ass Marilyn Monroe a few years ago in another Marinelli play (which he wrote and directed), Max & Domino. She plays the caustic, vulnerable, gay postal worker Inèz in No Exit, and her delivery will leave singe marks on your fingers. Heat of course is a major component of this story, because all three people are not only dead but in some kind of hell. I suppose this also makes them vulnerable, though being dead could also make them invulnerable, and you never quite know with Sartre.
Thomas Gipson plays Garcin, a pacifist journalist who is shot down by a firing squad for his troubles. The two other characters call him "garçon" -- French for waiter -- I have no idea if that's the way you pronounce Garcin, or Marinelli instructed the other two to call Garcin that as a indication of their contempt for him, but either way, it worked. And Gipson worked very effectively, too, sincere, logical, and highly aggrieved.
Inèz certainly has contempt for Garcin. Denise Reed's Estelle mostly wants to seduce him, and though that's not quite an indication of contempt, it's certainly treating Garcin as an object. Inèz of course is infuriated by all that, and Reed does a fine job shuttling between vamping and anger, with the undertone of desperate vulnerability that everyone accept The Valet understandably has, though he has a touch of it too when Garcin says something about his looks.
In case you didn't already know, the essence of this play is "hell is other people". Marinelli does an especially strong job of conveying this, given that this production is not only virtual but the actors are each in separate rooms in their separate real dwellings. Marinelli intersperses with appropriate filmic footage, which brings to our eyes the backstories that the characters tell us and one another.
A memorable rendition of an eternally classic play, and never more relevant in its story conveyed via literally separate rooms in these our Covid times.
----------If you'd like to see this in an in-person theatre, here's where you can make a tax-deductible donation.
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