13 Reasons Why is a new series from Netflix, available since March 31st. I took my time to sit down and write about it because (besides the fact that for other reasons I am not taking care of this blog as well before) it is a show that unloads a lot on you and it is easy to dismiss it without an appropriate introspective moment. Since it is relatively new, I will proceed spoiler-free for a while and go more into the details after the picture.
The premise of the show is the suicide of Hannah, a 17 years old girl, that leaves 13 tapes to explain the events that led her to this decision. In each tape, she tells her truth about some event regarding some person, with one main protagonist (or reason) for each tape. The tapes are delivered to one of them that has to listen and then pass them over to the next one. If this doesn't happen, the tapes will be publicly released. In particular, the story begins when Clay, a friend of hers, receive the tapes.
Let me say right away that the premise was my main reason to not watch the show. I always tell myself that each individual is not responsible for the other people's fragilities and I still keep my stand after watching the show. However, I am very glad that I've seen it. I liked it quite a bit: it has an overall good structure, it faces many important themes, and it made me reflect on human interactions and social constructions.
Let's start with the easy part: the structure. I am generally skeptical when it comes to shows based on flashbacks because, and I admit that it is probably my problem, if I know how it is going to end already I simply fall asleep. The risk with this show was very high but, although you know what is going to happen, you don't know how it is going to end (or, to say it better, when you know it, you don't have to wait too much). The narration keeps relentlessly going back and forth, revealing pieces of Hannah's story and Clay's story. The puzzle takes form episode after episode and, most importantly, evolves.
Another reason why the show captured me is that, like in every story, there is a hero, a villain, and a fool. The identity of these three characters is, at least in my opinion, particularly deceptive. This choice infers a very peculiar dynamic to the narration and, thus, keeps the viewer interested. More on this point in the spoiler section.
As mentioned before, the show explores many themes. The dominant one is, and I am glad that this is the case, not suicide and it is not adolescent anxiety. They are certainly present given the age of the characters and the event, but making them THE themes would have made the show very unoriginal and probably a copy of everything produced during the 90's or the early 2000's. Instead, the main theme turns out to be the importance of consent (in intimacy, physical and not) and how society perceives or values it. I will talk more about it in the spoiler section, but I can say that exploring this theme (along with all the others) in the way that it is done makes a format that sounds 20 years old very actual. The theme comes in very different moment and very different shades and draws a very much needed line: consent has to be confirmed, consent is not granted if previously given, and has to be respected at all times.
It is true that we were flooded by teens' shows. The difference is that 13 Reasons Why uses a story about a group of teenagers to speak to the adults. It is definitely not a show for teens because it is very intense and at times really painful to watch, thus requiring the viewer to have experimented that period and moved on. In other words, the 17 years old me would have been trapped by the story. Everyone can relate to the characters, the events, and the emotions but I feel that the intensity of the show can be dangerous if you are still in those kinds of situation. No matter on which side of the story you will find yourself, you will be able to recognize how much you evolved from that version of yourself. The show displays how things that looked extremely important back then were actually stupid and, most remarkably, vice versa.
There are many other themes, such as sexism (that is just another shade of the importance of consent), bullying, the role of social media, and prejudice and discrimination. However, I want to elaborate one of them: the social pressure that pushes the individual to the impossible task of being perfect. This can regard the appearance or the circles of friends (thus falling back close to the adolescence anxiety), but also having a perfect record at every step in order to not compromise the admission to a college.
It is yet again displayed a society that doesn't admit a mistake and thus the individual finds himself or herself crushed by the reality that this is impossible. Thus, responsibilities are not fully taken, facts are hidden, insecurities are violently reversed on others all because your entire future can be compromised by a single mistake, no matter what the mistake is (and we see a very large range of them).
Of course, the show presents quite a few weak spots. For example, although it doesn't reflect my view on the show, I can see why some people saw a justification of suicide and the dangerous message that brings with it. Some of the reasons are very difficult to understand as they are put on the same plane as very serious ones. Therefore, I see a few problems in the writing and character development. For example, I can see now who the hero, the fool, and the villain are but I can't find a reason for all of them.
If I carefully think about it, at times it seems that, with some obvious exceptions that will be clear when you see it, almost all the issues that Hannah had are valorized by the fact that she committed suicide. This is simply wrong. The sexist idiots in the school treat her like society usually treats women and this is wrong regardless the fact that she eventually killed herself. Spreading a (sexist) rumor about her or a picture is wrong regardless the fact that she killed herself. The show addresses this issue in one dialogue, but it is then lost due to the increasing intensity of the show.
All that being said, I liked it and I recommend it. 13 Reasons Why is a 13 episodes exercise of empathy and detachment. It is true that you are not responsible for the other people's fragilities, but it doesn't hurt to be decent to each other and to do so you need empathy.
If you don't want spoilers, don't go further.
In this spoiler section, I want to elaborate on some aspects that I mentioned before.
First, the show unravels around Clay. He gets the tapes and does not simply listen to them but also starts a campaign against the other kids, judged as responsible for her suicide. In other words, I felt that he was painted as the hero. However, he is on the tapes too and for a reason not even remotely comparable with any of the others. Hannah made him the fool, obsessed by the reason why he was on the tapes, wrongly blamed for her death. The hero is thus his friend Tony, supporting Hannah's parents and doing what was necessary to reach a fair end.
The villain changes along the show too. It starts by being Justin, responsible for creating Hannah's reputation, a fact that exposes her to everything that followed. However, the little prick turned out to be just a stupid kid, and the villain revealed himself as Bryce, the rapist. What makes him a perfect villain is that is unaware of being one: he never considered that girls didn't want to have sex with him, he didn't receive the tapes yet, and he lives in complete impunity due to his social status and role in the school. Bryce never drew the line of consent, he never questioned its existence. He is the perfect reincarnation of a society as sexist as ours.
When Clay finds himself in that situations, he acts as one human being is supposed to act. This perfectly draws the mentioned line of consent and thus shed a light to one very actual theme and issue of our society. It remains the fool, though, because being a human is not heroic.
Another aspect that I noticed and appreciated is the complete absence of other discriminatory factors. The focus is on gender discrimination and thus the school of 13 Reasons Why, as far as I noticed, is free of other kinds of discrimination. The exception are the events regarding Courtney, afraid of coming out because she has two dads and people will think that her sexual orientation has been influenced by that. I liked how she addressed it because it made me think about my own limitations: as her, I wrongfully anticipated that thought, I assumed the worst in other people's opinion and this is a discrimination as well. I like questioning myself.
The more I write, the more I feel I can go on, thus, for the brave readers that reached this far, I hope I gave you enough elements to think about.
Synopsis: We are on the international space station and we are recovering some samples coming from Mars. The massive discovery is that we find very intelligent cells, but we are more intelligent and we keep them up in the sky because it can be dangerous. All that being said, our security protocol sucks. Big time. Guess what? The biggest, nearly 2 hours long, I told you ever seen in human history: the cells grow quickly and they are surprisingly sadistic. Things escalate relentlessly and we still have to find a way to keep that thing away from Earth, which turns out to be surprisingly difficult even though we are in space.
Life is a movie that looked like an Alien ripoff with bigger actors since the very first trailer and, to some extent, it fits in that franchise quite well. Therefore, the plot is quite predictable, you really didn't need my synopsis to guess how the chips were going to fall in this one. I recognized certain aspects of Gravity too, thus, if you really want to define a movie using previous works, it is an Alien-Gravity sci-fi claustrophobic movie.
All that being said, the film presents some differences that at least keep you on your toes for the entire movie. This aspect is enhanced by a very intense rhythm, something that I've enjoyed quite a bit and kept me on the edge of my seat for nearly the entire movie. I think it is not a spoiler saying that some characters are going to die and the choices made in displaying such deaths are all the right one: very intense scenes that hide their inevitable, excruciating, ending and worth themselves the price of the ticket.
The first weak spot of the movie is hidden inside its strong suit: the villain. While this mysterious bunch of cells is absolutely terrifying, at times it goes so over the top in order to move the plot along that may throw you off the narration. In other words, regardless the fast pace, a sapient use of scare jumps, and the constant threat to the characters life, the villain looks so invincible that looses every credibility, thus breaking the spell of the narration.
A second problem is again related to one of the good aspects of Life. The very high-pace narration is good for entertaining the viewer, but doesn't leave much room for the development of the characters (or of a theme for all that matters). The result is that, excluding the 2 very famous actors that you recognize easily, the others are very disposable and do not have any third dimension while the plot moves in front of them. Normally this aspect is not very relevant but, when the entire story is basically in a big room up in the sky, it is easy to notice that you are not very sure on who is who.
Another issue is sadly the one that you bring home and regards the ending of the film. It is supposed to be the scene with more tension, but the climax is ruined by the fact that you see the punch coming from miles, thus falling short in delivering the last impression you will have on the movie.
To sum up, Life is not a movie that I will remember for long, but it is probably a blockbuster that I would keep in my collection for some beer evening on the couch. It didn't fail to entertain me, regardless a concept not particularly original and the almost complete absence of a theme. There is something that resembles a reflection over the role of the scientific research in our society, but it is so sloppy that looks like an accident. If you don't expect some deep cinematographical sci-fi experience, you will probably enjoy your time in the theater.
Synopsys: Wolverine got old in an unspecified timeline of the X-Men universe. He is very much pissed off by how life is unfair: he is an Uber driver, he has a drinking problem, and he as to take care of Professor X that, in this timeline, has some problems with his powers. For a series of reasons, he finds himself in the role of protecting a young girl that has his powers and is chased by some random organization.
Logan is one of the most anticipated Marvel movies of the year, attracting a lot of attention due to the fact that, for once, it is rated R. Let's try to grasp the relevant aspects and remain spoiler-free.
The movie is filled with gruesome scenes, you can thus expect to see a lot of blood and limbs on a regular basis for the entire film. The consequence is fully representing the spirit of Wolverine for the first time on the big screen through a series of excellent action scenes. The character is built to be violent and the movie is very explicit in this sense. The effect is enhanced when we come to the little girl that is, to say the least, a little badass savage animal. On this point of view, the movie is very entertaining.
The main actors bring a very convincing performance. Logan is a broken man, Professor X is ill and filled with guilt, and the little girl really likes to cut people throat open. The three performances are consistent and deliver a good amount of emotion to the viewer. I can't say the same about the antagonists: their presence is constant but never charismatic. In other words, they are very disposable villains. I am almost sure you will not remember their names, why they do what they do, or what they do.
A possible reason for this underwhelming presence is that the main villain can be identified as the past of Logan, now constantly battling against himself, crushed by his past actions and losses.
The introspective aspect of what can be called the main theme is thus reflected in the challenges that our heroes have to face. However, the theme is not strong enough to fully define the purpose of this film. The quest is to save an innocent mutant from a mysterious evil organization; this is something we have already seen many times in this very franchise. The result is a movie that lacks meaning and purpose, it is, to a great extent, an empty movie.
For comparison, if you look today at the first two X-Men movies (early 2000's), you can recognize a deep theme (that was the role of discrimination in our society) and a plot that brings that theme to the viewer and made it awesome. The same philosophy was later transposed in more recent movies of the franchise, with results that went from bad to less good than the previous level. Here, the theme is new and well displayed by the actors, but not supported by a plot, by a context. The feeling is that, without the existence of the previous movies, this film would not entertain anyone beyond the action scenes: something that a YouTube clip could do as well, by making you save time.
Another issue, in a way related to the previous one, is that for the entire movie there are references to something happened in the past, one or more terrible events that shaped the current reality. The spotlight on this mystery is constant and, at times, strong. However, everything simply stays in the darkness, bringing that sense of emptiness. I am not saying that they should have explained, but if you focus so much on a mystery and you develop no aspect of it, the result is not going to be good or satisfying.
In conclusion, I wasn't displeased for spending my time to watch a movie that I was waiting for a fair amount of time. However, and this is something that I recognize on the faces of everyone in the theater with me, I was left with the feeling of a missed opportunity. The kind of feeling that makes harder to focus on the various good aspects of the movie.
Star Wars is the story of the rise and fall of an Empire. It is the story of how damaging is the manipulative force of evil. It is the story of how dangerous is being victims of your own fears.
In the words of George Lucas in an interview:
It is about good and evil... in us. [...] Watch out, because there are people out there who don't play by the rules and if you are not careful you are going to lose all your freedom. At the same time, those people not playing by the rules, because they are selfish and greedy, turn themselves into evil people who don't care about the others.
The universality of this message is one of the main reasons why I love Star Wars since I was a little kid, the reason why, to some extent, I always identify myself with the rebellion and the Jedi.
However, growing up is mainly about improving yourself and challenging your own beliefs. Therefore, this is the post where I will try to make sense to a sensation, to what was a hidden message (hidden to me, maybe it was clear to all of you and you didn't know how to tell me). The sensation is the following: it is true that there is an amazing set of villains that do awful things across the Galaxy, but can we take into account the true responsibility of the Jedi? I believe that the answer to this question will have some of the universality that characterizes Star Wars and, thus, it is worth sharing.
The more I think about it, the more I come close to the conclusion that the Jedi are the main responsible for the rise of the Empire. My reasoning is three-folded.
First, the Jedi lifestyle. The Jedi are peacekeepers, they are a Republic's institution and, thanks to their power and wisdom, they help the Senate to find solutions to many issues. For this reason, as Qui-Gon Jinn noticed, it is in the Outer Rim territories that a Jedi has a true purpose. However, every time the great majority of Jedi were in Coruscant, the very center of the Galaxy. In being so focused in interacting with the Senate, the Jedi overlooked the situation in the Outer Rim where the separatists gained power until they rebelled.
Moreover, along the saga is very often reminded that a Jedi has to focus on the moment, without being distracted by the future (like Yoda says in Ep. V). It is also true that a Jedi has to be mindful of the future, but not at the expense of the moment (Qui-Gon quoting Yoda, Ep. I). It is then easy to imagine how easy was for the Sith Lord to distract the entire Jedi Council by simply making something else happening in front of them. Even when Count Dooku in Ep. II explains Obi-Wan that the Republic is under the control of the Sith Lord, that they are not seeing what is really going on, and that everything is connected to the political movements happened in Ep. I, they don't find the lucidity of analyzing such reveal and proceed blessed in their clouded judgment.
The situation is then exasperated by the military role the Jedi assumed during the Clone Wars. Even the (at the time) general Tarkin noticed how unfit the Jedi, peacekeepers by definition, were for such a role (Clone Wars, s03e09). The danger of such position was evident by the constant concern to their clouded judgment and, as we saw at the end of the fifth season of the Clone Wars, a widespread hostility towards the general of a very painful war. It was even too easy to make the population believe to the betrayal of the Jedi, once the purge started.
A second criticality: the Jedi were very naive to face the creation of the clones' army. The hints that the clones were the crucial point of the plot were all over the place. They find out that Kamino was erased from the archive and that only a Jedi could have done it. The investigation quickly leads to Sifo-Dyas, a Jedi dead over 10 years before (i.e. when the Chancellor began his office) that is allegedly responsible for the creation of the army. They decide to ignore the fact that an army was created for the Republic way before the moment it was needed and simply put themselves at its lead.
Then we come to the sixth season of this beloved animated series. In the first episode, a clone goes crazy and executes, cold-blooded, a Jedi. From now on, the hints that something is really wrong and they really don't realize what is going on just pile up. First, the separatists interfere with the investigation and then they find proof of a conspiracy started even before the war. The constant involvement of the Supreme Chancellor in an investigation that yields no conclusive result would have been enough to raise some green eyebrow, but something else catches their attention.
In the last arc of the series, the Jedi follows a trail connected to the Sifo-Dyas death (s06e10). It is now that the Jedi council finds out that someone was acting in the name of an already deceased Sifo-Dyas. Right after that, Count Dooku shows up revealing his identity as Lord Tyranus and killing all the witnesses. Even after this sloppy investigation, the Jedi Council comes to the truth: their enemy created the clones' army. They decide to keep it secret; right after that, Yoda leaves for a journey to deepen his understanding of the Force, the Chancellor gets kidnapped, and the reveal leads to no precautionary measure.
At last, Anakin. The Jedi can perceive the thoughts of other living creatures, can feel their emotions. The first time Anakin stands in front of the Council (Ep. I), they feel his fear. In Episode II, Yoda finds suspicious that Palpatine is trying to push the young Skywalker closer and closer to Padme but, although he was recognizing that the Dark Side was clouding his vision and recognizes the arrogance in Anakin, just let this dangerous union happen.
It is not that Yoda is unable to understand the feelings of the troubled Jedi. He feels his pain when he slaughtered like animals the Tusken Raiders on Tatooine. However, once he is interrogating Anakin on that matter, he can't feel he is lying. Essentially everyone around the young Skywalker knows that he is not the Jedi he was supposed to be, including Padme, Count Dooku and, since a long time (see the comic book Obi-Wan & Anakin), the supreme Chancellor Palpatine. The naivety on the personal development of Anakin allowed the Sith to have their most powerful allied, an allied that killed every Jedi in the Temple.
In conclusion, the Jedi are devoted to the protection of all living creatures and that's admirable. However, they translated their vocation into a blind chase for inequality, at the heavy expenses of their perception of a bigger picture. This is the reason why they were so easily manipulated, distracted and, ultimately, killed.
Moreover, their political (and lately military) role compromised their original mission. The inability of recognizing their own limits pushed them deeper and deeper into the game of the evil forces until the Jedi Council itself became an institution simply afraid of losing its power. This is the true reason why they kept the truth on the clones hidden: because, after proving themselves inadequate for the military roles during the war, such revelation would have compromised the view of the political forces about their wisdom. It is then (in the episode mentioned) that the Jedi stopped being victims of a clever plot and became actors in it instead.
The responsibility for the fall of the Republic is thus of the evil forces AND of those that put themselves in the position of defending the democracy, but fell short in recognizing their inability and thus became more worried about keeping their position rather than stepping aside and letting someone else taking care of it.
On this point of view, we can read again the words of George Lucas and identify who else was running their life in a selfish way, thinking they were doing some good when they weren't.
If you want a comprehensive guide to the Star Wars expanded universe click here.
Synopsys: Ben Affleck comes back from WWI and doesn't want to take orders. Thus, he becomes an independent outlaw. He gets distracted by a dangerous love and after some troubles changes his life: now he can take orders again! That guy? That was the old Ben Affleck! So there is another movie about him being a gangster with other 4 or 5 subplots that unravel in a short time and make the movie incredibly long.
This time not only I want to remain spoiler-free, but also to be more didactic than usual. The movie, as you guess, didn't impress me one bit: too many storylines, too many themes, and the final result looks like a TV series of 10 hours smashed inside a 2 hours-long film. It is very easy to lose track of what is going on but it is not a big deal: at some point the movie reboots itself and you can start looking at something similar.
Allow me to be didascalic for a moment. A movie, a story, usually obeys to the following toy model:
- Enter the characters
- They want something
- Something else is stopping them
- Things are very difficult now
- A break thru, the solution to the problem
- It works, maybe not at the first attempt, but surely at the second one (either in a good or bad way)
- Conclusion (either happy or sad)
Or, to put it in a more graphical way, it generally looks like that
I can point out many problems with this movie but, wrapped into great action sequences and convincing acting, the core of them is that its structure looks like this one
To see how confusing it is, here how the white noise looks like
In other words, there are 5 or 6 stories and some of them may or may not please you, but their presence and development are crushed by a narration the existence of which is a mistake. Every story touches a theme and they are all interesting, but overshadowed by the relentless chase of a new event to display on the screen. The result is that nothing is interesting, everything is saturated, and the movie feels 3 hours long.
The most surprising thing was not the twist: you see it coming literally a hundred minutes in advance. The most surprising thing is that I appreciated Ben Affleck more as an actor than as a director when it is usually the opposite.
And ain't because he became suddenly a better actor.
