What Wednesday #17
Today I witness the future of HBO without Game of Thrones, and it’s pretty freakin’ awesome.
What Wednesday is where I talk about what I’m watching, reading, playing, etc, because for some reason I think you’ll find that interesting. If you have recommendations, I’d love to hear them :)
What I’m Watching: Westworld (HBO)
I’ll start by saying this: Westworld couldn’t exist on Netflix. Or Amazon. Or any other channel on TV. Westworld could only exist on HBO. It’s gorgeously expensive, has an incredible cast, and is thoroughly provocative. While Netflix has its own stars (Kevin Spacey and Winona Ryder), this show is stacked: Sir Anthony Hopkins, Ed Harris, Thandie Newton, James Marsden, Jeffery Wright, Evan Rachel Wood. If there’s another TV show with a more impressive cast, I haven’t seen it. And while Netflix also spends a ton of money on their shows, they don’t look like this:
But my main beef with Netflix is that provocative piece: so much of Netflix, and TV in general, is empty entertainment. Which is fine, as that’s why TV exists in the first place. But I prefer to be challenged with difficult themes and rewarded with deep allegories, which Westworld seems to have in spades. My 12th grade English AP teacher Ms. Hardy would be proud, but also wonder why it took so long. I’m sorry, Ms. Hardy, get off my case! I’m a grown man!
Netflix’s riskiest show is a cartoon about a depressed horse. Outside of that, they play it pretty safe. Entertaining, without being illuminating. That’s part of the reason I’m not 100% all about Game of Thrones, as it’s the closest HBO has come in having a premium drama that’s just empty entertainment. It helps that it’s pretty freakin’ entertaining though.
A basic rundown Westworld’s plot: man makes machines, machines serve man in Wild West theme park, theme park destroys man (I assume). It’s Jurassic Park meets Deadwood meets Blade Runner. I don’t really want to give away more than that, because the discovery is half the fun.
The concept isn’t new, as it’s based off a Michael Crichton (writer of Jurrasic Park — guy loves his dystopian theme parks) movie of the same name, and the idea of machines rebelling against their human creators has been around since the Luddites were going around smashing weaving looms. But it’s done so well here, it feels like a work of incredible originality.
I’m sure this comes as no surprise to those that have ever seen an HBO show, there is plenty of nudity and violence. But most of the nudity is in a strange, anti-septic manner, with shots of the nude robots frozen like human mannequins. And the violence is either pre-programmed into the robots as storylines to witness, like stagecoach robberies, or forced upon them by their human guests, who kill for fun with impunity and without danger (the robots are prohibited from harming living things…we’ll see how long that lasts). They’re innocent like children, created as vessels for amusement and destruction, which made me feel the violence against them more acutely, in a way that watching the 14th beheading on Game of Thrones never does. It’s also a clever indictment of the viewer, complicit in making these powerless characters suffer for their enjoyment. So meta!
Speaking of GOT, as HBO braces for life after the hugely popular series, Westworld, fairly or not, is seen as its replacement. I think I already like it more, though I’m a sucker for Sci-Fi and Westerns, especially combined! But I’m willing to bet it will never be as popular as Game of Thrones — it’s too obtuse, too demanding. Where Game of Thrones became popular because people like seeing who’s going to die next week, Westworld lacks a traditional hook (though it does seem to hint at a few Lost-like mysteries). It forces you to think about existence, consciousness and the moral limits of human progress, things that aren’t fun for a lot of people just looking for something to watch before bed. Which means every time someone like me says it’s the next Game of Thrones, we’re setting it up for failure.
But yeah, it’s the next Game of Thrones.
What I’m Also Watching: Steve Jobs (HBO)
I’m typing this post on my MacBook, while checking notifications on my Apple Watch, taking pictures with my iPhone, and playing games on my iPad. I got into Apple way back with the iPhone 3G and haven’t looked back (except for an ill-advised tryst with an Android phone for a few years…never again). I’ve always kind of admired Steve Jobs’ legendarily high standards and mercurial manner. I’d never want to work for him, but I love my iPhone.
This movie about the man is probably the best we’ll ever see about him. Written by Aaron Sorkin (The Social Network, The West Wing), directed by Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire), starring Michael Fassbender (12 Years a Slave, young Magneto), Seth Rogen (Knocked Up, Neighbors) and Kate Winslet (you know who she is), it’s pretty good. Unfortunately, it doesn’t quite hit greatness, and I think it’s the direction that holds it back, as the cast is stellar, Fassbender especially, who got an Oscar nom for his performance as Jobs.
As I watched, though, I couldn’t help think how much better it would have been as it was originally planned: directed by David Fincher (The Social Network, Seven, Fight Club, Gone Girl, I could go on and on…) and starring either Leonardo DiCaprio or Christian Bale. That movie would have been incredible. As it stands, this one is less than that. Ah well, they all probably made the right choice: the movie flopped hard and Leo beat out Fassbender for the Oscar.
If you have an emotional hatred for Steve Jobs, this is probably not your movie. Otherwise, it’s well made and presents a powerful, slyly nuanced view of a polarizing guy that helped change the world.
What I’m Hearing: Bon Iver, 22, A Million
Grammy winning indie folk band Bon Iver (bone ee-vare) and frontman Justin Vernon are back with a new album. The dude’s voice is haunting — though many hate it as falsetto fakeness — and his music connects on an emotional level that escapes most other popular artists. I’m definitely a fan of Vernon’s, and not just because Kanye calls him his “favorite living artist.” Speaking of Kanye, Bon Iver’s new album is basically his Yeezus, confounding expectations of what fans expect a Bon Iver record to sound like. It’s noisy and experimental and doesn’t have a hit single. I guess with all of their collaborations, Yeezy has been rubbing off on Justin.
Yeezus is one of my favorite albums of all time, so I was stoked for this album. And I have to say…I’m a little underwhelmed. I’ve listened to it through 5 or 6 times now (not difficult for an album that’s only 35 minutes long) and I’m just not seeing what makes this worth a full album, instead of an EP or even a mixtape (is that something folk artists do?). There are a lot of cool ideas, but none of them seem to gel in a coherent way like Yeezus brilliantly did. I like it, but I don’t see coming back to it often like I did his earlier albums. I don’t know. Take a listen to one of the album’s best tracks and judge for yourself. Maybe (probably) I’m just an idiot.
