Further to the last toot:
The Bass Reeves series led me to the related #Yellowstone, 1923 and 1883 shows. They're also interesting as they demonstrate the continued cultural divide, and deconstruct many myths of American identity and #history.
This post from earlier in the year explains it better than I can.
https://slate.com/culture/2023/02/yellowstone-1923-1883-politics-taylor-sheridan-trump.html
(Bonus points to that writer for making the connection to Hannah Arendt)
Despite accusations that the shows celebrate "might is right", "manifest destiny" and "the law of the gun", I found them to be highly critical on those as principles.
1883 is unflinching in recognising the insanity and horror of the Oregon Trail.
1923 shows the brutality of expansion where power and authority can be bought.
I'm only just started on Yellowstone, but already it's shaping up to be as cutting as Succession was.
Music and photography is excellent, attention to detail and Production Design, and it's easy to get swept up in the cowboy romance.
@davoloid I'd like to watch those series, but they're just getting way too convoluted and spread out. Right now there's three active series and three *more* spin-offs coming. Some are almost over, others are still running... Where does one even start?
Might just wait until they run out of material and get cancelled and then just binge them in order.
@LouisIngenthron I've also reconciled that there's a sort of Soap opera element to Yellowstone, which I'm prepared for as I'm hoping for the critique alongside, same as Succession. Maybe The Wire too. That was another show that really took a long, novelistic view on American society and culture.
@LouisIngenthron I went with Bass Reeves, which is it's own story and not yet concluded. Then 1883 which I felt was self-contained and I would have skipped 1923 if that was rubbish. That series was conceived after some flashbacks in Yellowstone. 1923 in theory you could watch on it's own, but runs nicely on. It's pending a Season 2 conclusion for 3 main character arcs so if that's going to be annoying for you I'd wait. There's enough generational gap between 1923 and 2023 that it doesn't clash or poduce spoilers.