Beware the darkened Heart
It makes it a lesser show than it could be. Criticism is about what weâre not doing right, it doesnât invalidate what we DO do right. If creativity was a zero sum game of good/bad pretty much everything would have to be called bad. Relax.
1 Like
Iâm not entirely certain I agree. The show is about the relationship between Rust and Marty. All of the other characters exist to expand on that relationship and to give it depth. The other relationships the characters have, like Marty and Maggie, must exist within the context of that core relationship.
If this were an ongoing series, Iâd agree with you. But these 8 episodes clearly have a laser sharp focus on Marty and Rust. Everything else, even- no especially the crime- is secondary to that. I donât think that core premise needs to change, and I donât think the relationship between Marty and Rust would be improved by strengthening the secondary characters more.
Viewed from that lens, criticism over the weaker supporting characters is really criticism over the entire premise and conceit of the show. I donât think thatâs particularly useful criticism, because itâs not really something that can be corrected or modified. Itâs saying, âI donât think you should have made this.â
Believing that anything can only be made one way, and remain effective, is ridiculous. That would be akin to saying: âWe could never have a story as effective as True Detective in a world where female characters were on balance as strong if not stronger than male characters.â Thatâs just shrugging and dismissing the issue because you like something. You can do that, but that doesnât make the criticism useless, it makes you dismissive because you like something.
Stories in our culture, in general, sacrifice female characters for the sake of focusing and having strong or complex male characters. This is everywhere, all the time. The criticism is to point out how often this occurs, and itâs especially notable when it occurs on shows that are considering boundary pushing, intelligent, critically acclaimed, etc. because itâs important that weâre aware, as a culture, how often weâre unthinkingly sticking to old habits without considering the cost. True Detective will undoubtedly lead to networks desiring more male-centric concepts and shows, because thatâs how creativity works in a capitalist society - a âhitâ will lead to more of the same. If something is taking off, itâs crucial to point out what itâs weaknesses are because they will be repeated ad nauseum if weâre not extremely vocal about it.
It makes no difference if this is an ongoing series or a feature film. Obviously the approach the creators take is good in certain ways, and to change that would always change a storyâs make up, yes, no question. But the real question is why they decided to have a story only about two men in this way? Is it good on its own terms? Thatâs easily arguable, sure. But itâs âown termsâ are arbitrary, and if we want them to change, we have to put down that criticism. If we get to a stage where female characters are actually shining on THEIR own terms as often as male characters, this becomes much less of a concern. But that isnât reality yet. So criticism remains, and it is useful in precisely the way itâs meant to be.
1 Like
I think youâre misreading my point- the story is about the relationship between Marty and Rust. Hence, the supporting characters exist to enhance that relationship. You canât change that without making something fundamentally different.
What wouldnât be fundamentally different is if you gender-swapped Marty or Rust. Iâd be fine with that sort of change, I just donât think you can really argue that the supporting characters need to be expanded upon.
Well, Iâm arguing with your point, not misreading it. We seem to agree up to a point (changing the male characters to female ones shouldnât kill what the show currently does) but I do still disagree that somehow having female characters that are more than one-dimensional victims would somehow be impossible without fundamentally changing the show, but this would hinge on our definitions of what the show fundamentally is. My argument is that we donât need a show to be exactly what this show is in regard to its presentation. Is the presentation interesting? Yes. Is the show precisely as it is good in certain ways? Yes. But it any of it necessary to be interesting and/or good? Nope. So at that point itâs a question of priority: are we so desperate for anything resembling quality elements that we say fuck whatever needs to be fucked to get it? Or do we say: okay, good job on some things, but câmon you could have tried a lot harder or even given any thought at all to these other things.
But my own take is that a truly great writer could do it, period. They could present the same situations and settings and solicit similar (if not directly the same) responses from the audience WITH the inclusion of more interested female cast members. The limitation is in the imagination and the skill/craft. It is not inherent in an end effect.
This topic was automatically closed after 5 days. New replies are no longer allowed.
