Long Form Television, Mr. Robot

Mr. Robot is a tv show that I kept hearing nothing but positive reviews of, all of which ended up being true. I watched the whole first season in two days, and it felt like I needed to know what was going to happen next. Which is something this show does a great job of, that is of grabbing the viewers attention through out the entirety of the episode. This is a show that requires focus and attention, its not meant for background noise. I really enjoyed the character of Elliot, who is not a trustable narrator. He often contradicts himself and things that happen in the show are jumbled in time, Elliot sometimes forgets what happens. This is a very interesting mechanic they play off in the show, Elliot is clearly not in full control of his actions which creates conflict everywhere he goes. What I love most about this show is that characters grow and progress. They become stronger individuals, sometimes broken individuals as they are casualties in Elliot's overarching plan to take "the man" down. I would definitely recommend this show to anyone.

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Cosmopolis

The book "Cosmopolis" by Don Delillo tells the story of Eric Packer, an insanely wealthy man who is the head of a financial firm. The plot is simple, we follow Eric as he rides his limo on his way to get a haircut. What's interesting about this story is that our lead, who definitely sees the world through a much more privileged set of eyes, expresses his desire to get a haircut in a not so luxurious establishment but more so from a little shop across town. A contradiction that makes the character of Eric much more complex, he is in many ways aware of how the world around him is in shambles but chooses to believe that he is not a part of that world but more so just a spectator passing by as he continues with his everyday routine feeling like he is supposed to be in the position that he is in. Eric shows the capability of treating people as equals, especially when he interacts with his barber. He treats him with respect and doesn't dismiss him as another peasant ever...

True Grit

When watching True Grit for the first time, it surprised me to see a female lead not being the damsel in distress, especially in films from around this time it's more common to see male leads driving the course of the story. But in this film the main character, Mattie, is brave and dead set on accomplishing her mission but more importantly she has grit. A resilience or capacity to withstand any adversity that may get in the way of getting what she wants. Her companion, Rooster, is one that is morally ambiguous, although not completely evil, some of Rooster's views are more skewed to his best interests and what benefits him the most. There's definitely a bond that develops between these two characters, both of them learn from each other and grow through out the film. One thing that I learned from this movie is that we could all use a little bit more grit. I for sure need to take some pointers from Mattie.

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