Six Feet Under
I watched the first episode of the HBO series Six Feet Under, not to be confused with the lame, metal, death-rock band.
It was hard for me to identify on any experential level with the themes of the pilot, since I haven't had anyone close to me in my family die since I was in junior high, or at least, I haven't had anyone die in my family where I Had the presence of mind to reflect upon the loss. The thin veil that separates life and death for this family though, seems to suggest that even a close proximity to death, constantly, as a family of morticians itself lends little further understanding of and ability to grapple with the loss of a love one.
I mean, just because this particular family cruises to the morgue to make a pickup everytime there's a fatal car wreck, it doesn't mean that a closeness to death makes them any more capabable of handling the modern elements of a dysfunctional family: drugs, alchohol, manic depression, hidden homosexuality, and infidelity. It just means it's all a bit more humorous for us, the viewer.
In terms of filming, the show was created by, and the pilot directed by Alan Ball. He's probably best known for writing the Best Picture film American Beauty, and for his television work on Grace Under Fire and Cybill. I really loved American Beauty (although personally I found it quite narcissistic, given its shameless stroking of "film" and "art" as the torchbearers of truth as opposed to the meaningless existence of everyone else), but the few episodes of Grace Under Fire and Cybil that I saw weren't quite so entertaining. It's obvious though that stylistically Six Feet Under is right in line with American Beauty, quirky bubbly theme and all.
So all in all, the pilot episode was quite enjoyable, funny, and sardonic. Definately worth a watch, and one more reason why the best television today can be found on HBO.
Josiah Q. Roe | By Josiah Roe | 01:32 PM
Comments
actually I found American Beauty a little more Nietzschean, wh. maybe could be construed as an instance of narcissicism. But there was a sense in wh. the character overcame...
Posted by: Jeannette at August 2, 2003 05:58 PM
Post a Comment About "Six Feet Under"
Email "Six Feet Under" to a friend!
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://chattablogs.com/mt/mt-tb.cgi/1721
Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Six Feet Under:
