"Thicker Than Water": tinyurl.com/4r59jf59
I can't wait to finish "Thicker Than Water" tonight, which is funny, because I almost gave up on it.
It's not much of a commitment, about eight half hours, but it seemed somewhat contrived and predictable, and then it didn't. You know something is good when you think about it all day, when you look forward in anticipation.
But before "Thicker Than Water" we watched "Class Act," which I felt somewhat similarly towards. As in I got where the first two episodes were going, was it just going to be a repeat of those until the end? A somewhat comedic story of an underdog triumphing in the business world? No, it wasn't. The show got deeper, and more unpredictable in its predictableness. And you'll read the warning right up front, about fictionalization, but you'll also see that everybody in France knows this story.
But I don't live in France. So I took "Class Act" at face value until the end, until I realized it was real.
Now these two shows are not A+ ventures, not must-see. But everything American they say I've got to check out is substandard. Like that Hulu show "This Fool." The "New York Times" raved about it, and maybe it gets better, but there was a hokiness in the first episode that made us refrain from watching any more. "This Fool" wasn't quite gritty enough and wasn't quite funny enough, it existed in a no-man's land where you had to accept it on its own terms and that was a land I chose not to inhabit.
But "Class Act"... This is a classic story, of the underdog who wants more, who is working the angles without portfolio, stretching the truth all the while. Ascending the financial and public ladder as he goes. But the thing about it, as broadly comic as Tapie, the main character, might be at times, it's true. The essence, much more than the disclaimer would have you believe, is true.
Now if "Class Act" were an American show it would be a phenomenon. Then again, what are the odds of an American triumphing to this level? America, despite all the b.s. about social mobility, is ruled by a class system. Not quite as bad as Britain's, but pretty damn bad. Let's put it this way... Even if you're smart and dedicated on the low end, you aren't even aware of the opportunities on the high end, you go to the state school even though you could go to the Ivies, the elite, for free because they're need-blind, but you don't know what that means and they don't want you to. America is all about unlocking information. The more you know, the further you can get. If you're sitting at home b.s.'ing with your friends, getting high, watching television, you're missing out. (Meanwhile, did you catch Paul Simon's anti-dope talk at the end of his marvelous interview with Howard Stern? In the old days this interview would be front page news, today if you're not a Stern listener you're clueless. Simon is not sexy, he's not in the gossip pages, but what he's got to say...) The thing about the information age is... There's so much information at your fingertips, a lot of it free. As for the expense... Well, Apple News+ is ten bucks a month, and you can subscribe to the papers digitally in some cases for less than $200 a year. But it's easier to be cheap, say it's too expensive as you blow this amount and more on evanescent experiences, on trifles that you don't even recall.
Man, I'm stuck on this. You can glean so much if you just hoover up the information. Most people are uneducated and full of crap, despite their bloviating around the table. They perceive themselves as experts, even though they're far from it. They'd rather jockey for position in the lower echelons, make you feel bad about yourself so you'll be too intimidated to play, than venture into the real game and lose.
Yes, there's always a real game. The real game of music is in Los Angeles. Let me see... You've got the heads of Live Nation, AEG, Universal Music and Warner Music here. Come to L.A. if you want to play, elsewhere you are hamstrung, a hand behind your back.
Forget all the b.s. about San Francisco. You want to be in tech, go there. Rents are cheaper right now, albeit not that cheap. You see that's the epicenter, where most of it happens in tech. Of course it happens elsewhere too, but why play in a small pond when you can go directly to the source?
Yes, disinformation is rampant. They want to keep you down in the hole they're in, to paraphrase Bob Dylan. They don't want you to dream big, they don't want to believe in you or support you, they just want you to know your place and follow the rules.
Tapie doesn't believe in all that. And therefore he keeps moving up the ladder. Always based on good ideas, sometimes with poor execution.
The bottom line is no one is better than you, but you don't believe that, even if you hear it.
Tapie believes he can play, and it's fascinating to watch him do so.
As the episodes progress, the action slows down, the story slows down, and the interactions are more intense.
But you've got to commit to it. You can watch Zaslav's naked dating show on Max for titillation, but if you watch "Class Act" you'll have something to think about, gain insight.
Not that it's a chore, not that it's work.
Yes, it's all happening in streaming TV. But you've got to work for it. You can't just pick the low-hanging fruit, which is inherently homogenized for mass consumption. You've got to go deeper, for the nougat.
Not that either "Class Act" or "Thicker Than Water" are highbrow, intellectual. It's just that they're not made for the brain dead.
And we've all got a brain, you choose whether to kill it or not.
But if you want to expand your horizons, be bigger than those in your neighborhood, think about the big issues in a way that those ruling the world do...you can read the news online (not the endless opinion blogs) and watch shows like "Class Act." And "Thicker Than Water." They don't require much other than dedication. Sit your butt down and watch them. It's not a sentence, when "Class Act" is over you'll be glad you did. The end of "Thicker Than Water" hangs in the balance, but...I like art that is primary, that demands all your attention. I don't go to the show to shoot selfies with my friends, I'm there to communicate with the act on stage, it's a one on one experience, transcendent when done right.
I get a similar feeling watching streaming TV. It's just me, with no interruptions. I can focus, marinate in the message.
I live for this. It makes my life complete.
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