*Please note that this article is an opinion-editorial.
“Breaking Bad‘s midseason finale reminds us to be active viewers.”
I had the opportunity recently to see the revival of the Broadway musical La Cage Aux Folles, which was at least partially the source material for the Robin Williams film The Birdcage. Set in a notorious drag club in the South of France, the show presents us with many things that are not as they appear on the surface. As he show opens, Georges, the club’s owner, implores the audience to pay close attention to what we’re seeing.
“I beg you,” Georges says, “open your eyes.”
That, ladies and gentlemen, is brilliant advice, as we navigate life. Pay attention. Be alert. See what’s hidden beneath the surface.
A good friend of mine is a life-long Adam Sandler fan. He’s such a loyal fan that he even saw Jack and Jill during its theatrical run. You read that right. My friend actually paid good money that he worked to earn so he could watch Sandler play his own twin sister. This friend of mine and I have been having a long-running debate about the merits of Mr. Sandler’s work. Personally, I feel that Sandler is capable of doing good work when he gives up creative control and allows a talented collaborator to direct him. The obvious example is Punch Drunk Love, which is, by far, the best thing Sandler’s ever done. Additionally, I’ve always heard people speak highly of Adam Sandler as being a very nice person and all around loyal friend.
But, my friend and I will never see eye to eye about the vast majority of Sandler’s body of work.
“You know what your problem is?” my friend asked me once. “You’re too overly critical of everything. Why can’t you just stop thinking so much and just enjoy something as entertainment?”
I’ve thought about those words a lot since they were spoken a couple of years ago. Was that actually true about me? Was I too much of an egg head to enjoy a good fart joke? Did I feel that I was somehow above enjoying something that existed simply as a guilty pleasure.
But, after a lot of thought, I’ve come to realize that premise is based on a logic I can’t abide.
It implies that entertainment requires an intellectual disconnect. It implies that entertainment should be at best simple and at worst stupid. It implies that entertainment should appeal to our baser instincts.
But, worst of all, it implies that there should be a separation between art and entertainment, and I can’t reject this concept any more rigorously.
The best entertainment engages us fully as human beings. It resonates with us both emotionally and intellectually. The “check your brain” argument implies that entertainment should be the nutritional equivalent of Gerber baby food when it should be as satisfying as a seven-course feast.
I’m a big fan of Vince Gilliagan’s masterful TV series Breaking Bad. In the midseason finale that aired a few days ago, high school teacher turned meth kingpin Walter White ordered the executions of ten men in federal lock-up who were a danger of turning state’s witnesses. More specifically, Walt ordered hits on ten guys in three different prisons, and those hits were to occur simultaneously in a two-minute time span.
What transpired was a one for the ages montage, brilliantly shot and staged mayhem scored by the jaunty Nat King Cole ditty “Pick Yourself Up.” It was a beautifully executed piece of film craft ,and (maybe just as importantl) it was also cool as hell.
But, there was so much more to it than just some really well-staged screen violence.
The scene’s content was very much like that baptismal whack-a-thon that occurs near the end of The Godfather. So, Walt is shot in his home in very dark, Gordon Willis-esque lighting. In fact, the interior of Chez White looks almost exactly like that shadowy Lake Tahoe Corleone compound in The Godfather Part II. And (this is the important part), it was intentionally shot this way by the series’ creators.
If you just turn off your brain and view a creative work on a level with no depth, you’re going to miss that. The sequence itself was brilliant, but it was the nod to The Godfather that pushed the montage fromm “pretty cool” to “frakking amazing.”
If you’re not engaged fully, then these details are going to allude you, as will any and all subtext.
I’m a Joss Whedon fan from way, way back, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer is my all-time favorite TV show. Buffy was great fun to watch, but you know what . . . there was a lot more to it than that. There was an entire feminist subtext about the power women possess. I know this can’t not sound corny, but watching Buffy changed me. Don’t get me wrong. I was never Todd Akin. But, watching Buffy confront demons both real and figurative fundamentally changed how I viewed the inner strength of women. That series had a massive impact on my worldview, and if I had just sat back and watched it as mere entertainment, it would never have impacted me in the way Joss intended.
I guess this is why I often find “feel good” movies to be so repulsive. They’re so shallow and maudlin, and they often have no depth other than easy, phony platitudes. Often, for me, the most exhilarating storytelling isn’t something that has a happy ending to warm my heart. I can’t imagine Walter White’s story is going to end well. But, if you’re willing to open your eyes, it’s going to be a spectacular trip.