really leaning hard into the cosmic horror and I fuckin love it

  • carpoftruth [any, any]@hexbear.net
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    7 months ago

    It’s good, I love Jody foster, Navarro is a great actress, qavvik is a great character. It still suffers from some pretty clumsy writing though. No one in the town or the police force generally seems to notice that 6 people died in a horrifying mass murder/accident. There’s a lot of just rolling with it going on.

    I am enjoying it though

      • Egon [they/them]@hexbear.net
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        7 months ago

        They do kinda cover that by saying the scientists were doing something secret and kept themselves separate, so there is a bit of an “out” for why none of their families have noticed.
        It’s not at all perfect because the prologue shows them making videos for social media, so they clearly do have regular contact to the outer world

    • mechwarrior2 [he/him]@hexbear.net
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      7 months ago

      Not seen it but my impression is some viewers are upset the new one seems to be hinting at supernatural stuff actually happening, rather than the “cosmic horror” of s1 being rust’s broken self trying to make sense of depravity under late capitalism (ie hallucinatory, allegory)

    • Great_Leader_Is_Dead@hexbear.net
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      7 months ago

      I’m not that far in, but while I’m overall enjoying it, it feel a bit less tight than seasons 1 and 3. I’m seeing more clique tropes (dude with a mail order bride? Really? In 2024?), scenes that go on a bit too long, and it’s wearing its influence on its sleeve, literally they have a DVD of The Thing on a shelf in one shot. Also it’s too early to call it but I think it’s, unintentionally or not, gonna have a similar twist to the video game Penumbra (don’t look up for spoilers). Oh yeah The Terror too.

      The supernatural stuff being more blatant isn’t inherently bad but I feel like it could easily go in a really stupid direction fast. Plus it does kind of clash with the themes of the previous seasons.

    • BurgerPunk [he/him, comrade/them]@hexbear.net
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      7 months ago

      I’ve been enjoying it. I could maybe make some minor criticisms. Honestly, i hesitate to say anything definitive until I’ve seen the whole thing, because seeing the full thing might reverse those.

      The loudest critisms seem to be a lot of misogyny. Like every detevtive in noir and on True Detective in particular is an asshole, but because they’re women now people are flipping out. Also this season has a different show runner (who is also a women) and thst seems to be a problem for some people, including the old show runner who still gets an executive producer credit and profits off it, but feels compeled to complain himself

    • Egon [they/them]@hexbear.net
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      7 months ago

      Some viewers dont like the writing, other viewers dont like the fact that its about a female version of Rust and are using the fact that others don’t like the writing to shit all over it. They will complain about “pointless” scenes and point to the flashback where Navarro meets the midwife who is busy delivering a baby. Or they will complain its “trying til had to be political” because its touching on real world issues (as opposed to the other seasons apparently). Others just don’t like the writing - The dialogue is kinda stilted.

      Others are caught up in the mood of hating on New Thing and are now looking for flaws everywhere. These people are dense as fuck and will point out things as plotholes, despite those things being explained.

  • TheModerateTankie [any]@hexbear.net
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    7 months ago

    i’ve been really enjoying it, and like the creepy tone and pacing. I shoudn’t have been, but I was kind of surprised that it’s getting a lot of hate. It’s really leaning into the supernatural, which the other seasons hinted at or left ambiguous, so I can get being put off by that, I guess. But people are also trashing it because Jody Foster plays an asshole cop, or they have a problem with Navarro. All the cops in the show in every season are kind of jerks. I guess since the main cops in this season are female a lot of people can’t self-insert themselves into the “bad-ass cop who takes no shit and fucks a lot” characters and don’t enjoy it as much? A lot of the complaints seem wierd and nitpicky to me.

      • GalaxyBrain [they/them]@hexbear.net
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        7 months ago

        I’ve never watched an episode of True Detective cause I assumed it was true crime shit. But we fot cosmic horror and Jody Foster being McNulty? Imma download this rn

    • Egon [they/them]@hexbear.net
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      7 months ago

      Yeah I’ve seen people complain about Navarro’s introduction trying “too hard” to make her badass by making her “too good” at fighting, having her fuck a lot and give no fucks.
      Meanwhile Rust in season 1 was an undercover biker with insane combat skills and he fucked a lot and took no fucks, but that was fine because it made sense for the character or was realistic or whatever lol

        • Egon [they/them]@hexbear.net
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          7 months ago

          Yeah it’s silly lol, especially because every season has had a “badass fighter” detective and no one batted an eye, but suddenly the actor is an actual badass fighter and it’s an issue

      • betelgeuse [comrade/them]@hexbear.net
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        7 months ago

        They always do that. A 150lb woman can’t 1v1 a 200lb guy because it’s not realistic. But then a 170lb guy can 1v1 a 250lb guy because of the male bone structure and skull shape and hip ratio or some other caliper-brained shit.

          • Egon [they/them]@hexbear.net
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            7 months ago

            But they very clearly don’t make Navarro out to be “average”. She’s buff, she’s mean and she’s been working in a male dominated environment for years where she has had to solve shit with physical force.
            A later episode shows she shirks away from a guy she previously beat up, because he is now sober and with a friend. Her martial prowess is very realistically portrayed. They more or less did it as a David v Goliath thing. She knocks down a huge dude because he’s drunk and he doesn’t see it coming

  • Dolores [love/loves]@hexbear.net
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    7 months ago

    i wish there was a good written resource compiling the connections between the seasons because there seems to be a throughline between season 1 & 4 but i dont wana rewatch hours of tv or a baseless “theories” youtube content mill. just tell me why the swirly doo is the same bro

    • Egon [they/them]@hexbear.net
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      7 months ago

      Rusts dad is a ghost that leads rusts mom to a pile o’ corpses.
      The tuttles are now a megacorp financing icedrilling.
      The weird spirally thingy is back everywhere.
      It takes place in an Alaskan village in the period where rust says he was in Alaska.

  • Egon [they/them]@hexbear.net
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    7 months ago

    I really like it too. The dialogue is kinda wack at times, and I’m struggling with wether it actually is bad dialogue or I’m just wearing nostalgia-glasses for season 1 (the Tinder/“I listen” convo was so bad it made me laugh).

    The plot is fucking great tho, I love the supernatural elements coming in and one of the dead people has the same name as one of my ex’s parents, which is very funny. Hadn’t thought about them in years, but shot them a quick text and we laughed about it together.

    I love the indigenous representation. I love the mystery. I love that the original showrunner is salty that someone else is doing the show and they’re doing the thing people wanted him to do, but he never did (leaned into the cosmic horror stuff).

    Do you have any theories?
    I think

    • the crab lady with missing fingers might have killed some of the people. She’s missing her fingers, just like that local legend.
    • The scientists found some weird bacteria or chemical that causes hallucinations, and now the mining company has drilled into the place where that thing is, and it is seeping into the water causing mass hallucinations.
    • The first Nations cop has a split personality. She has a lot in common with the legend of (I think) Sedna - including dating a guy called Qavvik.
    • take_five_seconds [he/him, any]@hexbear.net
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      7 months ago

      The scientists found some weird bacteria or chemical that causes hallucinations, and now the mining company has drilled into the place where that thing is, and it is seeping into the water causing mass hallucinations.

      that’s my guess. my partner is like “NOOO IT’S MAGIC STOP NOOO”

      • Egon [they/them]@hexbear.net
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        7 months ago

        I have real beef with the people that take issue with the supernatural elements, when there’s (as of yet) plausible explanations for all of it.
        “How come rust cohles ghost dad showed them the way to the corpses?”
        Gee I don’t know, THATS THE FUCKING MYSTERY. Imagine watching a detective show and being mad that not everything is explained immediately.

        • take_five_seconds [he/him, any]@hexbear.net
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          7 months ago

          if it is hallucinations they’re going to affect people in different ways! rose sees her dead husband, the native women hear the voices of their ancestors out on the ice, like people’s given religious/spiritual beliefs will actively affect what they see when they hallucinate. i haven’t watched ep 4 yet (i know what happens) but i’m really excited for the last two!

    • Quimps [he/him]@hexbear.net
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      7 months ago

      She’s not sedna. If she’s sedna then they needed to ask any of the Inuits on set what was up. At best her treatment of her sister is an analogue to the way the angakkoq cares for the ocean goddess and washes away the filth left by others.

      • Egon [they/them]@hexbear.net
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        7 months ago

        I’m not super well-versed in Inuit folklore, so thanks!
        Id just looked into it a bit some time ago, and then the crablady with the missing fingers made me think of Sedna and my mind got spinning from there - Cut off by an abusive father, married a dog (Qavvik cares for dogs and his name is similar to the Inuit kavik for wolverine, a stretch I know), she’s a loner, she has a weird thing with yhat boat in episode 3…

        I see now that It sounds dumb when I write it out

        • Quimps [he/him]@hexbear.net
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          7 months ago

          The missing fingers definitely says ocean goddess. But the main character has a caring role in which she quite literally grooms (Not in the negative meaning) her sister as a response to outside influence. Which screams angakkoq if we’re looking at ocean goddess imagery. She herself isn’t mutilated, nor does she provide for the town materially.

          The dog connection is clever, but I don’t know if she marries a dog in the inupiat version of the tale. Tbh my only knowledge of the tale is as Arnaqquassaaq.

        • coeliacmccarthy [he/him]@hexbear.net
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          7 months ago

          nic pizzolatto did the story for season 1 and took inspiration from ligotti’s nonfiction work The Conspiracy Against The Human Race as well as Chambers’ The King In Yellow, Lovecraft etc.

          a lot of the shit rust says is mor eor less quoted from ligotti

            • WithoutFurtherBelay@hexbear.net
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              7 months ago
              cw self harm

              he unironically thinks everyone on earth should kill themselves and that it is a failure of will that they have not done so, that the primary motivation for human existence is cowardice. he is not “based”. this ideology when taken to it’s logical extreme would demand that any moral person do all they could to cause nuclear Armageddon

              basically New Schopenhauer, who had the same opinions but like better (Schopenhauer did not think everyone should kill themselves or wait for death afaik, just that the primary purpose of life is avoidance of suffering and therefore human birth should not happen)

              Certainly he could have written good books but so did Lovecraft and we know how Lovecraft was.

              I don’t like how much we abide by and tolerate actual suicidal ideation in our movement, especially with how many people are physically hurt by that kind of rhetoric. And before you quote Revolutionary Suicide at me, I am aligning myself closer with that than against it:

              Revolutionary suicide does not mean that I and my comrades have a death wish; it means just the opposite. We have such a strong desire to live with hope and human dignity that existence without them is impossible. When reactionary forces crush us, we must move against these forces, even at the risk of death.

              Some have tried to discover politics in his short novel My Work Is Not Yet Done which deals with corporate America and the horror of office jobs, but as Ligotti told one interviewer: “While My Work Is Not Yet Done uses the corporate system as a starting point, this is only so that the story can go on to depict the all-encompassing system of human existence-in fact, all organic existence-as something fundamentally and inescapably evil.” (Interview: Thomas Wagner)

              This fits pretty fundamentally with my belief about all “philosophical pessimism”: it’s just Christians who refuse to call themselves Christians lamenting the death of God and the fact that reality does not meet their unrealistic expectations.

              • thethirdgracchi [he/him, they/them]@hexbear.net
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                7 months ago

                This is not what Ligotti says. In fact, in The Conspiracy Against the Human Race he has a whole section about why philosophical pessimists are not obliged to kill themselves, and that he thinks there’s a very large difference between “everybody needs to kill themselves and everybody else to end humanity and therefore suffering right now” and “maybe we should stop having kids and let our species die so we don’t bring anybody else into this world built solely for suffering.” He even has a whole little thought experiment how the “last humans” could live in a kind of utopia with mass material abundance as humanity winds down.

                • WithoutFurtherBelay@hexbear.net
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                  7 months ago

                  sorry, I’m being very hostile but this is obviously not something I am able to talk about for my mental health. I am sorry for attacking you

                • WithoutFurtherBelay@hexbear.net
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                  7 months ago

                  It makes me so angry that people will like and nod along to this horrific garbage. I wish people had actual conception of others’ feelings and just didn’t boost concepts that actually hurt people. Your abstract Jack-off Shadow the Hedgehog shit matters infinitely less than the depressed people and families who have likely lived through mourning suicide because of concepts like this.

                • WithoutFurtherBelay@hexbear.net
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                  7 months ago

                  The reason he believes this is because he thinks it’s simply too hard to get everyone to kill themselves. If a button could be pressed that did it without any issue he would do it in a heartbeat. This is not logically consistent, because he is simply a coward too afraid to outright state what he believes because he knows what people would do to his reputation.

                  Also, the position of anti-natalism isn’t really logically consistent in and of itself, because it presumes a kind of objective morality that doesn’t exist. There is no reason or incentive for people to not just have kids.

                  And, life is not malignantly useless at all. We do not fully understand the fundamentals of life but it is not an impossibility as of yet for life to exist that does not existentially suffer. The idea that that is impossible is merely assumed (waved away; mocked despite the multitude of times human beings themselves live, if even for a moment, without suffering) to make one’s own ideas more important seeming than they are.

                  I will not tolerate people defending those who fetishize suicide and mental health issues. Go fuck yourself.

                  Edit: Also his idea that pleasure is illusory but pain isn’t is silly and absurd. Both are either equally illusory or equally real. I am not talking about their abstract moral values because the thing I do not think Ligotti nor the majority of people get is that those moral values are not real and do not actually exist in and of themselves under any circumstance.

  • culpritus [any]@hexbear.net
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    7 months ago

    The acting has been pretty solid so far. It’s got a lot of elements in common with The Thing which is pretty fun.

  • MattsAlt [comrade/them]@hexbear.net
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    7 months ago

    Since there are only 6 episodes it seems, I’ve been trying to make the song with the numbers fit as a description for each episode. I think it’s lined up decently this far especially since it goes to 7 and that was about a mystery

  • WithoutFurtherBelay@hexbear.net
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    This comment is mostly just a rant about Ligotti and has next to nothing to do with True Detective. Also if you try to debate me or disagree with me I will actually try and kill you, I am not here to have my psyche damaged by weird pessimistic debate bros who fetishize my lack of mental health.

    I am genuinely confused why people enjoy or even tolerate Ligotti, beyond the venting power of acknowledging a completely hopeless universe. But to outright state this as fact, to make one’s own goals the eradication of all life but then treat their life after reading as if that is not their goal at all, is completely alien to me. It confuses and deeply concerns me that we even entertain these concepts as anything more than, at best, a form of extreme venting, and at worst, a kind of malevolent harm done to those who are already unstable.

    What kind of sociopath reads, “LIFE IS MALIGNANTLY USELESS”, and thinks “yes, how inspiring, I will now go spend the rest of my day at work”? Because that is the exact kind of person who is able to read Ligotti’s books and then go on with their life as normal.

    It’s fundamentally offensive to me, as someone who has struggled with depression, anxiety, and has experienced the echoing effects of suicide, for someone who has spent pages of text celebrating those conditions as fundamentally more aware or correct, to be lauded with praise and support.

    Maybe he’s right and we should not exist. But then you should commit to it and not be a passive-aggressive asshole who turns around and acts like you don’t believe that!

    There is a kind of insidious capitalist realism to it all, a belief that our existential suffering is some sort of fundamental if the human psyche and not a product of social forces, that even of Ligotti himself does not think so, lets every social evil committed by mankind off the hook as merely a slightly worse version of a bad situation