A New Dimension in Horror

Bloody Face is arrested - Pic courtesy of FX

by blogSpotter

Today we finally had a day of pleasant 68 degree sunshine after a brutally cold 6 weeks. The weatherman says 44 days of winter have been significantly colder than average and I can believe that. I have fallen off the workout wagon partly due to the cold. Hated what I saw as I walked into Starbucks.. I saw a chubby old guy staring back at me – it was my own reflection! Let’s put this unpleasantness aside and talk about my new favorite binge-watching TV obsession.

AMERICAN HORROR STORY

There are so many cable channels now, and so many shows, it’s hard to keep up with them all. American Horror Story (AHS) debuted in 2011 on the FX channel. In general I don’t care for the horror/fantasy genre and don’t like violence. The main poster for this show is off-putting – it shows a creepy face crying tears of blood. I said “I’ll pass!”

Then (2 years later), a Facebook friend posted a clip of Jessica Lange jauntily singing “The Name Game” in an insane asylum. I was intrigued – I could tell this was a different kind of horror story. I decided I’d check it out and was completely drawn in. AHS is an anthology series – the brainchild of Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk. Their previous hit series is Glee, so this is quite a turnabout. The show has a little bit of black humor and playful camp going on – this isn’t like a Freddy Krueger movie. The first season gave us a “Murder House” where prior victim/residents haunt the newest upscale family moving in. Season 2 gives us a Catholic mental hospital notorious for the abuses carried out by psychotic nuns and one ex-Nazi. I have yet to start on Season 3 but hear that it’s good.

In ordinary discourse, we communicate with letters and numbers – simple graphical icons. AHS takes iconography to a next level. It serves up religious, cultural, and sexual symbols which may affect us very deeply depending on how religious, moralistic or superstitious we are. Some screenwriters might get on a moral high horse to teach you some kind of "lesson" with these symbols.. Murphy and Falchuk go a different way. They play on your squeamishness so as to shock you. The show is actually a lot of fun, once you realize that you’re being played. The show very deliberately pushes your buttons – don’t watch if you’re thin-skinned or easily offended. AHS very much calls to mind David Lynch’s Blue Velvet – a movie where grim murder is served in a wrapper of subtle humor.

A single episode of AHS offered up Nazis, nuns and aliens – what more could you desire? The show is like a collision of X-Files, Twilight Zone and Hairspray. The acting is superb – Jessica Lange is a mesmerizing standout as a deranged, aging Southern Belle and then (in a separate anthology) as a sadistic, calculating nun with a past. The acting in the series is truly outstanding from every corner – the performances are very skillfully layered.

I once read a definition of camp. “Camp is seriousness that has failed”. In the case of AHS, camp is a fun house look at that seriousness – one that is very much intended to fail. It leaves you aghast at the start and smiling at the end. Shows like this are a rarity – and American Horror Story is a show that demands you watch the entire series on Netflix when time allows.

© 2014 blogSpotter

Give Christie a Break

Think of the Alternatives - Pic courtesy of Wikipedia

by blogSpotter

With all the scandal surrounding New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, I see the situation differently than the blood-thirsty bloggers at Daily KOS and Huffington Post. Many progressives seem to take delight in the trials that the portly governor has endured with "Bridge-gate".

Did Christie know that his operatives vindictively closed a bridge to the town of a mayor who dissed the portly governor? The bridge is a single-point access to the town; the "traffic study" closed off two essential lanes. The resulting traffic jam created a nightmare situation. There were actual health consequences for people needing ambulance service.

Today, there have been suggestions that Christie knew of the closings and even may have orchestrated the bridge closing. Liberal editors and late-night comedians have lambasted Christie over the series of events. The actions, if true, would suggest a "boss-man" bully who will do anything to get his way.

I have a problem with all of needling, keeping in mind that Christie is (was?) the probable 2016 GOP front-runner. Christie is a "Rockefeller" Republican of the old school. He's socially liberal and pragmatic in fiscal affairs. Unlike the Tea Party extremists, Christie would probably work in a bipartisan way if elected. The GOP is presently adrift and I fear who might be the alternative if Christie were disqualified. Names like Rand Paul and Ted Cruze come to mind -- names that send a shudder through my soul.

We have a schizo electorate that swung directly from George W. Bush to Barack Hussein Obama in 2008. Who can predict what way the wind is blowing in 2016? There is residual anger over the bungled roll-out of Obamacare and Obama's ratings are low right now. Hillary Clinton (presumed 2016 Democratic front-runner) has two tons of political baggage and her victory in 2016 is not assured. It will be great if BOTH candidates are people we can live with. Heads or tails - a win.

So Democrats -- as you roll tanks over Chris Christie, keep in mind the stage you are setting. The American electorate is fickle; it seems to elect people based on whimsy, style, and momentary air currents. A Tea Party activist with style and flair could upstage Hillary and it's not even a long shot. I'm hoping that Christie wasn't too much of a "crime boss". What did he know and when did he know it? Let's hope not much and late in the game. A bridge-closing Christie would probably still be preferable to a government-closing Cruze.

© 2014 blogSpotter