This is so right-on. I think the best thing that "Connor's Wedding" did was capture the complete disorientation that follows a death. Here are these characters, who we believe we know so well, and they are completely unmoored by their father's death.
That Buffy episode is rightfully famous. But elsewhere in the Buffyverse, I think that the “Angel” series also dealt very well with deaths and trauma of mourning.
Just discovering your essays and am reminded -- yet again -- of the power of things appearing, seemingly out of nowhere, when you need them. This essay so resonated with me. Portraying death and its aftermath in an honest, messy, non-contrived way is a rare beast. In TV, yes, but in all forms of art I would guess. Your use of Didion's "Year of Magical Thinking" is a great example. I'm thinking of the Pixar film, Up. That one got me good. And, Bojack Horseman -- that show brilliantly captured the complexities of so many emotions.
A topic worth exploring is whether animation has a distinct advantage or disadvantage over live-action in terms of conveying resonant emotional depth. It's clearly a personal thing -- my partner hates watching anything animated -- but, I wonder if, like a book, where we create the movie of the words in our heads, animation triggers that same "creative" impulse. Where with live action we tend to take what we see more literally.
Like one of the commenters said, "Your writing makes me think!" Though I would add "and feel" and also "outside the box."
Oh, thank you so much for reading! It took me a while to get my arms around that topic. I agree about animation. Bojack was such a perfect example of that. Not that they couldn't have done, say, his near-death sequence on film with people, but it wouldn't be as fluid and able to go just anywhere. (A better example of this is the all-underwater seahorse episode, which is a masterpiece!) Again, thanks for your kind words!
Love this, Jennifer and totally agree! Your This is Us critique and also bringing up the way Six Feet Under deals with death in every episode also makes me think about how Greys Anatomy handles death. It definitely has that pomp (perfect word, by the way) and then to a certain degree, just moves on… I feel like it mirrors what grief is expected to be more than grief itself. Anyway, your writing always makes me think!
This is exactly it! (As much as I love Grey's.) I think this has the very negative effect of making you feel like you're not doing it right when it's your time to grieve. There isn't like swelling soft indie rock or anything else to mark the moment as dramatic. There's just, oh, this happened, now I think I should probably cancel my afternoon appointments, cry, and book a flight home. (Also: "your writing always makes me think" is the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me.)
This is so right-on. I think the best thing that "Connor's Wedding" did was capture the complete disorientation that follows a death. Here are these characters, who we believe we know so well, and they are completely unmoored by their father's death.
Thank you, absolutely! I'm thankful for our ITA discussion, because it was particularly informative to compare Succession's approach with This Is Us.
That Buffy episode is rightfully famous. But elsewhere in the Buffyverse, I think that the “Angel” series also dealt very well with deaths and trauma of mourning.
Thanks, good to know! I don't know my Angel that well.
Just discovering your essays and am reminded -- yet again -- of the power of things appearing, seemingly out of nowhere, when you need them. This essay so resonated with me. Portraying death and its aftermath in an honest, messy, non-contrived way is a rare beast. In TV, yes, but in all forms of art I would guess. Your use of Didion's "Year of Magical Thinking" is a great example. I'm thinking of the Pixar film, Up. That one got me good. And, Bojack Horseman -- that show brilliantly captured the complexities of so many emotions.
A topic worth exploring is whether animation has a distinct advantage or disadvantage over live-action in terms of conveying resonant emotional depth. It's clearly a personal thing -- my partner hates watching anything animated -- but, I wonder if, like a book, where we create the movie of the words in our heads, animation triggers that same "creative" impulse. Where with live action we tend to take what we see more literally.
Like one of the commenters said, "Your writing makes me think!" Though I would add "and feel" and also "outside the box."
Oh, thank you so much for reading! It took me a while to get my arms around that topic. I agree about animation. Bojack was such a perfect example of that. Not that they couldn't have done, say, his near-death sequence on film with people, but it wouldn't be as fluid and able to go just anywhere. (A better example of this is the all-underwater seahorse episode, which is a masterpiece!) Again, thanks for your kind words!
I rewatch that underwater seahorse episode a couple times every year, usually when I'm feeling stuck creatively, and it never fails to inspire.
So good!!!
Love this, Jennifer and totally agree! Your This is Us critique and also bringing up the way Six Feet Under deals with death in every episode also makes me think about how Greys Anatomy handles death. It definitely has that pomp (perfect word, by the way) and then to a certain degree, just moves on… I feel like it mirrors what grief is expected to be more than grief itself. Anyway, your writing always makes me think!
This is exactly it! (As much as I love Grey's.) I think this has the very negative effect of making you feel like you're not doing it right when it's your time to grieve. There isn't like swelling soft indie rock or anything else to mark the moment as dramatic. There's just, oh, this happened, now I think I should probably cancel my afternoon appointments, cry, and book a flight home. (Also: "your writing always makes me think" is the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me.)
This is excellent, Jen. I love your writing!
Thank you!!!