Reflections on Oz.
May. 25th, 2006 12:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jebbypalOz the television series that is. I've heard so much praise about it that I thought I should check it out via netflix even though I was concerned it wouldn't be much my cup of tea. I was right and I wasn't. There are a lot of aspects of the show that I like, but there's a lot about it that annoys me.
So what do I like -- all in all the stories are somewhat intriguing, but better, the characters are huge incredible shades of grey. There's nothing more that I love in a fictional character than shades of grey and constant struggles to redefine their moral landscape. In this series, that happens equally for the good guys and the bad guys. Plus, dude, I've always loved the actor that does the narration. I don't think I've seen him in a part that I haven't loved it. And not in a "omg, he's hot" way, but in the respect for how good he is at his craft.
That pretty much encompasses the like.
The dislike, very very big. Probably not enough for me to drop it as quickly as I did Nip/Tuck, but I'm still irked.
Part of it is exactly the realism in portraying the inmates. I so hate hearing the "there's nothing I can do/I was born to go to prison/I have no control over my life" etc copouts of why people's lives screw up and why they continually make the wrong choices. Not to say that I don't feel sympathy for people who grow up in bad situations and understand that if you don't have good role models it's hard for you to make the right choices.
The biggest offender for this -- Tobias Beecher. Granted, bum rap to an extent and all, and horrible things happen to his character once he's in Oz. I feel sympathy for him, but at the same time everything about him is repellant because his mentality is so completely into the victim justifies addiction mode that it hurts. I have personal issues with it.
Other gripes:
-how the inmates in Em City somehow can go anywhere within the prison. That stairwell and all that. You've got to be kidding me. Somehow, I think even in a progressive unit like Oz, inmates wouldn't be given that much leeway.
-how inmates, even outside of Em, somehow get to wear whatever they want to for the most part. And they aren't consistent on this point. Sometimes inmates sent to other cell blocks are in uniforms. Other times, like at Sister Pete's counseling sessions, inmates from other cell blocks are in street clothes.
-It's so difficult to keep track of time within the show. Which may be intentional editing situation, but there's no clues to how many hours/days have passed in between scenes or episodes. It's very annoying.
-The sped up judicial process. I'm sorry, but I'm from states that do and have always allowed the death penalty. I've never ever heard of a case in which an inmate was executed within weeks of being sentenced. Even Timothy McVeigh had to wait. It just doesn't happen.
That's all I can think of. Over all, I enjoy it, but it's just so dark that the hour long episodes seem to last forever. Oh well, hopefully I'll get Deadwood season two for a mood breaker:)
So what do I like -- all in all the stories are somewhat intriguing, but better, the characters are huge incredible shades of grey. There's nothing more that I love in a fictional character than shades of grey and constant struggles to redefine their moral landscape. In this series, that happens equally for the good guys and the bad guys. Plus, dude, I've always loved the actor that does the narration. I don't think I've seen him in a part that I haven't loved it. And not in a "omg, he's hot" way, but in the respect for how good he is at his craft.
That pretty much encompasses the like.
The dislike, very very big. Probably not enough for me to drop it as quickly as I did Nip/Tuck, but I'm still irked.
Part of it is exactly the realism in portraying the inmates. I so hate hearing the "there's nothing I can do/I was born to go to prison/I have no control over my life" etc copouts of why people's lives screw up and why they continually make the wrong choices. Not to say that I don't feel sympathy for people who grow up in bad situations and understand that if you don't have good role models it's hard for you to make the right choices.
The biggest offender for this -- Tobias Beecher. Granted, bum rap to an extent and all, and horrible things happen to his character once he's in Oz. I feel sympathy for him, but at the same time everything about him is repellant because his mentality is so completely into the victim justifies addiction mode that it hurts. I have personal issues with it.
Other gripes:
-how the inmates in Em City somehow can go anywhere within the prison. That stairwell and all that. You've got to be kidding me. Somehow, I think even in a progressive unit like Oz, inmates wouldn't be given that much leeway.
-how inmates, even outside of Em, somehow get to wear whatever they want to for the most part. And they aren't consistent on this point. Sometimes inmates sent to other cell blocks are in uniforms. Other times, like at Sister Pete's counseling sessions, inmates from other cell blocks are in street clothes.
-It's so difficult to keep track of time within the show. Which may be intentional editing situation, but there's no clues to how many hours/days have passed in between scenes or episodes. It's very annoying.
-The sped up judicial process. I'm sorry, but I'm from states that do and have always allowed the death penalty. I've never ever heard of a case in which an inmate was executed within weeks of being sentenced. Even Timothy McVeigh had to wait. It just doesn't happen.
That's all I can think of. Over all, I enjoy it, but it's just so dark that the hour long episodes seem to last forever. Oh well, hopefully I'll get Deadwood season two for a mood breaker:)