Station Eleven (HBOMax)

[Mickey]

Oh sorry, I didn't see your second post--I meant how do you understand a term like "emotional resonance" and its relation to differences in interpretation.

Oh, just what you were saying. It either works on you or it doesn't. I think I liked this show more than you did because the things that we both had issues with worked, largely, for me on an emotional level. They didn't work for you. The emotional resonance was higher for me and so I chose to invest more while you maybe pulled back (played games during, etc).

Often times I see people reject art because they don't feel anything. On the other hand, emotional resonance is kind of my baseline. It's why I like romantic comedies so much. If I feel something I tend to hold it in high esteem.

Landmine kids is a good example. I felt the emotional resonance of a theme like "art heals" so that it overcame how illogical it would be to apply that to feral kids. As you pointed out. That was a bridge too far for you. So we both take away something different because of the emotional resonance.

Gotcha. That's interesting. I do think I tend to think about narrative in terms of structure more than emotional resonance.

[epilogue]

I wish wasn't so reliant on emotions when watching film/tv, honestly. I don't think of it as a strength.

[Mickey]

I wish wasn't so reliant on emotions when watching film/tv, honestly. I don't think of it as a strength.

Eh, I think it's a bit of a different strokes situation, probably driven by a combo of genetic and environmental factors (my job, more or less, is to think about aesthetic structure, right?). The practice of criticism brings me pleasure in itself but it's not like sidelining emotional connection helps me enjoy art more. What's interesting to me is how I can sometimes put it aside and other times cannot. I have enjoyed my fair share of corny resolutions, telegraphed tear-jerkers, and rom coms, so how come I'm not as touched by Station Eleven? The mystery of the self.

[epilogue]

I wish wasn't so reliant on emotions when watching film/tv, honestly. I don't think of it as a strength.

Eh, I think it's a bit of a different strokes situation, probably driven by a combo of genetic and environmental factors (my job, more or less, is to think about aesthetic structure, right?). The practice of criticism brings me pleasure in itself but it's not like sidelining emotional connection helps me enjoy art more. What's interesting to me is how I can sometimes put it aside and other times cannot. I have enjoyed my fair share of corny resolutions, telegraphed tear-jerkers, and rom coms, so how come I'm not as touched by Station Eleven? The mystery of the self.

It really is a mystery why it works sometimes and not others.

But this is sort of what I was getting to when I made that crack about playing chess. You seem like you do that kind of thing a lot and still get a lot out of whatever it is you're engaging with. But do you ever feel like it gets in the way? Like part of the reason Station Eleven (as one example) isn't as effective is that you consciously disengaged at a certain point? We're getting into chicken/egg territory here but just curious if you ever feel like that's a factor.

[Mickey]

I wish wasn't so reliant on emotions when watching film/tv, honestly. I don't think of it as a strength.

Eh, I think it's a bit of a different strokes situation, probably driven by a combo of genetic and environmental factors (my job, more or less, is to think about aesthetic structure, right?). The practice of criticism brings me pleasure in itself but it's not like sidelining emotional connection helps me enjoy art more. What's interesting to me is how I can sometimes put it aside and other times cannot. I have enjoyed my fair share of corny resolutions, telegraphed tear-jerkers, and rom coms, so how come I'm not as touched by Station Eleven? The mystery of the self.

It really is a mystery why it works sometimes and not others.

But this is sort of what I was getting to when I made that crack about playing chess. You seem like you do that kind of thing a lot and still get a lot out of whatever it is you're engaging with. But do you ever feel like it gets in the way? Like part of the reason Station Eleven (as one example) isn't as effective is that you consciously disengaged at a certain point? We're getting into chicken/egg territory here but just curious if you ever feel like that's a factor.

Sure, definitely. I think like a lot of people I find myself increasingly liable to distraction as social media and other forms of digital selfhood become more and more ubiquitous (and a big chunk of my working hours are spent in front of a computer already). So I try to make space for uninterrupted aesthetic experience but it's difficult to consistently achieve. I'm most successful at putting my phone decisively away for movies--I can commit, like "Okay, for the next two hours I don't care what email I get." And I really enjoy that. It almost never happens for music, but that's okay with me--though my 15-year-old self would be devastated to learn this, music isn't even close to my most fulfilling aesthetic form, it's usually background to cooking, working, reading, etc. TV sits somewhere in-between, in part I think because my wife and I tend to watch TV shows together, so it's not infrequently the case that she'll want to watch an episode of something, and you know, I'm not really feeling it but I'll go along with it so that she doesn't have to wait. If I'm bought in on a show then I can kind of commit to it--I rarely, if ever, pull my phone out during Succession--but if start to get the sense that the creators aren't really in control of their narrative or that it's not going to be fulfilling for XYZ reason, then I see no harm in passively receiving it while doing something else on the couch. I do this a lot during the X-Files, a show we're re-watching as a weeknight backup and that has really interesting moments but also a lot of clunker episodes, so I can get the gist of the Mulder-Scully storyline but I don't need to pay close attention. How Station Eleven got slotted into that camp, I'm not sure--my wife read the book and was in general more excited about it than I was, so maybe I wasn't in the right headspace to watch it. But I also got a sense early on that it was not going to give me what I wanted in terms of pure narrative pleasure (and I think I was right about that). I really enjoyed sitting on the couch, half-following this show and half-playing chess or chatting with a friend. It served me in other ways. But you're right that it might lead me to miss out on something if I make that judgement too quickly.

[epilogue]

How did you wife like the show?

[Mickey]

I don't think she found as much of it as dull as I did but we agreed on all the major flaws. The kids with the land mines in the finale drove her up the wall.

[epilogue]

I don't think she found as much of it as dull as I did but we agreed on all the major flaws. The kids with the land mines in the finale drove her up the wall.

Did she like the book?

[Mickey]

Good question. I think she enjoyed the book a lot but was happier with how the prophet was displayed in the show and felt that, in retrospect, the book was a little too simplistic in this regard.

[epilogue]

Good question. I think she enjoyed the book a lot but was happier with how the prophet was displayed in the show and felt that, in retrospect, the book was a little too simplistic in this regard.

That makes sense. And I don't disagree. I need to read the book again, though.

[E.H. Ruddock]

We finished this last night. From Frank’s apartment to the last episode was much better than the rest of the season. I’ve never really educated myself in the world of Shakespeare, but i thought the last few episodes did a nice job of conveying how raw and emotional those works can be. Was glad for the big reunion at the end. One thing they didn’t cover in the storytelling was how Kirsten ended up with the traveling symphony

[epilogue]

We finished this last night. From Frank’s apartment to the last episode was much better than the rest of the season. I’ve never really educated myself in the world of Shakespeare, but i thought the last few episodes did a nice job of conveying how raw and emotional those works can be. Was glad for the big reunion at the end. One thing they didn’t cover in the storytelling was how Kirsten ended up with the traveling symphony

You see her meet the conductor.

[E.H. Ruddock]

I find myself still thinking about this show throughout the day today so i guess i liked it? I don’t really do that with stuff i don’t like.

[epilogue]

I find myself still thinking about this show throughout the day today so i guess i liked it? I don’t really do that with stuff i don’t like.

[Mecca]

We finished this last night. From Frank’s apartment to the last episode was much better than the rest of the season. I’ve never really educated myself in the world of Shakespeare, but i thought the last few episodes did a nice job of conveying how raw and emotional those works can be. Was glad for the big reunion at the end. One thing they didn’t cover in the storytelling was how Kirsten ended up with the traveling symphony

I finished it last night too!

[Farmer John]

Just finished this. Man, that ending got me.

I knew going in that there were a lot of changes from the book, but it really is completely different. It took me a bit to not be distracted by all the changes, since the book was so fresh in my mind. A lot of the changes I really liked (Jeevan and Kirsten's relationship, and also Frank) and some things didn't really work for me (I wasn't crazy about how they handled the Prophet/Tyler)

The show really ramps things up to increase the thrill factor and the connections between the characters, that in comparison makes it seem like absolutely nothing actually happens in the book.

Overall, I loved it and it gave me that same feeling the book did.

[Mickey]

This was fine. I'll probably forget about it by June.

I was wrong, I had already forgotten about it until this thread was bumped

[Farmer John]

I'll be sure to bump it on a regular basis.

[Strat]

This is distracting with how much different than the book it is.

And David Cross is a distraction

This is not the tone that i picked up from the book.

4 episodes in - hope it gets better.

[E.H. Ruddock]

Please calm down