Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Obscure Art: Television

I enjoy art. Sadly, most good art is obscure because the market for intelligent creativity is small. The ruck get pop culture which is rarely more than adequate. Discerning consumers have to search harder for superior artistic effort. Once found, however, good art provides deep sustenance.

In the next few posts, I'm going to tell you about some art I enjoy in the fields of television, film and music. I'll explain why I like the works. I'm not going to recommend them, however, because taste varies. You can decide to pursue them, or not.

We'll start with television. There's a show I recently discovered that, foolishly, I'd been avoiding. I ignored it despite rave reviews because I misunderstood its title and dislike its genre. But the show is extraordinary -- I'd say it's the best drama on television today. The acting is top-notch; the writing is engrossing; and the direction is appealing.

The show is "Hell On Wheels." I mistook the title for a bad metaphor when actually it's descriptive of the show's context. This term originated with the westward growth of the railroads in the middle of the 19th Century. The pioneering edge of railroad construction were mobile encampments known as Hell on Wheels, mostly for their Spartan conditions. 


The show examines what people would be like if modern social constraints were removed. How would we behave if there was no law, no punishment and no social deterrence? Free to be as kind or as cruel as our natures with ample opportunity to help or hurt? The show has characters whom you love or hate. You watch as they struggle in primitive conditions to survive, bond and prosper.

Despite its Western context, the show has strong female characters of various types. Personal relationships are as interesting as in any chick-flick. The show contains violence but it's integral to the plot and never gratuitous.

It doesn't hurt the show that its lead character is an actor who qualifies as a hunk (Anson Mount). Anson is handsome and from Tennessee. His character (Cullen Bohannan) is a Southerner who lost his family in the Civil War. Cullen is competent and filled with deeply-buried emotion.

The show just finished its fourth season on AMC (the basic-cable channel that brought you "Mad Men"). The fifth and final season will air next year. I've been catching up on it through DVD's from my local library.

18 comments:

  1. This show sounds very interesting to me and have never heard about it before ! I am usually attracted by all things HBO, and I am an avid tv series watcher. I will definately check this one ! Thank you ! Hugs

    Fashion and Cookies

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  2. I've been recommended Hell on Wheels because of my obsession with Deadwood, which is another Western show with really incredible female characters. I might have to give it a shot now!

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    1. I like HoW much better than Deadwood. I'm sure you will, too.

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  3. It sounds really interesting!!! X

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  4. Sounds very interesting. Might check it out.
    Have a great thanksgiving.
    Daphne.

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  5. Very different you have got me very intrigued. Can you please email me at goddess underscore luan at Hotmail dot com with the details of who I need to send the boxing gloves too, please.

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  6. The notion a lawless, anarchanstic society is a shiver inducing one indeed. While I do feel that many of today's laws are antiquated (and not in the good, vintage kind of way that I'm usually fond of things in general being! ;)) and that quite a few could use with some serious revamping, I'm in no hurry to through the (legal) book out the window by any means. Sadly, I think that those of us who were good, just, moral (by our own compass) and upstanding would rather quickly get swallowed alive (so to speak) by the more deviant and criminally minded portion of the population in a flash if such a reality were really (frighteningly the case).

    ♥ Jessica

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    1. That's exactly what the show explores. At times, it is very frightening.

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  7. I've been watching this from the start and as you mentioned, Cullen Bohannan is quite the hunk. It is quite interesting since I've learned quite a bit about the railroad and how it was built as well as what the term carpet baggers means and where it comes from. If you like this, you will certainly like Boardwalk Empire which finished this year. It is brilliant.

    bisous
    Suzanne
    Happy Thanksgiving!
    http://www.suzannecarillo.com

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    1. You're one of the rare few! Thanks for the recommendation of BE. I'm a big fan of Steve Buscemi.

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  8. Now that sounds really interesting. I have not seen it on TV in our part of the world. If it does emerge I will definitely watch it.

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  9. That show sounds fantastic. I'm a huge fan of film "art".
    xo
    styleontheside.com

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  10. My husband introduced me to it... we watched all we could on Netflix, then bought a season pass for the rest. It is great art.

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  11. I love this Obscure Art bit and do hope you continue it as a series! It's rare to find people with good taste in television (and other forms of art) and I hold your opinions in high esteem! Thanks!

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  12. hm. sounds like my kind of tv. I'll have to check it out.
    Thanks for the non-reccomendation! ;)

    Lisa.

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  13. i have never heard of this show!! i need to catch up! and happy thanksgiving!

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