Lovecraft Country (Spoilers for Episode 1)

[CapnZapp]

No, that's not it at all.

People can have different opinions about the relevance of H.P. Lovecraft's racism to his work, but you can't deny his virulent racism. I don't think that making a book that is using themes of alienation and Lovecraftian horror to explore race relations in the context of nerd culture is exactly "pulling a fast one."

Absolutely.

I was exhibiting the train of thought that goes
"sees Lovecraft something" ->
-> expects "cosmic horror of the unknown more than gore or other elements of shock"[1] ->
-> "becomes disappointed by show"

...and nothing more.

 

[CapnZapp]

Topsy & Bopsy for the win!

I'm eagerly awaiting animated GIFs of their wicked dance moves, but here's a still in the meanwhile.

 

[JiffyPopTart]

My unsolicited and unprofessional opinions on the show so far...

1. I kind of want to see a movie having the same feel of the first 5 minutes.

2. The shift from general storytelling to focusing entire episodes on one character felt jarring.

3. I feel that the Watchmen show covered similar themes in a tighter and better told story.

4. Overall its an interesting and original bit of story, but if asked about recommending an actual Lovecraft work I would tell someone that the show shares little to no style in common with those works.

 

[CapnZapp]

Yes, it's not Lovecraftian horror, full stop. That's just a disappointment I had to overcome to enjoy this wild ride.

Lovecraftian horror is a subgenre of horror fiction that emphasizes the cosmic horror of the unknown (or unknowable) more than gore or other elements of shock.​

Wikipedia definition of "Lovecraftian horror"

This show is anything but Lovecraftian! It is shocking, full of gore, and more interested in exploring America's racist past (it is actually very enlightening in that respect!) than fetishizing the sad fates of white men and their demons. (And I love the fetishization of sad fates of white men and their demons, and HP's other stories)

Don't get me wrong, it still features themes and stories from Lovecraft. It just doesn't present them in a "lovecraftian" way.

I must say, I am amazed at this show's capacity for amazing me. I thought I had seen everything, and that I was fairly knowledgeable in horror tropes. But this show is something else. Each and every episode has featured at least one scene where my reaction could only be "WTF?!".

And that's meant as high praise

 

[moriantumr]

I would submit that the racism plays the role of lovecraftian horror. The fact that racism can strike whenever and for whatever reason makes it even more implacable and terrifying than any eldritch horror.

 

[Imaculata]

I think it would be more accurate to say that the racism replaces Lovecraftian horror, not that it plays the role of it.

 

[JiffyPopTart]

The horror of Lovecraftian horror is that everything on Earth is so inconsequential it doesn't even register on the evils radar. There is no more hate between Cthulhu and humanity as there is humanity towards plankton because one isn't capable of affecting the other in any substantial way.

Its a different scale than man's inhumanity to man, which manifests personally.

 

[Umbran]

I think it would be more accurate to say that the racism replaces Lovecraftian horror, not that it plays the role of it.

I think you're incorrect.
Much of the point of the work is that looming dread of forces you cannot control is the same, whether it is a shoggoth breathing on the back of your neck, or a white supremacist law enforcement officer.

The horror of Lovecraftian horror is that everything on Earth is so inconsequential it doesn't even register on the evils radar.

Absolute and singular categorizations get in the way of understanding. There is not one single "the horror" of Lovecraft. He employed many things which are horrifying.

The cosmic forces in Lovecraft do not view humans as consequential, or even as "people". Their efforts are irrelevant, and impersonally overlooked. The universe of Lovecraft is cold, uncaring or generally malign, holding no comfort for humans.

Now, consider the characters operating in a racist system - the system is cold, uncaring and malign, and holds no comfort for them. It does not recognize the characters as people. The overall racist system the characters operate under might as well be Azathoth.

However, the various minions on Earth that serve these impersonal forces have their own motivations, and may very well delight in your pain.

I think if you review some of the various themes of Lovecraft's work, you'll find many of them present in the show.

Its a different scale than man's inhumanity to man, which manifests personally.

This show, in part, speaks to how systemic and pervasive racism goes beyond the personal hatred of one person for another. Yes, sure, that individual man hates you, and is using the opportunity to vent his anger on you and show his or her personal power over you. But, when racism is so pervasive... that one person who has hatred ceases to be the real issue - if you killed that one racist... there's basically a limitless supply of others, and they are everywhere and you cannot really run from them. Those individuals are merely servants of the overall malign force.

In a way, it is our privilege that leaves us only thinking of this in personal terms. We can comprehend one person hating another. We cannot easily wrap our mind around the entirety of society being malign to us. Much as a Lovecraft character cannot wrap their mind around Shub-Niggurath.

In Lovecraft, the actual elder god, the cosmic horror, is not typically personally witnessed by mortals. It is not physically present for the characters to shoot at, or stick a sword into. It is a motivator that is elsewhere, in some space with geometry you cannot reasonably interact with. It might as well not actually have a physical form. So, how is "racism" not much the same as "Azathoth"? It is not a tangible object, but it is a motivator for events that unfold...

 

[moriantumr]

I appreciate the juxtaposition of racism and horror inviting those who have not experienced racism personally to realize that it is more terrifying than shoggoths or ritual sacrifice because it is always there. No matter what choices you make, how well you play the game, or even how skilled you become, racism does not care and will hound you until the end.
I feel that is exactly how lovecraftian RPGs are designed. You may succeed at this one thing and push back the inevitable, but you will eventually succumb to madness or die. Usually this is reserved for people in specific locales or those aware of it and who choose to fight/investigate. Racism is everywhere and harms you even if you never realize it is there.

 

[CapnZapp]

looming dread of forces you cannot control

Except there's nothing "looming" at all in this show. Everybody is talking about magic and monsters in unambiguous, overt ways.

Lovecraft is perhaps the least unambiguous and overt writer in existence (maybe with the exception of abstract poetry ). Reading Lovecraft is all about mood, foreshadowing, mounting sense of dread, and trying to avoid pinning things down to explicit and concrete descriptions.

This show is definitely connected to the Lovecraft Mythos in some ways, but it is clearly different in other, key, aspects.