Lovecraft Country (Spoilers for Episode 1)

[moriantumr]

Is fear of the police, not knowing where you can safely stop to eat or relieve yourself, or having to constantly make choices based on how others may perceive or misconstrue your actions not looming or dreadful enough?
The fact that the “horror” elements are openly discussed shows that they are less dreadful than other forces in play.

 

[JiffyPopTart]

Is fear of the police, not knowing where you can safely stop to eat or relieve yourself, or having to constantly make choices based on how others may perceive or misconstrue your actions not looming or dreadful enough?
The fact that the “horror” elements are openly discussed shows that they are less dreadful than other forces in play.

I'll try to phrase my thoughts on the differences in another way to maybe illustrate it better.

When discussing issues of racism, there is always a hope that one day things are going to get better. The world of 2020 is better than the world of 1950 in terms of equality for most minority groups. There is no reason to believe that over a longer span of time things will improve even more. The characters in the show that are fearful of racism still have some "safe spaces" that they can return to and feel protected.

When discussing issues of lovecraftian horror, there is literally no hope of things getting better. Either you are blissfully ignorant of the fact that you mean nothing OR you learn that you mean nothing and have to live with the knowledge. You could be hiding in the most secure underground bunker guarded by a million trained martial artists and it just doesn't matter because literally nothing you do is going to protect you or humanity if things go south.

I'm not going to say you can't draw parallels or that you can't substitute racism for lovecraftian horror in a story, but what I am saying is that when viewed on a non-personal level one is less hopeless than the other.

I havent read everything Lovecraft has ever written, but I have read a majority of his stories. Some focus on something as small as a man trapped in a crypt with no universal horrific entity elements. Others focus on the literal reawakening and reemergence of Cthulhu which implies the end of the world. When I use the term "lovecraftian horror" I am referring to the end-of-the-world or you-are-less-than-inconsequential-in-the-multiverse stories. This outlook for humanity is what I feel Lovecraft is credited with maybe not inventing, but at least baking into a solid cookie for consumption. Its just such a different scale than any story involving a group of people, wizards, monsters, and racism that defines their existence.

Spoiler: Spoiler for the show up to and including episode 8

At the end of the crooked wizard police attack on the house the characters are saved by a conveniently timed invulnerability spell and a monster popping up out of nowhere to kill all the police and end the battle. Although some unimportant extras were probably killed in the shootout, the two important characters emerged from the ambush without any damage and having gained a magical monster pet who will apparently do Tic's bidding. This is kind of the opposite of a hopeless lovecraftian outcome from a group of powerful evildoers coming after you.

 

[CapnZapp]

I'll try to phrase my thoughts on the differences in another way to maybe illustrate it better.

When discussing issues of racism, there is always a hope that one day things are going to get better.

I think one point of the show is that American racism is horrific precisely because it hasn't gotten better?

 

[Dire Bare]

I think one point of the show is that American racism is horrific precisely because it hasn't gotten better?

It's gotten better.

We certainly haven't eliminated racism from society, there are plenty of racists left unfortunately. And there is a lot of systemic racism still embedded in society as well.

But today, the situation is not nearly as awful as it was decades ago. Awful at times and in places, but not quite so pervasively.

 

[CapnZapp]

It's gotten better.

We certainly haven't eliminated racism from society, there are plenty of racists left unfortunately. And there is a lot of systemic racism still embedded in society as well.

But today, the situation is not nearly as awful as it was decades ago. Awful at times and in places, but not quite so pervasively.

The show certainly makes it hard not to get the point: HP was a racist white male. If he wasn't, he might not have had to reach to beyond the stars to find horror worthy being afraid of, he could just have described his neighbors.

And that the point isn't that it might have gotten a bit better, the point is that it's still awful and completely unacceptable in 2020. I don't know about you, but I'm not exactly thankful each time I'm not shot on sight by a police officer... It's a low bar to clear not to let lynchers go free, am I right? I'm neither black nor American, but it's hard not to register people watching a show and seeing a direct link with their own, contemporary, fear of US law enforcement: being searched, seeing your friends being put in a police cruiser, not being able to shake the worry you'll never see them alive again (in that carefree way I'm sure most privileged white males like me would be able to)...

 

[CapnZapp]

This week's ep was slower. It even featured slowmotion with operatic music.

Not sure it did it for me. That is, not saying it was bad, just that for the first time it didn't provide a moment of sheer WTF-ery. I have been quite impressed with the way this show has managed to make my jaw drop at least once every episode - and that's coming from someone who thought he'd seen it all.

That alone makes this show special, whatever you might think about the story, actors, etc

 

[Herschel]

The final episode was pretty good. The Christina twist didn't surprise me, and JIn's move made sense. I thought there might be an elder evil reveal at the end to tie it all together, but they haven't seemingly broached that subject really at all yet.

 

[cmad1977]

I’m enjoying it. Some episodes more than others. It’s like watching people play “Pulp Cthulhu”.

The finale was good, if not particularly surprising. But you don’t need to give ” me a cliffhanger with every finale.

2 tentacles up. If the viewer is squeamish about gore... at times it might be a difficult watch.

 

[CapnZapp]

It didn't exactly become bad, but it did run out of that special kind of WTF steam.

Perhaps it kind of had to in order to tie up a proper ending, but still, episode 8 was the last literally amazing ep.

 

[Umbran]

I found the finale.. unsatisfying. I found it stepped from subverting the genre tropes to just outright contradicting the genre tropes.