Poll: Darkness Induced Apathy and The Walking Dead (Spoilers through Last Episode)
- Thread starter BloatedGuppy
- Start date
Recommended Videos
I think this comes down to "what are we fighting for?"
People say they lose interest because people all end the same and such, but in my opinion that is a symptom. The problem is that audiences lose interest because the show is treated a little too heavily with nihilism. Everyone dies, nothing good ever happens, there is no safety, there is no end. This can really grind on an audience's investment. The show seems to break down to a tale of survival, but that only works when there is light at the end of the tunnel.The fact that this is a tv show that will run, if allowed to, forever. Therefore, there can be no "end of the tunnel" the characters can never reach it or the show risks losing its central conflict. In my opinion, the show is at it's peak when there is something worth acquiring or keeping. For example, I loved the prison, no not the silly bits with the governor. The whole infection outbreak, I thought, was awesome. Sure it had it's problems, but the characters were fighting for something good. I could be invested because they were fighting for a better way of life, something they acquired through hardship. They were fighting for something worth protecting. Often the show finds its characters fighting for survival in a cruel and miserable world. That is dangerous. You can feed the audience nihilism, but it's on a ticking clock. With every second you spend on a bottomless pit of pain and misery you push the audience closer to apathy. A fight to stay alive is rarely very good in a show like this, because survival alone isn't enough. There is even a scene between daryl and beth earlier this season where the show points out that there is more to life than breathing, and the show bogs down when it loses sight of that. It leaves the audience asking, "What is the point if there is only pain and misery? is pain really worth fighting for?"
People say they lose interest because people all end the same and such, but in my opinion that is a symptom. The problem is that audiences lose interest because the show is treated a little too heavily with nihilism. Everyone dies, nothing good ever happens, there is no safety, there is no end. This can really grind on an audience's investment. The show seems to break down to a tale of survival, but that only works when there is light at the end of the tunnel.The fact that this is a tv show that will run, if allowed to, forever. Therefore, there can be no "end of the tunnel" the characters can never reach it or the show risks losing its central conflict. In my opinion, the show is at it's peak when there is something worth acquiring or keeping. For example, I loved the prison, no not the silly bits with the governor. The whole infection outbreak, I thought, was awesome. Sure it had it's problems, but the characters were fighting for something good. I could be invested because they were fighting for a better way of life, something they acquired through hardship. They were fighting for something worth protecting. Often the show finds its characters fighting for survival in a cruel and miserable world. That is dangerous. You can feed the audience nihilism, but it's on a ticking clock. With every second you spend on a bottomless pit of pain and misery you push the audience closer to apathy. A fight to stay alive is rarely very good in a show like this, because survival alone isn't enough. There is even a scene between daryl and beth earlier this season where the show points out that there is more to life than breathing, and the show bogs down when it loses sight of that. It leaves the audience asking, "What is the point if there is only pain and misery? is pain really worth fighting for?"
I really don't understand this whole idea of something being too dark. This weird obsession with happy endings is just sad. It is a fiction found no where in reality. Life is pain, misery and suffering. It's the only universal experience we will all have. Nothing ruins my suspension of disbelief more than the absence of pain,suffering and misery. How can anyone actually take anything seriously when it insults your intelligence with such delusions? If anything TWD has been far too forgiving with far too many survivors.
Anyone wanting to see a different take on zombies needs to watch In the Flesh. British TV series, has 2 seasons, and has recently been cancelled. I was sceptical of it when it was originally aired, but was persuaded to watch it recently and it is truly something special.