"American Gods"
Deliciously insane voyages into that which cannot be spoken/understood/shown. And yet.…
The first season of “American Gods” is wonderful. I thought that the 2017 “Twin Peaks” series pushed the television envelope to the limits. Now it looks like David Lynch has a strong contender. The sphere that is not to be access with our limited senses and narrative tools is intimated in both shows via different techniques.
What “Twin Peaks” explores through stylistic jumping into the unknown, through stopping, enlarging time and pushing aside the need to further anecdote, “American Gods” does with a more conventional yet equally intriguing writing, directing and acting. Yet, it is a visual head spinner and overall just completely and fabulously mad.
Examples of “American Gods” scenes of various sorts that jumped out at me:
A Jesus (there are many in that scene, which in itself is a clever concept) is sitting in a lotus position on the water surface of pool and realises with surprise that, a glass with his drink that he has just put on water,… just sinks in.
Two women are talking in a bathroom. One woman is dead and holds her cut off arm. Another is her best friend as shocked as she is pissed since the dead one died in a car accident while giving a blow job to the husband of the best friend (who also died in that crash). Yet, half way through the scene the widow ends up sowing the arm back onto the dead girlfriend. Sounds ridiculously stupid yet it’s superbly done, engaging and on some level very convincing. Now, that’s an accomplishment of the narrative craft!
Death says to a just died person - I will take you to the scale now. Turns out that the scale weights a feather against the heart of the dead person. “What are you doing, I’ve been using it” cries the dead on when death rips it out of her chest. “We will see if that’s been the case” retorts death (quoting from memory)
