Godless: Long Form Television
The TV show I chose to watch was Netflix's Godless, a Western drama about living in the Old West during the mid 1880's. Throughout the show it follows numerous characters as they live their lives throughout the Wild West, and how they live their lives around the world. From criminals, to wealthy business tycoons, to sheriffs, every character in the show has a story to tell.
One thing that stood out during the show for me was the way many of the characters broke their norms from the average stereotypes we associate with from the Wild West. In fact I would say in many ways, the women in the show are the real main characters. From how they act, to their positions in the world, and the more we learn about everyone. The show also breaks tradition of typical Western Drama entertainment as a lot of the stories told in each episode are honest in the way their characters act, and talk to each other.
The main story of the show follows Roy Goode, an outlaw on the run from his former boss Frank Griffin, though he was wounded from a gunshot to the throat, he is taken in by Alice Fletcher. A woman who helps keep Goode from escaping from custody, and grows into throughout the show. That's the main story told in the show, other stories follow around a rookie police officer who wants to learn violin, a town of women who own a mining district, and Griffin on the chase after Goode.
The series is composed of 1 hour long episodes, each telling separate sides of the characters stories, and how they live in the world. Yet the show breaks away from the traditional Western norms by having more depth of character given to everyone of note. You can truly feel the struggles of living in this world, and what it means to kill. The West was seen as dangerous place, outlaws galore, gunslinging bandits, and the fall of the Native American population. Although those factors play a role in the show, they aren't the biggest selling points of the characters, and their motivations in this world.
Godless doesn't completely re invent the Western genre of entertainment, however I would say it revises it. It tells a story of living in the Wild times, who to trust, and the meaning of redemption. An although it isn't as action packed as movies would say it was, it delivers on the drama, and suspense of the times accurately.
One thing that stood out during the show for me was the way many of the characters broke their norms from the average stereotypes we associate with from the Wild West. In fact I would say in many ways, the women in the show are the real main characters. From how they act, to their positions in the world, and the more we learn about everyone. The show also breaks tradition of typical Western Drama entertainment as a lot of the stories told in each episode are honest in the way their characters act, and talk to each other.
The main story of the show follows Roy Goode, an outlaw on the run from his former boss Frank Griffin, though he was wounded from a gunshot to the throat, he is taken in by Alice Fletcher. A woman who helps keep Goode from escaping from custody, and grows into throughout the show. That's the main story told in the show, other stories follow around a rookie police officer who wants to learn violin, a town of women who own a mining district, and Griffin on the chase after Goode.
The series is composed of 1 hour long episodes, each telling separate sides of the characters stories, and how they live in the world. Yet the show breaks away from the traditional Western norms by having more depth of character given to everyone of note. You can truly feel the struggles of living in this world, and what it means to kill. The West was seen as dangerous place, outlaws galore, gunslinging bandits, and the fall of the Native American population. Although those factors play a role in the show, they aren't the biggest selling points of the characters, and their motivations in this world.
Godless doesn't completely re invent the Western genre of entertainment, however I would say it revises it. It tells a story of living in the Wild times, who to trust, and the meaning of redemption. An although it isn't as action packed as movies would say it was, it delivers on the drama, and suspense of the times accurately.
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