The White Lotus is hilarious satire of wealth privilege (Season 1 Review)
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- Опубликовано: 23 окт 2022
- The White Lotus is an anthology, satirical comedy series from Mike White, premiering on HBO. I was immediately drawn into this series through it's tone and style, and binged the whole thing in just a few days. I fell in love with the style, characters, storytelling, and soundtrack!
Jennifer Coolidge was the clear standout! But Murray Bartlett came out of nowhere, and really centered the whole show. Sprinkle in some excellent turns from the rest of the cast, both old favourites (Molly Shannon, Steve Zahn and Connie Britton) and some up and comers (Jake Lacy, Sydney Sweeney, Fred Hechinger and Alexandria Daddario) and we have an undeniably phenomenal ensemble to carry this show!
Follow me on Letterboxd (letterboxd.com/gnoodle/) to see what I've been watching, and ready mini-review that range from 2 sentences to a couple paragraphs, but aren't enough for their own video.
The White Lotus is really something special, and unique, and I hope I can convince you to give it a chance! Plus we can all keep an eye out for the upcoming Season 2 on October 30th. I can do a video on that one as well if people come asking :)
Background music is all from baryiscool. They have so many outstanding tracks!
baryiscool.newgrounds.com/
This video featured 'Relax', 'expectation', and 'Time machine'.
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Can confirm, The White Lotus Season 2 is also amazing! I'll quickly share: I found it less outright comedic. But it's probably overall the better season! And the THEME SONG?! They somehow made THAT better too?! Wow! You'll all have to let me know if you'd like a second video on that now? I'm very curious to see where Season 3 goes, and what topics they tackle!
Binged 2 seasons in 24 hours. Absolutely worth it
Nice! Which did you prefer overall?
@@2leftframes season two I think storyline wise but I prefer the characters especially Armond in season 1
I couldn't agree more! There was more absurdity and silliness in the first Season that I really enjoyed. Characters like Armond and Mark went a long ways for that. But Season 2 may have been the better overall season of television!
Me too.
Loved it!
The boat scene was peak TV.. Somehow It was funny and sad at the same time and coolidge was fantastic.. *chef's kiss*
The nice thing is that you could be talking about both of Tanyas boat scenes and your description would fit :D
I watched season 2 first, but I really liked the first one, it's more "raw" and short compared to the entanglements of the second season but each character is very well written and played, you can almost read the emotions on their faces. Please make a video for Season 2
I always have a hard time trying to describe to people why the White Lotus is so good. This video is what I mean to say lol. Please give a us a season 2 review.
Murray Bartlett was a king in the last episodes of “Tales of the city”
Thank you for your excellent review of The White Lotus Season 1. It only gets better from here because of the brilliant writing of Mike White. Anticipating all future seasons of this wonderful miniseries!
Season 2 was excellent! Potentially better than the first. I think Mike White really cemented the show and his talents with that one. I can't wait to see where it goes next!
Thank you for such an informative video without spoiling! 10/10
13:10 this line right here perfectly, totally completely described EXACTLY what it’s like for not just rich white people, but rich people in general. Half of my relatives are multimillionaires and this is exactly what they’re like - they just drop people the second that person stops being of use for them and move on with their lives without sparing the person a thought. They’re just so narcissistic that no one’s problems or issues matter more than their own - they have no sense of relativity. They’re own needs and desires and hardships legit blind them to everyone else’s and makes them lack context or empathy for those in worse situations than theirs.
I don't think I am close to any especially wealthy, so I've never experienced it first hand. It's such a damn shame that that appears to be such a common trajectory for people when they make money. The unpack that a little further even in Season 2!
While I think you make some great points abouy the story revolving around a satirical look into white privilege - I think if you read the poem 'The Lotus Eaters' that Armand quotes in the 6th episode in it's entirity, one could argue that it's the centerpiece or structure the whole series turns upon :
"Hateful is the dark-blue sky,
Vaulted o’er the dark-blue sea.
Death is the end of life; ah, why
Should life all labour be?
Let us alone. Time driveth onward fast,
And in a little while our lips are dumb.
Let us alone. What is it that will last?
All things are taken from us, and become
Portions and parcels of the dreadful past.
Let us alone. What pleasure can we have
To war with evil? Is there any peace
In ever climbing up the climbing wave?
All things have rest, and ripen toward the grave
In silence; ripen, fall and cease:
Give us long rest or death, dark death, or dreamful ease."
Only white lotus I know about is from Avatar The Last Airbender
Same here.
Not many still cling to the ancient ways.
@@2leftframes Those who do can always find a friend
(Gods I hope I remembered that right)
I just wanted to point out that at 14:53, he says "I hope you have some butt-gusting laughs." Lol.
Take away all the shiny and fancy stuff, this show is just about primal human behaviour, which shows itself through tribalism, sex, power, family values and violence. The soundtrack alone is a dead giveaway and how the dad literally acts like a gorilla for his wife. At the end Quinn leaves the pack to follow his own path. It’s amazingly written because no matter in what setting you put humans in, when it comes down to the wire, all our most basic primal behaviour kicks in.
Idk that’s what I felt watching it
It’s boring and stupid tbh
My thoughts as well.
I liked this show a LOT, and I’ve heard the second season is even better, but you’re right the music was one of the best things about this show! It was flawless and so haunting and also fun to jive to
Not only is the second season arguably better, the new theme song is *absolutely* better!! It's such a banger!!
I'm 48 years old and at the beginning I tried to guess how old you are to know if you watched old HBO dramas like "6 feet under", then that Macron 1 came on the screen and I laughed, and it hinted me on your age.
Also,
This show is not really about white people, about privilege or politics, though it takes a large portion of the story.
All of those are just a platform to the real story, like a canvas where you paint on and that is the art.
This about two main things:
1.Almost everything ugly about humanity. Somewhat exaggerated, in order to emphasize the actual topic being jealousy, envy, greed, manipulation, apathy, cynicism, futility, infantilism, hedonism, bigotry, and more.
Heck, you yourself mentioned it, knowingly or not, about the meaning of "The Lotus Eaters". It's not just people who eat at the Lotus, but reference to the Greek myth of "The Lotus Eaters". People basking in hedonism, detaching themselves from everything else.
2. What in contrast is beautiful about humanity, though much less than all that is ugly, but still those small moments of honesty, humility, compassion, empathy, and love.
Even though there's so much ugliness, when humanity is at its best, even if for a moment it overcomes the ugliness.
That's what the story is really about, and you can take this concept and apply it to any society, white, black, brown, rich or poor, choose your pick.
PS every scene is a masterpiece of acting, directing and editing.
PPS,
3 minutes in and I immediately go "Basil Fawlty".
twin peaks had a great theme and opening too.
Loki season 1 has the best theme song of all-time
Started seeing the show and it is funny and unique and genius.
Glad to hear you're enjoying it! You're in for a wild ride :)
No tf it ain’t 🧢
made by rich black people
Jennifer is the only reason to watch this show Mr. Narrator!
If someone were to not appreciate the commentary in this show, or found it to be too slow (the most common complaints I've heard), then I'd still say it will be worth watching for the gut-busting ugly laughs I had shrieking at yet another flawless delivery from Coolidge. It's seriously a career defining role!
You deserve more subs and views
Thanks so much! I really appreciate that
No he doesn’t. He completely missed the point of the show. It’s not about “white propel”. It’s about rich people,blaming their fucked up behavior on “whiteness”, to distract from their wealth, because you can’t surrender or donate your whiteness, but you sure as shit can surrender/donate your wealth.
The Black Lotus is HILARIOUS on SNL. LMAO
Would love jack black on white lotus s3 if we get it
The theme song has the death theme dies irae
Wasn’t Mike White also Toby on The Office?
Similar vibes, but not quite! Toby was played by Paul Lieberstein. He's actually also a screenwriter, and recently did "Lucky Hank". It was a short series starring Bob Odenkirk. I quite liked it!
This gave me anxiety
When he said 'and third' and showed a shot of those annoying girls I almost wanted to punch the screen. They were the worst characters in that series.
I think one of the greatest strengths of this series has been in it's characters. There are those I like less, or despise more as people. But as written and portrayed characters, I think they're all excellent!
Why do everyone like bragging about watching the show intros? It is expected of you, it's part of the show... Damn Netflix with its Skip Intro, they spoiled it for new binge-watchers
Well for loads of shows, I think the intros are too long or just not that good.
For shows with good intros, I'll watch it the once in front of however many episodes I'm sitting down for.
And for shows with great intros, they get watched with every episode. Not a brag. Just how I prefer to do it.
Couldn't watch past episode 3. I just couldn't get invested in any of the characters or anything that was going on. No idea who the show is made for
The 2nd Season has more concrete "story" to latch onto. The first Season is just a bunch of people on vacation, whose stories kinda meander and somewhat link together. And yet I found it so captivating! I loved the combinations of realism and absurdity on hand - because real life is kind of directionless and absurd!
That being said, if you didn't enjoy Season 1, it's unlikely you'll enjoy Season 2.
I loved it. I've lived both sides of it
I am Jennifer Coolidge 😭😐😪
You left out both the non-white prominent actor mentions in this review (not sure why) and they were equally great so mentioning them here: Brittany O'Grady as Paula and Natasha Rothwell as Belinda were amazing!
Rothwell did such a great job showing Belinda both not wanting to get her hopes up, but not being able to help herself. Only to react with a regretful acceptance when it got taken away. All incredibly well sold! Almost every scene she was in was consistently stolen by Coolidge's wonderful airheaded insanity. But those scenes wouldn't have worked so well if a realistic and believable performance wasn't batting it back and forth with her. Definitely worthy of her own praise!
I find it harder to praise Brittany playing Paula, simply because the character is designed to frustrate the viewer a little. And when a performer convincingly achieves that, the audience turns on them. Like Jack Gleeson in Game of Thrones. That's obviously a more extreme example. But I think it was well-handled here, that we didn't really know whether we should be rooting for Paula or not.
Daddario and Sweeney aren't any less awesome than Coolidge is.
"The Resort" 2022 was better.
I'm only 2 episodes into that one! So far it's fine. I'll reserve my judgement for after I've finished :)
@@2leftframesSo how was it?
It’s not only rich people. It’s about white people.
Nailed it. It's legit about the insight of white people and how dysfunctional their lifestyle and dynamic actually is in this here modern society. I've seen it first hand after dating a white guy and going on holiday with his dysfunctional family , the whole time I was like this isnt mentally healthy at all. TV shows fantasize and Glamourise modern day Western civilisation, which is just conditioning non-white anglo saxon people to think it's a healthy way to live but I love this show because it's really showing how unhealthy and imperfectly HUMAN the "white" way actually is.
That's an interesting take! I imagine there are white generalities that more readily span that economic divide than I'm aware. I don't recall there being any lower class white people featured in the first season? Maybe I'm forgetting?
But now you've got me curious! Would you say, viewing it from a lens of being "about white people" rather than about "rich white people", do you think it handled that layer well? And did it have something insightful to say and that level?
I don't think there is any difference between a rich white person or a rich black person. I think this is quite racist.
Major topics of the show are excessive wealth, and white privilege. The money itself might not make people of different races any different. But the opportunities presented to, and perspectives held by, a rich white person will absolutely be different from that of other races - stemming from that privilege.
@@2leftframes There is no such thing as "White Privilege" It's a racist made up term. The Privilege comes from being rich. We have created a kind of non-white privilege, the ability to claim discrimination when something doesn't go your way. It would be nice to have someone, or an entire race of people to blame for one's own failings. Only non-whites have that privilege.
I thought the series was very good. It had very good writing and was full of flawed characters which makes it interesting.
It was a bit racist against White people as it portends that it's only Whites that are rich, removed and unaware of the depth of their privilege. Actually, only a small percentage of Whites are so wealthy, and no matter your race, pretty much everyone rich acts as obnoxious after a few generations. So it's not a White issue, its a rich issue.
That aside, I thought the father's defense of Whites was surprisingly based. The angry friend, thinking she was the biggest victim and most virtuous person, in the end was the most destructive as she ruined that seemingly good young man she influenced to rob the family. She was also the most vindictive and unappreciative in that she sought to steal from the people who, no matter their personal flaws, generously treated her to such a nice vacation. She was the most hypocritical in that she was all about Whitey sacrificing to create justice for POC, yet she just abandoned her pet poor, brown, oppressed guy when it was she that was ethically responsible to own up to her part in his outcome. And lastly she was the most oblivious in that she was the least aware of her selfish, hateful, betrayful nature, and her destructive impact on everyone around her.
I wish the girl would have been arrested but then the fam drop the charges against everyone, but she just have to bathe alone in everyone's contempt for her on the way home.
The story about the ambitious Black massage therapist was heartbreaking. I wish they showed a bit more of her home life to build the character depth some more. But in the end, she really didn't deserve the success she wanted because she was simply unwilling to fight for it. And it must be said she seemed a bit unappreciative of that thick envelope of cash the crazy lady slid her at the end. I mean, OK it's not the funding of her business she was hoping for, but it was still a thick stack. It left me unsure if there was an intentional subliminal theme of the show was unappreciative POC. I wish they had her show appreciation for the cash and express resolve to find a way to make her dreams come true. Instead her throwing her business plan in the garbage was depressing.
Yeah, The concept bothered me==as if some blue collar rust belt mook didn't save his earnings to go on a vacation of a lifetime, only slammed for his skin color.
Besides, much of the tourism in The Islands are Wealthy businesspeople from Asia: Japan, Korea, Taiwan & The PRC--guess the script writers don't want to disturb that source of income for any 'future pojects.
ya, you're right, you never see rich white people anymore in America /heavy sarcasm
@@friedbolognasandwich know many blue collar folks with high net worth (usually due to North California property values) like truck drivers, electricians and contractors, but they're pretty thrifty
@@friedbolognasandwich I know a few, but they're blue collar mooks and they don't just throw their dough around===I'm sure the rappers making rain hundred dollar bills could learn a thing or two.
@@nickmitsialis When I was in Hawaii, the majority of super-rich tourists I saw doing luxury shopping were Crazy Rich Asians. I didn't stay in some luxury resort hotel, so maybe they have a different clientele. I've been to Sicily too, again not in luxury hotels. The wealthiest tourists I saw were nouveau riche Russians and Chinese.