But you should be. The first two seasons of "Master of None" are fantastic. But having been caught up in the #Metoo movement, Aziz Ansari has been licking his wounds and therefore it's taken four years for this new season. (As for #Metoo...if you succumb to sex on a date, making the choice yourself, does the person who implores you to do so need to be canceled? I'll let you decide.)
Anyway, Aziz is barely in this season. And when he appears in the first episode, it's a breath of fresh air, a jolt to one's focus, you snap to attention, gladly...but then he's gone.
But it's when Aziz and his girlfriend show up that the greatness begins. You see they start to fight. They're picking at each other. And neither is innocent. And they're doing it front of Denise and Alicia.
You've been there. Or else you've never had a deep relationship. When things get so bad you don't bother hiding them, you can't hold back, you'll fight anywhere. And Aziz/Dev even states maybe they're just staying together because they're afraid to get back out there. There's so much truth here it's a revelation.
But even better is when Aziz's girlfriend retreats to the bathroom with Alicia and confesses...she just didn't think her life would turn out this way, in her thirties she expected success, not loose ends, not knowing where to go next, floundering.
Media is populated with winners. We can debate all day long whether America can handle the truth, but one thing is for sure, they don't often see it on the screen. You're supposed to be optimistic, never lose hope, and furthermore, if you're not a winner you're supposed to feel inferior, and shut up and get out of the way.
You're in training for twenty years, in school, and then you graduate and get a job and maybe even get married and then you wake up...is this where I want to be? Are my goals aligned with my significant other's? Has too much time gone by for me to get on the train and arrive at my destination?
This happens to everybody. But not necessarily at the same time. If you think life can be about a steady ascension, you're not on the ladder. You wake up one day and you ask yourself is this it, and no matter how much money you may have, where do you go next?
So I'm loath to give away plot points, then again, once again, if you don't know them you'll probably never see this. Which is equivalent to Woody Allen's art films, but even more realistic. There are almost no jokes, but there is a lot of personal truth. Does every comedian have an urge to pull down the mask, set aside the laughs and speak existential truth? Maybe so.
So keeping a relationship/marriage on track is one of the hardest things you'll do in life. And the number one criterion for doing so is too often absent. And that's commitment. People always think they can trade up, do better. But live long enough and you find out this is not true. Every relationship is chiaroscuro, with ups and downs, it's about a balance, and if you get so far as to be married, standing up in front of friends and family, you should do your best to make it work...but that is not what happens. Your friends will sympathize with your issues, implore you to leave your partner, and then when you're single they'll find significant others and leave you behind, all alone, lonesome.
And then Denise, after reaching the pinnacle and it not sustaining, speaks of her fear of being ordinary. If you're on the road to a destination, this is what you fear most. Getting married, getting a job, buying a house, having kids and...hopefully some good times, but not much more. Not rich, not on the cover of a magazine, not recognized when you go out... Maybe you never had this dream, but if you did, when it is snuffed it is painful...yes, when you have the realization that you truly are just like everybody else.
And does love ever die? Or does what you have with one person last forever, can you hook back into them as easily as snapping your fingers. And is the exciting one ultimately less compatible than the boring one?
You don't have to watch season one and season two to get and understand season three of "Master of None." People have argued that Denise is not even the same person, although Aziz/Dev is.
One can also argue that the slowness reflects real life. Alicia in the laundromat, staring into space as her clothes spin.
Or Denise staring into the distance...
But then there are the small moments which mean much more than they appear. Like losing your inhibitions and dancing together. No one else can see you, but the mood, the connection, is palpable and memorable.
Season three of "Master of None" is not a huge commitment. There are only five episodes, but with so much else on offer...
Yet if you've reached thirty, and you watch this, it will touch feelings, emotions that have been dormant for too long, or that you thought only you had.
It's easy to say Aziz Ansari should get back to where he belongs, just do comedy, people implore others to stay in their lane constantly, especially if they've had any success, and I would like to see more Aziz comedy, but I would also like to see more Aziz drama, albeit moving a bit faster, because Aziz is dealing with the real issues of life...there's a sensitive soul inside there, as there is in you, not that you'd admit it to anybody.
--
Visit the archive: lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
www.twitter.com/lefsetz
--
If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter,
www.lefsetz.com/lists/?p=subscribe&id=1
If you do not want to receive any more LefsetzLetters, Unsubscribe
To change your email address this link
No comments:
Post a Comment