Human Nature and TV

This week I watched the most remarkable TV series I have ever seen, and I have seen every TV series at the top of those must-watch lists. I have not seen anything in film that has affected me so much since Schindler’s List, or maybe the Passion of the Christ.

The Lord of the Flies on Netflix. Don’t worry, no spoilers ahead if you haven’t read the book or seen one of the movies.

It was amazing. There have been film adaptions of the book that was written in 1954, but this is the first TV series adaptation, a 4 part, 4 hour miniseries. I read the book 35 years ago, in middle school, and one particular scene stuck with me to this day, though I forgot most of the details of the story over the years.

It says it is rated MA for violence and smoking, but honestly I think it’s for the themes. There is almost zero swearing, the violence is mostly hidden. However, it is extremely jarring, so if you go watch it know that there are a lot of silent times, some weird visuals, and the score is crazy but fitting. Just go watch it.

However, after watching it, I got to thinking why it wasn’t making more waves? The tomato meter has it at 92%, but the IMDB has it at 6.6/10.

Then I explained the premise to my kids, and I realized the answer. The average tv or movie watcher doesn’t want to be challenged about the potential ugliness inside of humans, just waiting for the right circumstances to get out. They want to be entertained, to escape. Even watching something brutal like Schindler’s List, or Saving Private Ryan, while difficult, is different: there are clear good guys and bad guys. But give them something where they have to face themselves and wonder if they would turn out to be the good guy or the bad guy? No thanks.

I think if that’s your attitude that you’re missing out. If you decide to watch it, know that you will be asked to examine yourself, which is a good thing for all of us to do.