First reaction thoughts on A&E's new show, Bates Motel, including pretty unintelligible blurbs about the actors and an examination of rape culture in relation to the show. Oh yeah, BIG TRIGGER WARNING: There is a rape scene in the later half of the episode. I'll talk about that more later on, but I don't want you to be caught off-guard! Though the show is based off Psycho, and violence is to be expected, for some reason I really was not prepared for sexual violence to occur when that guy broke into the Bates' home.
Also, I don't know why I had assumed that I was way behind the curve on this show, but I thought I was about to construct a review that is completely irrelevant and outdated. However, apparently the season premiere was March 18th and the first episode is the only one that has aired. So yeah... here we go.
On first thought, I really liked the episode! Unfortunately, I've only seen the first half of Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (I know, I'm the worst), so I don't know how quality the show is in comparison to the film. The movie is iconic, so I'm guessing die-hard fans probably don't feel too open to the show's existence. But I don't think the creators are doing a classic re-boot; I think real effort and care is being put into this project. Now note that you're reading from the perspective of a fairly unbiased party, and at that party, I would certainly recommend watching it.The trailers and promotion for this show have had my curiosity for a while now, which is I think why I though I'd long-since aired. But being done with finals, now was the perfect time watch.
As you'd probably expect, the show has quite a creepy quality to it; the music sets an ominous tone, the set certainly gives off the vibe of a place filled with "dirty secrets," the relationship between Norman and his mother could easily cross into Oedipus territory, and often the intensity of Freddie Highmore's stare made me uncomfortable, as it should really... Though some of his acting was a tad off in this episode, I think that really is the natural of the character, and I have high hopes for Freddie Highmore in the rest of the season. That kid was captivating in both August Rush and Finding Neverland, before he'd even reached his teens, so I'm sure he will show off his natural talent and acquired skills as the show progresses.
But I have to say Vera Farmiga's performance definitely made me the most uneasy, and in turn, made the episode. There is something very volatile about the mother's personality; she hardly reacts at the beginning when faced with her husband's death, she impulsively moves her and Norman around in the quest for a "fresh start," and she trusts absolutely no one and encourages her son to do the same. One moment she'll be tender and joking with her son, saying he is the best thing to ever happen to her, and the next she lets this fade into a sick jealousy, cutting Norman off from the rest of the world. Sometimes she'll seem overjoyed, then a scene later she'll be upset in a way that strikes the viewer as unpredictable. It certainly makes the show fun to watch; I could never tell what her next move would be.
I don't know if I want to make this an excessively long post about rape culture, but it's been on my mind a lot with the Steubenville rape case itself, and how terrifyingly it was covered by the media. So here's a paragraph, which really makes this review worth reading:
After her attack, Norma Bates insists that they cannot call the police because, "This will be public... It will ruin us! It's going to make me a laughing stock!" That line actually broke my heart. I understand that to report such a case would be bad for business, but to further insist that she does not want people to know because it will make her "a laughing stock" really just SCREAMS the fucked-up horrors of rape culture. Yes, she was raped and then preceded to kill her rapist, and the fact that she believes that will cause people to mock and laugh at her is beyond sickening to me. But it makes sense, considering that is a reality in our society; in fact, our community has responded much fucking worse towards victims who report their assaults. After the rapists of the Steubenville case were rightfully convicted (though not for nearly long enough, nor were they treated harshly enough by the media), Jane Doe got numerous death threats and online harassment about how the situation was entirely her fault. How she robbed her attackers of their "bright" and "promising" futures. The whole thing is appalling to me. Obviously, the show couldn't have planned their premiere to coincide with the emerging of this topic, but I hope maybe people will pause during that scene and just THINK ABOUT WHAT NORMA'S LINE MEANS, not just in the context of the show, but in the context of her as a woman in our present-day society. And maybe this scene, traumatic as it is to watch, will cause the audience to think even more about rape culture, because there are still those who do not believe it exists. Awareness of its actuality will someday lead to its elimination.
Alright, that's all I got for you right now. I'm not sure where the show is going to go from here, or how Norman Bates will transform from a seventeen year-old who vomits at the guilt of a dead body in his motel bathtub into one of the most iconic killers in cinema history, but I think I will definitely stick around to find out! With school, it's really hard for me to keep up with television shows. But I think this one will be the show I choose to watch weekly, if I possibly can. Great start to the season, and maybe I will update as the weeks progress! (Also, I'm stoked that according to the trailer below, the girl with Cystic Fibrosis may the love interest! That would be cool, wouldn't it?!)
♥ Happy Watching ♥
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