I can't believe it myself, but I just watched all of Jericho in two and a half days and I was on the edge of my seat and crying and thrilled almost the whole time.
Yes it is super-patriarchal and there are some philosophical questions I'd like to pose to the writers, like should a town continue to be run by the same family for three generations?
But I really loved it! There is just something about a post-apocalyptic world that is fascinating. And you all have probably heard me talk about how Red Dawn is one of the greatest films ever made. I really love the passion of survival and the notion of resistance.
And it is a total fantasy that any group would be able to survive like the citizens of Jericho do in this show. They held on to their morals in an extraordinary way and still came out alive and strong, for the most part.
It is a totally white town, with the exception of a CIA agent who just moved in. That unto itself bothers me immensely. Apparently we can only get along with a black family that makes every sacrifice for us and are badass killing machines. And the only Latino on the show is named Beck. And even this very brown German man (he could be Argentinian or Brazilian, but come on! unlikely) has to work very hard to overcome his allegiance to a foreign power of evil.
And the women, while very plucky and "tough broads", are still just girlfriends. They fight alongside the men, but they are rarely leaders. It's getting there though. In Red Dawn, the women are pathetic, traumatized rape victims. So there's definitely improvement.
I will say that the acting is actually pretty decent. Skeet Ulrich totally steps up to leading the show. His father and mother, played by Gerald McRainey and Pamela Red, are excellent stalwart tv actors and they are magnificent centers to the first season.
And no one should talk about this show without discussing the marvelous Lennie James. He rules the show. He is captivating as a mysterious CIA agent with many many secrets, all of which could turn the world upside down. A revolution for the post-apocalyptic world. He's fabulous.Oh, and in opposition to HBO writers whose shows get canceled, these writers wrapped it all up in a timely and satisfying fashion.
And even though the super bad guy is fighting for the same thing as the good guys, he is still bad because he's willing to kill civilians. So it is very true to American and Amurican values.
I have always been very anti-guns. Although I certainly see the need to have a well armed defense force. Allowing citizens to own firearms has given the US a death rate per capita by handguns alone that is 2000% that of other similar nations. Pretty gruesome. And the main reason that Canada doesn't have the same extent of the problem seems to be its lack of horrifying poverty.
So when we eliminate the main causes for violence, which generally boils down to inequality and extreme poverty and desperation, then I'll be totally behind more liberal interpretations of the 2nd Amendment.
Until then, I don't want more firearms in my city. Hell no!
On the other hand, and the reason that I say all of this, is that I do understand the value of being able to handle a firearm and I do agree that a militia to defend against tyranny is also valuable. I just think that there are still other ways to make improvements and changes to our society other than with violence, although I'm not surprised when others don't come to the same conclusion.
If you take away the non-violent means for change, you leave only the violent means.
All power to the people.
