When It Is Done Right
One of the more challenging aspects of maintaining any endeavor, especially when comes to content creation is ensuring your content remains relevant and adheres to your overall vision. Over the course of the last five-years, I have strived to foster a balance between writing about what inspires us and highlighting anemic, entertainment content serving to only disappoint time after time.
Taking a look back, I realized, not too shockingly, there was very little in my writings related to when a piece of content was done properly. The human propensity to flow more easily towards what disappoints and upsets us is more prominent now than it ever has been.
There may have been occasional sprinklings of positivity, but it was usually after or in conjunction with a well-deserved tongue lashing directed towards a creator who felt flat on their face in spite of the fact, much of the hard work had already been done for them by the one who originally created said piece of content. Well, I think it is time to break this cycle and talk about a particular slice of content, in my opinion, done exceptionally well.
Over the past couple of years, I have contemplated the feasibility of performing reviews and/or critiques of content I am consuming, be it written or visual. My hesitancy stems more from my desire to not stray too far from the vision and purpose of this blog, which is to write about what inspires us and what it takes to create what we hope will inspire others to begin their creative journey.
In my long-winded sort of way, I am conveying the fact, I fell flat as well. My perspective has been laser focused more on what has been some very disappointing pieces of content creation, which are too numerous to mention in one sitting. Doing so made my own approach myopic, where I allowed the negative to completely overshadow the positive. The balance is delicate, and it requires a fine-tuned approach to maintain properly.
Beginning with this month’s post, I am hoping to realign my efforts towards detailing content serving to both challenge and inspire us to create. Although it should not be necessary to mention, the standard caveat of, this is only my opinion applies.
I want to bring your attention to the Netflix original fantasy television series, The Sandman, which is based on the 1989 to 1996 comic book written by Neil Gaiman and published by DC Comics. The series itself was developed by Gaiman, David S. Goyer, and Allan Heinberg for Netflix with production performed by DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Television. You can read more about its development in the links provided at the end of this post.
One of the resounding successes of this series involves, you guessed it, proper utilization of characters by treating them as truly integral in conveying plot elements and painting the backdrop of the universe they currently reside. The series tells the story of Dream, a.k.a., Morpheus, known by the title of Sandman, played by the strikingly handsome, Tom Sturridge, who delivers dialogue so smoothly, he could be reading a list of ingredients from a box of Wheat Thins and you would find it incredibly engaging.
It is the blending of mythology, religion, and folklore serving to enthrall in such a way, you will often scratch your head in wonderment as to how they came up with such diverse concepts. From Goldie, the pet baby gargoyle given to Abel by his brother Cain to Matthew, the raven companion of Morpheus, voiced by the talented Patton Oswalt. Then you have Mervyn Pumpkinhead, Morpheus’ crotchety, cigar-smoking janitor who is an animated scarecrow whose head is a jac-o’-lantern and voiced by Mark Hamill to Lucienne, the chief librarian in The Dreaming, which is the technical term for Morpheus’ realm and who is portrayed by Vivienne Acheampong.
The above leads us into another brilliantly crafted element of this series; diversity of characters who do not fall victim to entertainment writing tropes. Those of who have followed this blog for any length of time, know all too well my disdain of the intellectually deficient formula of kill characters just to kill characters because we think it is what viewers want mentality purported by so-called content creators. Imagine my chagrin when I began watching The Sandman and encountered such a beautiful mosaic of orientations who were not later victimized by hetero normalization.
Admittedly, the overall worth of a particular piece of created content is not and should not be solely based on the diverse orientations of its characters; however, how it portrays and incorporates them contributes greatly to the sum of all its parts.
For the first time in many years, dare I say ever, have I seen a piece of content who handles the orientation of its characters both flawlessly and effortlessly. There are no hang-ups, awkward verbal exchanges, nor overt sarcasm. In their omnipotence, characters in The Sandman act like you think they should when tackling much larger concerns, such as the Dreaming being potentially consumed by a Vortex, a being who naturally attracts and manipulates dreams. If the Dreaming is consumed, the entire waking world is destroyed as well, so being overly concerned with who has same sex or multiple sex attractions is something a supreme being would care less about.
In particular, one character who stands out in this area and even took me by surprise is the Corinthian played by the equally handsome Boyd Holbrook, a nightmare who escaped the Dreaming and now inhabits the waking world. In the first episode to the series, Corinthian is almost apprehended by Morpheus, but the act is thwarted when Morpheus is captured in an occult ritual by British aristocrat Roderick Burgess, who was attempting to capture Death.
Corinthian is now able to roam worry free for an entire 106 years until Morpheus finally escapes his imprisonment. Unabashed in his approach to remaining one-step ahead of Morpheus, Corinthian either sleeps or flirts with every painfully attractive man he comes across if it suits his needs. This fits into the lore of the comic series character, which is a refreshing twist considering many content creators attempt to distance themselves so far away from the source content, they usually end up doing a disservice to the entire universe they supposedly care about.
The series’ handling of the character, Lucienne, who in the original comic series is called Lucien, a tall thin, bookish man. Eventually it is revealed, Lucien is one of Morpheus’ first ravens. Once again, the series’ creators handle this gender-reversed version of Lucien seamlessly while also adhering to established lore. When this technique is performed correctly, as is the case with The Sandman, content creators demonstrate they understand nuance and respect already established frameworks. This is something fans clamor for when they see beloved stories brought to life on screen.
The world of The Sandman is vast and unique. Rarely do you see such a blending of storylines where they are masterfully displayed and remain easy to follow without the need for excessive complexity. As each episode progresses, you find it hard not to speed run through them all because the thought of them ending and waiting far too long until the next season is not something you want to face.
In the end, the content is not rushed, characters progress logically, and dialogue is wonderfully crafted. I found myself genuinely interested in each character and intrigued to see how the series’ creators will guide them through the intricate maze of the story’s lore.
My only hope is The Sandman survives the Netflix, only two-seasons, death sentence, which is a common occurrence. It appears once you are emotionally invested in a particular piece of content because it is done exceptionally well, Netflix will pull the rug right out from under you.
Let us hope The Sandman does not fall into its own endless dreamscape.
Feel free to post your questions or comments. I will respond when I am able. Be safe, be well, and allow compassion to manifest while we continue to navigate a crazy but beautiful world.
Thank you for reading.
References
DC Comics Official Site:
DC Comics Wiki:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DC_Comics
The Corinthian (comics):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corinthian_(comics)
The Sandman (TV Series) Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sandman_(TV_series)
The Sandman (Comic Book) Wiki:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sandman_(comic_book)
