In Netflix's Ozark, I think there are a few key pieces that parallel your life, Nick, or the pieces that you shared for us. For one, more broadly, the show is about a family that has to completely unroot their life to move elsewhere to start anew, which resembles your transition from living in Kirksville, to Texas, to Los Angeles. Next, an overarching idea that was prevalent during your talk with the class was one concerning working without the expectation of money. When Marty moves his family to the Ozarks, he has quite a bit of trouble with that concept, at least at first. These two ideas which are expressed throughout episode two of Ozark each share some resemblance to you and your journey through life.
The idea of picking up everything and moving elsewhere is a cause of many of the problems that Marty and his family, especially his children, struggle with. One key similarity between your transition from Kirksville to Texas, Nick, and the Byrde family's move is that both transitions were done to look for different opportunities that depend on the location of the where you were moving to. For example, you mentioned that one of the reasons you moved to Texas was because of the vibrant artistic community that was present there. Marty needed to move his family in order to look for a way to wash dirty money covertly. Fortunately, your impetus to move was far less severe and less illegal than Marty's; however, the location that you moved to was largely influenced by the aspects of the new environment.
Next, the topic of working without the expectation of money is an idea that is explored throughout the second episode. In your own life, you said that you would be happy to help any friend make any film they wanted, despite if you thought it was good not; you said that if you thought you could help, you would and would invest your own time and effort into making it something to be proud of. On top of all that, you stated that you expected to not receive any payment for any of the work you did even while investing your own money out of pocket. In Marty’s case, he needs to invest into the businesses around the Ozarks in order to get a return afterward; he is strictly in it for the money. The episode shows his growing desperation by displaying him nearly begging store owners all around the area to give him a chance. At one point he even ends up at a strip club asking the owner to give him a shot, at which point the owner comes right out and says that he knows Marty is just trying to wash some dirty, laundered money and that the owner wanted no part in it. Where it gets interesting, though, is near the end of the episode. Nick, I think Marty may have taken a page out of your book when he goes into this bar and hears a patron bullying the bartender. Keeping in mind the man doing the bullying had to be in his thirties, while the bartender may have been a kid just over 21. Right before Marty confronts the bully, he glances over his shoulder to look out a window and sees a client that he was recently trying to invest in, but she had previously turned him away, because she doubted his ethicality. Marty then confronts the bully where he promptly gets knocked out cold; however, in his short spiel to the bully, Marty explains that the bully had absolutely no right to say such rude things to a stranger and that Marty always taught his kids manners. In short, it appeared that the short spiel was enough to get Marty’s potential client to have some grain of sympathy for him. Being able to work, without pay, but while building relationships is an extremely valuable trait to have that almost always pays dividends.
The second episode of Ozark allows Marty’s character to develop further while exploring his desperate situation. In his struggles, the similarities between your story, Nick, and his are apparent. Learning how to handle a transition from one living space to another while also learning how to build relationships through good nature are both major overarching ideas that appear to have largely influenced your life as well as Marty’s.
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