The World's End

The End of the Fucking World is a story of two rebellious teens who decide to run away from home in order to escape their boring and unfortunate lives. James, who considers himself to be a psychopath, enjoys killing animals, but wants to expand his killing to something much bigger; a human. In particular, he wants to kill Alyssa, which is why he agrees to run away with her in the hopes that he will have the opportunity to kill her. The two develop an unusual relationship after some misadventure.

The cynical style of this show is what kept me watching persistently. While the characters initially appear to be unemotional, bleak, and to deviate from society, the show itself is actually exceedingly emotional. The bond that the teens form is completely riveting due to their circumstances and strangely similar personalities, even though Alyssa seems much more complex than James. They both have a distrust for authority figures and are extremely impulsive. As the show goes on, though, many unexpected narrative turns happen, and the teens sensitivity becomes more prevalent.

One of the most compelling things about this series is how unique it is in many different ways. I have never seen a directing style like the one in The End of the Fucking World. The graphic and disturbing visuals portrayed through different camera angles and James’ killing fantasies are unusually interesting. The title that appears at the beginning of every episode is oddly comedic looking. Also, every episode starts with the ending scene of that episode, therefore they rewind from that point. I think this creates more curiosity among viewers because they want to know what happened in order to get to that point. The perspectives and thoughts of both characters are understood through their own voice-overs. I find this intriguing because there are not many shows in which viewers can this kind of insight into a character’s mind, let alone multiple characters. The soundtrack throughout this series also adds to its peculiarity because the songs tend to convey a lot of feelings that are not voiced but can be interpreted through the music.

This show would be appropriate for anyone who struggles when watching shows that are extremely complex or difficult to understand. Because this series is so straight-forward, it is pretty simple to grasp. The End of the Fucking World keeps its viewers entertained with fast paced episodes and making the storyline easy to follow. Viewers are also able to binge watch this series easily due to the short length of its episodes. While the underlying meanings of this show require some thought, the plot is understandable and concise. It also is a great watch for those feel as though they don’t fit in or may be considered weird because the two main characters are outcasts among their peers. I would recommend watching the entire series all in one sitting because it somewhat resembles a movie and should be watched as such.

Swine Song: The End of Michael Callow

            Black Mirror is a British produced Netflix Original television show set in the near future. Each episode stands alone as an individual plot story with new actors every time. Episodes serve to communicate the dangers of a possible reality in which advanced technologies cause conflict when met with human nature.

            For this assignment, I watched the pilot episode of Black Mirror, entitled “The National Anthem,”. The episode opens to a dark bedroom where a man and a woman lie asleep in bed together. The couple’s sleep is disturbed when the telephone rings. The man answers the call with a gruff greeting of “hello,” and responds to the other end of the call by asking to just be told what has happened quickly. The audience is unable to hear the person speaking on the other end of the phone; however, the man in the scene’s voice sounds confused and slightly annoyed to have been woken during the night. This opening dialogue introduces the importance of communication between characters in the episode and the difference between on-screen interaction and face-to-face conversations. Through the episode it is revealed that communication in circumstances without in person interaction lack emotion and substance.

            The scene directly following the title credits tells the audience that the man who had received the phone call is the Prime Minister of Great Britain. The Prime Minister, named Michael Callow, is sat before a television screen watching an abducted princess from the Royal Family recite a script given to her by her captor. The princess tells the Prime Minister that he must have “sexual intercourse” with a pig on live broadcast before she will be released. The connotation of the princess’ declaration, which is written by her captor, is emotionally distant, formal, and missing personality. The detached diction used in the demand for the Prime Minister creates a sense of coldness behind the princess’ words; this is used to critique online communication as a core means of interacting with others. Legitimacy of any claims given when the dialogue excludes passionate feelings needs to be evaluated, for distance evokes a feeling of falsehood.

            Michael Callow responds to the princess’ demand in disbelief and anger to close members of his office, stating that he is not going to be “fucking a pig,” like he has been told to. The contrast between the princess’ and Michael’s statements are great in tone, phrasing, and circumstance. Where the princess was aloof and dispassionate, Michael is full of emotion. His inflection is audibly angry and confused as he appears to attempt to understand what is going on. Additionally, his fervent, vulgar diction relays a sense of shock and urgency. Michael may be using uncouth language as a coping mechanism for being placed in a situation over which he has no control. The word “fucking,” creates feelings of urgency or desperation to be out of the unpleasant situation. While the language used by Michael conveys an unfriendly environment due to hostile dialogue, the face-to-face interaction between himself and his colleagues remains authentic. Michael’s anger is real, and he expresses his emotions through in person dialogue which creates legitimacy for his experience. 

            I found this episode of Black Mirror incredibly intriguing and thought provoking. The language used in the dialogue of the show is interesting and significant. Specifically, the two main ways used to express the act that Michael Callow must commit for the release of the princess. The emotions, or lack thereof, present in the statements made by Michael and the princess show the importance of diction and intonation. This episode of Black Mirror suggests that for communication to contain emotion and validity it must be in person, rather than through a screen.

Maybe I'm Not A Psychopath...

“I’m James, I’m 17, and I think I’m a psychopath” the series opens up with this gut wrenching memorable quote. The End of the F*cking World is a recently added Netflix Original that focuses on the journey of James and Allison in what seems to be a dark adaptation of Bonnie & Clyde. This rollercoaster of emotions had me on the edge of my seat (my bed) the whole time.

The story is not very clear for the first couple episodes. A lot happens in the first few episodes with no apparent linear progressive story. The story ties itself back around in a way that is not expected. The biggest thing that kept me watching through the entire series was the fact that there was not a dry moment at all. From the time that the episode starts, to the time that the title appears on the credits screen, continuous jaw-dropping moments occur. A big issue that I had with the way the television series was created, is that nearly every episode, they will show the ending of the episode, and then retract to show what led to it. This bothers me because I know what happens before its shown. For most episodes, the ending that they show is not giving away many details, but for a few, it made the episodes very predictable.

The graphical representation throughout the series was incredible. The use of blood and the graphic content of doing so was very well done. There was a specific scene where the main girl Allison is being attacked and James stabs the guy. Blood pours from the guys’ neck all over the girl. The visuals of this scene were absolutely throw up provoking, it really displayed the feelings of the scene for all characters. Another issue that I found with the show, is that the cast is British. The lingo and vocabulary was different than that of my culture, and I found myself, sometimes not quite understanding what was said. I didn’t know any of the cast members, so it was a little difficult to find a relation between myself and them. The advantage of having a cast of unknown actors and actresses, is that an audience member doesn’t have a relation to another movie with that character. For example. When viewing Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, Jim Carrey portrays a very whacky and goofy individual, but when viewing The Number 23, I find it much harder to take Jim Carrey seriously in a drama/thriller role.

The End of the F*cking World is a Netflix Original series that explores the love and adventure of an almost couple on the run. The rise and fall of emotions and characters keeps the tension at maximum. Like a book that refuses to let you stop turning the pages, The End of the F*cking World is a series that will provoke a massive binge. Already knowing the story, I

Would find it hard to watch it again, but watching it for the first time will definitely not be a regret.