DO IT.
DO IT NOW.
We may or may not have spent the rest of the
The actual story in this episode may have been a little confusing, but you know what? I honestly do not care, because it really doesn't matter. This was all about an overall theme and general feeling (you know that vague sense of unease you get in some places that you just can't quite put your finger on? Yeah, it was like that), and it was the most unsettling and disturbing episode of the series yet.
Also, though, somewhat funny, in large part due to the blatant use of jarring chords every time a digital display read something like, "DO IT!" or "KILL 'EM ALL!" It was so over the top, like the messages themselves, that it really worked.
Actually, I'm kind of amazed that this episode worked so well even back in 1994, and despite the massive cell phones and bulky computers, it doesn't seem dated at all.
This episode, more than any other so far, seriously deals with issues of paranoia and irrational fear. The LSDM caused the people with basically ordinary and somewhat common phobias to see subliminal messages (that may or may not have actually been there) and completely lose control. This will give me nightmares, I'm sure. Or worse, just make me extremely paranoid.
Not to mention, I can never look at technology the same way again. One day I'm going to pull out my iPhone and see the words "DO IT NOW!" on it (note to anyone reading this who has my cell phone number: DO NOT TEXT THIS TO ME. Just saying.)
And that's the thing - I didn't remember how pervasive digital displays were even almost 20 years ago. Imagine this episode today, with so many laptops and smartphones and tablets, news tickers on the sides of buildings, giant TV screens in so many more places, and dozens of ordinary devices in our homes that have displays, not to mention more and more devices connected to the internet.
I mean, even gas pumps now have TVs on them to show you ads while you're pumping gas. Imagine if instead they said, "KILL 'EM ALL!" or "LIGHT A MATCH!" (Side note: remember those stories you see about people hacking the roadside construction warning signs to say things about zombies?)
And I think the ubiquity of this kind of technology is what makes 'Blood' work and makes it so unnerving. You never know what someone else sees when they look at the screen, or what they're thinking or afraid of. You certainly never know how actively paranoid a person might be, or what kinds of actions they may take in a paranoid state to counteract their phobia.
It may have 'only' been a 'monster of the week' episode, but still, trust no one. Pretty much ever.
OMG DO IT... DO IT NOW... KILL 'EM ALL.
ReplyDeleteI think we've said this to each other every time we've talked/ seen each other since viewing this episode! (ALMOST texted you, and then I thought no you'd probably get really made at me for that :p See at least you can trust me with that.)
I think what I like about this episode is the that it is still works today, as it did then. Now it would be even more creepy since, as you pointed out, a lot more things have ditigal displays.
This episode was an interesting twist on the usual tropes of technology turning evil. Plus the techology was not doing it all on it's own; it was only in the guy's head, but it was an interesting way of integrating technology.