Both Walking Dead and Dexter (and Breaking Bad too actually, though that's not on currently) are things I never ever would have watched were I not watching with Sean. He wanted to watch these things, they are incredibly violent... But at the same time I have to admit that (mostly in the case of Dexter) they are amazingly scripted, have incredible casts, and push boundaries of tv, and make you care about people you normally wouldn't care about.
All that said, I would not suggest that you in particular watch Dexter, it can be incredibly disturbing.
For me the show Dexter is a special exercise in fascination and frustration. I read the first two books in the series the tv show is bases on. The author made it exceptionally crystal clear that Dexter is a complete sociopath, which makes the books both repellent and strangely interesting, in the way that watching aggressive insects is interesting. The show chose to depart from that in incredible and credulity stretching ways. Put very simply Dexter (as played by Michael C. Hall) is not a sociopath, he is an emotionally damaged victim, with low emotional affect and stunted social abilities, who has an obsession with blood and death and is also a vigilante. But he does to limited degrees show empathy and guilt, which a true sociopath couldn't and allows repeated ego assaults to occur without raging, controlling, anger or punishment which a true sociopath could not. The vigilante aspect cannot be down-played in the tv show, it is really the central controlling plot line. In the books Dexter is not motivated in the same way.
For me, there is something strangely satisfying about some vigilante plot lines in shows and movies. Sean is obsessed with them and has honestly watched every single vigilante movie ever made and some of them are just too way out there for me. However, I guess there's this dark aspect in me that I won't let myself consider ideas like that in real life, but there is something weirdly satisfying about seeing vigilantism in some tv and movies (like The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo).
But Dexter troubles me deeply if we consider as something other than a comic book. Harry, Dexter's father, rather than getting him help, turned him into not just a vigilante but really in so many ways, a monster, but as the show progresses and we see that Dexter is clearly not a sociopath, then Harry's actions become about his own dark fantasies and has closed Dexter off from any possibility of a normal life.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2012-10-28 02:00 pm (UTC)All that said, I would not suggest that you in particular watch Dexter, it can be incredibly disturbing.
For me the show Dexter is a special exercise in fascination and frustration. I read the first two books in the series the tv show is bases on. The author made it exceptionally crystal clear that Dexter is a complete sociopath, which makes the books both repellent and strangely interesting, in the way that watching aggressive insects is interesting. The show chose to depart from that in incredible and credulity stretching ways. Put very simply Dexter (as played by Michael C. Hall) is not a sociopath, he is an emotionally damaged victim, with low emotional affect and stunted social abilities, who has an obsession with blood and death and is also a vigilante. But he does to limited degrees show empathy and guilt, which a true sociopath couldn't and allows repeated ego assaults to occur without raging, controlling, anger or punishment which a true sociopath could not. The vigilante aspect cannot be down-played in the tv show, it is really the central controlling plot line. In the books Dexter is not motivated in the same way.
For me, there is something strangely satisfying about some vigilante plot lines in shows and movies. Sean is obsessed with them and has honestly watched every single vigilante movie ever made and some of them are just too way out there for me. However, I guess there's this dark aspect in me that I won't let myself consider ideas like that in real life, but there is something weirdly satisfying about seeing vigilantism in some tv and movies (like The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo).
But Dexter troubles me deeply if we consider as something other than a comic book. Harry, Dexter's father, rather than getting him help, turned him into not just a vigilante but really in so many ways, a monster, but as the show progresses and we see that Dexter is clearly not a sociopath, then Harry's actions become about his own dark fantasies and has closed Dexter off from any possibility of a normal life.