The Plot Against America: Season 1, Episode 6 “Part 6” (B+)
This extended hour was legitimately terrifying, showcasing an America that quickly turned into a nightmare as everything spiraled out of control thanks to the increasing government-approved xenophobia spreading throughout the nation. The reports of Winchell’s injuries sustained in New Jersey and the wave of anti-Semitic incidents were just the tip of the iceberg, and the circumstances under which Beth found out about Winchell’s assassination in Kentucky heightened the anxiety she and anyone watching felt from that moment on. The dialogue in this episode was strong, present particularly in the conversation between Bess and Herman where she said that Lindbergh was teaching them what it means to be Jews and he responded that “they call us others, but they’re the others.” I won’t even touch the remark about the man being unfit to be president since there’s so much here that can be compared to our present situation. Bess calling Seldon to check in made it obvious something was very wrong, and Herman’s drive to Kentucky was highly treacherous. Seeing Klansmen dressed in full uniform and interacting pleasantly with law enforcement was scary, and Sandy had to grow up fast and distract Seldon when they drove past the burned-out shell of his mother’s car. Rabbi Bengelsdorf quickly became the public voice for the first lady, something that found him speaking out against any critics of the president, and he had a rude awakening when he was arrested for allegedly being part of the title conspiracy that those who compared him to a Jewish Rasputin. I will say that the conclusion of this longer episode felt a bit rushed, with a surprise finish finding the first lady released from confinement and calling on the government to remove the corrupt vice-president, but this wasn’t a happy ending. After all of his revolutionary activities, Alvin was furious with what he felt was Herman’s lack of action, and that was an explosive debate between two people who actually feel quite similarly. Bess turning Evelyn away when she came running to her for help was the most powerful statement, along with the “America to Me” song that played as voters were turned away from the polls and ballots were burned during the new election. Based on how much this show improved as it went on, I would have liked to see more than just a six-episode limited series, but I’m still satisfied with the firm and effectively unsettling reminder of the dangers of hateful rhetoric going unchecked that this run did manage to provide. I hope it earns some Emmy love for its important message and strong narrative.
Series grade: B+
Series MVP: Morgan Spector as Herman
Showing posts with label The Plot Against America. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Plot Against America. Show all posts
Thursday, April 23, 2020
Thursday, April 16, 2020
What I’m Watching: The Plot Against America (Penultimate Episode)
The Plot Against America: Season 1, Episode 5 “Part 5” (B+)
One of the reasons this show – and its underlying story – is so effective is that it portrays the subtle steps taken by the United States government on a mass scale and the characters we know on a more intimate one to relocate the Jewish population against their will. Herman getting a transfer order along with a number of other Jewish employees at his company demonstrated how that was happening, and it was much more worrisome to see Seldon and his mother shipping off to Kentucky also when Philip came to Evelyn asking why his friend couldn’t be sent there instead. Herman typifies the sentiment expressed by many Jews in Europe during the Holocaust who didn’t leave even when signs of Nazi invasion were imminent, and everyone around him, including Bess, believe they have to get to Canada before it’s too late. Rabbi Bengelsdorf still believed that he was doing the right thing, keeping Herman off the FBI watch list by sending him away, but he got a rude awakening to the value of his input when Secretary Ford scoffed at the idea of paying someone more to do the same job when they weren’t being given any choice in their relocation. The rabbi didn’t seem bothered at all when he was confronted by synagogue leadership at his own wedding about congregants leaving because of his political activism, and he was happy to get presidential candidate Walter Winchell fired when he spoke against him. After efforts with Josh Pais’ lawyer failed for Herman, his presence at the rally that turned violent was deeply disconcerting. As Evelyn believes even more strongly in the rightness of what she’s doing, Bess summed up a seemingly forgotten issue best with her sincere question about whether there was even a synagogue in Danville, Kentucky.
One of the reasons this show – and its underlying story – is so effective is that it portrays the subtle steps taken by the United States government on a mass scale and the characters we know on a more intimate one to relocate the Jewish population against their will. Herman getting a transfer order along with a number of other Jewish employees at his company demonstrated how that was happening, and it was much more worrisome to see Seldon and his mother shipping off to Kentucky also when Philip came to Evelyn asking why his friend couldn’t be sent there instead. Herman typifies the sentiment expressed by many Jews in Europe during the Holocaust who didn’t leave even when signs of Nazi invasion were imminent, and everyone around him, including Bess, believe they have to get to Canada before it’s too late. Rabbi Bengelsdorf still believed that he was doing the right thing, keeping Herman off the FBI watch list by sending him away, but he got a rude awakening to the value of his input when Secretary Ford scoffed at the idea of paying someone more to do the same job when they weren’t being given any choice in their relocation. The rabbi didn’t seem bothered at all when he was confronted by synagogue leadership at his own wedding about congregants leaving because of his political activism, and he was happy to get presidential candidate Walter Winchell fired when he spoke against him. After efforts with Josh Pais’ lawyer failed for Herman, his presence at the rally that turned violent was deeply disconcerting. As Evelyn believes even more strongly in the rightness of what she’s doing, Bess summed up a seemingly forgotten issue best with her sincere question about whether there was even a synagogue in Danville, Kentucky.
Sunday, April 12, 2020
What I’m Watching: The Plot Against America
The Plot Against America: Season 1, Episode 4 “Part 4” (B+)
What this show is doing even more than showing how a society can be transformed under problematic leadership is demonstrating the divisions that emerge within a single community and how they respond to shifting paradigms. On one end, you have Alvin, Herman, Bess, and Philip seeing what’s going on and feeling a great deal of anxiety about it. Alvin chose to enlist with the Canadian army, which we learned in this hour was actually illegal and has now put him firmly in the sights of the FBI, who deems him a threat who might be dangerous to the president. Herman has no problem speaking his mind about how terrible Lindbergh is, which will in turn make him a target as he’s investigated in relation to his nephew. Bess maintains a quiet but nervous attitude, while Philip actively has nightmares about what might happen to him. On the other end, Rabbi Bengelsdorf believes that appeasing those with destructive ideas will in turn make them more palatable and less extreme, and we see how Evelyn has come from a place of passive enthusiasm to being a true believer that what she’s doing is right. Lindbergh snubbing the rabbi at the dinner was unsettling, and Henry Ford’s explicitly anti-Semitic and racist comments were laughed off because of how Evelyn instinctively replied. I’m familiar with that Yiddish expression, politely translated as “go jump in the lake” and impolitely translated as something viler, thanks to its occasional usage in both my family and my wife’s family. As things get worse in this terrifying America, I’m very invested in where things will go next.
What this show is doing even more than showing how a society can be transformed under problematic leadership is demonstrating the divisions that emerge within a single community and how they respond to shifting paradigms. On one end, you have Alvin, Herman, Bess, and Philip seeing what’s going on and feeling a great deal of anxiety about it. Alvin chose to enlist with the Canadian army, which we learned in this hour was actually illegal and has now put him firmly in the sights of the FBI, who deems him a threat who might be dangerous to the president. Herman has no problem speaking his mind about how terrible Lindbergh is, which will in turn make him a target as he’s investigated in relation to his nephew. Bess maintains a quiet but nervous attitude, while Philip actively has nightmares about what might happen to him. On the other end, Rabbi Bengelsdorf believes that appeasing those with destructive ideas will in turn make them more palatable and less extreme, and we see how Evelyn has come from a place of passive enthusiasm to being a true believer that what she’s doing is right. Lindbergh snubbing the rabbi at the dinner was unsettling, and Henry Ford’s explicitly anti-Semitic and racist comments were laughed off because of how Evelyn instinctively replied. I’m familiar with that Yiddish expression, politely translated as “go jump in the lake” and impolitely translated as something viler, thanks to its occasional usage in both my family and my wife’s family. As things get worse in this terrifying America, I’m very invested in where things will go next.
Tuesday, April 7, 2020
Take Three: The Plot Against America
The Plot Against America: Season 1, Episode 3 “Part 3” (B+)
This episode charted further into the dark imagined reality of this show, and it did so in a subtle, disturbing, and effective way. Opening with Philip’s nightmare about swastikas being all over his stamp collection was jarring, and seeing the adults cleaning off the defaced graves at the cemetery showed that it wasn’t just in the heads of children. There were a number of truly unsettling moments during the Levins’ family trip to Washington, and I was so nervous the entire time that their friendly driver, Mr. Taylor, played by Michael Cerveris from “Mindhunter” and “Mosaic,” was going to do something bad to them. Instead, he and the waitstaff at the diner were their only allies, and they were accosted as loudmouth Jews at the Lincoln Memorial and then had their suitcases packed up by the hotel. Getting applauded after singing was the one moment of happiness, and that won’t be enough to sustain the angry Herman or the very anxious Bess. Alvin, who doesn’t like to broadcast his identity, put it best when he explained “I’m a Jew because I was born a Jew and this whole [expletive] world wishes I wasn’t.” It was truly horrifying to hear news broadcasts of “relocation camps” being constructed in Montana, and learning that there weren’t enough Democrats left in Congress to stop Lindbergh from very publicly shaking hands with Hitler was far too eerily reminiscent of current events. Rabbi Bengelsdorf’s enthusiastic promotion of the Office of American Absorption’s “Just Folks” program to send Jewish kids away to assimilate over summers seems so obvious a misstep, but he and Evelyn truly believe it’s for the best. Whatever comes next is sure to be even worse.
This episode charted further into the dark imagined reality of this show, and it did so in a subtle, disturbing, and effective way. Opening with Philip’s nightmare about swastikas being all over his stamp collection was jarring, and seeing the adults cleaning off the defaced graves at the cemetery showed that it wasn’t just in the heads of children. There were a number of truly unsettling moments during the Levins’ family trip to Washington, and I was so nervous the entire time that their friendly driver, Mr. Taylor, played by Michael Cerveris from “Mindhunter” and “Mosaic,” was going to do something bad to them. Instead, he and the waitstaff at the diner were their only allies, and they were accosted as loudmouth Jews at the Lincoln Memorial and then had their suitcases packed up by the hotel. Getting applauded after singing was the one moment of happiness, and that won’t be enough to sustain the angry Herman or the very anxious Bess. Alvin, who doesn’t like to broadcast his identity, put it best when he explained “I’m a Jew because I was born a Jew and this whole [expletive] world wishes I wasn’t.” It was truly horrifying to hear news broadcasts of “relocation camps” being constructed in Montana, and learning that there weren’t enough Democrats left in Congress to stop Lindbergh from very publicly shaking hands with Hitler was far too eerily reminiscent of current events. Rabbi Bengelsdorf’s enthusiastic promotion of the Office of American Absorption’s “Just Folks” program to send Jewish kids away to assimilate over summers seems so obvious a misstep, but he and Evelyn truly believe it’s for the best. Whatever comes next is sure to be even worse.
Thursday, April 2, 2020
Round Two: The Plot Against America
The Plot Against America: Season 1, Episode 2 “Part 2” (B)
In this show’s second episode, I continue to find the overarching story more compelling than most of the personal drama of the Levin family that’s being portrayed. Scenes like Herman and Bess acting out George Burns and Gracie Allen helped to ground this show in the times and demonstrate how families used to interact in the home without technology, and Herman listening intently to reports of the election returns on the radio was another such instance. The friendships and activities of children just aren’t all that interesting, and I’m not sure exactly what’s going on as of yet with Abe Steinheim, who seems to be the token rich and successful Jewish businessman who might end up being the target of negative sentiments as the United States remains neutral and becomes more officially anti-Semitic. What did keep my attention was every scene with John Turturro’s Rabbi Bengelsdorf, who represents a supportive element for Lindbergh’s campaign, rendering his beliefs acceptable on behalf of all Jews. Explaining that Jews don’t feel attachments to the homelands that never welcomed them and mentioned the plight of Jews still living in Europe but dismissing it in favor of “America first” shows how he’s ignoring the overall message of division being preached by Lindbergh (and alluding of course to our current president’s rhetoric) because he wants to appreciate its positive elements. Invoking the translation of the well-known Hebrew prayer “Lo yisa goy,” which speaks of nations not “knowing war anymore” by instead emphasizing that they shall not “train for war” was a powerful way of preaching from the pulpit, one that obviously entranced Winona Ryder’s Evelyn, who has now become quite close to the rabbi.
In this show’s second episode, I continue to find the overarching story more compelling than most of the personal drama of the Levin family that’s being portrayed. Scenes like Herman and Bess acting out George Burns and Gracie Allen helped to ground this show in the times and demonstrate how families used to interact in the home without technology, and Herman listening intently to reports of the election returns on the radio was another such instance. The friendships and activities of children just aren’t all that interesting, and I’m not sure exactly what’s going on as of yet with Abe Steinheim, who seems to be the token rich and successful Jewish businessman who might end up being the target of negative sentiments as the United States remains neutral and becomes more officially anti-Semitic. What did keep my attention was every scene with John Turturro’s Rabbi Bengelsdorf, who represents a supportive element for Lindbergh’s campaign, rendering his beliefs acceptable on behalf of all Jews. Explaining that Jews don’t feel attachments to the homelands that never welcomed them and mentioned the plight of Jews still living in Europe but dismissing it in favor of “America first” shows how he’s ignoring the overall message of division being preached by Lindbergh (and alluding of course to our current president’s rhetoric) because he wants to appreciate its positive elements. Invoking the translation of the well-known Hebrew prayer “Lo yisa goy,” which speaks of nations not “knowing war anymore” by instead emphasizing that they shall not “train for war” was a powerful way of preaching from the pulpit, one that obviously entranced Winona Ryder’s Evelyn, who has now become quite close to the rabbi.
Saturday, March 28, 2020
Pilot Review: The Plot Against America
Check out my one-minute take on every new pilot, which is embedded below and you can also watch by subscribing to movieswithabe on YouTube.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
