Synopsis/Details
This was an idea that changed many times over the last five or so years. At first, I intended to develop an entire storyline for Garrity quitting his job as a cable news host and moving to Mexico to work for an oil corporation, where he would later get in trouble with a local cartel member.
That original idea never worked out fully as I planned but I really loved the character of Garrity, so I knew I had to use him for this series. I ended up making his episode the last episode of Season One because I think his story sums up a lot of the other themes in previous episodes.
Garrity also appears in the episode, Expanding Universe, but I really wanted to devote an entire episode to his character arc, as I already had some prior ideas about his storyline.
I realize this episode is about very sensitive topics - Gun violence/political correctness/social media propaganda/etc. I also realize that I intended to stay away from politics in this series and stay as unbiased as possible. My vision for this episode was to create a satire where everybody can see the insanity of holding onto to any political, religious, or social platform so vehemently.
I am not saying that certain political issues are not of great importance or should not be closely analyzed by an informed citizenry. I am only trying to show what "information overload", as we learn to survive in this digital age of endless screens, might do to someone, even someone involved in relaying a particular political agenda.
I know social media can be a useful way to communicate but, for me personally, I got rid of all my social media accounts many years ago. I think I got rid of Facebook almost ten years ago. Got rid of Twitter two or three years ago. It just was a huge waste of time and energy and my own version of "information overload". I might try using them again one day, but probably not to be honest. I think social media is more of a societal cancer than anything else and I am glad I have not gone back to Facebook or Twitter or the many others. Again...this is just my opinion. I realize that any technology can be used for good or bad, and it is just another tool/weapon that many people/groups can use for propaganda or other types of fraud. I also realize that I am writing this opinion on a type of social media platform, so it sounds pretty funny and a bit hypocritical of me, but this site is not exactly the monster that Facebook or Twitter has become.
Even though this episode is very serious, I think it is my favorite in terms of dialogue and crazy dream imagery. I was reading a lot of Aldous Huxley, specifically The Doors of Perception, during the last few weeks and listening to some of his lectures on YouTube, which is probably why the anti-depressant storyline grew so much in this episode. I think pharmaceutical commercials are one of the easiest areas to develop political and social satire.
I also read The Paranoid Style in American Politics by Richard Hofstadter last week. It is a short essay from 1964 that really shows how the same conspiracy theories constantly emerge from various forms of media, whether the fourth or fifth estates, every so often. I heard of this essay while listening to a Bad Religion song - Do the Paranoid Style and watching the music video for that song. Really great song and lyrics that helped me formulate some of the ideas in this story and try to get inside Garrity's head.
In my opinion, Network is the greatest political satire film of all time. Although it was made nearly fifty years ago, it still remains relevant and contains some of the best scenes of dialogue ever. I often think that someone should remake that movie set in these modern times. When I finished this first draft (10-13-22) I kind of saw this episode as my tribute to Network. It is more of a psychedelic version, but I think I was influenced by the tone of that movie, even though I only watched it once, a few years ago. The message and amazing writing of Network always stuck with me.
I was also immensely inspired by Alabama Shakes - Sound & Color, which is now one of my favorite albums of all time. I always loved that album from the first time I heard it, but now it has a new special meaning to me.
Also influenced by the Spike Lee movie - 25th Hour.
Also influenced by The Simpson's - Just Don't Look episode.
