A Storming Thought

     When I first watched Sharp Objects I finished the mini-series within two short days. While watching the show the overall mystery surrounding the death of two girls wasn’t what drew me in. It was the character interactions. It was impressive watching the actors say so much about who they are and how they view the world with such little dialogue and subtle action. And there is a lot this show has to say about small-town life, the patriarchal standards that exist for both women and men and generational trauma. The show brings an interesting and unique perspective on how the subjugation of women is upheld and enforced by not only men but other women as well. It is common for media that highlights the persecution of women to focus solely on how men take part in this systematic oppression. This is a reasonable focus as men benefit the most and are the most visible perpetrators of this societal structure. Men uphold the patriarchy often through physical violence, sexual a...

            Black Sails opens in the first episode with a declaration of war from the pirates of Nassau against the world. This is partly true as the characters constantly struggle against the forces of England and the civilized world but in actuality, the war against the world is a war of perception. Most of the main characters of the show are concerned about their perception. They worry about how their friends, comrades, and the world will view them. A number of them focus on what history will say about them when they are long gone. Image is power even if that image is nowhere near the truth. This is something that characters like Flint, Sliver, Eleanor, Max, and Jack know to be fact. Even England understands that its true power lies in the false image that it has created. Every character relates to the idea of an image differently but it is always at the core of who they are. England It’s important to understand the image of England and how it wa...