NP - The Leftovers

[kelber at mindspring.com]

I've been following the discussion on Cormac McCarthy - and have to weigh in as not being a fan. Admittedly, I've only read Blood Meridian and seen the movie version of No Country For Old Men, which may not be a representative sampling. But I read his primary theme as Evil, and Man's need to reckon with or otherwise atone for or own up to it. Yes, the language is poetic, but it doesn't send my brain into thought-provoking areas. If the Judge is a representation of the Evil That Men Do, well, at the end of it all, so what? [Pause, to get pelted with invective]

I recently binge-watched the first two seasons (a third and final one is in the offing) of the HBO series, The Leftovers. And in some ways, it does a more interesting job of setting up a metaphor for Man reckoning with Death. The premise of the show is that, one day, 2% of the wor'd's population randomly disappears, and those left behind must make sense of it. Is it the Rapture, a punishment, a conspiracy or just a random, meaningless event? The point of the show is that there will never be an answer. A strange cult that arises seems (to me) to be a stand-in for organized religion.

Anyone seen it?

Laura
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Pynchon-l / http://www.waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l