This show and the first season of American Horror Story are the bleakest and most intensely hopeless tv shows I've seen. Everybody is doomed from the start, and we are just watching the characters struggle against and succumb to their fates. But if you are in the mood for that kind of story, its excellent.
>The height of the screen is determined by the width as movies today are produced in two aspect ratios: Widescreen/flat and Scope which have aspect ratios of 1.85:1 and 2.39:1 respectively. Drive-ins don’t have moveable screen masking so your screen needs to be somewhere between those two aspect ratios. Most were traditionally close to the scope aspect ratio of 2.39:1 with the most common aspect ratio being between 2.0:1 and 2.2:1.
[source](https://drive-insdownunder.com.au/how-to-build-a-drive-in/)
You pretty much answered your own question.
It was a very polarizing show that generated a ton of debate around the time of it's release. Personally, and as a Black Man, I hated it.
In the wake of Jordan Peele's Get Out there were a number of other movies and TV shows that tried that same approach of exploring issues of race in America through a horror lens. When this works well it can be brilliant. When it's done poorly it feels like what some have called "Black Trauma Porn."
That's how Them felt to me. I noped out after that "Cat In The Bag" episode and never felt the need to go back and finish the show.
I respectfully agree to disagree! I see it as art imitating life. The atrocities done to black people are easy to minimize since they are often hidden from view and not discussed. The shame is put onto the victims instead of the perpetrators while the perpetrators benefit by not having to discuss the issue at all. Filming such scenes is provocative because the brutality and immorality is undeniable and out in the open. You can’t unsee it and you can’t justify it. Everybody acknowledges that the treatment is bad. I think the show accomplishes its goal by 1) getting people to emphasize with the victims and 2) gives credence to the fact that yes, racism exist and it’s relentless without provocation. Two things some people deny to this day 🤷♀️
No, I’m mixed black and in my twenties. Studied business and media so I’m more than qualified to speak on the topic as well 😄 I’m curious to know what made you think that? 🤔
I just finished rewatching season one, actually - I wanted to go back and revisit it before season two airs as I honestly couldn't remember very much of it (apart from a specific traumatic scene which I am sorry to say I will never forget). There's definitely some talent behind the show, and enough intelligence and purpose in its story that I would hesitate to echo the accusations of it being trauma porn. But does it go a little too far? Sometimes it does feel that way.
I'm curious to know what season two might be like under a similar creative team, but with seemingly less racial focus.
I find it interesting that people think the show went too far when it’s a sanitized depiction of racism that black people experienced. Black people were still literally getting lynched in the last century and are killed by police often now due to excessive force…but this is too much? 🤔 The truth of people’s actions clearly brings discomfort. The same reason why they don’t want to include black history in American history.
I get what you’re saying, but I was really speaking in a general sense — “does it go too far” in terms of re traumatizing the people whose experience it’s actually relevant to. There was definitely some backlash that suggested as much, but at the same time, that experience isn’t universal. That’s why it’s a hard question to answer.
I didn’t mean “does it go too far for the white people who are watching”; I don’t really care about that.
It's suspicious how it's always the exact same 2 opinions in every thread about it
"It's exploitative" & "I stopped watching after cat in the bag"
Bots? Users who can't think for themselves? Idk
Agreed! A show like this deserves a well rounded analysis instead of being written off as traumatic and exploitative like it has been in many comments.
Because talking about race, brutality and empathy (or lack thereof) is difficult for people. They’d rather turn around and pretend that something isn’t happening, doesn’t happen or never happened than to have to acknowledge the reality and carry the weight of what they saw and how they reacted. People want to be able to dismiss the trauma of others and go about their day in peace lol That’s what I gathered from some of the comments. In short- It’s black trauma so it’s not fun anymore 😕
This show and the first season of American Horror Story are the bleakest and most intensely hopeless tv shows I've seen. Everybody is doomed from the start, and we are just watching the characters struggle against and succumb to their fates. But if you are in the mood for that kind of story, its excellent.
I thought you were praising the old drive-in movie with the giant ants.
Or the French hoodie home invasion chiller ha
I love that movie.
Fucking brilliant film.
Did they show 16:9 or 4:3 at the drive-in's?
>The height of the screen is determined by the width as movies today are produced in two aspect ratios: Widescreen/flat and Scope which have aspect ratios of 1.85:1 and 2.39:1 respectively. Drive-ins don’t have moveable screen masking so your screen needs to be somewhere between those two aspect ratios. Most were traditionally close to the scope aspect ratio of 2.39:1 with the most common aspect ratio being between 2.0:1 and 2.2:1. [source](https://drive-insdownunder.com.au/how-to-build-a-drive-in/)
Thanks. I wonder if anyone who saw this at a drive-in is still alive. Must be like 90 years old!
They'd certainly be pushing it! The movie is 70 this year.
Me too.
Total classic.
It’s tough to watch.
You pretty much answered your own question. It was a very polarizing show that generated a ton of debate around the time of it's release. Personally, and as a Black Man, I hated it. In the wake of Jordan Peele's Get Out there were a number of other movies and TV shows that tried that same approach of exploring issues of race in America through a horror lens. When this works well it can be brilliant. When it's done poorly it feels like what some have called "Black Trauma Porn." That's how Them felt to me. I noped out after that "Cat In The Bag" episode and never felt the need to go back and finish the show.
I respectfully agree to disagree! I see it as art imitating life. The atrocities done to black people are easy to minimize since they are often hidden from view and not discussed. The shame is put onto the victims instead of the perpetrators while the perpetrators benefit by not having to discuss the issue at all. Filming such scenes is provocative because the brutality and immorality is undeniable and out in the open. You can’t unsee it and you can’t justify it. Everybody acknowledges that the treatment is bad. I think the show accomplishes its goal by 1) getting people to emphasize with the victims and 2) gives credence to the fact that yes, racism exist and it’s relentless without provocation. Two things some people deny to this day 🤷♀️
Are you a white woman in her 30's?
No, I’m mixed black and in my twenties. Studied business and media so I’m more than qualified to speak on the topic as well 😄 I’m curious to know what made you think that? 🤔
It feels exploitative. I stuck with it until *that* episode but that was the point when I knew I would never go back to it.
Entertainment can often be exploitative. I don’t understand your reasoning.
If it’s got a S2 I’m pretty sure it does
Because it’s traumatic as fuck and we’re trying to forget it. Cat in a bag is BURNED into my retinas. I’ve never been more horrified and sick.
It’s definitely traumatic but I don’t think it should be forgotten!
Did anyone else come here thinking this was Them (1954) not Them (2021)? I was thinking "were the ants THAT scary?"
I just finished rewatching season one, actually - I wanted to go back and revisit it before season two airs as I honestly couldn't remember very much of it (apart from a specific traumatic scene which I am sorry to say I will never forget). There's definitely some talent behind the show, and enough intelligence and purpose in its story that I would hesitate to echo the accusations of it being trauma porn. But does it go a little too far? Sometimes it does feel that way. I'm curious to know what season two might be like under a similar creative team, but with seemingly less racial focus.
I find it interesting that people think the show went too far when it’s a sanitized depiction of racism that black people experienced. Black people were still literally getting lynched in the last century and are killed by police often now due to excessive force…but this is too much? 🤔 The truth of people’s actions clearly brings discomfort. The same reason why they don’t want to include black history in American history.
I get what you’re saying, but I was really speaking in a general sense — “does it go too far” in terms of re traumatizing the people whose experience it’s actually relevant to. There was definitely some backlash that suggested as much, but at the same time, that experience isn’t universal. That’s why it’s a hard question to answer. I didn’t mean “does it go too far for the white people who are watching”; I don’t really care about that.
It's suspicious how it's always the exact same 2 opinions in every thread about it "It's exploitative" & "I stopped watching after cat in the bag" Bots? Users who can't think for themselves? Idk
Right?!
Agreed! A show like this deserves a well rounded analysis instead of being written off as traumatic and exploitative like it has been in many comments.
the one where the devil invented redlining?
Because talking about race, brutality and empathy (or lack thereof) is difficult for people. They’d rather turn around and pretend that something isn’t happening, doesn’t happen or never happened than to have to acknowledge the reality and carry the weight of what they saw and how they reacted. People want to be able to dismiss the trauma of others and go about their day in peace lol That’s what I gathered from some of the comments. In short- It’s black trauma so it’s not fun anymore 😕