“White Lotus” Season 3 has not worked for these two main reasons

Every season, Max’s popular series White lotus Give yourself an ambitious task of telling stories about greed and desire, but with different wealthy characters, enjoying a new exotic place. this Season 3 just ended Bringing this concept to a luxurious white lotus hotel in Thailand.

Despite the wishes, the latest production of the show is still The weight of slow plot,,,,, Too familiar character typestired narrative arcs and unsurprising twists – at least one Confusing offensive monologue.

If you watch the show, you may classify these shortcomings and even record some other shortcomings. But these predictable creative problems are not what makes the season a disaster.

Instead, the show’s sensational handling of two conspiracies involving suicide and incest sexual assault White lotus Entering new territory – Use some of the most painful human experiences to gain shock value in ways that may be harmful to the audience themselves.

Consider how White lotus Embrace outrageous scandals in practice.

Season 2 discarded beloved Tanya McQuoid (Jennifer Coolidge) A twisted plot Basically, this ended shortly after she begged for the help of the bystanders, saying, “These gays, they’re trying to murder me!”

The first season’s death occurred in the case of a victim, a hotel manager, who defecates in the property of a guest who is having a dispute with him and hides in his closet, but is found and stabbed by a pineapple carving knife. Obviously, there is nothing too ridiculous, or no table for series creator and sole writer Mike White.

However, the strange murder that few people can contact is one thing. Suicide, incest and sexual assault are common experiences, given their prevalence may affect many White lotus audience. They or people they know struggle with suicidal thoughts or behaviors, or are victims of incest or sexual assault.

fear

During this season, wealthy businessman Timothy Ratliff (Jason Isaacs) travels to Thailand with his three children and his wife only to find him under federal investigation into financial crimes. Tim spent most of the season on intense graphic suicide thoughts about what this means to his livelihood and family.

Given that money issues are a key risk factor in trying to commit suicide, it is a worthwhile effort to explore how financial crisis contributes to suicide thinking.

But White outlines Tim’s suicide thinking in part because of a cheap strategy. As each episode plays, viewers wonder if Tim, who is increasingly desperate, will be the culprit in taking another character’s life or his own. It will be his or not, which means that Tim’s fantasy of death and family annihilation will be vivid regularly, but what in the end?

Even if White noble intends to illustrate suicide, Scientific research tells us Detail-oriented media coverage and storytelling focus on despair and a specific method of death that can actually increase the risk of people who are already susceptible to suicide thinking or behavior. Both elements have been fully displayed in several episodes.

At least, White lotus You can use the recommended strategy, that is, prompting to pass the qualification to share Suicide Crisis Resources Given the severity and intensity of Tim’s suicide behavior and thinking, he is with the audience.

Some high-risk audiences may be aware of what is about to happen White lotus‘Season 3, realizing that continuing to watch the show is not worth filling your own mind with suicide thoughts or images. Others may still know this risk and accept it, just like every audience’s rights.

But it is a mistake to assume that suicide and murder suicide graphic descriptions reinforce this season in some way.

While Tim’s journey of suicide impulses may reflect everything many have endured, the repeated death scenes have little effect other than keeping the character and the audience in the fear and horror of existence. It’s arguably the most boring place for the audience – it has the potential to be hurt.

This is not a new debate in movies and TV. In 2017, Netflix Series 13 reasons Gained great attention – rebound – When it plays the teenage character’s graphic suicide death. Some research It is suggested that the link between the show and the increase in youth suicide.

Hollywood has made significant progress since then, towards a responsible but narrative portrayal of suicide (see Bear and Ted Lasso as a main example).

Finally, Tim decides not to kill his family and himself, even though he accidentally poisons his young son after his choice. The seasonal twist seems to support Tim’s belief that his family can go through the investigation that reveals their lives.

It would be powerful to show how Tim fully embraces his ever-changing destiny. But after revealing the real killer, in a time when the seasons are gradually decreasing, the immoral convenience of the plot unfolds on the immoral convenience of the plot.

“No substantial irony”

Despite Tim’s fear of losing his wealth, and most likely the love and loyalty of his family, his two sons are trapped in White’s independent hell.

In a pivotal episode, Tim’s son, Lochland (Sam Nivora) and the Saxon (Patrick Schwarzenegger) spend an unwelcome, drug addict night on a luxury yacht with two ladies, on a sexual expedition with two ladies, Chloe (Charlotte le Bon) and Chelsea (Aime Lou Lou Wood). Instead, what happened was an incest sexual assault, and Lochlan actually brought his brother to the climax while having sex with Chloe.

Apart from White lotus Never fully recognize that Rockland’s sexual abuse of Saxon, the Saxons were not coherent or sober enough to agree, and Rockland never sought permission.

“It’s essential: sexual assault,” Dr. Tanya Rawal, consulting director of the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (Rainn), told Mashable in an email.

“What is crucial to call this scene: sexual assault.”

When the Saxons met two women the next day, Chloe viewed her sexual contact with the two brothers as a “triote.” Saxon was shocked by the description, admitting he was in a coma and couldn’t remember what happened. She brushed it off as a peccadillo. “Everyone has something to do,” Chloe said.

White talks about his interest in portrayal biasespecially among homosexuals. But involuntary incest is not an assault – it is a sexual assault. If the Saxons did it on his sister Piper, there was no edgy reason to justify similar abuse.

Laval said there is a “harmful stereotype that men are always willing to participate in sex and they can’t be victims”. Although the Saxon may consider himself a victim of the end of the season, he has not expressed that sentiment and has no other role.

Raval said prejudice against victims of male sexual assault affects the media, how critics and viewers talk about what happened to the Saxons. They might by default build it as a provocation rather than treating it as trauma.

Indeed, some media reports and public comments about the attack were not a fundamental infringement of the Saxon body and family trust, but rather “Brothers Action“And one”Wild Incest Connection. ”

Such explanations and characteristics are important. Laval said the attacks manifested as ambiguity, even normalized attacks would harm survivors, while “strengthening wider social dynamics, allowing such violations to continue to be unrestricted.”

Some creatives believe that solving the taboo (White has discussed it publicly) means taking the story to the extreme. This approach makes our collective discomfort exciting, as if doing so is both a brilliance and a revelation.

But even for the satirical of wealth and privilege White lotusthe limitations of this strategy are not born of prudence or conservatism.

If this season is right White lotusbesides narrative lapses and annoyances, it may be the emptiness of digging out forbidden things, with little else to offer.

Or as Rawal puts it, “the risk of irony without material exacerbates the harm of its attempt to criticize.”

If you feel suicide or have a mental health crisis, talk to someone. You can reach the 988 suicide and crisis lifeline at 988; the trans lifeline is 877-565-8860; or the Trevor project, at 866-488-7386. Text “Start” crisis text lines 741-741. 10:00 am – 10:00 pm or email, please call 1-800-950-NAMI to contact NAMI Hotline Index, or send an email [email protected]. If you don’t like your phone, consider using 988 suicide and crisis lifeline chat crisis. This is a International Resource List.

If you have experienced sexual assault, call 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) to the free, confidential national sexual assault hotline, or access 24-7 online by visiting the 24-7 help online.rainn.org.