the leftovers, revisited
I never really expected that I would ever re-watch The Leftovers, but it looks like that's what's going to happen. I got home from work yesterday a while before Shobhit did—on his last day at Big 5—and started talking to Ivan about movies he had recently expressed interest in re-watching. But, I had told him how good The Leftovers was several days ago, and he remembered, so he suggested we start that to see if it sparks his interest.
I didn't even learn until yesterday that the only streaming platform he has his own account for is Netflix. This means anything on Hulu or Disney+ or Prime Video or HBO Max, he'd basically just have to watch with me. He also said he doesn't watch stuff very much when he's in his bedroom, which I had been assuming. (He said he does have an Audible account and spends some time listening to books.) He said most stuff he watches is something we watch together. I guess that kind of lends more explanation to how often he asks me, "What are we going to watch tonight?"
For a while, I was assuming Ivan wasn't that into the pilot episode of The Leftovers, that it wasn't really doing it for him. As is typical pretty much no matter what we watch, he spent a lot of time just looking at his phone, Facebook and Grindr and the like (I see him messaging people on Grindr pretty constantly). I go back and forth about this; I was a little annoyed last night because I would not have chosen just to re-watch The Leftovers by myself, and when he's not paying attention—at one point I had to explain why the guy was shooting roving dogs, because an explanation had been given but Ivan was not paying attention—it makes me feel like I'm just watching by myself. But, there's also his being on the spectrum, the context for which I never know precisely what to make concessions for when it comes to Ivan's behaviors. I think he does have trouble with attention span, focusing on one thing for an extended period, which naturally leads him to pick up his phone and scroll social media or message people.
He even got up and went to the bathroom just as the episode was finishing, but was not yet quite done. This in particular was what made me think he didn't like the show that much. But then, when he came back out shortly afterward to start making his dinner—maybe he needed sudden privacy with someone he was chatting on his phone, who the fuck knows—he volunteered that he did quite like the show, he's "intrigued," and he does want to keep watching. Well, all right then.
I did tell him several times that season one is merely decent, and it's seasons two and three that were among the best seasons of any television show I had ever watched. I just looked it up: finished season 3 in early June of last year, so it's actually been more than a year now since I finished it. It will actually be interesting to see it again largely through someone else's eyes, providing Ivan can pay enough attention. At least this way we won't have to debate as often on what the hell to watch, anyway.
Shobhit came home from work in the middle of the episode, and paid attention to some of it. When I told him that the premise was 2% of the world's population vanishes with no explanation, he was like, "That's all? What's the point?" Well, the point is how an unexplained event like that, offering no closure at all as to whether the departed people are even still alive, affects those left behind. It's a fascinating concept. Also, the way the series sticks the landing at the end of season three—it's one of the best endings of any series I have ever seen.
Anyway. Shobhit has basically made it part of his "brand" to insist the only workable solution to how humanity plagues the planet is to have a huge portion of it wiped out. I am absolutely not on board with that perspective, I find it morally dubious at best, and I struggle with even spending the rest of my life with someone who thinks that way. Someone should find a way to get it through Shobhit's thick skull that it actually is possible to live sustainably and feed everyone on the planet today, even with the overpopulation problems. It's not a matter of capability but rather one of willingness, which literally makes Shobhit a part of the problem. He's willfully ignoring the fact that real solutions actually do exist, which do not necessitate mass fatalities in the human population. There's real, hard data supporting this now. In fact, there's more than enough food being produced already to feed everyone. It's just a matter of will and logistics, capitalism and greed. I can't get on board with the idea that mass fatalities is the only solution.
Once the episode ended and I had some dinner, I went down with Shobhit to water his p-patch plot because he just always wants me to accompany him, which is annoying but not the worst thing in the world. I didn't do much of note for the rest of the evening, really, although I did watch just a little bit of the Tokyo Olympics with Shobhit.
In other news, the highlight of my day so far has been the letter board Tracy brought in this morning. I guess I need to think up some shit to say about her now?
[posted 12:36 pm]