American Gods

The book was political, at least as far as immigration goes. Gaiman also tends to throw in the typical euro view that the midwest is basically Deliverance in some of his writings. Given that, it is no shock at all that the show has a very strong pro-immigration stance. It isn't just people here saying this. Its in the reviews, its in leftwing forums that LOVE the politics of the show and go over it endlessly. It is in the book that it was written from, the author has mentioned it also in interviews.

So if you can't see any of that, maybe its on you.


Anyway, all of that is less important to me than whether the show is good and enjoyable. It is. Watch it, its great.

I've read Gaiman's interviews pretty extensively, and I'm aware of his personal politics. But the focus on immigration in the book was mostly on the founding of America, the melting pot, the foreign gods and their introduction to the US, etc. I don't see that as a political message, that's just history. His view of the Midwest in the book is a little quaint, but he's also talking about a particular highway culture rather than the whole of the Midwest, for the most part. That culture existed and was fading at the time of the writing of the book, which was a theme that was basically used to club you over the head.

Maybe it is me, I didn't pick up any kind of message related to immigration at all in the first 5 episodes. I don't go to leftwing political forums, and I'm sitting here wondering wtf it is they could be discussing with glee in those first 5 episodes.

He is right on the fact that some of the alt-right kool-aid drinkers seem to be getting butt hurt over this show lol

I am not sure if people get maybe a bit too distracted by reading the politics into it.

Again, the main point they were trying to get across was that there're more than one Jesus (literally, in the American Gods context) and that two versions of the same "God" (as in American-Gods-style-belief-manifestations, not the classic monotheism-style-God) can actually be at odds with one another.

Did they pick a juicy hot current topic to showcase it with immigration? Sure.

However, the main thing they kept focussing on wasn't "random-Redneck-with-a-Trump-hat" shooting Mexicans. The thing the camera focussed on to the point of ridiculousness was the "thy kingdom come" and the cross dangling from the rifle to drive the Jesus-vs-Jesus point home.

The entire sub-set of Jesus(es) (and other, older deities) being thought-form manifestations of people believing in them, rather than a single Jesus being a divine incarnation of a biblical, omniscient and omnipotent one-and-only-god is already far, far outside US conservatism to begin with.

chaos said:

Maybe I'm just not paying enough attention or something, I don't see it. The most recent episode sounds like it is, don't really know, but prior to that I didn't pick up on anything like that.

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Forgive me, but you certainly don't have the most stellar record when it comes to identifying this stuff.

iooti after all.

Quaid said:

Forgive me, but you certainly don't have the most stellar record when it comes to identifying this stuff.

iooti after all.

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huehuehue
fuck all that. Dudes in here crying about blackk people getting hung, slave ships, gay scenes, etc. Just a continuation of the "things I don't like == SJW shit" theme from other threads, seeing a political message where there isn't one because you saw a penis.

chaos said:

huehuehue
fuck all that. Dudes in here crying about blackk people getting hung, slave ships, gay scenes, etc. Just a continuation of the "things I don't like == SJW shit" theme from other threads, seeing a political message where there isn't one because you saw a penis.

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The fucking author has stated the political slant of the book. The makers of the show have stated in interviews the show is politically slanted. Review after review, right and left, have stated the slant.

That doesn't make the show bad or good. It just is that way. Stop embarrassing yourself AGAIN on your inability to see shit right in front of you. Jesus fuck.

Soygen said:

How did they show there was more than one Jesus in this episode? Did I miss the other Jesus? I thought Thy Kingdom Come was Vulcan's people.

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The one that had "Thy Kingdom Come" inscribed on his gun also had a rosary in the same hand he was pulling the trigger with so they didn't worship Vulcan explicitly.

khalid said:

The fucking author has stated the political slant of the book. The makers of the show have stated in interviews the show is politically slanted. Review after review, right and left, have stated the slant.

That doesn't make the show bad or good. It just is that way. Stop embarrassing yourself AGAIN on your inability to see shit right in front of you. Jesus fuck.

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Dude, fuck you. I asked for specifics and got some vague bullshit about "immigration" which, as I stated, there is exactly 1 reference to immigration in the first 5 episodes, and the book certainly doesn't preach anything about immigration, it retells the story of America's founding. There "just is" a slant. It's "apparent". What the fuck ever.

chaos said:

Dude, fuck you. I asked for specifics and got some vague bullshit about "immigration" which, as I stated, there is exactly 1 reference to immigration in the first 5 episodes, and the book certainly doesn't preach anything about immigration, it retells the story of America's founding. There "just is" a slant. It's "apparent". What the fuck ever.

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Did you not listen to the Anansi monologue? Did you not see the border crossing?

And the whole damn show is about immigration. What in the fuck are you talking about?

Holy fuck. The Jesus scene was irony. Jesus preached peace and love thy neighbor. They were killing in god's name and in that effort, killed a version of the lord they worshiped. The political message is all the people who preach hate in jesus' name are hypocrites or crazies.

American God's - Watch butt hurt aspies debate indefinitely. Now with more dongs!

Soygen said:

Virtue signalling about immigration does not make the show about immigration.

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Dude. The book, and the show... Are about immigration. It's like... one of the primary themes. Every episode has referenced it in some way, from the crossing of the Atlantic by the slaves, to Vikings on the beaches... The crossing of the bearing land bridge, and the rio grande, and many more examples. Immigrants bring their beliefs with them to America... The author has said as much himself.

It's not even disputable.

Drakain said:

Holy fuck. The Jesus scene was irony. Jesus preached peace and love thy neighbor. They were killing in god's name and in that effort, killed a version of the lord they worshiped. The political message is all the people who preach hate in jesus' name are hypocrites or crazies.

American God's - Watch butt hurt aspies debate indefinitely. Now with more dongs!

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Did you do well in High School English class?

Wait... don't answer that.

Why did you capitalize "High School"?

Khane said:

Why did you capitalize "High School"?

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*shrug* my phone did it.

Drakain said:

Holy fuck. The Jesus scene was irony. Jesus preached peace and love thy neighbor. They were killing in god's name and in that effort, killed a version of the lord they worshiped. The political message is all the people who preach hate in jesus' name are hypocrites or crazies.

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Yeah that was, for me, the primary message of that scene. How adherents of a faith will customize it and make it their own to the point that they can violate the tenets of that faith in it's very name against others who practice it. It just used the setting of an illegal border crossing to illustrate the point.