This week’s noteworthy current series is THE WHITE LOTUS, season two. I am a massive fan of the Creator/Writer Mike White. I especially love his voice, the tone, and how he writes subtext and covers various issues through character dynamics.
Season two takes place in Sicily. Like season one, season two also starts with a consequence of a future moment with a murder. It deals with American travelers that include the privileged, entitled, and narcissistic fair, as well as the hotel business and the culture where they stay that we see through a variety of characters that work at the hotel and locals that visit the hotel. Then, it goes back in time leading up to it. I love how Mike White shows relationship dynamics through a wide array of lenses that include a variety of life phases, male versus female perspectives of being in a relationship, working versus non-working, class, religion, sex workers, betrayal, and generational dysfunction.
I love the satire. When I watched the first episode of season one, I wasn’t sure I was in the mindset for it. It felt a bit too over the top for me at first. With the current state of the world, I wasn’t sure how I felt about it. My life partner had an illustrious career in the hotel world; therefore, I have an inside glimpse. After watching a few more episodes, I got into season one. I understood it. I felt it. I felt a transformation in what it explored and how it explored it. The sarcasm felt oddly comforting.
In season two, I found that I was looking forward to it. I wanted to see the wide variety of perspectives of life from all different angles. I wanted to hear in the dialogue what people care about in the world and topics of conversation while on vacation. When people are in a vacation mindset, there is an openness and less of a guarded survival aspect of how we think. While we hear the performative element of humanity, we also hear the heart if we take the time to listen. Through White’s parody, we have time to look at life and our relationship with it and with each other.
I feel so many emotions when I watch this show. I love to hear how people deal with different life situations, including the things that humor and plague us. I love the various points of view. I value the depth of the exploration and the fun it pokes at what we think about life, love, and the growth process of being human.
