T.V. Window to the World

T.V. Window to the World

By: Erreh Svaia

“I started to work in television for three or four years, in 1954. There was one channel of television, black and white. But it could be entertaining and educational. During the evening they showed important plays, opera or Shakespeare's tragedies.”

Umberto Eco

My obsession with T.V. Series from around the world started with Lilyhammer, a Norwegian T.V. Series featuring American musician and actor Steven Van Zandt as a "Godfather" style gangster escaping from the mafia and starting a new life in the Norwegian town Lillehammer, I was quite engaged with Norway's culture before the series but it was a wonderful experience to see it with my own eyes on T.V., of course nothing like the real thing, but impressive to watch daily life in those far lands, having read about Norwegian welfare state and watching it on the T.V., with Van Zandt character trying to bribe a public servant in the migrant department at his arrival, the alcohol monopoly by the state threatened by Van Zandt and his gang, and the current migrant crisis in Europe, always present in modern day Europe, it was a really refreshing lesson from a different culture I admire that rounds what I have been learning from the great writings of Karl Ove Knausgard and his controversial My Struggle books and the always influential black metal scene, whose enormous influence surpassed even the limits of the genre.

Next came Marseille, a French T.V. series featuring Russian adopted actor Gerard Depardieu as the major of Marseille in what could be seen as France's answer to House of Cards, putting some light on politics corruption dark alleys, Depardieu is brilliant as Robert Taro, a major betrayed by his closer political disciple in a fight for the power of the port city, the pace of the actions in the series is truly intense, with breathtaking suspense by the characters all time hidden real intentions, with Depardieu/Taro divided between duty, family and power hunger, along France's multiculturalism, an interesting view of a culturally rich country with increasing relevance considering its close presidential elections, the emergence of black swan Emmanuelle Macron and the neo leftist economic theories of Thomas Piketty.

Going back into Scandinavia, I got really hooked in Rita, a wonderful Danish melodrama about a rebellious school teacher depicted by the amazing Miller Dinesen, an amazing Danish actress, in Rita, we can also be in presence of Denmark's school system, welfare state, advanced culture and the sometimes oppressive Danish sense of collectivism a little bit harsh in individualism, in Latin America left wingers are feverish admirers of Scandinavia's welfare state, but we can't forget the Law of Jante, art punk band Iceage, evolving wonderfully album after album and let's not forget the legendary Danish filmmaker Lars Von Trier whose Nymphomaniac was one of the most controversial and entertaining movies I've seen in recent years.

My new "obsession" is to watch Korean T.V. series, and I must said it was tough at first, I found Korean series a little bit kitsch, a weird combination of non-intentional comedy and drama, but I was really impressed by Beating Again, a sometimes over the top drama showing South Korea's harsh capitalism, still present machismo, enterprise corruption and epic family battles for honor and guilt, it's a quite engaging view of the land of iconoclastic economist Ha Joon Chang, whose enormously entertaining books I have been reading lately.

In an age where the world seems to be reversing globalization and borders are slowly starting to close, a chance to look at the window and learning about different cultures will always be a big chance to fight nationalism and xenophobia and a chance to appreciate and embrace multi culturalism, I'm glad that we still have the chance, we still have the time to reverse this terrible trend going on these days, we can learn almost everywhere!