Carnivale

I viewed several episodes of this program on HBO when it was playing. In my opinion, it was very hard to follow, a little boring and tedious to watch, and a lot of scenes left you hanging. The only HBO series that I really got into was Sex In The City and The Wire.

Carnival is an allegory about the system of occultism as practised by the leaders of the "free world". The unseen force in control of the carnival and the characters represent people who you would know if you have the keys. Who is the dwarf? Who is the snake charmer?

Warning!
Don't look at television! That is how you mind gets controlled. Television is another word for brainwashing. Television does not reflect the structure of this universe, for I have said a black man made this universe, immortal Shango!

Fagunwa: Thanks so much for your comment. But don't you leave me hanging too.... do the dwarf and the snakecharmer represent God and Satan? I thought Hawkins and the Priest respectively already represented them. I don't have enough knowledge of religion to join all the dots.

In particular, I can't understand the ending - how Sophie, who was the daughter of the evil priest, suddenly had the same power as Hawkins to bring the priest back to life. But her priest father didn't have that power himself of reviving dead to living?? If as below, that isn't the REAL ending, I'm still confused about Sophie??? Help?

Rowe: I agree Carnivale had too many multiple threads that sometimes unwound and weren't fully explained (the bear in the war trenches for one) but I certainly never found it boring. In my mind, it also painted a feasible picture of the depression and people's thirst for anything that resembled hope or salvation. I wasn't totally convinced that many people would have been able to afford to go to a Carnival while living in grinding poverty, but then that was the only entertainment escape available. Like when there's a recession, hairdressers always do well because people want to feel and look good even if they can't afford to spend money going out.

I've watched a few episodes of Sex In the City and found some of them very funny and one even poignant. I don't really like the overall 'reality' it clings to though. It has (and I believe perpetuates) a sense of hopelessness about men and women being forever 'disconnected'. I don't believe this. I'm guessing, but is it written by gay men? The right men and women can connect on many levels.
I'm sure it makes women feel better about being single as an inevitablity, but I don't find that mindset very healthy. Many women are addicted to the series, and buy the whole series on DVD to rewatch.

Of my girlfriends who are single, interestingly it's the ones who don't believe in love (but somehow expect it to knock on their door) that are still single in their 30s and early 40s. And if there's a whole lot of men wandering around thinking the same thing....

Johnny Destiny: you are certainly right about television overall. However I've also witnessed some wonderful documentaries and interviews, points-of-view and films I would hate to have missed. It about selectivity.

Update! It's not the writers' fault...

Apparently the series was cancelled by HBO before the complete story was shown... this is from a fan-site:

We are a group of committed fans of the HBO Original Series, Carnivàle. The creative and original story, the authenticity of the production, the richly layered characters, and the incredible talent of the cast and crew challenged our views and allowed us to analyze, debate, and immerse ourselves in history. This wonderful creation was intoxicating and addictive to all those who watched it. It was refreshing and exciting. In an age of formula TV, reality television, and pandering sit-coms, this series was a jewel among the pebbles. Without overuse of foul language, violence, or sex, this series took us back to what originally drives entertainment: good story telling.

Recently, fans of the HBO Original Series, Carnivàle, have learned that the network has cancelled the show. The show's ending after its second season and leaving so many plotlines unfinished has outraged many viewers. We've organized this website and its corresponding online discussion group, HelpSaveCarnivale, to serve as a hub of information with resources, news, and ideas on how dedicated viewers can get involved and help bring back the series".

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A message from Dan Knauf, one of the writers:

"...But, as I've stated before, Carnivale was never just about story. It was in the telling. Tone, pace, visuals, beauty and horror living side-by-side. A big part of what we tried to do was evoke a state of mind, to evoke symbology the resonates at a very primitive level.

If you think that a synopsis will give you "closure" (THE most false, vomitous piece of newspeak ever to erupt like a boil on the English language, by the way), then you are either sadly mistaken, or I have totally failed as a storyteller.

I know we live in an era of instant gratification, but I know how my story needs to be told. And that's the way it will be told. It may be a year from now. It may be five. But I'm confident it will happen as long as the fan-base grows, the audience grows, and the telling becomes viable as a profitable endeavor.

That's why what you do right now is so important. It's vital to keep building, or the story will die. Lots of you have seized the day and are doing some incredible things--CarnyCons, SaveCarnivale, t-shirts and other things to keep our profile high. Hundreds of you are weighing in on polls, writing to media outlets, and sharing your tapes and DVDs. I've been taking heart in these and other activities. I knew you guys wouldn't let Carnivale down".

So, will will HBO ever give us all the answers...?