David Fincher's serial killer chat 'em up MINDHUNTER

<3 kristoff

http://www.vulture.com/2017/11/mindhunters-deft-commentary-on-toxic-masculinity.html

^^^ dind ding

man that is A+

Watching this again. The writing is fantastic, but the direction is even better.

I love the first meeting between Holden and Debbie meet in the bar, when both characters realize the other is smarter than they assumed. It gets very dense, moving quickly to a discussion of Durkheim's theory of labeling.

Sounds pretentious, right? But rather than submitting us to this directly, Fincher moves the conversation into a crowded bar, creating an excuse to use subtitles. This permits viewers to *read* the concepts and reflect on them, rather than *hear* them from actors and dismiss them on instinct.

I call that smart, functional directing.

i found the technical aspects of this show more enjoyable than the overall experience. i mean, i didn't know we'd have to wait til next year for the BTK thing to go anywhere. this is the first show i've watched in its entirety in a year and kinda wish i'd chosen something else, but i'm def a sucker for this thing.

it will be a true crime if Jack Erdie doesn't win something for the Speck portrayal. just mesmerising.

i think if anyone wins anything it'll be Cameron Britton, and well-deserved too. but you're right about Jack Erdie.

probably because this is a fact-based show, they have a group of killers who are all very different in demeanor and reasoning and accessibility and levels of self-control, while managing to lay out a foundation of some vague common ground. it's refreshing to see an intelligent presentation of these types of people, i mean it goes without saying that the godlike omnipotent serial killer with a plan is such a tiresome cliche. even when dealing w/historical fact i think it would be easy to fall into the "i'm most dangerous when i'm caged" Hannibal Lecter BS but it never does except when it toys with it a bit at the end, when Holden has his panic attack while meeting Kemper.

i guess the best comparison to make with this show really is Zodiac, since so much of it revolves around interviews that are remarkably reminiscent of the Arthur Leigh Allen interview scene.

are there funko pops for this yet? that's all i really want to know.

lol

yeah it def does a better job than most of these types of shows of not fetishizing the killers in that “ooh theyre such geniuses” way
like no actually when you scratch the surface they’re violent dudes who are fucked up & pathetic

i like the way it shows the origin of the language surrounding serial killers too, like ppl i think may take it for granted that it’s always been codified in this way when it’s actually only come about in the last few decades

I guess we're at the beginning of the funkopopalyse right now and I feel that it's a bad sign for the consumer market

after watching this i watched a couple of serial killer interviews on youtube and it's weird how mundane they are. the banality of evil and all that. was surprised by how lucid and articulate ted bundy was though. he knew exactly why he had done what he did. it was like listening to a psychiatrist talk about someone else.

that's the part that's most chilling to me. some people just become emotionally numb but carry this weight after they've killed someone or done something grave, but the interviews they dramatized (and some of the source material) have these matter of fact recitations as if they're talking about going to the store because they ran out of milk

But remember that that is performative. That’s not their “true self”. They both just wear a series of masks. Bundy & Kemper are keenly aware of how they should speak about these acts & know that subverting that not only makes ppl react, but it gives them more attention

If they perform well enough at being “like us”, they’ll go over bcz it weirds people out and intrigues them. And they super, duper did.

i garbled that last part but u get the drift

it’s more chilling when you realize how ~studied~ their act of being lucid & articulate really is

it was a weird feeling watching the kemper interview and getting legit emotional at the part his mom says "i suppose you'll want to talk all night?"

aaaaaand then i remembered the um, neck thing

is the "true self" any more caring or even more lizardlike

or just a pure id ragemonster

i watched some of the real kemper on youtube. that weird feeling that they were just really pretty boring people except for the whole killing thing...

like, they do kinda remind me of people who come in the store and go on and on about boring stuff until i feel like i'm going to fall over. men who like to talk and hypnotize you with stories of that amplifier they owned in the 70's. sometimes i wish they would just kill me...

I both hate myself for wondering and it's gross even being interested in it beyond the analytical thought of what makes people tick! I'm not an expert or hunting killers, so there's no practical reason for me to know, so it's all gawking (at the expense of victims) and intrigue about murder. The cops who are like "I don't care how they tick, I want to know how to stop them" are very relatable

on the other hand I love the Hannibal tv series and revel in his horribleness

so to sum it up, I'm sure I'll look good wearing your skins, ttyl

tbh i dont think there is a true self... it’s just layers of masks

yeah i stand on both sides of the fence too even though i sound ghoulishly invested

i would much rather these violent sexual predators not take up space in jail when there is zero chance of rehabiliatuon of any kind & at a certain point “study” just serves their ego

but i am also not a big fan of capital punishment so

idk

i kinda stan for putting them all on a trash island together in the middle of the ocean & let them lord of the flies it up with no outside attention until they all die/murder each other/eat each other etc

I think they're among the few people that actually belong imprisoned for life, this is one of the few reasons we would ever actually need prisons

yeah maybe

idk

still

trash island is v appealing

https://33.media.tumblr.com/bc3e1b7fd71a708e2b307812afc4d66e/tumblr_nbcw4gGtvf1rl3565o9_250.gif

lolol

the second meeting w/Kemper, he does this thing that i just noticed but is very quietly chilling.

it's a throwaway/not throwaway shot. they're talking and he stands up and walks over to demonstrate something regarding his thoughts on, uh, neck muscles, and after Kemper does it he walks back to his side of the table and as he's sitting, shoots a quick glance over at the guard who's hanging out in the next room, and even though he's in the background and out of focus you can see the guard is turned with his back to them. it's just a quick hit of Kemper pushing the envelope a bit and getting his kicks in.

Loving all the bridges

Why does the actor playing Holden have to be so naive and childlike? Both at work and in his relationship.

He’s like a deer in headlights

Maybe that's just what he's like irl

he is!

jonathan groff is a beautiful angel so thats p much how he is 24/7

He needs a true ILX pua to coach him

What’s a pua?

Pick up artist? his character on Looking could have used one

obvious point but i think they're definitely toying w/the idea that Holden has a disconnect from most people but finds a connection w/some of these killers. which is why i loved Anna Torv's quick reaction shot glances at him in their first meeting, she was kind of figuring him out a bit from the start. even their first first meeting: "Cold season."

I just wanted to say I really like Jonathan Groff. His character on Looking is the reason why. And it's because of him that I've started watching Mindhunter

is he *ever* shown without a suit? I remember him taking off shirt once (when he couldn't have sex) but that's it. odd conceit

I liked this! but yeah the Debbie character was a bit bizarre, just someone for him to talk at and who would ask the 'right' questions to enlighten the audience

I didn't know anything about this going in nor the source material so it mainly made sense in the last couple of episodes where they did the whole 'we need some kind of terminology to describe these people who do a series of murders'. But yes I am glad it wasn't too gorey and the small-town cops weren't dumb. I'm watching Stranger Things at the same time and occasionally mixing up threads.

My burning question after (nearly) finishing this show: all that cigarette smoke - was it cgi?

What’s with Wendy and the cat?

tbh idk either. someone itt suggested it was metaphor i think

P sure the cat is a serial mousehunter

Wendy as surrogate mother merely leaves some food and retreats up the stairs, ignoring plaintive meows

Tench is the man.

Lots of great little asides in this. Episode 4 -- noticing how well Tench initially predicts the ultimate outcome and how far afield Holden is. Also when Rissell crushes the can suddenly after finishing it and asks, "why do we do that when we're done?" I forget Holden's response but I liked Rissell's "Maybe..." reply to it.

Also this show made me recognize the narcissistic and borderline (imo) B.B. low-level socially (as opposed to murderous) psychopathic behavior of a couple we know and it put the fear into me. Not going to talk about it here but if there's ever a relevant thread maybe I would.

Psychopaths (Adult and Otherwise) ??

Tench is the anchor, the fulcrum

Have to say, ep 8 is really weak with the tickling bs as is 9 with needless relationship drama. Netflix : just make the season 8 eps instead of 10 if you’ve run out of pertinent plot points.