True Detective Narrative Analysis
How does the first series of HBO’s True Detective represent: Religion, Philosophy and Social Groups?
“You got to get together and tell yourself stories that violate every law of the universe just to get through the goddamn day?What’s that say about your reality?”
True Detective (Fukunaga, 2014)
True Detective, HBO’s award winning and intricate masterpiece, deals with a lot of symbology, quite boldly, from the out-set (Romano, A., 2014). Religious iconography is often the focal point within the show’s cinematography, signifying different connotations, specifically towards different sects and doctrines; straying into the darkest regions of ideology. To dissect it’s meanings the use of textual analysis is required with support from semiotic …show more content…
(Romano A., 2014). What is being shown to us in the series often depicts dilapidated churches in rural Louisiana. The sense that money isn't prevalent is made very clear as the audience is told via the exposition of Rust Cohle during an evangelical revival tent event, mentioning how“Folks puttin' what few bucks they do have into a little wicker basket”. In the scene the quote is lifted from, Cohle’s discourse is strikingly alienated to the evangelical tent revival preacher he is critiquing. It highlights how socio-religious groups influence how the viewer perceives reality by manipulating language and symbols they inherently associate with mentioned groups. This disassociation of traditional meaning to symbols is underlined by Cohle’s explanation for the cross hanging in his wall for mediative uses rather than spiritual ones reflecting his nihilistic inclinations.(Purvis, T., …show more content…
Although the fundamental christian groups in the show identify the ritual sacrifice of a woman to be devil worship or “occult”, upon closer inspection it is of celtic origin. Specifically the single spiral painted upon the victims back, historically, represents: Growth, Eternal Life and Movement in the cosmos. (Ludden.K., 2012). The crown she is adorned with, consisting of antlers and branches is also associated with celtic deities and misinterpreted as satanism.(Maier, B., 2003) However what it signified is very different viewed through the eyes of socio-religious groups who’s discourse labels it as something very different to someone versed with the insular celts. How useful then is the application of semiotics and discourse regarding what is signified to us in the series? The viewers have attributed many varying ideas regarding meaning within the series, “from misogyny to Vietnam”. (Romano.A., 2014). However the way signs and iconography are interpreted by the characters is a good starting point as Nihilists and Evangelicals are so starkly opposed (Lewis.R, 2015). The way they interpret something in the series depends quite heavily on the discourse they subscribe to and the type of ‘storytelling’ they lean to: investigative or religious. (Romano.A.,
“You got to get together and tell yourself stories that violate every law of the universe just to get through the goddamn day?What’s that say about your reality?”
True Detective (Fukunaga, 2014)
True Detective, HBO’s award winning and intricate masterpiece, deals with a lot of symbology, quite boldly, from the out-set (Romano, A., 2014). Religious iconography is often the focal point within the show’s cinematography, signifying different connotations, specifically towards different sects and doctrines; straying into the darkest regions of ideology. To dissect it’s meanings the use of textual analysis is required with support from semiotic …show more content…
(Romano A., 2014). What is being shown to us in the series often depicts dilapidated churches in rural Louisiana. The sense that money isn't prevalent is made very clear as the audience is told via the exposition of Rust Cohle during an evangelical revival tent event, mentioning how“Folks puttin' what few bucks they do have into a little wicker basket”. In the scene the quote is lifted from, Cohle’s discourse is strikingly alienated to the evangelical tent revival preacher he is critiquing. It highlights how socio-religious groups influence how the viewer perceives reality by manipulating language and symbols they inherently associate with mentioned groups. This disassociation of traditional meaning to symbols is underlined by Cohle’s explanation for the cross hanging in his wall for mediative uses rather than spiritual ones reflecting his nihilistic inclinations.(Purvis, T., …show more content…
Although the fundamental christian groups in the show identify the ritual sacrifice of a woman to be devil worship or “occult”, upon closer inspection it is of celtic origin. Specifically the single spiral painted upon the victims back, historically, represents: Growth, Eternal Life and Movement in the cosmos. (Ludden.K., 2012). The crown she is adorned with, consisting of antlers and branches is also associated with celtic deities and misinterpreted as satanism.(Maier, B., 2003) However what it signified is very different viewed through the eyes of socio-religious groups who’s discourse labels it as something very different to someone versed with the insular celts. How useful then is the application of semiotics and discourse regarding what is signified to us in the series? The viewers have attributed many varying ideas regarding meaning within the series, “from misogyny to Vietnam”. (Romano.A., 2014). However the way signs and iconography are interpreted by the characters is a good starting point as Nihilists and Evangelicals are so starkly opposed (Lewis.R, 2015). The way they interpret something in the series depends quite heavily on the discourse they subscribe to and the type of ‘storytelling’ they lean to: investigative or religious. (Romano.A.,