The Victorian era, which followed the Georgian era and the Edwardian era, has always been regarded as the pinnacle of the British Industrial Revolution and the British "Empire on which the Sun Never Sets". The shock gave birth to many immortal classics, such as "Pleasant Talk". The so-called "Purple Talk" is actually nothing more than horror thriller novels provided by publishers in the early 19th century for the entertainment of the underprivileged youth. Although these novels are not very literary and the printing quality is also poor, their exaggerated imagination and only need a penny ( One penny's low pricing made it widely acclaimed, and it's been called "Penny Dreadful" and is still popular to this day.
200 years after "Purple Talk" gradually declined, American screenwriter John Logan found its traces in the dusty history. In 2014, Showtime TV's American drama "Pulp Talk" packaged and assembled the horror legends of the Victorian era for modern audiences using television as a medium: from witches to Frankenstein, from Dorian Gray to vampires, "Pulp Talk" is a decline The "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" series found a place to live. The intersection of anti-heroes who broke the dimensional wall on the small screen inherited the soul of the MCU, and also fulfilled the unfinished dream of the dark universe of the world.
When we thought that the "Pleasant Talk" series had finally come to an end with the collapse of the plot, we didn't expect John Logan to come back with his own son series. Older viewers may be a little puzzled at first sight of "Purple Talk: City of Angels" - where is Eva Green? Where is Frankenstein? Why don't you see Gothic Victorian London anymore? Because this is not an ordinary spin-off drama, it is more like "American Horror Story"'s annual spin-off drama "New Year's Goods", which moved the stage to Los Angeles in 1938, and told the story of "Pleasant Talk" from another perspective.
In 1938, the omen of the Second Century War was looming not only in Europe, but also in the distant City of Angels. Thiago, the first Mexican-American police detective in Los Angeles, was called up by a bizarre case before he took office: Patrol officers found four bizarre corpses on the street, their prominent family background and the intimidation in Spanish at the scene of the crime were clear The rise of black magic in Mexico.
At the same time, the family-friendly and amiable German-born pediatrician Pete has always stood on the commanding heights of personal morality, and never gave up even in the face of the temptation of the devil; but at the same time, he was also such a perfect person that he took the initiative to stand on the streets for the rising tide at that time. Nazi endorsement.
The presence of the Nazis was not only on the streets. The resolution of the Los Angeles lawmakers to build the first freeway for Los Angeles has attracted both the resistance of the Mexican-American "nail households" and the covetousness of the Nazis. With spies planted in every industry in the United States, Nazis of all classes tried to corrupt the entire Los Angeles, the entire American political map, starting with infrastructure.
Among the Mexican immigrants who resisted the highway, there was Thiago brother Raul. The union leader Raul, who could not get results in the parliamentary discussion, was bound to maintain the existing living environment through violence, while Tia, who worked for the violent agency, was bound to maintain the existing living environment. Ge situation with fire and water. Seeing that siblings can't be avoided, the brother's mother received a response from the Holy Spirit of Death in her prayers. It turned out that behind all the man-made conflicts, the Holy Spirit of Death of Mexico and its sister Magda were haunting...
Consistent with the orthodox series, "Purple Talk: City of Angels" can still see the presentation of B-level film elements, but unlike the previous work that abused super power thrillers without restraint, the derivative drama focuses on the discussion of race. Conflict, Nazi budding, and supernatural awakenings; you're no longer greeted by a bucket of horror monsters in "Purple Talk: City of Angels", but a phantasmagoric drama about race, murder, and New York architecture. A realistic review of history - I believe that it is difficult for fans of "Vulgar Stories" to find emotional resonance in it, but the audience of "American Gods" can feel the taste in the characters played by the gods.
The background of the story was moved from London to New York, but the core is Mexican immigrants, and the cultural and geographical conflicts inside and outside the play have never ceased. The non-Mexican director team does not seem to have grasped the core of Mexican spiritual culture, making it ultimately limited to curiosity. I understand why cultural symbols such as skulls, candles, and saints can resonate with the spiritual core of "Pleasant Talk"-because they are all "cheap legends", but they are only symbolic representations, not derived more symbolic meanings.
For example, the Nazi forces in the film are no different from "Nazi Hunter" and "The Man in the High Castle" that we have seen over the years. They are just pure incarnations of evil, and they are not like "Jojo Rabbit" even if they are pointed out by Wan Fu. , but also to show the childish side of the Nazis without being out of the way.
When it comes to the most representative cultural symbol of "Purple Talk: City of Angels", it is naturally the Santa Muerte that people keep mentioning in the play. For those of us who are unfamiliar with Latin American gods, we may not know much about this. The Holy Spirit of Death mostly appears in the image of a female skeleton. She wears a gorgeous robe and holds a sickle, symbolizing the master of life. The Holy Spirit of Death originated from the private worship of the bottom society in Mexico in the 18th century. It is not recognized by the mainstream Catholic Church and can only be believed in the underground, but it has attracted 2 to 5 million believers, accounting for 4% of the total population, and the orthodox protector of Mexico "Guadalu". as well-known as the Virgin Mary.
The belief in Holy Spirit of Death does not have a complete mythological system, and has two sides of "god and devil" (how is it so similar to Guan Gong?), most of the followers of Holy Spirit of Death are people living at the bottom of society or on the edge of the law, such as mobile Street vendors, taxi drivers, bootleg dealers, street gangsters, prostitutes, pickpockets and gang figures are generally considered to be unable to find solace in the traditional Catholic Church. Therefore, the belief in Holy Spirit of Death is closely related to pornography, drug dealers, kidnapping, smuggling and murder. In 2012, a poor Holy Spirit of Death family in northern Mexico killed and dismembered three relatives to sacrifice to Holy Spirit of Death, casting a shadow on the belief system. the shadow of sin.
The Holy Spirit of Death in the play shows more of its sympathetic watchman side. She responds to the prayers of believers and accepts the dead souls, but she turns a deaf ear to the buds of disasters. As an observer, she tries her best to avoid communication with believers in disasters and fortunes, and is ruthless. Awaiting the horrors of prophecy: One day there will be war between nations, races will exterminate each other, and brothers will kill each other until no one survives - aka World War II.
So the supernatural Magda, who was her opposite, stood up, provoking the struggle of human desires like a viper in the Garden of Eden, and exacerbating the turmoil and division of current affairs as an agent of chaos. "Little Rose" Natalie Dormer's Magda, like "Game of Thrones", is the most charismatic character in the entire story. She sometimes incarnates as a young woman who seduces a pediatrician, sometimes acts as a secretary to slander a member of parliament, and sometimes stands with the Nazis on the battlefield. Like Ares in "Wonder Woman," she's a chaotic operator and one of the biggest expectations of the entire show.
The role of the protagonist Thiago is also quite meaningful. He not only has to be torn between "a Mexican pretending to be a policeman or a policeman pretending to be a Mexican", but also as a "son of prophecy" (who has a stigmata on his body and is killed by Death Saint. God Himself rescued) running from side to side in horrific prophecies as a secular religious signal to break up the devil's conspiracy.
The demon-riddled "Purple Talk: City of Angels" puts the core of the contradiction before the unpretentious and low-key historical fact of "the construction of the first freeway in Los Angeles". The fanatic who hindered history instead became a positive character. Therefore, it is important to say that one's struggle is important, but the process of history must also be considered - otherwise, where would you let "La La Land" take a long shot of a traffic jam!
View more about Penny Dreadful: City of Angels reviews
