4 ms·

I dunno. I watched the first few episodes over COVID and I thought it just the same as any US cable show: sex, crash-bangs and manufactured plot twists. Maybe

I dunno. I watched the first few episodes over COVID and I thought it just the same as any US cable show: sex, crash-bangs and manufactured plot twists. Maybe I'm wrong but IIRC there's a sex scene in the first five minutes of the pilot. Like, don't insult my intelligence.

miguelazo 3y ago
That was probably the only "cheap stunt" of the entire series. They still had to consider the average viewer, I suppose. But I know a few people I recommended it to were turned off by that exact early scene and never got past it. Really unfortunate.
- walthamstow 3y ago
  Thanks for this. Maybe I'll give it another go.
notnaut 3y ago
Smart people don’t like sex scenes?
- The_Colonel 3y ago
  I guess smart people visit porn sites when they want to watch some. For me it's just boring filler and I skip them.
  - voltaireodactyl 3y ago
    While we’re expressing opinions: in a show about navigating a partnership that accepts seduction as a necessary part of intelligence work (not solely of a romantic nature, but often), where the main characters are also being seduced by the capitalist lifestyle — I suspect some smart people might also view those less-clothed scenes as contributing (and even critical to) the underlying themes.
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    - hnick 3y ago
      I'm with them, I don't enjoy those scenes (in general - haven't seen the one in question). Not because I'm a prude, I just find them a little boring and they usually take too long - and often are immersion breaking themselves with how they clothe or position characters to appeal to TV decency standards. An implication and a fade away is enough for me, unless something pivotal happens within the scene itself.
      - voltaireodactyl 2y ago
        I agree that there are many stories where the fade away works just fine. I’m a bit baffled at the use of The Americans in this context though. It is distinctly not one of those stories, but one where each such scene — down to the literal blocking of action — helps explicate the narrative in terms of both plot and emotional arcs.
  - brnt 3y ago
    > I guess smart people visit porn sites I chuckled and thank you for the compliment! Also: I agree. It's pretty much always a tedium. Now, American series almost always suffer from that: not just the sex scenes are used as filler, and could be replaced with a line or two suggesting the events if relevant. House of Cards is my go to example: just take the British original for how you can condense the story by a factor of 10 without any loss. Putting it that way: it'd be hilarious if a compression format would work this way.
    - kmeisthax 3y ago
      > Putting it that way: it'd be hilarious if a compression format would work this way. https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-3045 https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-3045
- cess11 3y ago
  US:ian media doesn't have sex scenes, it has symbolic innuendos standing in for sex scenes.
jncfhnb 3y ago
> Like, don't insult my intelligence. The real Americans was you, all along
- deleted 3y ago
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miguelazo 3y ago

That was probably the only "cheap stunt" of the entire series. They still had to consider the average viewer, I suppose. But I know a few people I recommended it to were turned off by that exact early scene and never got past it. Really unfortunate.

walthamstow 3y ago
Thanks for this. Maybe I'll give it another go.

notnaut 3y ago

Smart people don’t like sex scenes?

The_Colonel 3y ago
I guess smart people visit porn sites when they want to watch some. For me it's just boring filler and I skip them.
- voltaireodactyl 3y ago
  While we’re expressing opinions: in a show about navigating a partnership that accepts seduction as a necessary part of intelligence work (not solely of a romantic nature, but often), where the main characters are also being seduced by the capitalist lifestyle — I suspect some smart people might also view those less-clothed scenes as contributing (and even critical to) the underlying themes.
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
  - hnick 3y ago
    I'm with them, I don't enjoy those scenes (in general - haven't seen the one in question). Not because I'm a prude, I just find them a little boring and they usually take too long - and often are immersion breaking themselves with how they clothe or position characters to appeal to TV decency standards. An implication and a fade away is enough for me, unless something pivotal happens within the scene itself.
    - voltaireodactyl 2y ago
      I agree that there are many stories where the fade away works just fine. I’m a bit baffled at the use of The Americans in this context though. It is distinctly not one of those stories, but one where each such scene — down to the literal blocking of action — helps explicate the narrative in terms of both plot and emotional arcs.
- brnt 3y ago
  > I guess smart people visit porn sites I chuckled and thank you for the compliment! Also: I agree. It's pretty much always a tedium. Now, American series almost always suffer from that: not just the sex scenes are used as filler, and could be replaced with a line or two suggesting the events if relevant. House of Cards is my go to example: just take the British original for how you can condense the story by a factor of 10 without any loss. Putting it that way: it'd be hilarious if a compression format would work this way.
  - kmeisthax 3y ago
    > Putting it that way: it'd be hilarious if a compression format would work this way. https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-3045 https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-3045
cess11 3y ago
US:ian media doesn't have sex scenes, it has symbolic innuendos standing in for sex scenes.

jncfhnb 3y ago

> Like, don't insult my intelligence. The real Americans was you, all along

deleted 3y ago
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