Deadwind: Live-Wire Whodunnit

I thought I'd start off 2019 with a review of a new Nordic Noir series on Netflix - something I haven't done in a while.  (We binged a lot of it last night, because New Year's Eve on CNN without Kathy Griffin was not worth watching.)  Deadwind (originally Karppi) is an excellent Finnish whodunit.  Although my wife and I both had a bad feeling about the killer at the very beginning, his/her identity was kept beyond logical deduction until the 12th and last episode.  That's a good thing in a mystery.

The central characters are Sophia Karppi, a seasoned homicide detective just back to work after the death of her husband (by accident, he was hit by a car when he was jogging) and Sakari Nurmi, a detective from "financial" investigations, on his first homicide case.  The victim is a former swimmer, now working for a big company trying to get approval for a new kind of energy-saving wind plant, who has been having an affair with the lead scientist/boss of the company.  There are suspects galore, ranging from the victim's husband to the boss to the head of a rival company for which she (the victim) was working as a spy.

The action is fast and the emotional involvements deep.  I don't speak Finnish, but the captioned translation was ok (the word "bullshit," though, appeared in almost every scene), and the meaning clear.   The murder took place in October, and the narrative unfolds over the ensuing months, making the snow that was always on the ground plausible (I don't know, is there always snow on the ground in Finland?)  Despite the murder and other bad doing afoot, Helsinki looks like a good place to visit.

The acting for the two lead characters - Pihla Viitala as Sophia and Lauri Tilkanen as Sakari - was effective, and I'd definitely be interested in seeing more of their exploits (ok, that tells you they both survived, but it's impossible to have no spoilers at all in a review).  Rike Jokela directed and is listed on IMDb as the first writer,  so hats off to him - though maybe not on a windy day in winter in Helsinki.  I understand there's a new season being written - count my wife and me in as viewers.

 

Neanderthal noir

Abject Stupidity of Bank of America and Delta Airlines in Withdrawing Support from New York Public Theater

One of the stupidest, saddest pieces of news in the past week was Bank of America and Delta Airlines withdrawing their sponsorship of the New York Public Theater's production of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar because ... the production presented Caesar with an orange, Trump-like wig, and, the corporations claimed, glorified Caesar/Trump's assassination.

The people at Bank of America and Delta Airlines are obviously stupid, or maybe ignorant is the better word, because Julius Caesar is not the villain (note to Bank of America and Delta - "villain" means "bad guy") in the play with his name, and neither is his killing glorified.  To the contrary, Caesar is the victim, and the villains - not the heroes - are the Senators who stab him to death, most especially the conflicted Brutus.  His assassination is presented not as something to be done or emulated, but avoided, if only because it is the undoing of the people who plot to do it and do it. That's the essence of the play.   Don't they educate executives at big corporations any more?

But their withdrawal of support for the NY Public Theater is also sad, because it follows the cowardly actions of CNN in firing Kathy Griffin and cancelling Reza Aslan's documentary series because of their criticism of the President.   Is this the society we've become, in which we can't tolerate politically lacerating humor (Griffin), cursing out a President (Aslan) - and, by the way, both did this not on CNN's air but their own time - and political commentary in art (NY Public Theater)?

People who believe in freedom of expression should do something about this.   I decided last week to watch CNN now about as often as I watch Fox News - almost never.   Fortunately, I don't bank with Bank of America, and I'm certainly not going to start.  As for Delta, I've flown with them many times, but now I don't intend to do that again.

Americans should stand up and call out these crypto fascists, wherever they rear their heads.

The Cowardice of CNN

Yesterday brought the news that CNN cancelled Reza Aslan's documentary series, Believer, after Aslan tweeted that Donald Trump was "a piece of shit".  This makes the second time in as many weeks that CNN cancelled a program or fired a host because of what it deemed as unacceptable behavior off of CNN.  The first case was the firing of Kathy Griffin after she held up a severed, bloody head of Trump in a political comedy routine.

In Aslan's case, he was replying to a series of Trump tweets which attacked the Muslim Mayor of London after typically misreading or misunderstanding what the Mayor said after a brutal terrorist attack on London.  Trump continued with a reiteration for the need of his Muslim ban.

Trump could and should have been called a lot worse than "a piece of shit" for this and many of the other things he has done or attempted to do as President.  I could understand if CNN had a policy prohibiting that use of language on its air - which use, by the way, is in no sense illegal - but CNN has every ethical right to regulate what it broadcasts.

But cancelling a series because its creator tweeted something under his own name - something CNN didn't find to its liking?  A creator who was not a journalist or a reporter, but a documentary TV maker? Reporters are supposed to be objective.  Makers of documentaries are supposed to have a point of view, the sharper the better.

The cancelation of Aslan's series, after it had been renewed,  represents a dangerous precedent, especially when preceded by the firing of Kathy Griffin for the severed head.  We live in a country in which vigorous criticism is more necessary than ever, with a President who lies and insults and misrepresents almost every time he opens his mouth.  Rather than punishing and de facto censoring people in its operation who speak up for the truth, CNN should be standing behind them, and expressing its pride in giving a forum for such brave and truthful communicators.

As it is, CNN and its cowardice has become part of the problem, rather than its solution or remedy.