I had the worst period cramps last week. Everything hurt. I wanted to die but that’s hardly possible with kids running around the house, so I did the next best thing, which was laying in bed with YouTube on while heavily dosed on painkillers. I ended up BINGING videos of people criticising The Idol.
I read that Rolling Stone article, so after the show came out, my YouTube homepage was full of outrage reaction videos. I actually was intrigued to watch the show based off the article, because I am no stranger to problematic sexual content.
It’s kind of my thing, actually.
After watching enough videos of people calling the show “torture porn” and “exploitation” and “the worst thing I’ve ever seen”, I just kinda had to roll my eyes and jump off the reactionary train. I wanted to see this shit for myself.
But then, alas, I stumbled upon the following video from Kristen Leo, which contained a more nuanced analysis of the show:
I appreciate people who can like trashy stuff. It takes guts to shamelessly enjoy something, and while The Idol definitely does have a lot of content that should be criticized, I will also admit to you that I’ve been listening to “World Class Sinner” on repeat. And yes, I want to hear the moan-ridden remix that Jocelyn and Tedros made.
The song is terrible, but it’s atmospheric and dark and sexy and I kinda need that shit for writing. Ain’t no shame in admitting it.
And there ain’t no shame in admitting the faults that I actually find entirely fascinating about The Idol.
It’s Fantasy
There’s something to be said about stories that cater far too much to the creator’s fantasy. We’re talking 50 Shades of Grey and 365 Days, and I’d argue and The Idol falls into that category of fantasy erotica that alienates its own audience.
I know The Weeknd by whatever singles I hear on the radio. I know that Sam Levinson is the dude behind Euphoria. People have told me to watch Euphoria. People have told me that I would love Euphoria. I’ve heard that season 2 is kinda bad, though, and I’m not gonna invest what little downtime I have time into a show when I’ve already got spoilers that it doesn’t hold up well.
Watching The Idol while knowing its backstory makes it pretty obvious just how much fantasy is incorporated into this thing. I think the premise of a pop star attempting to remake her image after a public breakdown is a good one. I like the plot of her pairing up with a mysterious man in order to reinvent herself. (That’s basically the plot of Heathers!) I even like the idea of all the sex and the cult stuff and the angst, but then we just get that 10-minute scene of Lily-Rose Depp masturbating and The Weekend mumbling canned PornHub dialogue to her.
And it’s supposed to be like, eDgY. There’s even a girl watching them, but her reaction didn’t match my reaction upon watching it.
Having tried putting porn dialogue into my own writing and having editors laugh at it, I’ve learned the hard way that extended sex scenes just don’t work when you’re trying to write a story that you expect readers to take seriously. Especially with porn dialogue.
The Idol wants to be a pretentious ham-fisted dark drama with a message. I could write a bunch of paragraphs about how problematic it is to film the sex scenes as in an erotic tone, despite the fact that the protagonist is being manipulated, but there are thousands of YouTube essays on that shit already.
My point is that this fucking show is only 6 episodes long (which Levinson cut it down to 5 episodes halfway through the show’s airing). A LOT of plot and context and characterization were sacrificed to keep the sex scenes in there. This show actually has some plot and momentum and interesting stuff going on, AND THEY LITERALLY REMOVED IT TO SHOW THE SEX THAT IS SO DISTURBING IT CAN’T BE SEXY.
And it’s just kind of funny to me to see what is essentially a high-budget dub-con romance story air on HBO that audiences are not reacting well to, and then to see both The Weeknd and Sam Levinson double down on how deep and important this show is when it, uh, it literally insists upon itself.
It’s giving some real E.L. James energy and I’m kind of enjoying just how unaware the creators are of this fact.
It’s Gonna Age Well, Ironically
Once we’re past this era of shock-content reactionary watching, I feel like we’re going to be watching problematic shows in a different manner. Both Levinson and The Weeknd have a bit of a “lore” behind their works, and The Idol will probably make for some prime content in looking at specific creators and the things they create.
Plenty of watchers have already said that they “won’t be able to look at The Weeknd the same” after seeing him play his role as Tedros, and I can’t exactly blame them, considering how big of a part he had in his project, and the fact that many of the changes that made The Idol what it currently is where his doing in the first place.
There is a very special privilege in getting to write and produce your vaguely-disguised fetish and also cast yourself in the role you want to play within the story. I recall getting that feeling about Steve Martin when he played the role of the older man in the movie version of his novel Shopgirl, and Blanka Lapinska even used herself as the model for the cover in the second book of the 365 Days series. And like, I ain’t kink-shaming or anything, but it’s perfectly okay for people to analyze what your deal is when you’re going to insert yourself into your own work.
People like to laugh about it, but I do feel like this is a subject that could use further exploration. Wattpad is a thing for a reason. It might actually be interesting if we look past the mockery and outrage, and embrace what allows people to so blatantly share their most messed-up fantasies with others in this way.
It’s Satire That’s Not Satire
Before the show’s original director was canned, The Idol was supposed to be a satire. Had it stayed a satire, it could have been something truly great. Many of the show’s side characters (the ones on Jocelyn’s management team, particularly) are all written satirical characters. They’re subversive and funny and balance out Jocelyn’s angst.
Many people took issue with the scene where Jocelyn’s manager talks about mental illness being “sexy” during a photoshoot. It’s a subversive joke, sure, but it’s actually funny. The dialogue was over the top and gave it the satirical edge it needed. But it was in the “seriousness” of the show’s tone that the joke was lost, and the audience took that scene as offensive instead of as a commentary on the way Hollywood exploits pain for profit.
And I’m not gonna throw any shade on Lily-Rose Depp, because she did a pretty good job with the “serious” tone that the role required, but can you imagine what this show could have been if someone like Paz de la Huerta had the role of Jocelyn? She’s no stranger to exploitation and gossip, but she brings a certain tongue-in-cheek awareness to every insanely believable over-sexed bimbo she’s ever played.
It’s a Cult
There’s some real Manson energy to this show, which becomes obvious the moment Tedros takes his group of clubgoers to Jocelyn’s house and they all move in. The cult twist could have been incorporated into the story in a dark and campy way, but instead, we just get a bunch of these ham-fisted music studio scenes of various cult members (I mean, future artists) singing. And sure, they’re all talented, but these scenes don’t tell me anything about the characters other than the fact that they’re tortured and in need to love…
…which uh, they’re already in a cult, so I already got that.
The cult members talk about Tedros being this hero and saviour. The cult members claim that he is everything to them, but all I’ve seen from Tedros is just him being brooding and creepy with Jocelyn. The problem with Tedros is that he has no fucking charm, and I dunno if he’s just written that way or if The Weeknd just wanted to do the brooding stuff more when playing him?
Either way, a cult leader needs some fucking charm and Tedros doesn’t have that at all, and that’s why his character fucking sucks and why nobody likes him. Tedros could have made the fucking rattail a positive character trait if he’d just had an ounce of charm.
It’s Gossip Girl for Grown-Ups
There are plenty of subplots in this show that don’t go anywhere. I’m sure plenty of them (like Issac and Leah’s budding relationship) were sacrificed for all the sexxx, but then we get to the Dyanne storyline, wherein Dyanne is signed to sing Jocelyn’s comeback song “World Class Sinner” instead of Jocelyn.
Turns out, however, that Dyanne was also boning Tedros. Dyanne was supposed to get Jocelyn to come to the club to Tedros could pull her into his orbit. Dyanne didn’t expect Tedros to start a relationship with Jocelyn. When Jocelyn learns of this, we go into full-ass Gossip Girl plot, wherein Jocelyn fucks her ex to get back at Tedros. Then Tedros gets upset and we’re supposed to feel bad for him EVEN THOUGH IT’S THE PENULTIMATE EPISODE.
It’s shocking, honestly, that the peak of all the drama we’ve endured this far, is a stupid fucking love triangle.
I don’t know what plots will ultimately get resolved in this final episode. The show was supposed to be a “limited series” and was potentially supposed to have another season, I’m sure the ratings will be the only thing giving this show alive, which is kind of funny, because like, can you imagine a high budget show being renewed because enough people hate-watched it to make it profitable?
I get that this is capitalist hellscape kinda talk, but stories do exist so that we can see ourselves in them, and discuss society through the characters within them. The Idol almost perfectly encapsulates the feedback loop of vapid shock content and pearl-clutching reactionary commentary that we terminally online folk exist in.
It’s a Perfect Failure
It’s a fascinating mess, honestly. There’s something to be said about a controversial show aiming to both shock and provide commentary. Because it’s really hard to do both things well. Perhaps this show might age with less shock and more mockery, but that’s about the best it’s gonna get. It ain’t no Heathers.
Speaking as a writer with reviews like this, watching The Idol gives me perspective. I like writing subversive stuff. Transgressive stuff. Problematic stuff. But there’s a very delicate tightrope to cross while trying to balance erotic and horror and satire, while also providing social commentary and ALSO catering ever so slightly to a specific dub-con fantasy.
I’ve done it well at times. I’ve also done it poorly.
Watching The Idol is research. Interpreting my own reactions while watching it is research. Watching other people interpret their relations to it is research.
And watching normal ass folk laugh awkwardly over sex scenes is just pure joy.