Wild Wild Country Netflix series

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by Scope J, Mar 22, 2018.

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  1. Leviethan

    Leviethan Forum Resident

    Location:
    Portland, OR
    My wife and I loved this. I've known about this since I moved to Oregon, but to see all that archival footage and learn all the sordid details was amazing. The Rajneeshes were some of the first gentrifying hipsters in Oregon. Sustainable agriculture! Free love! A new way of living! Aside from all the madness, I was really impressed with all the infrastructure they created out in the desert. It truly was a big accomplishment. whenever Bhagwan was on screen, all I could think was "If only Key And Peele were still on, Keegan was absolutely slay it playing this guy!!" We were laughing at the way he would clip all his vowels and drag out his consonants. So weirdddddsss.
     
    Last edited: Apr 8, 2018
  2. Leviethan

    Leviethan Forum Resident

    Location:
    Portland, OR
    I found the initial behavior of the people in Antelope to be intensely hypocritical and bigoted. I grew up in a small town in Idaho and saw this kind of stuff first hand. Small minded fear of things or people that don't warrant that kind of fear. I totally get being annoyed by a bunch of weirdos moving in nearby, but if the locals had said "live and let live," it's likely none of this would have happened. The Rajneeshes would probably still be out there, doing their thing. I never got the impression that the Rajneeshes cared about Antelope or Wasco county one way or the other until the locals started antagonizing them. Of course they handled the whole situation in the worst possible way, but the whole affair was unneccesary and stupid on both sides. The people of Antelope lost a lot in the deal, no cafe, no school, but hey, they won!
     
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  3. nojmplease

    nojmplease Host, You Can't Unhear This

    Location:
    New York, NY
    I felt the series did a great job of presenting both sides and allowing the viewer to draw conclusions. As in most human conflicts, there are valid and understandable causes on both sides of the situation. The citizens of Antelope were just xenophobic enough and the Rajneeshes just unrelenting enough that the clash was inevitable. If anything, the doc is a good cautionary tale against groupthink all around.
     
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  4. This is a very good series, much better than I anticipated. Like others, I don't remember hearing much about this at the time the notable events occurred (well, except for the Salmonella part, I do vaguely recall that making the news).
     
  5. O Don Piano

    O Don Piano Senior Member

    Great assessment! Exactly what I was left with.
     
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  6. phish

    phish Jack Your Body

    Location:
    Biloxi, MS, USA
    I really enjoyed the first three episodes, but then it kind of started tapering off, to the point where it was a struggle to finish. The irony and parallels with today are uncanny however.
     
  7. hfarrior3

    hfarrior3 Worst pressing ever ...

    Location:
    Southern USA
    I felt the same. The first three episodes I was like how the hell am I just now hearing about all this, then by the fourth episode my interest had waned.
     
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  8. The Panda

    The Panda Forum Mutant

    Location:
    Marple, PA, USA
    We're halfway through, just finished part two last night. Like others, we're like 'what were we watching on TV when this happened?'
    Sorry to hear that it fades in the home stretch.

    That lawyer guy is a little creepy when his hands aren't folded, he makes off movements with his fingers.
     
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  9. hfarrior3

    hfarrior3 Worst pressing ever ...

    Location:
    Southern USA
  10. nojmplease

    nojmplease Host, You Can't Unhear This

    Location:
    New York, NY
    If anything, it sags a bit in the middle, but the home stretch (i.e. the last episode) is nothing short of fantastic. It doesn't answer every question of course, but it wraps things up with some serious emotional heft (and a bit of humor, too).

    The whole story is truly one of those instances where reality exceeds what even the most creative fiction writer could have scripted. Sort of like...the present.
     
  11. GodShifter

    GodShifter Forum Member

    Location:
    Dallas, TX, USA
    I really enjoyed this series; very interesting but, as with most documentaries, the entire story was not told. That said, a great and engrossing six hours. I’m glad I watched it.

    I mean, Sunshine was hot (no pun intended); she was, right? (Still is!)
     
  12. I got a kick out of the Saturday Night Live parody:

     
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  13. O Don Piano

    O Don Piano Senior Member

    Your first point:
    What do you think was missing from the story?
    Your second point:
    Yes!
     
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  14. GodShifter

    GodShifter Forum Member

    Location:
    Dallas, TX, USA
    I think a lot of the more seedy elements of the cult were glossed over: women being sterilized, drug smuggling, immigration fraud, sexual manipulation, disease, and brain washing. The end just kind of briefly summarized what happened to the cult when Rajneesh returned to India. Also, I think the series didn't do a great job of establishing how Rajneesh came to be. A brief history of who he was and how he came into the position he did would have been helpful.
     
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