Sono vergine

In our current mass media landscape oversaturated with superhero stories, it's become increasingly hard to find ones that stand out from the pack. Gone are the days of Sam Raimi's Spider-man where the storytelling was played straight, with bright colors and energy that seek to evoke the feeling of reading a comic-book. In the 2020's, we have reached peak of the superhero craze, and it seems studios have bottlenecked their output into two different flavors of media:

1. Superhero stories that infuse their characters into a different blockbuster genre (a superhero spy movie, a superhero sci-fi epic, etc.) 2. Superhero stories that ask "what if Superman was BAD?"

"I'm a Virgo" is the third Amazon show I've watched that falls into category 2, and despite not advertising itself a superhero show, it contains the most interesting answer to that question by far.

In the other two Amazon shows I mentioned, "The Boys" and "Invincible", the drama comes from the insurmountable odds of defeating an antagonist who wields godlike powers. There's always the looming threat of this evil Superman figure who is capable of wiping out all the heroes (or anti-heroes) without breaking a sweat. In "I'm a Virgo", this threat is also present, as "The Hero", a sort of Iron Man/Batman archetype played by Walton Goggins, always shows up to intimidate the characters who seek social change. The show starts off slow, introducing us to this familiar-yet-bizarre universe (similar in tone to Donald Glover's Atlanta) and the players that inhabit it. Eventually, however, we reach a turning point that forces our main characters to confront this force of "justice".

The main between this show and those other two is the conclusion. Without spoiling anything, the finale of this series is some of the most thought-provoking, well-explained examinations of what it means to be superhero, and why anyone who tries to take on that mantle will fail. There have been plenty of superhero media that examines the inherit fascism associated with being a superhero, but almost all of them reach the conclusion that "we should kill them" or worse, "I'll just be better". This show does not say either of those things, and I hope more people get to experience Boots Riley's superhero manifesto for themselves.

Nice concepts, and a strong cast. Excellent production design and special effects. I like the cartoon quality of several characters and the idea that it might touch upon some facets of superhero stuff, but not dive all the way in. I've watched only two episodes, yet I can tell that I would have preferred this story delivered as a movie. Like "Stranger Things" and various SciFi series and movies coming out over the last decade, it's become really trendy to produce a far-fetched fantasy story, with quirky lead characters who struggle (or sometimes thrive) in odd circumstances. The two actors cast as his parents are committed, but their attitudes are one-dimensional... this is a writing problem, and not the actors' fault. The jury's out whether I will finish this season.

You can always rely on Boots Riley to hoof out something profoundly weird and I'm a Virgo is no exception to this. A meditation on superheroics, corporate culture and trueness to whatever one's self is - chock full of bizarre allegorical imagery and fascinating ideas. It's an art thing. Feels very art. In that, as a narrative, it's a little lacking. Its intentional metaphorics make it come across as fairly aloof and the deep message being presented on the most corporate television platform there is feels sadder than the trollish win it's painted as in some quarters. That being said, I feel like this endeavour may end up outliving the endless turgid cape crusades from the rival corporations, and the more cynical ones of the same network.

Really good. That's all I can say. The best art to me is the kind I can't effectively describe. It is itself. That's the highest compliment I can give. This show never did what I expected but felt 100% appropriate to itself the whole time. It was engaging and bizarre and sweet and packed a punch and I love seeing stuff like this get made. It's worth the watch and I don't even mind if there's another season or how the second one goes, this one stands on its own and will still be enjoyable for me no matter what else happens to it in the future. Definitely recommend checking it out now and not worrying too much it's just a good ride.

Is it the constant relateability? I'm not sure but so many movies and shows that are coming of age are well done. To be fair there are plenty of bad ones too but this is not one of them. Boots riley plays with our creature comforts that we're exposed to every day. He wants you to see the familiarity as what's wrong but at the same time he celebrates it. I'm only a couple episodes in but what's clear is the lead actors are what make this show. Sure it's got some weird characters. If you didn't like soery to bother you check this out as it's a step up for sure. My parents liked the first episode but got lost on the second. It's a show about a giant it's not grounded in reality. But the ties to reality keep the heart of it.