Tuesday, 20 January 2009

  • United States of Tara: Funny or Insensitive?

    By Mr. M

                                                                                                                

    Lately around Manhattan, I've been seeing posters for a new Showtime series starring the wonderful Toni Collette called United States of Tara. The posters show her in various costumes and it looked intriguing.

    So I went to IMDB to figure out just what this show was about. It's about a woman (Tara, played by Toni Collette) who has dissociative identity disorder. This basically means that she has different personalities (called alter egos) that have their own way of dealing with her environment. DID in this case will be played for comedy as Tara's alter egos are quirky (a man, a teenager and a 50s housewife).

    While the show is getting critical praise, the people on IMDB are split. Some say the show will be funny since Toni is a highly-talented comedienne. Others say that using DID as a comedic plot is dumbing it down. In reality, it's a pretty serious disorder and the show is insensitive to that.

    As for me, I think that if any network can pull it off, Showtime can. Its other shows (Dexter, Secret Diary of a Call Girl, Weeds) all take huge issues, give them a comedic twist without losing any of its seriousness. But I haven't seen the show (and probably won't be able to until it comes to DVD) so I can't make any judgements.

    What do you think about the show?

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Comments (12)

  • i_call_myself_Caroline@xanga

    From what I could watch of it, it doesn't really take the disorder lightly.   It was only the pilot episode so it can't get too heavy, but already you could see the strain that DID puts on her family. 

    That said, it was also really funny.
  • Pawleeen@xanga

    it sounds hilarious. and showtime does produce pretty great shows. 
  • Shinbi_Belldandy@xanga

    I think it's funny! I dont have HBO though so I'm hoping to catch it somewhere at somepoint. the pilot is on youtube.


    I can see why people would say it's insensitive because of the way people CAN joke about a mental disorder but this show isnt making fun of it. It's showing how a family lives with it & the mayhem it can bring. I think it's going to be really good. I havent seen Alice yet but so far I'm loving "T"!


    --->MiNA<3
  • raved@xanga

    My stepmom has the disorder, and living with her was not funny at all. 
  • XxCheshireGrinxX@xanga

    Awww...I thought this was a site about soda...
    *walks away with a sad disappointed look*
  • tvPUFF@xanga

    Funny, I was going to mention Dexter. It's not a comedy show per se, but it derives humor from serial killing, but it doesn't really make light of it. Six Feet Under has had some pretty hilarious death scenes, but it doesn't make light of issue. Because DID causes a huge amount of problems for the people involved, does that mean no humor can come from it? Art isn't about what something is about. It's about how it goes about it. That's the difference between an American Pie movie where they make complete jokes of little people and 30 Rock where they have jokes about a little person without stripping them of dignity. 
  • its_me_katie@xanga

    @XxCheshireGrinxX@xanga - LOL!!!! Your comment made my day. I had the exact same thought a few months ago.
  • MakinzyKrysteen@xanga

    I like it.

    You can watch it online at fancast.com
  • princess_riceball@xanga

    I've seen the show and I liked it.  It does show a more serious side to it; the daughter that can't cope with it, the sister that just doesn't believe in it, the father and son that embrace it and deal with it and the neighbors with a mix of judgment and disbelief.  Like life there are some funny aspects and some serious. 
  • pinkpeekaboo@xanga

    I actually work for a cable company and got a sneak preview of the first two episodes... I think it could be interesting, however I think it's too much too soon with the daughter and the mom. I guess we'll just have to wait and see how it alls pans out but after watching the first two episodes I felt like it should've been in the second season and I had missed a lot of information. We get to see all four characters, Tara, T, Buck and Alice in the first two episodes so I don't know how it's going to get more exciting.

  • xxmybeautifulrescue@xanga

    i watched it a couple days ago on the internet and it was sooo funny, i'm so mad i don't get showtime ):
  • flyingshuttershades@xanga

    i think it looks stupid, and i'm not going to see it.

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