• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

S-Town |OT| a new podcast from the producers of Serial and This American Life

Status
Not open for further replies.
Just finished. Interesting story, but I'm not sure if it will really stick with me.

Spoilers for the whole thing:
I thought they were going to end up finding John B's gold and learning it was fake and electroplated like the dime he gave Brian.
 

Westonian

Member
Almost done. I've enjoyed it as a character study.

I love the bit about the nail polish names and the flowers with the note "You look so good, my legs are tired" and how that could have been construed as not about nail polish. I laughed out loud at that.
 

Meier

Member
White Man posted a link about this and I shared it in turn and had about 10 people respond in no time flat with absolutely glowing things. I'm a little more than halfway through the first episode or so and John is something else.
 

Justin

Member
Listened to the whole thing today at work. I thought it was fantastic. People complaining about a lack of resolution should probably stick to fiction.
 
This is really fantastic. There are parts that made me laugh and parts that brought tears to my eyes. Truth really is stranger than fiction.
 

tokkun

Member
I liked this more than Serial. I guess the character study appeals to me more than the mystery angle, and it also felt a lot more honest - like I wasn't being jerked around as a listener.

That said, the promotions for this show were total bait-and-switch. I guess they didn't have confidence in people listening if they gave an accurate portrayal of what the series was actually about.
 
Disappointed really. I wasn't bothered by the bait and switch about the murder, but I was bothered by the bait and switch about the
treasure
. Episodes six and seven were just boring filler with no closure. Don't ask all these questions, like
Is the gold buried on the property? Why did the lady not call those seven friends? Conspiracy with the town splitting all his money? Is Tyler not as good as he seems?
and then decide to discuss Brokeback Mountain and call it a day.
 
Just finished it.
I don't know why so many people have any interest in the gold at all.
Seriously John is such an interesting person by the end of it I wanted to hear more of his writing than anything else. The letter at the end was beautiful. I wouldn't put it in the same camp as serial, this is a far better radio show.
 

Justin

Member
Just finished it.
I don't know why so many people have any interest in the gold at all.
Seriously John is such an interesting person by the end of it I wanted to hear more of his writing than anything else. The letter at the end was beautiful. I wouldn't put it in the same camp as serial, this is a far better radio show.

Agreed. I found the part of the letter they read at the end to be beautiful. Dude should've gotten into writing.
 
Just finished the first episode. It's interesting for sure! Going to keep going...But I honestly thought this was all fake until I came to this thread.

Wtf
 
Just finished it.
I don't know why so many people have any interest in the gold at all.
Seriously John is such an interesting person by the end of it I wanted to hear more of his writing than anything else. The letter at the end was beautiful. I wouldn't put it in the same camp as serial, this is a far better radio show.

I know. The whole story hit close to home for me for a variety of reasons, but I thought the ending was quite moving.
John's life was really tragic but it's lovely to think his story and the story of his family and friends could be told in such meaningful and empathetic way.
I was kind of on the fence about listening to this from the previews but it wound up being so much more than I expected. Really fantastic work by Brian Reed.
 
I absolutely loved this, and thought it was incredibly well executed.

I really just wanted to have Tyler and 'the Cousins' sit down and talk about things. It made me really sad that KKK Lumber dick owns the property and has next to no respect for it or John's legacy.

I really identified with John. I was so fascinated with him in the first two episodes that it hit like a ton of bricks the revelation that he killed himself. It was weird to have just 'met' this person and know that everything that has ever happened with that person is done and over with. It was a really sad feeling.
 

Atrophis

Member
Finished. It was a very moving story. I've been pretty depressed the last couple of days while listening.

I just wish the site had some more supplementary material like photos of John, his house, his maze and his clocks and sundials. I'd also like to read his manifesto.
 

andycapps

Member
End of season spoilers:

Really great show. It seems obvious to me that John was a self hating homosexual/bisexual. The whip tattoos on his back and how he seemed to enjoy pain, as well as the derisive comments towards gay people also seem to indicate that.

Which probably led to a lot of his depression, along with what had to be mercury poisoning. Really sad. John seems like he was a fascinating guy though. Flawed, but a genius.
 

Fuu

Formerly Alaluef (not Aladuf)
Brian does a bit of that uptalk speech thing, he sometimes ends a statement with an interrogative tone. I started noticing it around chapter IV and it's distracting when it happens.
 

tokkun

Member
Listened to the whole thing today at work. I thought it was fantastic. People complaining about a lack of resolution should probably stick to fiction.

Given the way the show was marketed, I can understand that people who came in looking for a true crime investigation show would be frustrated by the lack of focus on investigating those parts of the story.

But to me, the answers to the 'mystery' elements in the story are not actually all that important. Their purpose in the show seems to be more about how rumors and misunderstandings get completely warped in a small town where people are cynical about life and extremely suspicious of each other. And about how approaching the world from that kind of mindset creates a distorted view where some people can only see the bad elements of humanity and are blinded to the good. How this image of being in a 'Shittown' (whether it is your town, country, or the whole world) and obsession over the evils of the world eats away at you.

At one point Tyler asks Brian whether he thinks he's a bad person, and Brian says that most people are more complicated than just being 'bad'. I see the show as primarily being about what happens to people struggling with this distinction, and particularly John who is in internal conflict over his disposition to judge everyone as shit and his attempts to prove that worldview wrong by reforming Tyler's life.
 

Meier

Member
Finished. It was a very moving story. I've been pretty depressed the last couple of days while listening.

I just wish the site had some more supplementary material like photos of John, his house, his maze and his clocks and sundials. I'd also like to read his manifesto.

Here is a photo of him:

PH-328009993.jpg


There are more (including his hedge maze) at the link that I've blacked out but there is a spoiler which I came across moments before I actually heard about it, hah.
 

smisk

Member
Downloaded the first episode this morning. No idea how I'm going to fit this in with my regular podcasts and Hardcore History backlog, but hopefully I'll get to it eventually.
 
Here is a photo of him:

PH-328009993.jpg


There are more (including his hedge maze) at the link that I've blacked out but there is a spoiler which I came across moments before I actually heard about it, hah.

I'm gonna just spoiler tag my response because I don't want to give away anything. Don't read unless you've finished the show.

Seeing the pictures is really sad. He wasn't a bad looking guy at all, I'm sure he would have cleaned up well. Personality quirks aside, I think if he had lived somewhere else, he could have found a partner or at least had more meaningful interactions with other gay men. He really deserved more. Also, is the arm in some of the photos with the memorial tattoo Tyler?
 

Nether!

Member
What a lovely and sad little story.
Life is meandering and full of dead ends and there isn't a neat little ending where everything is resolved.
S-Town is a tribute to John's complicated life.

I think this is worth listening to and thinking about the lives we lead and the people we touch as we do.
What legacy do I leave behind and have I made a positive impression for the people I care about?
 

Ultryx

Member
I've been hearing about this advertised on This American Life. Just subbed to it via my podcasts app. Will give it a go!
 

Fuu

Formerly Alaluef (not Aladuf)
Just finished listening. Wasn't expecting
to almost cry when John ends his letter talking about using the rest of your waking days prudently, especially after listening to the people who he managed to have a positive impact on during his life.
As complicated as John was I ended up identifying with several things in this story, even if it wasn't to such extremes.

Fascinating, sad and human. Felt like reading a very good novel, except it's audio and it's real. As much as I enjoyed both seasons of Serial, this will likely stick with me much more. Great piece of work and I'm glad they released it all a once.
 

Nelo Ice

Banned
Finished this during my shift last night and wow. I was not expecting it to go the way I did but damn that was great. I definitely recommend everyone listen to this since it's just such a human story.
John constantly complaining about climate change and all the bullshit in the world and nobody doing anything is how I feel sometimes. I haven't gone to his extremes but I've desperately tried to get people to care about politics, donate, volunteer etc. And I know that feel when you feel helpless despite doing whatever you can to help.
 

Kurdel

Banned
I don't know how I feel about the last few episodes.

What started with a few basic mystery hooks turned into a character analysis of a dead man with a lot of repressed stuff. Airing it all out after his death deosn't sound like somethig he would have wanted, considering he already had a detailed suicide note. I think the mysteries served their purpose, but I thought it was going somewhere with all the time spent on the cousins.

Last episode felt like it was too much, and just added to the bitter taste he show left me with.

I mean, it does add context to why John acted the way he did, but again it feels super invasive.
 

KarmaCow

Member
^ I'm on episode 3 and I'm not sure if I want to continue for similar reasons.
Turning a suicide and the deeply personal aftermath into voyeuristic entertainment feels ghoulish. I don't have good answer to why it's worse than the premise of someone investigating a murder, maybe it isn't but this still feels like a step too far. I can somewhat see the idea of this honouring him by making him known to the world though the way it's told, complete with ad breaks that presentation.
 
I think that discomfort is what makes it so compelling. I don't think Brian had some super ulterior motive for telling the story. He obviously cares deeply about John and wants his story to be told, and I think John really wanted a platform for his ideas. In a world where we have multiple podcasts where people basically laugh about murders or stalking celebrities, S-Town comes across as way more empathetic and personal, even if it isn't perfect. The only thing I had problem with was (Episode 7 spoilers)
the amount of detail they went into regarding John's mental deterioration and masochism at the end of his life. There should have been some sort of warning, it's really intense and comes out of nowhere. That definitely could have been handled better.

In some ways the show reminds me of the documentary Stevie (which is currently streaming on Netflix). It also raises a lot of questions about the murky relationship between the interviewer/documentarian and their subjects. That being said, the subject of the documentary, Stevie, is much less sympathetic than John and the overall story told is much bleaker than S-Town.
 

Hjod

Banned
Listened to the first episode while doing cardio, liked it and will finish it.

Thanks OP for the heads up :).
 

Dalek

Member
Chapter 4
is so fucking sad. His fellow clock-worker Allen describing his friendship with Jon and the guilt he feels about not answering Jon's call while he was in Sunday School.
 

Risible

Member
End of season spoiler:

Potassium cyanide? For such a smart dude he picked such an awful way to end it.
 
^ I'm on episode 3 and I'm not sure if I want to continue for similar reasons.
Turning a suicide and the deeply personal aftermath into voyeuristic entertainment feels ghoulish. I don't have good answer to why it's worse than the premise of someone investigating a murder, maybe it isn't but this still feels like a step too far. I can somewhat see the idea of this honouring him by making him known to the world though the way it's told, complete with ad breaks that presentation.

Personally I felt (Chapter 7: it mostly contains information up to chapter 3 but I'm up to Chapter 7 so label it in that way in case I'm mistaken or what I've listened to later influences my views)
a lot of this, and the motive for the story which made it a lot less ghoulish, was explained by a statement of Brian's during the funeral; that it was very sad for a man who was so utterly unique, so himself, with all of his brilliance, craziness, flaws, and beliefs, had such a mundane funeral which was so unfitting and inappropriate for his character. In many ways, I interpreted the season as a more fitting memorial of John, capturing his personality, his stories, his worries, and how he shaped the lives of so many people who ended up having a connection with him in some way but was ultimately a very troubled individual. Likewise, what happened after his death concerning Tyler and many of the people that knew him in some form, and the level of hostility and in-fighting that resulted from his death, is most certainly, I believe, something John would want aired, something he would want people to recognise and acknowledge.

There's definitely a ghoulish aspect to it being about somebody who committed suicide, but I would strongly agree with the view that it's motivated very largely by Brian's respect and appreciation for who John is, both for the good and bad aspects of him, and a desire for his legacy to be this, so he's not just remembered as somebody who was 'very smart' and received a standard Christian burial devoid of what made him 'him' forgotten by all but the very few people he interacted with and made an impression on.
 

Fantastical

Death Prophet
I think it was wise to release this all at once. I think that once
John killed himself, they probably didn't want to turn it into some cliffhanger show that has people wanting a new episode every week. Feels a lot less exploitative.
 

Elwainen

Member
just finished. John is a totally fascinating character and i enjoyed it very much despite the whole thing being pretty sad, basically a tragedy. gives you a lot to think about
 

bomma_man

Member
I really liked how much this felt like one of the Southern Gothics John gave Brian in the first(?) episode.

Man that KKK lumber guy sounded like a real piece of shit.
 

Weetrick

Member
On episode 4. This is great storytelling but feels really exploitative. I don't know how to feel about it.

Exploitative to John, or the community as a whole? I kind of get where you are coming from, but I view this as a slice-of-life documentary that shows an interesting man and the interesting city he lived in. I don't think they took a hard stance on making any one person look "bad" or "good".
 
Agreed. I found the part of the letter they read at the end to be beautiful. Dude should've gotten into writing.

Most definitely. Listened the last episode in my car today and when they read the letter I had to rewind and listen to it again. Beautiful and moving.
 
Exploitative to John, or the community as a whole? I kind of get where you are coming from, but I view this as a slice-of-life documentary that shows an interesting man and the interesting city he lived in. I don't think they took a hard stance on making any one person look "bad" or "good".
A little bit of both, but especially John. I'm not sure I approve of the show going into (spoilers for the whole show)
the sexual affairs of a semi-closeted dead man and his partners who still, to this day, reside in a homophobic small town
without explicit consent. I know the show isn't trying to make him look "bad" and it makes for a fascinating story but it's just a bit...morally icky.
 

Clipjoint

Member
A little bit of both, but especially John. I'm not sure I approve of the show going into (spoilers for the whole show)
the sexual affairs of a semi-closeted dead man and his partners who still, to this day, reside in a homophobic small town
without explicit consent. I know the show isn't trying to make him look "bad" and it makes for a fascinating story but it's just a bit...morally icky.

I had the same feeling. Having said that, he did openly talk about his
homosexuality
on the record with the knowledge it would be on national radio, so I guess that creates a bit of a gray area. But still, it comes off a bit exploitative when he's
not around
to manage the aftermath of the conversation.
 
I had the same feeling. Having said that, he did openly talk about his
homosexuality
on the record with the knowledge it would be on national radio, so I guess that creates a bit of a gray area. But still, it comes off a bit exploitative when he's
not around
to manage the aftermath of the conversation.
Yeah I guess you're right. I just remember in an earlier episode he said
something like "I'll just tell everyone I'm sucking your dick because everyone seems to think I'm queer anyway" and that screamed out to me as something an insecure closeted gay guy who wasn't totally comfortable with the subject would say. Of course, that was early on in the whole radio interview thing
. I definitely might be reading too much into it, though!
 

Etzer

Member
How do you guys feel about the motivations of
Tyler and Cousin Rita? While I do think that Tyler was looking out for himself, I think he genuinely cared about John and Mary Grace. Rita, on the other hand, seemed a lot less sincere to me. Especially when she made up some BS to justify wanting to cut off John's nipples to get what she thought were gold piercings.
That's when she lost me.
 

Dalek

Member
How do you guys feel about the motivations of
Tyler and Cousin Rita? While I do think that Tyler was looking out for himself, I think he genuinely cared about John and Mary Grace. Rita, on the other hand, seemed a lot less sincere to me. Especially when she made up some BS to justify wanting to cut off John's nipples to get what she thought were gold piercings.
That's when she lost me.

I'll be honest-at the end I didn't know what was going on between those two.

although Rita apparently got Jon's mom set up nicely and she's enjoying her life now and able to travel. It makes me wonder why John didn't properly get her the care she needs if he had all that money.
 
How do you guys feel about the motivations of
Tyler and Cousin Rita? While I do think that Tyler was looking out for himself, I think he genuinely cared about John and Mary Grace. Rita, on the other hand, seemed a lot less sincere to me. Especially when she made up some BS to justify wanting to cut off John's nipples to get what she thought were gold piercings.
That's when she lost me.

I feel like Tyler doesn't know any better, especially if you take into account how fucked up his life has been and all the horrible things he has endured. That doesn't absolve him from responsibility for his bad decisions, but it does put them into perspective. Also there are pictures online now of John and his property
and photos of his headstone and a giant memorial tattoo Tyler got on his forearm for John. It's obvious Tyler loved him a lot.

I softened on Rita a little bit once I heard her side too.
John really did leave his affairs a huge mess and it must suck to be thrust into that situation unexpectedly, especially with having to care for John's mother. That is a huge burden so I don't totally blame them for wanting to sell everything and be done with it. The nipple thing was fucked up and weird though.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom