"Carpe Diem, because next diem there'll be nothing to carpe."
I have arrived late to the party, it is not my usual style, most of the time I am too early, but this one time do forgive me.
I (and by extension my husband) started watching Game of Thrones last month, March to be precise. Many factors contributed to my shaking off this inaction regarding the widely watched and wildly loved series, namely: boredom with Netflix, knowing that the series was coming to an end and feeling left out from the frenzy, wanting to know what all the hoopla about Jon Snow was about ... etc. etc. And unlike many of the people I know, we are actually spending the money and watching the show legally on Amazon Prime Video. In the meanwhile, we also started watching another series called Mozart in the Jungle, a story about a whimsical music conductor and the musicians of the fictional New York Symphony.
We were casually watching MITJ in between episodes of GoT to take a break from the intensity of that show, till one day I realised that it was just the other way round, we were actually watching GoT in between episodes of MITJ. So utterly delicious, enjoyable and life affirming Mozart in the Jungle was that it completely overshadowed the experience of watching Game of Thrones for us. The half hour episodes packed so much in it, from music to life lessons, that we would devour episode after episode without realising that we were finishing each season in one go.
One of those days when we were watching an episode of GoT, perhaps one where there was a lot of chopping of heads and betrayal of trusts going on, my husband commented (a comment wish I had had the presence of mind to make) that in contrast to MITJ , in which the characters were so inherently good despite their flaws, GoT had characters that were what we would consider inherently bad despite some of their good deeds (the only character I am invested in, till now, is Tyrion Lannister). This comment made me wonder about what makes Game of Thrones so popular and Mozart in the Jungle so anonymous and niche. If anything, I would have expected Game of Thrones to have a niche audience as high fantasy is not everyone's cup of tea, I know exactly of 2 friends who started reading the books before the TV show was in the horizon because it's not a mass market genre like a detective or romance novel; Mozart in the Jungle on the other hand, albeit based on a nonfiction book, was a shorter format "comedy" usually slated for a much bigger audience, despite that the new management of Amazon Video decided to cancel the show after 4 seasons, disappointing its cast and audience, proving once more that money matters more than quality shows that spread joy and music.
I am not dissing Game of Thrones, it is a brilliantly made show, I have only reached the end of Season 3 and I can appreciate the tight plot, brilliant actors & technicians together with its high production values creating something magical, we all know creating anything is hard work and not to be dismissed lightly. But the joy and passion that Mozart in the Jungle brought into our living room are unparalleled.
Watching "Maestro" and "Hai Lai" travel the world with their music and pursue their lives and art with such passion filled our hearts with joy and fulfilment. The show transcended borders of culture and nationality, because such is the power of music and good people, and above all, the visions of Mozart, Bach, Beethoven and Nannerl had us tickled pink.
We finished watching the 4 seasons so quickly that we are now left with a void, so I am planning a rewatch. In a world where money runs nations it was a breath of fresh air to watch a show that was so far from greed, looks like the Amazon management missed this great lesson from its own show. Like Mozart's Requiem the show is incomplete yet a masterpiece.
I (and by extension my husband) started watching Game of Thrones last month, March to be precise. Many factors contributed to my shaking off this inaction regarding the widely watched and wildly loved series, namely: boredom with Netflix, knowing that the series was coming to an end and feeling left out from the frenzy, wanting to know what all the hoopla about Jon Snow was about ... etc. etc. And unlike many of the people I know, we are actually spending the money and watching the show legally on Amazon Prime Video. In the meanwhile, we also started watching another series called Mozart in the Jungle, a story about a whimsical music conductor and the musicians of the fictional New York Symphony.
We were casually watching MITJ in between episodes of GoT to take a break from the intensity of that show, till one day I realised that it was just the other way round, we were actually watching GoT in between episodes of MITJ. So utterly delicious, enjoyable and life affirming Mozart in the Jungle was that it completely overshadowed the experience of watching Game of Thrones for us. The half hour episodes packed so much in it, from music to life lessons, that we would devour episode after episode without realising that we were finishing each season in one go.
One of those days when we were watching an episode of GoT, perhaps one where there was a lot of chopping of heads and betrayal of trusts going on, my husband commented (a comment wish I had had the presence of mind to make) that in contrast to MITJ , in which the characters were so inherently good despite their flaws, GoT had characters that were what we would consider inherently bad despite some of their good deeds (the only character I am invested in, till now, is Tyrion Lannister). This comment made me wonder about what makes Game of Thrones so popular and Mozart in the Jungle so anonymous and niche. If anything, I would have expected Game of Thrones to have a niche audience as high fantasy is not everyone's cup of tea, I know exactly of 2 friends who started reading the books before the TV show was in the horizon because it's not a mass market genre like a detective or romance novel; Mozart in the Jungle on the other hand, albeit based on a nonfiction book, was a shorter format "comedy" usually slated for a much bigger audience, despite that the new management of Amazon Video decided to cancel the show after 4 seasons, disappointing its cast and audience, proving once more that money matters more than quality shows that spread joy and music.
I am not dissing Game of Thrones, it is a brilliantly made show, I have only reached the end of Season 3 and I can appreciate the tight plot, brilliant actors & technicians together with its high production values creating something magical, we all know creating anything is hard work and not to be dismissed lightly. But the joy and passion that Mozart in the Jungle brought into our living room are unparalleled.
Watching "Maestro" and "Hai Lai" travel the world with their music and pursue their lives and art with such passion filled our hearts with joy and fulfilment. The show transcended borders of culture and nationality, because such is the power of music and good people, and above all, the visions of Mozart, Bach, Beethoven and Nannerl had us tickled pink.
We finished watching the 4 seasons so quickly that we are now left with a void, so I am planning a rewatch. In a world where money runs nations it was a breath of fresh air to watch a show that was so far from greed, looks like the Amazon management missed this great lesson from its own show. Like Mozart's Requiem the show is incomplete yet a masterpiece.
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