Based on the iconic novel by Neil Gaiman, American Gods is intrinsically hard to describe. The basic concept is that gods are created and sustained by humanity's belief in them. As a result, every people that has ever immigrated to America, since the very first nomadic tribes crossed the land bridge between Siberia and Alaska during the Ice Age, have brought their gods with them. As belief in them wanes, the gods must do whatever they can to sustain themselves. At the same time, new gods, those of media and technology, and of abstract concepts like globalization, are reigning supreme.
The story follows Shadow Moon (Ricky Whittle), who during the worst day of his life so far is released from prison, finds out his wife and best friend were both killed in a car accident...and that they were sleeping together. When he's offered a job by a mysterious grifter who calls himself Mr. Wednesday (Ian McShane), he finds himself more or less recruited into a war between the old gods and the new.
And that's just the first episode. Over the course of five episodes so far, American Gods has explored themes of loss, of immigration, and the true nature of reality. When asked what the show was about, Whittle described it as "hard to define and categorize, which is great. The show is this beautiful love story between Shadow and [his wife] Laura (Emily Browning). The show touches on immigration. It touches on sexism, homophobia, racism. It's a buddy/road story between Mr. Wednesday and Shadow. It's about the melting pot that is America. It's just very, very topical themes in the current, heated political climate right now."
With a whopping 95 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, it's easy to see why this series has already resonated with so many audiences. For one thing, its cast is incredibly diverse. Shadow Moon, whose ethnicity was only hinted at in the book, is now definitively a black man. Minority characters are fleshed out and three-dimensional, and often incredibly likable. Sex scenes are graphic, yes, but passionate, intimate, and quite unconventional in themselves.
The most telling example of both of these is in the side-story about a Muslim salesman, played by Ohmid Abtahi, who feels lost and marginalized in America and finds comfort in a Muslim taxi driver who also happens to be an Ifrit, or Djinn-- almost like the Muslim version of a demon, but not quite. He takes the Ifrit to his hotel room and they spend a night making passionate love, which is shown entirely as something beautiful.
In this scene, executive producer Brian Fuller said he wanted to explore "in a sex-positive way the human relationship to our own sexuality" and "what it is to bond and join and physically become one with another human being, and leave our individual sense of self behind and become something greater than what we were before we were penetrating or being penetrated or entwined in whatever respect we were going to be entwined with another."
But in addition to being even more sexy and violent than Game of Thrones will ever be, it explores high-concept dilemmas like what it means to be human in even more engaging and entertaining ways than Westworld did. Unlike either of these shows, however, American Gods doesn't easily fit into the category of either sci-fi or fantasy. It relies on a high-contrast, colorful style akin to comic book movies like 300 and Watchmen, but uses extreme visual metaphors to create a dreamlike feeling throughout the whole narrative.
More than once, Shadow believes he's going crazy, but when he brings his concerns to Mr. Wednesday, he's met with cryptic explanations that offer no assurance. "Seems you have a choice. You may have to consider that you didn't see what you saw," he tells him," Or you did. The world is either crazy or you are. They're both solid options. Take your pick, and when you decide, come and tell me. But don't rush into it. Take your time. Difficult decision." When Shadow presses him, he shuts down the conversation with a veiled threat."There are bigger sacrifices one might be asked to make than going a little mad."
All in all, American Gods is well worth the watch for anyone craving more minority representation in media, or just looking for an intense, visually stunning drama that explores deep concepts like what it means to be human and what it means to be American.
At a Glance:
- American Gods-- Starz
- Brian Fuller-Executive Producer
- Cast: Ricky Whittle, Emily Browning, Crispin Glover, Bruce Langley, Yetide Badaki,Pablo Schreiber, Ian McShane.
- 95% on Rotten Tomatoes
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