Teaser Breakdown: Netflix's Death Note

Today, Netflix released a Teaser Trailer for their version of Death Note (internal screaming commence).

I'm a bit of a Death Note junkie, so let's break this trailer down shot-for-shot.

First here's the trailer:



So let's get into the analysis.

0:00-0:04: Here we see the Death Note falling in that lovely shot, taken directly from the Anime adaptation. The Anime, by the way, is going to be my main source of response to this trailer, so if you aren't familiar, you'll want to be. And soon.

0:04-0:11: Light "Turner" our brand new anglicized protagonist picks up the Death Note, re-establishing just how the Death Note enters the world of the living.

0:12-0:15: Three important shots. First, barely visible to the naked eye is a shot of Ryuk standing outside the window of some place. Based on the neon sign on the wall that reads "afe" one can only assume this is going to be the cafe where Light and "Mia" meet for the first time. The second shot is one of an empty school hallway, presumably around the time that Light finds the Death Note. And third, we hear Ryuk's laugh while an apple seems to "fall" off a desk.

0:17-0:20: Here we establish that this version of Death Note has been moved from Kanto region Japan to Seattle, Washington. That certainly explains the gray cloudy skies in nearly every shot of the trailer, and the rain falling on the Death Note from earlier.

0:21-0:22: This is confirmed to be L, here wearing garb that covers his face (but not his eyes, does that mean we are going to see a potential rule change in either the way the Note or the Shinigami Eyes work? Are we going to even have Shinigami Eyes?) and he's walking down another neon hallway (are we taking cues from Neon Demon or Only God Forgives?) in what must be some sort of nightclub.

(I will be addressing my thoughts on the white/black washing of Asian characters in a separate post)

0:25 - 0:32: This reads like the First Kill of Light and his brand new Notebook of Death. It leaves the old Anime trailer hook of explaining the first rule, watching him write something and then...

0:33: ...Three men in suits jump off the top of a business building in (presumably) Seattle, what an incredible shot! This is also the first of several implications that young Mr. Turner is going to be far more creative with his kills in this adaptation than he was in the show.

0:34: L appears to have arrived at his location in the Nightclub. Scrawled on the wall is the message "Justice of Kira" the message is scrawled in blood, which reflects back to Light's "experimenting" with the rules of the Death Note.

0:35: Here we see Mia again. This time she is clearly in the "afe" cafe from the previous flash shot of Ryuk. So this is probably the Half Moon Cafe where Misa first sees Light in the anime. Here, though, she seems to be looking up at Light as if he is looking back at her, so does that mean they go there with the intention of meeting in person? Also, we cut to them kissing in a hallway, so this is likely when they hook-up in the show (but there's no clear indication that Light is manipulating Mia, then again it's a teaser so...)

0:36 - 0:42: Okay... there's a LOT to unpack here, so let me do so. We first see Light running from police cars through a warehouse. This has a lot of SPOILER-ific connotations, being in a (yellow box?) warehouse. (Of course, we don't know how far this film is going in the story, or how long it's going to be to fit that story in a reasonable space of time)

Then we get a shot of a Ferris wheel, with one car with a searchlight shining on one car, and then the Ferris wheel falling over as what appears to be Light holding onto Mia dangling over the edge!!

So what the heck? Is the American Death Note going to blockbuster it up with action scenes? Let's save this answer for post analysis.

0:42-0:44: The Title Splash, a lovely ink drip black and white.

0:44 - 0:50: The scene stealer is Willem DeFoe's first (technically second) line in the trailer as Ryuk. "Shall we Begin?" Mmm.

I FUCKING LOVE THIS CASTING CHOICE

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So, what's up with that Ferris Wheel scene? Or that Nightclub scene? Well, I think the answer is actually already there for us.

The Anime of Death Note is highly stylized. It earns it's "Anime" quality by delivering what amounts to exposition in a highly stylized and engaging way. See, Death Note isn't an action series, it's a detective show, a detective show where you follow the bad guy and are waiting to see if the good guys can catch up to him and how he thrawts their efforts at every turn. It's a reverse-Sherlock. The satisfaction doesn't come from the mystery (although viewers are typically left in the dark about Light's plans at any given time) but the action comes from the characters knowing, thinking, or believing that they have the upper hand at any given time, while not being able to display anything other than good character on the outside.

So as the series goes along this takes place in a bit of an "architecture world" where buildings and skyscrapers set the stage for mental combatants of Light and L to explain and dissect how and why the other person thought something would go down one way when it actually will go down some other way. In this way, the show gets to be incredibly smart without leaving the viewer behind. It's brilliant. It's one of the backbones of how the show works, allowing them to show sequences, evidence, and metaphoric battles of wit.

So when I see L walking into a Nightclub and physically seeing a sign of Kira's killing, I think that's going to be the film's version of these sequences. Same goes for the Ferris Wheel. Optimistically, this is not them abandoning the primary draw of the show as being a psychological detective battle, but the realization of that with sequences that befit a film as opposed to an anime.

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It should be mentioned that there's already criticism of this teaser and this film, but I'm going to address those separately in THIS post. If THIS isn't a link already, then expect it soon.

Until then, let me know what you guys think? Does this look promising to you? Are those action-y shots concerning? Would you like to see Death Note: The American Action Blockbuster with gun-toting wise-cracking Ryuk voiced by Willem Defoe? Shoot off in the comments.

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Death Note was an Anime series when I first fell in love with it. I prefer the animation to the Manga, though both have their individual merits. Now has never been a better time to catch up with the series in anticipation for the Netflix release, so click the image below to the get whole series on Blu-Ray or DVD.

The People v. O.J. Simpson: What is a Tragedy?

Tragedy is one of the oldest genres in literature. It’s fitting that The People v. O.J. Simpson opens on onr of the most well documented tragedies in American History. The show opens with the LA Riots, underlining how and why a police force like the LAPD could not only be such a force of violence and oppression, but also how the justice system within the city could get such an obvious and easy case wrong. It also underlines why one of the most popular black men in the country could get away with murder in the eyes of his peers.

If The People had stopped at attempting to provide a black outlook on a popular event from the nineties, that would’ve been enough to make it a great TV show. But what The People v. O.J. Simpson does is much more elemental. It asks one of the hardest questions a piece of art has ever asked, “What is a Tragedy?”

An incredibly bad trap card.

The People opens with the central tragedy: the brutal bloody murder of Nicole Brown Simpson and her lover Ron Goldman. The People isn’t interested in telling us the truth of this tragedy, but rather, other more human truths.

This is how the show makes the question of Tragedy. Most representative of this question comes at the conclusion of the most unique arc in the show: Johnnie Cochran’s. To get there, we must also discuss Christopher Darden.

There are many actors in the series that provide their best performances in a long time. But the two that stand out above the rest are Sterling K. Brown who plays District Attorney Christopher Darden, and Courtney B. Vance who plays Johnnie Cochran. The show is largely painting the viewpoint of the trial from the various narratives of self-interest. Christopher Darden is on the prosecution side and Johnnie Cochran, of course, on the defense. They are both black men.

The tempest of these characters and their relationships with the white people on their respective sides is of huge important. Johnnie is a vital voice, but not the lead of the defense team. Darden is a vital voice, but not the lead of the prosecution team. Johnnie is brought on to make a show of the racial component involved. Christopher is ostensibly brought on to refute that narrative, either with his words or with just his presence.

Darden starts the series by looking at Johnnie as a father figure, a man of the law, fighting for the rights of the black community. Quickly he realizes the mistake he’s made. At the end, he gets to deliver the final condemnation of Johnnie’s character. He leaves Johnnie with words that in any other show, series, or work of narrative would be the final word.

After Christopher gets his last say, Johnnie goes back to the law offices and turns on the TV. President Bill Clinton is discussing what the result of the trial means for the conversation of race in America. It’s then that Johnnie says, “We did it. We made our story heard.”

This is what I mean when the show asks, “What is a tragedy?” Is it a tragedy that O.J. Simpson was corrupted by a patriarchal society that surrounded him with L.A. yes men and brand deals? Yes. Is it a tragedy that a woman was ignored multiple times until she was nearly beheaded by her husband? Yes. Is it a tragedy that Marcia Clark lost one of the easiest and most blatant cases of murder because a social issue got in the way? Yes. Is it a tragedy that miser Johnnie Cochran let a known murderer free by making black issues into national issues? Yes.

These are tragedies of separate and competing strains. But the bigger problem is that our society enabled the discussion to be as razor edged for these characters as it was. That instead of being able to unite, they were separate by work, violence, and justice from achieving what should have been a palpable happy ending for all involved.

It’s fitting that we follow O.J. once the verdict is given. That he throws a party. That he gets to be told that his friends are not coming to party. That he reads a statement to the people at his house, people he doesn’t recognize, and doesn’t know. He tells Robert that the bible he gave him kept him company in prison, got him through the hard times. As he realizes that everything he ever gained and ever enjoyed in his life is falling around him, Robert holds that Bible up and leaves it on his table. He did not escape going to prison for his crimes, the prison is to be carried with him for good. All that O.J. is left with is the false image of his past accomplishments, an incredibly empty and vain appreciation for which he would later go to prison over. Just one of many tragedies wrought by his own arrogance.

If a man falls, and ends up nothing of what he once was, if an entire community gets to voice its pain and its concern in a way that does not destroy property, if a troubled if legitimate viewpoint of the law and justice is under minded so that an oppressed populace can be heard, then what is a tragedy, if not something to build on top of, if not a moment to take advantage of the eye of a nation which can only ever focus on violence and celebrity?

The People v O.J. Simpson is a masterpiece that redefines the very questions we ask with narrative art. Its laser focus on what is and isn’t worth fighting for while it builds heroes and villains that both achieve dual purposes demonstrates the complexity of our own world. As a show that gets to stamp down a truth about history. What that truth is? It finally displays how much tragedy must be endured to make progress, and just when you think you’ve answered every question it has it asks, “Ah, but what is progress?” as O.J. stares at that statue of empty glories in his backyard. So must we.

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Did you like this post? If so, consider signing up for the e-mail list so you never miss out on the latest film, tv, music, or video game post from Expository Conundrum! (Hint: It's in the upper right-hand corner of the page!!)

Also, consider donating to the blog! Your eyes are enough, but generosity and support can go a long way to making us both feel a lot better. Support your local artist (by local I mean Internet local.)

And finally, you can hang around the Facebook page or Twitter to keep up on Social Media. This doubles as the easiest way to harass me, but you wouldn’t do that would you?

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