Enlightened Librarian: Whither secular humanism? How 'bout Deadwood?

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Whither secular humanism? How 'bout Deadwood? · 24 August 2006

The television show with the foulest mouth is also the most nuanced—and to this eye—beautiful thing on the box. I’ve just finished watching the first season of Deadwood, something in awe of the show’s razor-sharp attention to language and character. Watching the hyper-intelligent head writer and executive producer David Milch explain himself on the DVDs’ bonus materials, it’s clear that language begets character, and Milch is open enough to allow the subtle characterizations of his actors to influence the script. The result is a show with the broadest emotional range and most true-seeming atmosphere that I’ve every seen. The show is mesmerizing on many levels, in large part because it is about the open commerce of good and bad in everyone. Nothing crusted over. Raw, wriggling human life.

The February 2005 issue of the New Yorker contains a wonderful article by Mark Singer about Milch and his unorthodox working methods. It’s not online. Go you your library and get it.

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