Baby Reindeer

It's a cultural phenomenon. And it wasn't built by the press, but word of mouth. And it was dropped all at once, it wasn't about marketing, maintaining subscriptions over months, the work stood alone. And it wasn't a trifle, like "Ted Lasso." "Baby Reindeer" fits no preordained slot. But it's the biggest thing in media today. Bigger than Taylor Swift. Bigger than any record. Bigger than any movie. And you've got to see it.

That's why I watched, word of mouth. I follow the new streaming releases, I was aware it came out, but I wasn't titillated to the point I needed to see it. But then my inbox... I started hearing from people I never hear from, testifying. And the quality of the e-mails was different, not just this is good, watch it. To the point where I had to partake.

Now the image of this series is contrary to its content. What I mean is many believe it is grisly, and they don't watch horror movies. But that's not what it is. Yes, "Baby Reindeer" is intense. But what makes it so interesting is it's more than a stalker series, it's about the interior life of a Scot trying to make it as a comedian and failing. And his ups and downs along the way.

Donny has compassion for Martha. We live in a world where compassion is absent from the winners in the world, as Steely Dan would put it. We're told to be like Elon or Diddy, blaze our path to billions and forget about collateral damage. The goal is to be above the law as opposed to being a part of society. Actually, despite making their money from society, these titans want nothing to do with the great unwashed masses. They live behind gates, fly private and vacation on islands most people have never heard of, when they're not cruising on yachts. They compete with each other in a contest of accumulation that has no real value, that no one really cares about, and then they die. He who passes with the most money and toys does not win, believe me. As a matter of fact, the richer you are the fewer friends you've got. You might have sycophants, yes-people on the payroll, but friends? You're too suspicious to have friends. But the rank and file?

Donny has a dream. Is it achievable?

My inbox is filled with believers. Yes, they believe they can make it in music via sheer will. If they want it enough, if they believe in themselves enough, they can break through. They DESERVE to break through! But this isn't how life works. This is naive. And ultimately Donnay realizes this.

Now when you enter the competition, when you get into the arena of major league of entertainment, you'll be confronted with hustlers, liars and those who will take advantage of you. Generally speaking, trust no one other than yourself. If you don't have portfolio and someone takes an interest in you, beware, they want something from you. But oftentimes you're blinded by the access and supposed opportunity, and you succumb. After all, your buddies back in the hinterlands wouldn't believe it, here you are in Tinseltown, making it, only you won't, almost nobody does.

Meanwhile, you're falling behind financially. Donny works in a bar. He's going nowhere fast. You can't be working on Wall Street and simultaneously try to make it in entertainment, entertainment takes all your efforts, and that usually isn't enough.

So it all begins with compassion. Donny feels sorry for Martha. But the thing about life is a certain portion of the population is positively insane, and you don't know exactly who is.

And despite influencers parading their lives all over social media, in truth most people are closeted, not only sexually, but personally. You've got to hang with a guy for months, usually years for them to feel comfortable enough to reveal their inner truth. They're afraid of being judged.

Now what makes "Baby Reindeer" so riveting, so interesting, is it's a true story. Once again, the stalking is just the come-on, Donny's interior life, his choices, his shame, his worry about being found out are the essence. But you won't know this unless you see it.

So I'm watching "Baby Reindeer" and asking myself if this is "Tiger King," you know, the docuseries we all watched at the beginning of lockdown that most people pooh-pooh today. But lockdown is in the rearview mirror, and the days are getting longer, it's warming up, "Baby Reindeer" is not just a trifle for winter viewing. "Baby Reindeer" would be successful no matter what time of the year it was released.

This is what we're looking for. Something visceral, something real. In a world where big media believes we want cartoons. Where we're fed a constant diet of entertainment fluff about people we don't know about or don't care about. Feel good if you get ink, but it's got very little influence. How many people who are not Swifties checked out her new album? I'd posit very few. Whereas media would have you believe everyone in America is salivating over 'The Tortured Poets Department."

Press doesn't matter anymore in an America that is hyped-out. So you hired people who got you into a publication that most people don't read anyway. We're subjected to your punim all over the internet, we're angered by the onslaught as opposed to enticed. We're looking for something new and different, something that pushes the envelope, that pierces the veil. We don't want to hear about the shenanigans of celebrities, we want something meatier, that makes us reflect upon ourselves, that makes us feel part of overall society.

Think about this. The only universal thing we've got is politics, Trump and Gaza, and many are burned out on them to boot. But along comes a TV series, in a world where media still believes movies in theatres is the highest art form, despite the words of Jerry Seinfeld, and it penetrates the national psyche, to the point where so many people are talking about it you've got to check it out too.

We're looking for something so personal that it becomes universal. The actions and questions of Donny? We have those too. Do we chuck the dream? Do we employ sharp elbows? Do we question our sexuality?

If someone came up with "Baby Reindeer" out of thin air, no one would believe it. Truth is stranger than fiction. And that's what makes "Baby Reindeer" so intriguing. You keep self-checking, thinking something is ridiculous, just an obtuse plot point, and then you realize it truly happened.

And Donny is worried about his image at the bar, but the question is can you cast aside your image and be the real you?

Most people never can. But that's the goal.

If you haven't seen "Baby Reindeer" watch it. First and foremost to be part of the discussion. In truth, we all want to be a member of the group, we wall want commonality, something which is extremely rare these days. But "Baby Reindeer" has provided it.

It's always the left field and different that we're interested in, that brings us together.

That's the power of art. Something which has been capitulated in music and movies today, playing to a market.

"Baby Reindeer" doesn't play to a market. It's sui generis, you've never seen anything exactly like it.

And either you know what I mean...

Or you haven't seen it yet.


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