S-Town Reflection
When starting the podcast, I did not think this tale would end up the way it did; as a struggle over life, pain, sexuality, and a struggle for acceptance of oneself, and the ultimate failure and defeat of one. Framed as a podcast about an investigation of a murder cover-up by the police in a small town, I did not see the narrative transitions to stories and theories of hidden gold, mercury poisoning, and homosexuality coming in the tale of Bib county and John B. McLemore.
I thought a lot about how Brian Reed framed the podcast and how its elements worked together to tell a story. To me these elements executed included; telling a story, filling in details, giving analysis, cutting out the ‘bullshit’, simplifying and explaining (through experience, analysis, and time), intermissions for pause, giving a verbal narrative, keeping mystery and anticipation, and tying together story elements with overarching themes, information, or music. To me, these are the elements that Reed and his producers employed functionally to make the podcast flow and give ease to the story being told. But even then, with so many storylines and different interpretations and repetitions of the same situation, the storyline could get scattered and complicated at times. There was no overall resolution to a lot of the questions that came up during the podcast, such as, Is there any hidden gold? Did Tyler kill John as John’s cousin accused? Did John have feelings for Tyler? Was there something hidden in the maze? And oh yeah, What about that alleged murder? But as is the theme in life, not everything gets perfectly resolved like it does in scripted movies. Reed was telling real life stories of real people, and he couldn’t fill in facts that he didn’t have or conversations that were too sensitive to speak on record, or out loud at all. With these freedoms and limitations in mind, I think the producers and creators of S-town did a good job of what they set out to do, which I think is to create an entertaining podcast that people want to listen to. I was thoroughly intrigued and wanted to listen, so with that they succeeded. BUT through what lens is the story being told? Who ACTUALLY controlled the story? And is that right?
I also think the podcast brought up a lot of ‘touchy’ topics including poverty, corruption, homosexuality, homophobia, racism, ‘white trash’, perception, rural vs. urban, poor vs. middle class, and a load more of heavy topics, each of which could be expanded upon with analysis. S-town brings up these topics, fiddles with the idea, throws the questions out there, but doesn’t conclude anything or find justice in any way, and I think that’s where the audiences interpretation comes into play, and the resulting conversations that it starts.
Homosexuality
One interpretation I had was that John B McLemore story shows one of commonality-- homosexuality in a society where it's not accepted by all, especially in a place like shit-town. It was obvious that John struggled with his sexuality in the context of shit-town Alabama. He accepted that he was homosexual, or queer, but still used commonly vulgar language about homosexuals and acted with a certain amount of shame about his sexual interactions. I observed John putting down others, namely other homosexual men, to justify the righteousness of his sexuality and actions. This stems from the context with which he was raised and inhabits. Although many of Johns friends expressed their indifference to John’s homosexuality, John and them made it clear neither were “tryna get up each other butts”, and that ‘had’ to be clarified. Through this, it is still obvious that John lived within constricted limits and conflict over how to navigate his sexuality within his context.
Environment
Brian Reed, and John as well, are always able to backup a claim about a person with an excuse of their external environment, such as, “oh well he was raised by a child molester so what do you expect?” (John’s comment) This comment both brings recognition to a life situation that weighs heavy on the person it affects, or it can be an oversimplification of the complex factors that contribute to that person (in this case Tyler's) outcome and 'need' for 'guidance' and 'saviour' (John’s ‘role’). In some ways in my mind, in the podcast John B. McLemore acts as the white saint who comes down with his higher intelligence, understanding, and correct moral decision (despite being gay and trying to grapple with the morality of that) to save a poor, abuse, white-trash young boy, Tyler. I think to some extent this is John’s intention taking Tyler under his wing, to exercise his intelligence and for the superiority he can project. But I know truly that his relationship with Tyler, and most of those around him, is of good volition. He wants company, like any other human, he wants connection, he wants to help those in need, he wants to have a father-son connection, he wants sexual connection too. So, as much as we’ve been allowed the privilege to view John’s life and his personality, and to analyze Johns motives, actions, theories, and quirks, at the end of the day, he was human, navigating through the complexities of the environment he found himself in. In this case being Bib county, S-town Alabama.
Sometimes there is no reason, there is no conclusion, there is no right analysis, no ending to the podcast. Because life is complex, we each navigate and make sense of our environment in different ways, and not everything is going to end with the gold hidden in the maze being found and everyone living happily every after. And in the end, I think this podcast exemplified the complexities of life, people, society, media, and the narration of the story of a life very well. (Both its ethical and non-ethical ways.)
