Louis Theroux's Altered States

[up_the_hampipe]

Ah.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

I'm a fan of his work, but at the moment I don't think I can take another thoroughly depressing Louis Theroux documentary that ends with him wandering off sadly while basically saying, "Well that was all a bit fucked, wasn't it?"

[Ferris]

(Catch the Wind by Donovan starts playing)

"As my time at [DEPRESSING PLACE] comes to an end, I'm left wondering: will [CHARACTERS NOW IMBUED WITH PATHOS] ever find the happiness they are looking for? And if they do - will it have been worth the cost?"

[up_the_hampipe]

I'm a fan of his work, but at the moment I don't think I can take another thoroughly depressing Louis Theroux documentary that ends with him wandering off sadly while basically saying, "Well that was all a bit fucked, wasn't it?"

He even managed to make that polygamy episode seem a bit gutting. That should have been a right laugh!

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

"It was time for one last visit with [TROUBLED PERSON]."

TROUBLED PERSON seems to have turned their life around slightly, thus leaving us on a vaguely hopeful note.

Louis returns ten years later to discover that TROUBLED PERSON's life got even worse afterwards. They are now dead.

[Malcy]

Anyone watch Choosing Death, then?

Yeah. Even after a mad funny day and pulling a whitey during a Gary Delaney gig it still crept into my head and depressed me. I was going to post last night but all I had was 'Grim'.

Today it's still all I have to say on it.

'Grim'

[yesitsme]

Those Final Exit Solutions (or whatever they were called) seemed a bit too keen with the gaffer tape and poly bag - the guy especially.

The snuffees seemed to have very real fears about their future but how much of it was based on depression rather than their illness wasn't clear.

Don't know what it says about the state of medical support for the emotional side of illness, or growing old that this is a thing but when there's no one else to inherit all your worldy goods I wonder who gets a quick trawl through your drawers before they call the undertaker?

Seen stuff like this before no matter how much you may think it's a better way to go I think it leaves just as many emotions as writhing in agony and coughing up blood.

A tough watch - especially after that David Attenborough show.

[confettiinmyhair]

Don't know what it says about the state of medical support for the emotional side of illness, or growing old that this is a thing but when there's no one else to inherit all your worldy goods I wonder who gets a quick trawl through your drawers before they call the undertaker?

The cast and crew of 'American Pickers'?

[checkoutgirl]

I'd go as far as saying that his serious documentaries just aren't as good as the silly ones.  I feel like he's a wonderfully talented and intelligent and funny man, but...I dunno.  His shtick has always been less about offering analysis and opinion, more sorta relying on just asking questions and giving em enough rope etc, which I think works better with the ol' freakazoids doing funny weird stuff while he stands there with a wry smile, as opposed to like, I dunno, standing next to some meth addicts or nonces with a serious face as they talk about their life then his voice over saying oh no this is bad.

The weird weekends stuff is just brilliant and pretty timeless, but I feel like there's a lot of people (and not necessarily as cool and smart as Louis) better at making serious documentaries. It's like he tries to subdue his own personality in the more recent stuff so it doesn't interfere with his SERIOUS FILM-MAKING, when the former was always a bigger strength than the latter.  That's wot I reckon anyway, i'll still watch and somewhat enjoy these.

Agree with all this. His selling point is mucking about with famous weirdos and fringe of society oddballs. But oddballs who enjoying themselves for the most part. In more serious situations it seems slightly pointless having him there and in situations where he is challenged by people who know what they're talking about he is all at sea.

Besides, as you said, what's the point of him doing the serious stuff when it's been done better elsewhere?

[Replies From View]

Missed it; will it be repeated?

[olliebean]

Missed it; will it be repeated?

Tomorrow (Wednesday) night at 11:15pm.

[Panbaams]

Those Final Exit Solutions (or whatever they were called) seemed a bit too keen with the gaffer tape and poly bag - the guy especially.

Mrs P thought something similar: "angels of death". I think they came across as more ghoulish because they were, seemingly, the only people in that woman's life. The other subjects had had similar conversations but had their families around them, so were able to talk about it with them.

A sobering watch, all in all.

[Replies From View]

Tomorrow (Wednesday) night at 11:15pm.

Thanks!

[BlodwynPig]

Of course!

It was just disheartening to read so much negative and hostile reaction to this show elsewhere. If Louie's intention was for this to be a serious documentary and not a 'weird weekend' and to gain some understanding and even acceptance of polyamory then imo he went about it the wrong way. Selling 'thruples' to an audience of people who are largely committed to monogamy and are likely sitting there with the very person to whom they've made those promises, just isn't going to happen. Exploring solo-poly/RA as a way of life for single people who don't want to merge infrastructure with a partner, have a family etc, and who want multiple platonic/romantic/sexual, possibly non-heirarchical relationships, that's a much easier way for people to entertain the idea of polyamory without contradicting their promises and legally binding agreements. So I think he missed a trick by including only couples and thruples. A better balance was needed. All types of monogamous relationships are absolutely not the same and the same goes for poly.

Is solo poly just sleeping around?

[phes]

Is solo poly just sleeping around?

Solo polyamory.

Na, sleeping around is sleeping around, something solo-poly people may also do. Solo people just don't want to integrate lives and want a greater degree of autonomy

[Replies From View]

And what's a polo mint?

[hedgehog90]

That last one might be Louis' finest hour.
The tone of it was disarmingly lovely I thought, not quite the grief-fest that some are making it out to be. Despite the circumstances, there is a sense of triumph about the whole thing, but the aftertaste is quite melancholic admittedly.
Louis himself was on top form, asking all the right questions and interacting in a manner that was exemplary for this kind of participatory journalism.
And the final moments with Gus and his family were profoundly moving. To capture that kind of genuine love on camera without ballsing it up by their presence was something quite special IMO.
Really impressive all round.

[checkoutgirl]

And the final moments with Gus and his family were profoundly moving.

Well that was just point camera and record. Not being cynical because I found that a quite upsetting sequence. And the shots of Gus after he expired I found very disturbing, mouth agape, light blue colour. It was almost too near the mark, too real. But it does tackle a very tricky subject. If you are doing medical suicide, when do you push the button and leave your family forever?

And the woman with no family, no mobility, precarious financial situation and oncoming dementia, even though she looked well and seemed sound of mind, what are the implications of assisting her suicide?

Yeah, it was a good episode by Louis.

[Replies From View]

I've downloaded this but I'm not sure whether I can watch more than the first five minutes yet.  It's quite upsetting already.

[Retinend]

a plain innocent statement of fact. 'Six months later they had a baby. They did not assign it a gender'.

Maybe you're afraid of people reading it and sneering but that is their wont and ultimately I think no sneer was intended on the show's part.

I agree with Phes, it was supposed to be funny... it is.

As is this line:

"AJ had struck up a new relationship with a software developer. They had met at a class she was teaching on how to use sex toys. His name was Q."

This documentary was a welcome throwback to the "weird weekends" of yore: Louis unassumingly lends his subjects enough common sense concern for the obvious drawbacks of their lifestyle choices to allow them to tie themselves up in knots justifying themselves to a sympathetic ear. The most entertaining part of the show is just how eager they are to talk about, and at length, what they are defying you to consider normal, mundane relationships. That said, Louis handles the subject with tact and care, acknowledging the universality of the problems faced by the polyamous in an acute degree, and even the extent to which the polyamorous provide themselves with solutions insoluble by the conventionally-amorous.