SENSE8 and the Politics of Watching TV

Last updated on: June 29, 2015 at 9:33 am by J. Ryan Parker

SENSE8 and the Politics of Watching TV 2015-06-29T09:33:53-07:00 J. Ryan Parker

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

The new Netflix series, Sense8 (by the Wachowski siblings) isn’t a great series, but, set in the context of the ever-expanding television market, it is a must-watch series if you care about what type of content gets made.

Sense8‘s plot is sketchy: scattered around the world are eight sensates, people that can mentally connect with one another across vast distances. Will is Chicago PD, Nomi is a transgender hacker in San Francisco, Capheus is a bus driver in Nairobi, Wolfgang is a criminal in Berlin, Sun is a financier in Seoul, Lito is a movie star in Mexico City, Riley is an Icelandic DJ living in London, and Kala is a pharmacist in Mumbai. Not only do they share conversations and engage in physical touch, they can also draw from each other’s memory banks and abilities to get through the various troubles in which they find themselves, chief among them coming to terms with these new abilities. They all share a vision of Angelica (Daryl Hannah), a woman that shoots herself at the beginning of the series and converse with Jonas (Naveen Andrews), a mysterious man who slowly fills them in on their new identity as members of a “cluster” and warns them of an enemy force, Whispers, that seeks to kill them all. Sense8 follows these characters as they help one another get through life and evade Whispers.

A couple of years ago, I wrote a book about Sherwood Pictures, the church-based film production company responsible for evangelical propaganda films like Facing the Giants, Fireproof, and Courageous. In August, the Kendrick brothers, the visionaries behind Sherwood Pictures, will release their next film, the theme of which will be the power of prayer. It’s called War Room, and the title succinctly captures their stance vis-a-vis pop culture. Every time the Kendrick brothers release a new film, they bang the culture war drum, encouraging their troops to support their films (and others like them) while avoiding those other vile Hollywood productions. This, of course, ignores one important fact: Sherwood Pictures and the Kendrick brothers couldn’t exist without deep, working relationship with Hollywood. At the same time, their marching orders might also be falling on deaf ears within their own community. Surely some of their congregants went out to see Jurassic World on opening weekend?

That being said, it’s hard not to see Sense8, as a shot in a culture battle, so to speak. In more than its sci-fi themes and ambiguous approach to religion, it’s a clear product of one of its creators. Lana Wachowski is a transgender woman, and Sense8 has no shortage of sexually diverse characters and is, perhaps, one of the few shows to fully embrace the LGBTQ spectrum. But Sense8 is not LGBTQ for the sake of being LGBTQ. It’s using this diverse cast of characters to say something about our identity as human beings in a global community that is simultaneously coming closer together and becoming more volatile. Through both its narrative and its existence as a streaming series it’s telling us something that we need to hear.

The heart of Sense8 is the reality that there is no us and them, even as its narrative is built on a major distinction between two types of people. First, there are the sensates and their sympathizers, people who know the truth of their interdependence, their similarities with one another, and the depth of their connections on both a spiritual and a cellular level. On the other hand, there are those who would deny that reality and violently suppress it. Their world is built on division, hierarchy, and competition. Of course, most of us embrace this lie and deny our true identities in the process. As Nomi points out, “Their violence was petty and ignorant, but ultimately, it was true to who they were. The real violence–the violence that I realized was unforgivable–is the violence that we do to ourselves when we’re too afraid to be who we really are.” While Nomi is reflecting on her own experiences of being tormented and oppressed, it’s a universal observation.

Religion has had a history of both oppressing and liberating identity, and religion plays an important, if ambiguous, role in Sense8. The series opens in a disheveled cathedral, which might point to traditional Christianity’s bankruptcy in America. I would say that this might apply to all religions, but then there’s the portrayal of a vibrant Hinduism in India and Kala’s participation in it. Episode 7, “W.W.N. Double D?,” contains one of the most beautiful sequences about religion that I have seen in film or television in quite some time as Kala recalls falling in love with the faith. The Wachowskis seems to suggest that the lived, ritual experience of religion seems to be far more important than any affirmation of rules or a belief system. On one hand, Nomi tells Aquinas to “go fuck yourself.” On the other hand, Kala’s father-in-law is something of a new atheist who wants to diminish religion’s role in Indian culture, but he meets a violent end in the very temple that he would shut down. Fundamentalism and zealotry of any kind seem to have no place in the Wachowskis’ world. The sensates’ experiences of communing with one another might well be the Wachowskis’ strongest “religious conviction.” These experiences don’t happen as a result of being a member of a traditional religious community with rules and regulations, but by doesn’t happen in a place with rules and regulations, but by virtue of our very identity as global citizens.

But back to the message that Sense8 sends by virtue of its existence in the television landscape. The medium is also the message, and the medium here is the diverse LGBTQ characters. Popular culture has always played a key role in bringing social change in any era, and its power might be most prevalent in the struggle for gay rights and marriage equality. With Friday’s landmark Supreme Court decision, many publications traced this history. Film and television writers owe it to audiences to portray the diversity of the world in which we live, even if they set their narratives in outer space or in the distant future. As pop culture consumers, we owe those creators courageous enough to do so a few hours of our time. As we do, perhaps more networks will make space for the beautifully complex voices and identities that make up the human community.

Previous Post

June 23, 2015

Killer Serials: ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK, Season 3, Eps. 4-6

Next Post

June 30, 2015 Killer Serials: ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK, Season 3, Eps. 7-9

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Classics DVD Film Music News Pop Culture Events Print Sports Television Uncategorized Video Games

Select a Month March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What does Jesus teach about serving others?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Serve only family Only serve the rich Never serve Whoever wants to be great must be a servant