Barry Makes Us Morally More Aware
Reader discretion: this article contains spoilers for Barry.
I just ended the last season of Barry, a tv show concerning acting classes, murderers, and Chechen dealers. I remember how exactly I found this series. Back then – maybe three years ago – I was obsessed with acting and acting classes and the process by which you enter a character’s soul – still obsessed. So I searched, “tv shows and movies about acting,” and run across Bill Hader’s Barry. At first, I was a little bit skeptical about the premise of the show: a psychopathic murderer turned actor. I thought it was similar to the numerous cheesy, tacky Hollywood products we see repeatedly on the big screen and our streaming services. Since I almost always check out critics’ scores on these visual products, I did the same with Barry – though, I don’t necessarily select films based on their scores, I’m just curious to see the opinions. And, Barry’s score was pretty good: critically acclaimed, and popular on IMDB. So I started watching it, and Barry fully deserved the acclaim and the brouhaha.
I, really, like the evolution of the show throughout these four seasons; it became darker with the comedy and more serious with the concepts, to the point that the last season was all about redemption and the doubtful beliefs we hold. Barry found faith in the Christian God, thinking that Jesus would free him of all the apathetic sins he committed – yet, Mr. Cousineau insists that Barry is a sympathetic soul; the narcissistic soul, Mr. Cousineau found serenity in Israel; Monroe Fuches, the off-and-on backstabber, found peace of mind by accepting who he is: an arsehole.
But none of them were vindicated objectively. Yet, they thought they are redeemed, and maybe that’s enough for them, because who knows what redemption means? Maybe if you feel free of guilt and tranquil internally, it’s enough and you are subjectively redeemed. I mean, don’t we want redemption to feel guiltless ourselves? But what about objectively? Are we still objectively vindicated? No. But if you don’t care about others, you may think that you are forgiven, like Barry. But is simply thinking enough for forgiveness? I don’t know.
So one thing I realized from this show is that morality is baffling and uncertain.
When watching, I questioned myself too. Seeing Barry as a dad tortured made me feel sorry for him; it made me want to sympathize with him. But how I could be concerned about the emotional state of an evil killer? I don’t know. Maybe I as a human feel emotional when even the evilest people are suffering, or maybe it’s because of the fantastic writing that makes me question my morality.
So, to summarize my point, this show was great. Barry was explicitly harsh with its story and killings. It made us not only laugh but think more pensively about some of the things we face every day in the real world through its bitter comedy in a Grand-Theft-Auto-esque world.
Notes:
- I really liked Mr. Cousineau’s acting technique that Sally also used with the model girl to stimulate her emotionally, though it’s manipulative. I think if I was there, it would also have worked for me, but given my sensitive soul, I may never have come back again!
- And about the flash-forward of Barry and Sally’s life, I have to mention that it was so depressing and wired. It had a vibe into it that made me want to throw up bleakness.
Oh, remember, earlier in the article, I told you I expected Barry to be a hacky Hollywood product? “THE MASK COLLECTOR” touch on Barry’s life at the end of the last episode was Barry (the tv show) if it was supposed to follow the “algorithms”.
Thank it didn’t follow the algorithms!
