The Plot Against America “Part Six”

There is so much I want to know about about Philip Roth’s novel right now.  I mean, I would really like to know how much of this story came from that novel and how much was it David Simon and Ed Burns’s interpretation of current events.

I do have a copy of that book now…

In the end, like everything else I’ve seen from Simon and Burns–OK, that’s basically just The Wire–this was ultimately a beautifully told story about people bumping into each other and finding a way through.  Well, most of them.

This is a show where Alvin and Herman will get into a fistfight over who cares more about the state of the country, the older man who rants and raves, or the younger man who lost a leg (and may have indirectly had something to do with President Lindbergh’s disappearance) fighting Nazis instead of just railing against them.

This is a show where Rabbi Bengelsdorf finds out exactly how much the President’s political allies really value him.

It’s a show where the Rabbi and Evelyn engage in conspiracy theories to explain what happened to Lindbergh.

It’s a show where Evelyn is utterly rejected by her sister.  Bess has had enough of that nonsense.  Bengelsdorf sees his congregation shrunk down quite a bit.

It’s a show where quiet Bess eventually goes to a political rally and participates alongside Herman.

It’s a show where a sitting president gives a lackluster verbal response to a domestic political assignation on a rival.

It’s a show where Herman and Sandy reconnect when they need to break curfew to drive to Kentucky to get Philip’s friend Seldon, a timid boys whose single mother was killed by the Klan.  In a nice touch, the family that Sandy stayed with helped them out, but it sure is an incredibly tense ride back when guys openly walking around in Klan robes are all over the place.

And it’s a show that offers some hope that a special election will get FDR back in the White House, but there’s signs of voter suppression of FDR supporters going on.

So, conspiracy theories, voters being turned away who happen to lean a certain direction, minorities learning how much the people in charge really value them when they become a “problem”…yeah, how much of this was commentary on now and how much came from Roth?

I’ll have to find out.

But for this show, I just adored it.  Let’s say 10 out of 10 moments when you realize no one can hurt you like family.

But now, I need something new, and since I seem to be hitting all the interesting HBO mini-series on Tuesdays, why not continue with Mare of Easttown?

The last time I saw Winslet in an HBO mini-series, it was the well-done Mildred Pierce, and I don’t think that got anywhere near as much attention as Mare of Easttown.