Title: I Saw the TV Glow
Year Released: 2024
Screenwriter: Jane Schoenbrun
Director: Jane Schoenbrun
Network Found On: MAX
Rating: PG-13
Main Actors: Justice Smith, Brigette Lundy-Paine, Ian Foreman
Plot Summary: This movie takes place in 1996, where two teenagers (Owen and Maddy) meet in high school and bond over a TV show called The Pink Opaque. The premise of The Pink Opaque is that two teenagers named Isabel and Tara battle against various monsters thrown their way by the main villain who is named Mr. Melancholy. Both Owen and Maddy could be considered loners, and they spend their Friday nights watching this TV show together as their main connection to others their age. Fast forward a couple of years and Maddy wants to run away from home, as her father is abusive. Owen’s mother has cancer, and his father is emotionally abusive in his own way. Owen cannot leave his mother and Maddy disappears. Fast forward another eight years and Owen still lives at home with his father. Owen is at the grocery store, and he unexpectedly runs into Maddy. She claims to have lived inside the tv show for the past eight years, and she paid a man to bury her alive to awaken within the tv show. She urges Owen to do the same. Owen cannot do it, and he never sees Maddy again. Fast forward another 30 years, to 2036. Owen is working at an entertainment center and Owen appears gaunt and sickly, and he has terrible asthma. He screams at everyone that he is dying, but no one notices him. In the bathroom he cuts his chest open and when he pulls open his chest the light from tv static is coming out.
Quality of the media: This movie has an art-house feel, and I discovered after watching it that many reviewers view it as such. The imagery is beautiful, and it is one of those movies that does not spell everything out for the viewer. There are some special effects that enhance portions of the movie, but the movie is not over the top with too many special effects.
Opinion: I did not know what to expect going into this movie. I had seen previews at the theater, and I knew it was a movie I wanted to see, but I just never found the time for it. Thankfully when I was looking for movies for this assignment I saw it was streaming on MAX! This is a movie that makes you think – it is not a movie that is going to spell out for you all the details regarding what you should take away from it. At its essence it is a story of a main character with gender dysphoria, and the fear that comes from being afraid to live as your true self. The main characters feel trapped in bodies that do not feel right, and when Maddy comes back to see Owen, you can see she has changed, and in flashbacks you can see images of Owen breaking out of his self-imposed expression of himself. I thought the movie was excellent, but I could see how it might not be for everyone with its “artsy” style.
Library Program: This is a movie that would be best for a group of young adults aged thirteen and over, as I think some of the imagery and messages might go over younger viewers’ heads. Although there is not anything in the movie that would be offensive to younger viewers (despite the PG-13 rating). Younger viewers might get scared of the monsters at points in the movie. Depending on the group of kids in your community you could have a teen movie night and discuss what all the kids thought the movie meant. It would be an interesting discussion.
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