Slow autobiography and Korean pseudo reality

One Mississippi and The IDOLM@STER.KR

Author

By Bob Cunningham, IgniteSD #8 speaker

Publish Date

Nov. 8, 2017

One Mississippi. Plenty of time is given to let key situations ripen.

One Mississippi is Tig Notaro’s lightly fictionalized autobiographical series that pulls no punches when it comes to real-world pain in all its internal and external forms, yet repeatedly shows how pain can be balanced by joy and humor. The cast and writing make it possible to endure and even enjoy the process. One aspect is the pacing: plenty of time is given to let key situations ripen in the viewer’s and characters’ minds.

The IDOLM@STER.KR is a Korean pseudo-reality series that’s inspired by the computer game where teams of K-Pop wannabes endure training and competition in the hope of eventually reaching their public debut. Each episode poses existential threats to the teams and/or to individual members. While the scripts are entirely fictional, the actors on the teams all use their real names, lending a thin veneer of verisimilitude.