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'American Gods': Redefining faith in society
Whether you are a book reader or not, the TV adaptation is a treat.
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A still from 'American Gods.' (FremantleMedia North America/Jan Thijs)
I
nitially picked up and abandoned by HBO, the TV adaptation of Neil Gaiman's American Gods has come a long way. Now into its second episode, the series shows promise that the wait was worthwhile.
American Gods tells the story of people and the Gods they believe in. With growing human reliance on technology, media, and other things, new Gods emerge. Losing the attention and worship they once enjoyed, the old Gods must struggle to survive.
The series follows Shadow Moon (Ricky Whittle), who is having hard time accepting the death of his wife Laura and her betrayal. Just out of prison with no job, Shadow reluctantly agrees to be a bodyguard for conman Mr. Wednesday (Ian McShane). Wednesday is taking Shadow on the road across the United States, without giving any clue about the purpose or the actual identities of the people they meet.
Each episode begins with a story about how people from various backgrounds first come to the US, bringing their own Gods to the new land, establishing how faith works in the American Gods' universe.
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Consisting of almost 500 pages, the book provides a lot of material to work with. With Bryan Fuller as executive producer, viewers are delighted by an aesthetic that brings the magic alive on the screen. The author Neil Gaiman also takes part in the production of the series to maintain the original story's integrity.
Sixteen years apart from the original material, the TV adaption must, well, adapt. The God of technology, in the book described as a fat neckbeard, now appears in a sleeker version of himself, representing the change in how people interpret technology these days. Another thing that viewers must applaud is the male nudity, which is for once treated equally with its female counterpart.
All in all, American Gods is a treat. (kes)
