Is the main character in Year of the Dog a pathetic woman who is pushed over the edge into animal rights lunacy by the terrible death of her beloved Pencil? Or is she someone who has a moral awakening (in part occasioned by the terrible death of her beloved Pencil) and finds meaning in her life by answering the call of working for justice for all creatures? Was Peggy crazy or justified in taking the kids to Paradise Farm? Are we supposed to identify with Peggy's brother and sister-in-law or find them repellently conventional and small minded? Do we think it was morally justified for Peggy to contribute her boss's (or the company's) money to animal rights causes, or did she steal from him/them? Is PETA's work laughably extremist or bravely activist? I would suggest that it makes no sense to answer any of these questions with "Both," and that the movie, sadly, provides support for both possible answers. The result is not a sensitivity to moral complexity, but downright inconsistency and confusion, and a basic lack of a guiding moral perspective or message.
Reviews
2 Reviews
Once and Again
(1999–2002)
Let's talk episodes:
24 March 2005
But first please let's give our due to Julia Whelan, whose poignant performances from season 1 -- and especially in 3 -- were, more than anyone else's, worth the price of admission.
Some especially brilliant ones where the viewers' expectations are up-ended:
1. The purloined lip gloss! What better metonymy, I ask?
2. Best of all: the several episodes in which Lily thinks Grace might be a lesbian because of her interest in the gay/lesbian student support group, though she goes because of her huge crush on her way-too-old (male) writing instructor, the faculty mentor of the group. All the while her step daughter Jessie is in the throws of a crush on a beloved (female) friend, without anyone's notice.
Some especially brilliant ones where the viewers' expectations are up-ended:
1. The purloined lip gloss! What better metonymy, I ask?
2. Best of all: the several episodes in which Lily thinks Grace might be a lesbian because of her interest in the gay/lesbian student support group, though she goes because of her huge crush on her way-too-old (male) writing instructor, the faculty mentor of the group. All the while her step daughter Jessie is in the throws of a crush on a beloved (female) friend, without anyone's notice.
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