1. Thoughts on the Danish political TV drama Borgen follow, twitter-essay format. These thoughts reference the first two seasons only.
— Kevin Aiello (@KevinAiello) July 20, 20142. You can see that the show condenses and simplifies complex news and politics, but it does so very skillfully and it works.
— Kevin Aiello (@KevinAiello) July 20, 20143. How? As a viewer, one can imagine the complexity without having to see it. To explore such topics in more detail would dull them.
— Kevin Aiello (@KevinAiello) July 20, 20144. The show manages to avoid dramatic excesses — or large crimes — in conveying political drama. This is an impressive feat.
— Kevin Aiello (@KevinAiello) July 20, 20145. In not resorting to such excesses, it exceeds (the U.S. version of) House of Cards, at least in that regard.
— Kevin Aiello (@KevinAiello) July 20, 20146. Characters are well-drawn. And in the 2nd season, there are moving personal stories tapping into some deep, painful issues.
— Kevin Aiello (@KevinAiello) July 20, 20147. The inevitable idea of intensity-of-work-life leading to a suffering-of-personal-life is a narrative that is pulled off convincingly.
— Kevin Aiello (@KevinAiello) July 20, 20148. The skill here is in very slowly and carefully articulating the devolution of the personal. You see it happen. Inevitably. Tragically.
— Kevin Aiello (@KevinAiello) July 20, 20149. The professional-personal conflict is confronted directly in the last episode, with results that are uncertain.
— Kevin Aiello (@KevinAiello) July 20, 201410. This conflict touches in complicated ways on the sacrifices of being a “workaholic”; perhaps suggesting it is endemic to modern society.
— Kevin Aiello (@KevinAiello) July 20, 201411. This is the thread that runs through all of Season 1 & 2. It ends by acknowledging it & trying to move beyond it, but is this possible?
— Kevin Aiello (@KevinAiello) July 20, 201412. Finally: great acting throughout by @BHjortSorensen, @PilouAsbaek and @SidseBabett, amongst others. End of Borgen Twitter essay.
— Kevin Aiello (@KevinAiello) July 20, 2014For more details on Borgen, see the Wikipedia entry on the show.
Praise (or blame) is due to Canadian journalist and scholar Jeet Heer for inspiring the concept of the “Twitter Essay.”