Act 1: The right media and the right time
When i was in the 7th grade I got into anime. That summer I binged so much anime id probably seen all the anime on Netflix. I felt like maybe life would've been better as an anime protagonist (ik that's cringe) but I've I got introduced to anime series that really changed my life. Some, maybe I was too young for. But I'm glad I saw them because I learned about myself through the shows than from what real life could teach me. As an adult, now I'm doing it again like when I played Life is Strange. In fact that's what act 1 of this movie felt like. Especially with all the indie music playing. I was taken back to the time I played that game and my identity changed again.
Act 2:
Came into it's own. It left the feeling of nostalgia and identity from media and instead moved to the movie's own story of the two kinds of worlds. This really left like...an attack against some people who grew up and let life steer us away from who we really are. I personally felt exposed. And I think the ending, as odd as it is, left an open question as to what Owen will do. Will he go back or will he stay satiated? And that's sorta a question for the millennial/older Gen Z audience as well (but not exclusively just us).
In total, the performances were cringe enough to be realistic. I can only fault how slow it felt in Act 1 during conversations. Apart from that, while an amazing concept and for some this movie would be top tier, I think for others it's just alright. Like me perhaps. It's not very entertaining tbh, but it's really thought provoking and I still need to understand what the duality of self was in Act 2.
I was cognizant of the polarizing audience reviews for this movie coming into it, and I was fairly hesitant. I do not usually mesh well with artsy surreal movies that tend to be mostly symbolic. I find them often opaque (no pun intended for the in-movie TV show "The Pink Opaque) with very tenuous symbolism, and I often feel people read too much into those movies because they remain so indecipherable that any interpretation seems valid for something so obtuse. I was thinking of movies like mother! which I loathe, so I went into this movie fully expecting to struggle with it. However, I Saw the TV Glow, while allegorical, is also pretty straightforward. It is not muddling its message or being purposefully obtuse for the sake of appearing insightful. It has a very clear purpose, and everything within the movie serves to further that purpose. The symbolism is intentional and well thought out, and I found the way the message was conveyed to be very well done overall. It's still a strange movie, though I would not say it is really horror, although it gets very dark and does face a more existential style of dread. It's kind of a personal reflection. There is some cool cinematography, and the soundtrack is maybe the second-best of the year behind Challengers. I think some sections drag on, and there are scenes that probably should have been cut out because they don't go anywhere, especially during one concert scene mid-movie. I am shocked to say that the more I think about it, the more I honestly really enjoy it.
It tells an intimate story about living a life that is true to oneself and the cost of burying it. It talks about the courage and leaps of faith required, and it explores the power of childhood nostalgia and magic found within media. It's a story about not being passive and a call to action—a movie that feels simultaneously autobiographical while also holding up a mirror to the viewer. I strongly urge viewers to try to dig deeper than the surface level plot because the movie isn't overly dense. There is meaning here, and you do not need to dig that deep to find it. You will be rewarded with a unique movie that might just make you reflect on the way you live your life.
