Netflix’ content strategy seems to be to stir up controversy. Not a month goes by that they won’t launch another round of high-risk series and movies that become either smash-hit successes, or at least get people talking.
When I watched the first episode of Ooku: The Inner Chambers, I resisted the urge to cancel my subscription. The misandrist undertones were so extreme, and this was the third feminist series binged the same week. You can imagine the frustration when after a hard day’s work I sit down to spend the limited free-time I have from running my businesses, only to get nagging feminazis spouting their frustrations with a male-centric world. Yeah, bitch, you have it hard. I work my ass off seven days a week, so my staff can pay rent and buy groceries, and you beef with me? What’s this, a shitty marriage simulation?
I have beef with these writers, because they seem die-hard about pushing repulsive American-style third wave tropes that do not belong in male-centric shows. Why are these girls hired to write shows intended at male audiences? They even refuse to respect the source material. What a self-destructive content strategy. But regardless, whenever these writers do a good job, which is rarely, but it happens, my anger quickly turns to intrigue and another fully watched show crossed off my list.
The pilot episode of Ooku pissed me off. I learned of the red-face plague that’s killing 80% of the male population, which led to men being prostitutes to women. All this somehow led to a woman becoming the head of the country. The obnoxiousness of the premise was truly a kick to the nuts. But I suspended my very strong personal feelings and watched the next few episodes. And for the most part, it was entertaining. There was some misandry, but this was balanced by the female characters acting just as horrible as the men. Unlike some Mary Sues, they suffer karmic consequences. The girls get injured and killed, which they deserve. The women are villainous, which makes sense after the writers delve into the backstory. How the Ooku became led by a female shogun was a complicated, but overall natural-feeling story.
This show is the perfect example of why I make it a principle to embrace freedom of speech. This includes personal choices, such as never blocking anybody, no matter how much they grate my gears. Because when you get past the initial feelings of negativity, there’s often lots of ideas to exchange. Ooku depicts feudal Japan in a fresh way that I found enchanting. This experience is helped by the stellar visuals, music and voice acting. The production values are top-notch.
The reason why the girls are acting like macchiavellian bitches is the unstable situation in feudal Japan. The country is barely holding together, a situation not helped by a raging plague killing everybody. There are also powerful feudal lords with large armies who would stage a revolt at the first sign of weakness by the shogunate. And the shogun died without a male heir.
Basically, shit is major fucked. If the word spread that the country has no legitimate leader, war will surely break out. So the women pick up the slack and scheme. The bastard daughter of the shogun who was born of rape becomes the heir. She tries hard to birth a son, but births only daughters. Thus the title of shogun passes on to another woman.
The writers make the implausible premise believable enough. There’s a lot of drama to keep things spicy. Whenever things slow down, somebody gets killed or raped, or something else crazy happens. The romances are passionate and complicated and the characters go through massive transformations in reaction to the extreme situations they face.
I can recommend Ooku, but beware, it truly is balls deep with the third wave.
