Religiosity in southern Louisiana is a given in True Detective. The title of the series becomes another clue, as the real investigation is into what is “true” about each detective. Mirrors constantly appear in scenes with Hart, but do not provide any reflection for him. He is incapable and unwilling to examine his own actions, and pretends to everyone, including himself, that he is living a morally virtuous Christian life. Hart is in denial of his double-life, is a believer of some kind, and his lies define him. Jacques Lacan identified the self-recognition stage of development, the time when an infant recognizes itself in a mirror, as the initial establishment of an “I” and an “other.” Cohle is figured as self-reflexive and intuitive, a non-believer, and reflections help his character and define him. In order to underscore the theme of outward perception and self-perception, mirrors and reflective surfaces are significant parts of the mise-en-scène. What makes True Detective a more compelling series than a typical odd-couple buddy-cop pairing would yield, though, is the show’s examination of religion, philosophy, and occultism, and its insistence upon the self-reflection each detective does or does not do (and often, the self-reflection he thinks he’s done). Indeed, Hart and Cohle represent a Janus-like figure, simultaneously looking outward in opposite directions on various issues, but grounded in similarity. But because they each occupy a different side of these binaries throughout the series, it is more likely that these are not binary opposites at all. Detectives Marty Hart and Rustin Cohle, played by Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey respectively, seem to weave back and forth across the line separating belief and skepticism, self-reflection and superficiality, and religion and secularity. This is not a popular sentiment among church leaders who would rather have people come to them for guidance, which provides the basis for the dogmatic aspects of religion that so often become the counterpoints to secular arguments. Essentially, that which will save you is already inside you, if, and only if, you will recognize it. Unlike Matthew 3:2, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near,” Luke’s verse is not eschatological instead, it means to inspire introspection and self-reflection. The idea that access to God’s kingdom of heaven and therefore his grace and salvation is within us rather than through religious practice is at odds with many Christian sects’ interpretations and iterations. The song’s title and chorus comes from Luke 17:21, “the kingdom of God is within you,” and the no doubt more rhythmically pleasing syllables of “heaven” are just as remarkable as the original bible verse. The song’s subject matter and appearance at this particular point underscores the series’ intertwining of the occult, the secular, and the religious. – “Kingdom of Heaven” by 13 th Floor ElevatorsĪt the conclusion of “Seeing Things,” the second episode of True Detective, the song “Kingdom of Heaven” begins to play when the detectives find the incriminating occult painting on the burnt-out church. Your suspicions I’m confirming as you find them all quite true Your image stands reflected as a princess come to call He believes the murders ritually enacted over a period of time, upon his death, permit him an ascension that removes him from the Karmic wheel of rebirth.The incense and the candles and the colors on the wall When he says, “It’s been weeks since I left my mark, would they have eyes to see,” we can tell from that that he’s angling for a reckoning, for a showdown. In the beginning, when he says, “My ascension removes me the disc in the loop,” he’s describing the cosmology of eternal recurrence of various characters, including Cohle and Reggie Ledoux hit upon, and he’s hitting upon his personal mythology. What does Errol mean when he says, “My ascension removes me the disc in the loop?”Įrrol’s mythology perhaps can’t be reasonably explained-the simplest answer seems to be simply “he’s crazy”-but Pizzolatto offered his own explanation to Entertainment Weekly: Childress was signaling to the authorities both his presence and the presence of the men who made him. You can tell there are certain times he wants people to notice him. Pizzolatto offered his explanation in an interview with Entertainment Weekly: Why did Errol draw so much attention to Dora Lange-even lighting the fire that drew the police to her body?
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