American Gods Dick (Spoiler This is Not a Dick Ranting Email)

Published May 17, 2017 · Updated July 6, 2022

Hey Guys,

I really need you three to understand how important this pod is for someone like me. I really want to like this show, and i really want to understand it. But by just watching the show solo, and having no one i know personally watching the show (my father REFUSES to talk to me about it, he just can’t he’s that old school) if I didn’t have your pod to listen to i would be lost and probably would have dropped it by now. So seriously thank you for being the only podcast that can explain and spoon feed (or foon speed – ROG) the stuff I don’t understand or miss. You’ve made me really love this show, but i would NOT love it if i didn’t have a companion pod to help me out with shit.

I have a lot of feelings about the Djinn story. It felt like an after thought add on. Like they had the episode of Shadow’s story moving forward with Wednesday, and they needed something to splice in and fill time. Thats what it felt like.

For starters, they threw in a coming to America story in the middle of the episode. where we were used to them being at the beginning. Then they didn’t give you the “coming to america” script with a year or date. Another thing that did not right out the gate inform me that we are looking at another origin story. it being in the 80s?!?! I HAD NO CLUE before you guys gave me that nugget of information. Yes I should have been more perceptive and picked up on the suit, the calling the cab, the computer less secretary, the wood panel decor. But i didn’t because i wasn’t expecting to be thrown an origin story in the middle of the episode. The salesman in the cab talks about how he’s been in America for two weeks and can’t get a meeting or sell whatever he sells and he’s slightly down, yea that didn’t translate to me that he was wishing for something more or that he was “down on his luck” like dude its two weeks and you’re in the city no one can make it that fast whats the hardship? so? go out and keep trying. I needed to be spoonfed a little more with this, because I, and i may be alone in this, but after i did some research I get that Djinn is what Disney has programmed me to know of as the Genie of the Lamp. but i didn’t even understand that when I’m watching it on screen. I didn’t see this as a wish granted or a desire fulfilled. It just felt so different then everyone else, like all the other gods they come on screen and theres SOMETHING that lets it click in your head of who they are or what god they are of or what they are worshipped for. Even gods I’m not familiar with, Annasi (i can’t spell) at least he was introduced on a ship filled with slaves where they were PRAYING TO HIM and he appears to tell them exactly what atrocities lay before them if they didn’t sacrifice themselves now while they still had a chance. Even if i didn’t know what kind of god he was i still saw the connection of his followers and worshipers and believers and i could get it. Djinn…..no i didn’t get any of that. I still don’t even get what exactly happened because is he granting the salesguy’s wish? is he fulfilling a desier? is he tricking him into being the new cabbie and really he did nothing for the salesguy?

I know you guys are on a time limit so ill stop with the ranting but thats where this fell for me. It was not until after i heard the deep dive that i rewatched and said OH ITS THE 80S THIS IS AN ORIGIN STORY OHHHHHH OK THIS IS WHAT I DIDNT GET OHHHH and i felt stupid. but i don’t think I’m alone. This was disjointed, it did not flow with how the series has been unfolding, and the way they translated the text to screen not giving us enough time or enough character building of the salesman to understand his down on his luck side and why he would, in his heart, maybe be praying to Djinn to grant him his wish of a better life or fulfilled life or just a less lonely life. Again i still dopnt know what Djinn did for him other then give him what i would assume was the best sex he’d ever experience (which also wouldn’t that be like a let down that you fucked him so good now hell never find another fuck again like that and therefore he’d be even more miserable? ya know like the first high is the best high mentality? idk. don’t say that on air) so the whole story i rejected and went OFF about bcuase i had to wait three days for you three to explain it in a simple way which then i just felt stupid for not realizing on my own but THATS WHY WERE IN THIS TOGETHER ha!

Also id just like to touch on how this show has really impacted my way of thinking. I don’t know what i believe in (religion wise) but i did love and was fascinated with the polytheistic gods of the old world. I liked that there was a specific thing to pray to for a specific request. This show almost makes you look at the monotheistic world we live in today and laugh because how lazy are we as a society? Whatever religion you believe in, it originated (for the most part, if i remember correctly jews were always a one god religion) from all these gods being up there pulling the strings and then someone somewhere got lazy and said oh fuck this lets have one god, the Walmart Superstore One Stop Shop of Gods you go to him and ask him for everything and anything and you don’t need to remember or learn about all these other one-trick pony gods. I think its fascinating how Neil Gaiman sat there and brought the polytheistic to America, would would all these gods look like if they were around today. Like thats amazing. I will say I do almost wish the show would have taken a little time to maybe rework some of Gaimans stories and ideas, just to bring it into the 21st century. And maybe the show will take liberties i just think that in 2001 no one really knew what the internet was going to do in 10, 20 years. I would obviously be a devout techonologist but i also feel Zuckerberg would get his own deity as god of Social media whom i would also be at the alter praying to day in and day out because it is a force that affects us DAILY (trump would be the religious nut of the Social Media-ists amiright?!)

its just a really cool show with a lot of really cool and thought provoking and conversation starting ideas. But it does have its missteps. No I’m not angry that i saw gay sex or another dick (this dick was attached to a very fine looking man, not dane cook) but i do feel they may have exploited Djinn’s role in the book for shock value on screen. And i hope they do not continue to push the envelope and overstock the viewer for the sake of being shocking TV. the story is good, lets focus back on that, lets try and have some consistency in how we present these gods and their following and the cultures they originate from and lets not just shock for shocks sake.

We once created these mythical creatures to explain to us the unexplainable, and to grant us what we needed when we were truly hopeless and desperate, and gave us something to believe in at some point that helped humans grow and achieve great things. And then, we build technology and TV that told us we now know everything and what you don’t know is either not real, or can be learned easily, no faith required, except for the faith that the technology will always be there. Like that is enough to keep going for another 9 hours of me rambling but ill stop.

Again this show would be on my kill list without you guys. So thanks again for taking your private time and helping me understand whats going on in this show. Thanks for laughing with me, and not at me (except roger who is just laughing because i said dick)

You’re the three best friends that anyone could have
(see what i did there)

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