Introduction
The quality of the TV series has significantly improved over the last two decades. The viewers can find anything, from cozy romantic comedies to in-depth documentaries. This paper focuses on the Ozark criminal drama by Netflix. This series reflects the modern film-production patterns and allows the viewers to empathize with the main hero despite the law-breaking activities. It also shows the potential psychological changes in the characters in stressful situations. Ozark is an example of a criminal series that is dramatic enough to cause a range of intense emotions when watching and includes the situations familiar to the public.
Episodes One and Two
The main character is Martyn “Marty” Byrde, a financial consultant in Chicago with a wife and two children. He and his partner have been laundering the money for a Mexican drug cartel. An unexpected armed conflict over the missing $8 led to several deaths and forced Marty and his family to move to Ozark lake in Missouri to start or renovate a business (Ozark ep. 1 00:47:08-00:47:55). Several criminal activities are presented in the series, including money laundering, drug selling, and murders. Roy Pete from the FBI, particularly interested in the investigation, decides to follow the Byrde family in Missouri after the bodies from the cartel conflict have been discovered (Ozark ep. 2 00:37:45-00:38:15). The concept of fair play is not relevant in the first two episodes of the series as the confrontation between the FBI agents and criminals has not started yet. Ozark is not a hardboiled detective story as the murder and sex scenes are not presented in detail, but not cozy either, as they are briefly shown to the viewers.
The Concepts
One of the core themes of the Ozark series is money and its value. In the beginning, Marty considers it to be an investment in the family’s future. For the cartel representatives, financial resources mean power and a way of life. For Langmores, the poor and immoral family in Missouri that robes the Byrdes, money is an object of greed and desire. Later, at the point of desperation and suicidal mood, Marty would regard it as an instrument for his wife and children’s survival as he evaluates the life insurance (Ozark ep. 2 00:38:40-00:46:20). The subtext that does not receive detailed vocalization is family relationships. The viewer sees that Marty and Wendy have lost their passion after twenty-two years of marriage but still have warm and supportive feelings for each other. This issue may not be addressed much in dialogues, but the audience can see how both of them long to restore or renew the connection between them.
The Research
Television dramas of the twenty-first century are no longer inferior to full-length films. The studios create a high-quality product with professional actors and a large budget (Damico and Quay 1). Since there various TV drama series are available for the viewers, this creates a niche for each product. People choose what to watch based on their area of interest and usually stay loyal to the series for several seasons. The movements supporting women’s rights at the beginning of the twenty-first century have led to the creation and development of strong female characters in films and series. Wendy in Ozark is not content or confident in the first episode; she is overwhelmed by the circumstances and lack of attention from her husband (Watson 43). The sudden relocation to Ozark may even be Wendy’s chance to show her willpower and wit, as she has to negotiate the house price, care for children, and support Marty under severe stress (Watson 43). Her character has much potential for further development as a strong female figure, mother, and wife.
Conclusion
Ozark series combines the features of drama and a detective story. It shows a family from Chicago that was forced to exchange the usual urban lifestyle for an unpredictable unknown rural location guided by the need to cooperate with a Mexican cartel. As they are trying to adapt to the new environment, the Federal agents study them as a part of the criminal investigation. Ozark is an example of a detective drama that allows the audience to relate to an average family in extraordinary life circumstances.
Works Cited
Damico, Amy, and Sara Quay. “Stories and Audiences.” 21-Century TV Dramas: Exploring the New Golden Age. ABC-CLIO, 2016, pp. 1-34.
Ozark. Directed by Jason Bateman, performance by Laura Linney, Netflix, 2017.
Watson, Courtney. “Bad Girls: Agency, Revenge, and Redemption in Contemporary Drama.” Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy, vol. 6, no. 2, 2019, pp. 37-48.