The show I want to talk about is the TV series Hannibal, which came out on NBC in 2013. It is a crime drama created by Brian Fuller based on characters from the novel Red Dragon. The show contains 39 episodes, each with a French, Japanese or Italian cuisine title. This is one of the qualities that make the show art: a sense of detail, revealing the complex elements of different cultures, and understanding the intricacies of cuisine and its role in everyday life. The program is art because it links to classic works: for example, in the third season, the authors make many references to Dante (Fuller, 2015).
Martin and Jacobs (2018) point out that connection is an essential criterion for television that makes a show art, and Hannibal succeeds in this. A detective line that immerses viewers deeper into the story and allows them to analyze criminal investigations on their own allows the show to be given top marks (Fuller, 2013). The composers and color directors bring in additional elements of art, using evocative imagery and unique color combinations in the show’s dishes and atmosphere.
The Hannibal show has an impressive effect on viewers, convincing them of the complexity of psychological connections and the poignancy of police work. Many viewers love crime dramas, but Emily St. James (2013) believes that the show allows “those deaths matter because we get a sense of the lives that were ended.” In addition, the critic points out that Hannibal is “a natural force within the show’s universe” that pushes viewers to rethink their boundaries of trust. The psychological aspects of Hannibal are one of the show’s most unique features because it has influenced people’s perceptions of the human mind and how it can be managed and controlled. In an interview with Thurm (2015), Brian Fuller states that it is a work that will reveal every character, including the viewer, which is why it is so beloved. The Hannibal show is an art form that seamlessly intertwines the poignancy of crime drama, the combination of metaphors about cuisine and its role, and the complexity of human relationships.
References
Martin, F. D., & Jacobs, L. A. (2018). Humanities through the arts. (10th ed.). McGraw Hill Education.
Fuller, B. (Creator). (2013-2015). Hannibal [TV Series]. Sony Pictures Television.
James, St. E. (2013). Hannibal returns the fear of death to the TV crime drama. AV Club. Web.
Thurm, E. (2015). Hannibal showrunner: ‘We are not making television. We are making a pretentious art film from the 80s’. The Guardian. Web.