\n\t\t<\/aside>\n\u201cLong Story Short\u201d follows the story of Naomi (Lisa Edelstein, \u201cHouse\u201d) and Elliott (Paul Reiser, \u201cMad About You\u201d), who are the epitome of a chaotic Jewish household. Their three children, Avi (Ben Feldman, \u201cSuperstore\u201d), Shira (Abbi Jacobson, \u201cDisenchantment\u201d) and Yoshi (Max Greenfield, \u201cNew Girl\u201d) reflect three extremely different combinations of their parents and three very different journeys, despite being raised under the same roof. Avi, the eldest, is sensitive and witty, with insecurities that unwillingly drive him to exhibit the same insensitivity he resents in his parents. Shira, a classic middle child, is fiery and stubborn, which, of course, is a defense mechanism for all her vulnerable and intense emotions. Diagnosed with ADHD at a young age, Yoshi has childish tendencies but a kind and genuine spirit. In fact, many fans were quick to compare his character to that of Todd (Aaron Paul, \u201cInvincible\u201d) from \u201cBoJack,\u201d yet another connection within the Raphael Bob-Waksberg universe.<\/p>\n
And while these three siblings are vastly different, they all undergo the classic cycle of rejecting their familial influences until these habits and patterns reemerge as traumas in their adult lives. Yet even the word \u201ctraumas\u201d is questioned in the show. As the children sift through their memories, they must decide which of them can be blamed on their upbringing and which are the result of their own mistakes and character flaws. Facing struggles like pregnancy, developing sexuality, inner religious turmoil and finding a life\u2019s purpose, each episode focuses primarily on one character, whether that be a member of the immediate family or a close relative such as Shira\u2019s wife, Kendra (Nicole Byer, \u201cTuca & Bertie\u201d). Through these snippets of a larger story, the audience discovers what the show is ultimately about: grief.<\/p>\n
About halfway through the season, the show reveals that the events depicted all occur before and after one pivotal moment: Naomi\u2019s death. It places every scene shown and every scene yet to be revealed in a new context. It is no coincidence that death operates in the same fashion, forcing loved ones to perceive all their past memories and future moments in the context of great tragedies. It even puts into context the blues and purples that craft the color palette of the show, foreshadowing the grief that clouds the characters\u2019 memories.<\/p>\n
Shows tend to place such devastating twists toward the end of a season in order to maximize suspense, emotion and longing for the next season. This makes Bob-Waksberg\u2019s decision to place this revelation in the middle of the show feel purposeful: Naomi\u2019s death isn\u2019t supposed to be a great climax that makes jaws drop at the last second. Rather, it is a pit in the viewer\u2019s stomach that pulls at their heartstrings and leads to an incredibly unique viewing experience. Following this reveal, the subsequent episodes don\u2019t necessarily revolve around Naomi\u2019s death, yet we see now how grief always follows these characters. In fact, amid all the time jumps, not once does the show depict the exact moment when Naomi died. Instead, it focuses on the emotional journeys of Avi, Shira and Yoshi, processing the complicated, messy and at times difficult relationship they had with their mother.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mother-child relationships are perhaps some of the most complicated relationships we can experience in a lifetime. \u201cLong Story Short\u201d brings to life in Naomi a very particular kind of matriarchal figure \u2014 one who cares too little and too much about everything around her. Naomi is an incredibly complex character who finds fault with nearly everything and accepts no situation as satisfactory.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/aside>\nIn an episode that looks back on Naomi\u2019s own childhood, the audience sees how she learned to create conflict in order to bring attention to herself. The whole show is like a puzzle, and once this piece is revealed, every one of her scenes suddenly makes sense. We learn here that she craves the one thing she will never get in a large family: everyone\u2019s attention. This degrades her relationships with all three children, as she makes it impossible to have a normal conversation free of condescending comments. Of course, underneath this facade of stubbornness is extreme insecurity. Frankly, she doesn\u2019t know how to change, and unfortunately she doesn\u2019t live long enough to figure it out.<\/p>\n
Alongside more typical familial dynamics, religious turmoil forms the foundation of the Schwooper family\u2019s life. Bob-Waksberg\u2019s unique representation of religion sets a new precedent not only for depictions of Judaism but for all kinds of religious representation in media. The show doesn\u2019t depend on an Orthodox Jewish family for its dissection of religion. In fact, faith barely even plays a role in the Schwooper family\u2019s Judaism. Despite this, Jewish culture leaks into every scene the five of them share: in their home, vocabulary, cooking and tradition. From Naomi yelling chutzpah<\/em> (the audacity) to Shira attempting a Knish recipe, Judaism is such a strong part of this family\u2019s identity, even without a direct emphasis on God. The show highlights an incredibly realistic middle ground of Judaism often found in American families. Instead of focusing on rules, guilt and prayer, which are not a part of every Jewish experience, it directs its attention to the cultural influences of religion, which can be found in so many places other than a Shul.\u00a0<\/p>\nWhile exploring this representation of religion as culture, Bob-Waksberg goes on to explore the internal conflicts of religion and the journeys each character must go on to discover their own relationship with faith. He explores a diverse range of topics from repressed antisemitism among Jews to African American Judaism and Reform to Orthodox transitions. These subjects are explored through the Schwooper family, their significant others and, eventually, the new additions to their family. The audience sees how a religious journey often begins with instilled ideals but can also lead to a personal journey that forces each character to redefine religion as it fits into their own lives. Sometimes, this means distancing themselves from ideals they no longer align with, and sometimes, it means seeking out greater means of faith to give themselves purpose. After all, in times of grief, purpose can be the ladder that offers us direction, a way out.<\/p>\n
\u201cLong Story Short\u201d is beautifully devastating in an incredibly gentle and familiar way. The tender moments in the show are not given to us through brash moments but instead in small brushes of transparency, wherein we are able to see each character for who they are beneath the skin. Behind each purple face of the Schwoopers is a perfectly complex, nuanced and messy human going through the struggles of life right alongside us. While it is of course difficult not to compare this show to \u201cBoJack,\u201d I would encourage viewers to try and watch it on its own terms to experience the full effect of the story \u2014 because the best part of \u201cLong Story Short\u201d is that there has never been anything like it before.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Daily Arts Writer Abigail Weinberg can be reached at <\/em>weinab@umich.edu<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/aside>\n\n\t\t<\/aside>\n
Related articles<\/em><\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Note: This review contains spoilers for \u201cLong Story Short.\u201d Last week, the \u201cBoJack Horseman\u201d algorithm began targeting me once more. Ever since I first watched the show, my social media pages have been intermittently flooded with \u201cBoJack\u201d content, from the show\u2019s funniest running jokes to its most depressing moments. It\u2019s like my phone knows when […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2723,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[1042,2512,2368,2892,594,449,2891],"class_list":["post-2722","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-animation","tag-grief","tag-long","tag-religion","tag-short","tag-story","tag-tackles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2722","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2722"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2722\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2724,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2722\/revisions\/2724"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2723"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2722"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2722"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2722"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}