Vice

Stumbled upon Vice during a free month trial of HBO. Wow... what a great concept -- info about current events presented without network TV fluff, and no ad breaks.

Initially, I thought 15 minutes per topic wasn't enough to cover a topic. I was wrong. Without ads, and without producers needing to be concerned about advertiser repercussion for honest and unbiased presentation of controversial subject matter -- it's like the orange juice concentrate of TV -- just add viewers ;-)

If I'm being honest, having 4 seasons to choose from is ideal as not all the episodes contained something that sparked my interest. The show did however prompt me to keep my HBO Now subscription recurring and I definitely look at the summary of Vice each week to see if it's something I want to learn more about.

Vice won't give you 100% of the info on everything it covers, but I don't think it intends to. It's a springboard for motivation to learn more if that first 15 minutes wets your appetite for knowledge.

There are two kinds of programs on T.V. at any given moment. Entertainment: which tends to either dumb down, or completely distort reality. And News: which is painted so objective and distant it gives no clues about the human motivation behind it all.

Vice is nothing like anything I've ever watched. It's a documentary of the extremes in the world as they are now, and they aren't pretty. It's not so much objective as it is honest.

You get a glimpse of how it's really like living in places and situations they make movies about. Suddenly Afghanistan, China, rebellious Europe, and small-town USA aren't mystical places where things are completely backwards. It's just people who live in circumstances that are impossible. Circumstances where you and I would do exactly the same things as they are, if we didn't know how things could be.

What I love most about this show, is the rawness. It's not trying to be a piece of art. It's not trying to spoon-feed you with their view. It's just trying to show you how it is.

It's refreshing.

Vice is a very interesting show that gives a brief introduction to some extreme behavior all over the world including the U.S. The problem however, as with any documentary, the perception of any situation can be slanted or only certain issues/groups will be focused on to get across the message that the creators want to get across. With Bill Maher as the executive producer, you know exactly which way that slant is going to lean. Nevertheless the guys to a good job telling their story and add a good bit of humor along the way. Another problem is that 2 huge issues are attempted to be covered in each 30 minute episode which leaves 15 minutes to try and give a fair covering of each topic. This seems impossible in itself. Overall I would say give it a watch as it does give some basic information about some very interesting issues in the world.

The world as it is. These people go to distance to show us how the world really works. Our planet is a very big and scary place, filled with dirty secrets, mayhem, destruction and what not. I get it how some might not like it, you might see some certain biased but it's clear that the guy does not work for any branch in the government and if he seems pro some people and against others, to me, it seems that those people he is rooting for probably deserve it. He does not make commercials, he does not go easy on anyone and sometimes, an innocent bystander could prove to be more of a use than a scientist or someone who has "official data", as we know the world is filled with official data and footage. I think this is one of the best shows out there.

"Justice without power is empty and power without justice in only violence."

I have been a fan of Vice for a few years now and I've always enjoyed their online videos. If you have spare time, I would highly recommend checking out their website or youtube channel. The special on the North Korean work camps in Russia and their videos taken in Columbia are particularly interesting.

With that said, the Vice team really took it to another level with the HBO series. Just watching the show is invigorating, from the topics covered to the exotic locations to the people they managed to get interviews with. Everything just comes together perfectly. With all the amazing content found in these short 10 episodes, it saddens me that most of the Western world is more concerned with celebrity bulls---.

Do yourself a favour and enjoy the first season. You won't regret it!