'The Idol' Embodied Our Sexual Culture

The Idol never stood a chance. Under the direction of Sam Levinson and with all the flashiness of its promotion as a scandalous HBO production, it was destined to be loathed by those who would likely never even watch the show at all. And immediately, that became the case: before the first episode even aired, the Internet delighted in the low reviews given out by critics who themselves had a bone to pick with some political aspect of the show rather than the show itself. Meanwhile, the critiques of the show actually relevant to what was shown on screen centered primarily on its pessimism: its sinister, voyeuristic and obscene depiction of sex lent to aversion and discomfort. But rather than lambasting The Idol for this, we ought to be celebrating it as an accurate representation of our sexual culture.