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‘Weirdness, paranoia and extremity’: why HBO’s Neighbors is TV’s most fascinating show
The Josh Safdie-produced docuseries draws us into a bizarre variety of alternately relatable and scarily alienating neighbor disputes
TL;DR
- Neighbors is a docuseries on HBO that captures bizarre and unhinged neighbor disputes.
- The show uses a hyper-stylized, fish-eye lens to explore issues of proximity and personal space.
- Disputes range from goat smells and property walls to small strips of grass, often involving competing surveillance systems.
- The series is described as extravagantly petty, extremely stressful, and often unhinged.
- It operates as a post-Covid fantasia of American weirdness, paranoia, and extremity.
- Disputes often involve individuals who are deeply into conspiracy theories (like QAnon) or monetize their conflicts online.
- The show highlights the role of Ring cameras and documentation in proving points and the desire to monetize these conflicts.
- Participants often exist on the fringes of society and the gig economy, spending significant time at home stewing in conflict.
- Many subjects exhibit paranoia about being filmed and seem eager for attention, with some owning guns.
- The series raises ethical questions about potentially punching down and blurring the lines between mental illness and personality flaws.