How Real is The Rehearsal?

When you try to make a show deconstructing reality TV and you go too far and deconstruct reality itself...

Nathan Fielder's The Rehearsal takes on a journey from Simulacra to Simulation, to a world of pure imagination.

References:
Synecdoche; New York (2008)
"Simulacra and Simulation" by Jean Baudrillard

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#ThomasFlight #VideoEssay

00:00 "Not Everything is Make-Believe"
01:25 I. The Dark Art of Misdirection
11:13 II. Simulacra and Simulation
15:41 III. Never Question The Premise
18:44 IV. Welcome To The Hyperreal

[PowerSynopsis]

Nathan Fielder is a genius, or at the very least, a guy that got really good grades.

[devonmarr]

Nathan is the craziest person on the show. He is insane. The good thing is that he is also a genius and has this as his outlet instead of serial killing.

[janine]

I went to the bar that Nathan recreates in The Rehearsal and the feeling of surreality was something I've never experienced. I felt like there could be a follow up episode of the show about the fans like me who show up there and giggle and take pictures and order the "Nathan Fielder" cocktail. It felt like I was part of the joke.

[noahrubin]

I was working in a coffee shop a few years ago in Newport Beach, CA, when I see the Taxi Cab driver from Nathan For You come in, but he was there to deliver a package, not to get coffee. It seemed like he was working as a courier. I sheepishly walked up to him and told him I recognized him from the show and asked if I could get a picture with him. This is when I realized the show wasn’t fake. The man was so surprised that I knew who he was, at first was shocked that I would recognize him, second he repeated “Nathan” to himself before he realized who I was talking about. It seemed like he had no idea how big of a thing the show was or possibly that it was a show? But he was super kind and we got a picture together. It left me wondering how much is actually told to the people on the show while it’s getting made, but also feeling sad for the guy because he 100% did not get paid well enough for that amount of exploitation.

[claytonkelley]

It’s wild. I unknowingly without any knowledge of the plot watched Synecdoche New York for the first time shortly after getting into a Nathan Fielder kick and binging Nathan For You and The Rehearsal. My media consumption is starting to show patterns. Without Nathan’s guidance, I probably wouldn’t have appreciated the genius of SNY so much.

[natemattern]

I think the final scene and the line “No, I’m your dad” is very much the confirmation of Nathan’s realization that the rehearsals are not real. If he would’ve said “oh yeah you’re right. I’m your mom, ” it would’ve basically admitted that his whole speech about the validity of emotions and the falsehood of The Rehearsal would have been an act, but him doubling down here shows that he’s not going to take back what he said because he was right. His refusal to take it back shows that he sees himself as a combination of himself, the dad character, and the mom. He has been able to see from others’ perspective and acknowledges the validity of others’ experiences even if we cannot understand them

[jessegibby]

Since it aired, I have been obsessed with The Rehearsal. Hours have been spent trying to extract an understanding from the absolute insanity that Nathan Fielder created. Thank you for making it even more clear!

[alexcoyg]

Nathan is fantastic, love that HBO has smart enough people to let him do his "crazy" ideas. Its everything i ever wanted to see. What a brilliant review and video!!Thank you very much for this!!

[Wrenasmir]

As others have commented, you’ve provided an excellent analysis here. The shot of Willy Wonka hugging Charlie Bucket, mirroring Nathan’s final scene, calling back to the dialogue about Wonka in Episode 1, is all that anybody wondering about ‘Remy’ needs to consider.

Tom McCarthy’s ‘Remainder’, Charlie Kaufman’s ‘Synecdoche’, W G Sebald’s ‘Rings of Saturn’, David Shields’ ‘Reality Hunger’, Ross McElwee’s ‘Sherman’s March’, Joshua Oppenheimer’s ‘The Act of Killing’, Friedrich Nietzsche’s ‘Ecce Homo’, René Magritte’s ‘This Is Not A Pipe’, Miguel de Cervantes’ ‘Don Quixote’, and Jon Wilson making risotto. A dream within a dream.

[NeoCherrn]

When he had the actor move in with a pair of actors to mimic the situation of the person he was studying, I knew where it was going, and I wasn't surprised when Nathan then moved himself in with a pair of actors acting like the actors that the actor Nathan was following, but I still lost my shit when it happened. Brilliant show!

[mrhomard]

It's funny because Nathan in himself is a character that exists outside of the show, that is one if the best at blurring the line between "what is this guy like outside of his work".
And while we usually have no problem doing that with others, a fascination even (especially when you see all that market around gossip news of actors), Nathan is somebody I don't want to know about outside of his work. He managed to perfectly inhabit what he does, making you doubt of everything he shows you. He is the first who made me wonder "ok what's real": reality is the true show in The Rehearsal

[zachtayloriv]

I'm glad to see you going into what The Rehearsal says about reality and reality media. I've seen some other reviews that just wrote as if the show were a straightforward reality show, which I think misses the mark.

[thatJAWNraps]

I only just noticed this but at 15:00 when Remy (as Adam but not really) says 'i love you Daddy' THATS when Nathan knew IMMEDIATELY that he went too far because you notice his response puts HEAVY emphasis on him calling remy ADAM when he says 'i love you ADAM' back to him and i swear u can see the 'real nathan' break thru for split second

[ThePhunnman]

You are so skilled at consistently identifying, and concisely (and artfully!) communicating, the most important takeaways from pretty much everything you cover. All your videos are so satisfying and well considered. But I think this is my favorite thing of yours I've seen :)

[Halkin]

This is an absolute banger! What a great breakdown and love that you brought in Baudrillard and Synecdoche, New York.

[spurguvitunhuora]

“Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away.”
Philip K. Dick Quote I couldnt stop thinking about during the first episode.
Ive been telling my friends to watch this by saying Its like Charlie Kaufman movie was turned into a s"%tpost. Still its the best summary I could come up with.

[m_a_k_e_n_n_a]

I loved everything about this show conceptually and artistically but I just hope someone follows up later with Remy. I hope that sweet baby turns out okay

[Buffaloguy]

Fun fact about the milligram experiment. The guy cooked his books. It was actually very very common for people to refuse to do the final shock. I'll source my citation as from Humankind a hopeful history but i knew from my own schooling

[Bjhorn]

That finale is just something else, adding that Willy Wonka ending for comparison just makes it better.

Loved watching you talk about this show, it seems like not enough people are making videos about it.

It's nice to be quoted in such an interesting video ! Great analysis