A comic book for the Polycrisis
N00b is a coming-of-age story set in small town Gore, New Zealand, a proverbial “arse-end” of the world. Under show creator Victoria Boult, the series bristles with a vibrancy and edginess.,
It’s a familiar story of rugby jocks (“boys”) and popular kids, geeks, misfits, and their witless teachers. It’s something of a modest, reality snapshot of the teen dramas it so confidently riffs on, shows like Laguna Beach and The O.C.
But what makes this a courageous entry in the genre is N00b’s willingness to be both uproariously funny and caustically cynical. This is a very funny teen comedy, and yet it is also dark and provocative in ways I found refreshing and quite surprising. Boult cut her teeth on film studies at the University of Sydney and then went on to work with Jane Campion on The Power of the Dog. The sureness of vision and the deftness of the way in which Boult understands genre is so impressive. The production is based on Boult’s viral TikTok series of the same name (which I can highly recommend). I sincerely hope that N00b finds a major audience and perhaps even garners a cult following. Highly recommend.
I am interested in a wide range of film studies-related topics: histories of film (with a focus on Hollywood, though I have abiding interests in various ‘New Waves’ and movements), film aesthetics and style, critical approaches to film production, film and popular culture (including the relationship between film and other pop culture art forms such as television, literature and music).
