This week on the show, we reflect on our selves. After moving into my new one bedroom apartment, post-break up, I have all the time to reflect on myself in the mirror (quite literally, I have so many mirrors) and think about who I am. Within these walls, I’m meeting new versions of myself every day and contending with the tyranny that is having a self at all. In this new era, how do I want to move through the world as an individual? I have yet to land on a firm answer, but I found some interesting questions in my new favorite show.
Writer, director and comedian Julio Torres explores the self in his hilariously surreal series “Fantasmas” on Max. In this whimsical tale, Torres plays Julio, whose struggle to find work and a new apartment leads him on a quest for a lost oyster earring, which he is certain will solve all his problems. And Julio would much rather be doing what he does best. When asked what he does for a living, he nonchalantly responds “I kind of just Julio.” He is special, we’re told. An exception compared to those around him. Which is why he refuses to give in and apply for a government-issued “Proof of Existence,” an ID that would grant him access to the things he needs, but at a great personal cost. He would much rather pay to upload his consciousness to a server, float around without a body and cease to exist at all.
I’ve watched the show multiple times and each time I am equal parts comforted and disoriented by Julio’s explorations. Part narrative series, part sketch show, Fantasmas is silly and meandering as much as it is pensive and deeply existential. It asks, if unburdened by the trappings of capitalism, the expectations of conformity, and the need to be exceptional, who would we be? Much like Julio, I want to just Angelo.
– Angelo