Drama
The Tattooist of Auschwitz
The Tattooist of Auschwitz is a little like its titular character. It’s painful. It gets under your skin. And it just might leave a mark.
Throughout American history, baseball could bring people together–especially during its most trying times. But during World War II–one of the country’s most trying times of all–that seemed impossible. The excitement, the competition, the vitality–all of that was lost when young, able-bodied men were shipped overseas. So, who could revive this interrupted tradition?
Perhaps, women?
No one really knew if they could do it, but a few investors and bigwigs, like candymaker Mr. Walter Harvey, were willing to give it a shot–provided that they could offer audiences women with good looks, short skirts and a bent for entertainment. So they began something called the All American Girls Professional Baseball League.
For most, the league is a joke. But for Carson Shaw, well, this is all she’s ever wanted. Which is why she leaves her small town of Lake Valley, Idaho, hops on a train and makes her way to the league’s tryouts in Chicago–all while her husband Charlie is away at war.
When she arrives, Carson’s overwhelmed not only by the talent on the field, but by the number of women who, like her, were brave enough to try their hand at a man’s game. She’s got competition, that’s for sure. But it’s not just about baseball. For her–like for most of the women here–the diamond becomes a stage where she will work on other, bigger issues: her own abilities, her sexuality and the understanding of what it means to be a woman.
In 1992, A League of Their Own was released in theaters, telling the story of how the All American Girls Professional Baseball League came to be, starring big names like Tom Hanks, Geena Davis and Madonna. The film is held by most as an untouchable classic.
But Prime Video will hear none of that as they’ve just released their own remake of the film, with the same name, flipping the PG film into a mature-rated (meant for audiences 16 and older, according to Amazon) television series that aims to tell a different story.
This rendition features a young woman, Carson Shaw, who is confronted by a myriad of issues: what is femininity, especially in the 40s? What happens if you’re gay? Where do Black people, specifically Black women, fit into this baseball world? Each of these questions are presented throughout this eight-episode series, but there is one message that speaks the loudest and it claims that you control your destiny.
The core of this series says that your choices determine your destiny and that you should let nothing get in the way of making your dreams come true–not family, not a spouse and certainly not societal expectations.
So, what does that mean for viewers? Well, it means that you will see many of these young women, including Carson and Greta, kiss one another, make out and have sexual encounters where plenty is implied–even as a statue of Jesus on the cross hangs on the wall right behind said activities.
It also means you’ll see heterosexual couples in bed together as things get steamy and you’ll see plenty of drinking and smoking. And if you thought that maybe the language was at least clean, guess again. Seems like this new remake is not much like the original at all.
In 1943, Carson Shaw leaves her small town in Lake Valley, Idaho, to try out for the new All American Girls Professional Baseball League; Carson soon realizes why baseball has been a man’s sport for so long.
Max Chapman is turned away from the baseball league because she is Black.
A married Carson and her friend Greta kiss and make out in private. Carson runs toward a train, her bra unknowingly exposed. A woman says that her husband is a “sexy, sexy gentleman.” Greta asks Carson how her husband is “in the sack.” A man says that he is “definitely not interested in women.” Greta says her female friend was kicked out of her house because she wasn’t viewed as a “real girl.”
A group of nuns are startled when Carson exclaims “Jesus!” A woman says she picked a wedgie in front of a man on accident.
Women smoke cigarettes, drink hard liquor and talk about getting drunk. A woman vomits from vigorous exercise.
God’s name is misused once, paired with “d–n,” while Jesus’ name is misused twice. The f-word is heard nearly 10 times while the s-word is used nearly twenty times. Other profanities include multiple utterances each of “d–n,” “a–,” “a–hole” and “h—.”
Kristin Smith joined the Plugged In team in 2017. Formerly a Spanish and English teacher, Kristin loves reading literature and eating authentic Mexican tacos. She and her husband, Eddy, love raising their children Judah and Selah. Kristin also has a deep affection for coffee, music, her dog (Cali) and cat (Aslan).
The Tattooist of Auschwitz is a little like its titular character. It’s painful. It gets under your skin. And it just might leave a mark.
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