Why How to with John Wilson is Seasonal Comfort Food
Christmas 2020 I was heavily pregnant and entirely too picky about my viewing pleasures when the husband suggested giving HBO’s latest foray into experimental television a try. I was far from convinced by the title, How to with John Wilson – it sounded way too millennial, too close to the structure and narrative of a how-to blog that asks you to skim through a thousand-word, keyword-dense introduction before getting to the meatless meat sandwiched somewhere in the middle, and ending on an anti-climactic conclusion that will still have you pondering, how-to.
Reluctantly agreeing to give it a go, if only to expose my baby to different cinematic styles and feelings in utero, I settled my sciatic hips into my construction of pillows and readied myself to tune in with a semi-open mind. I’m not going to lie; I spent the first five minutes in a state of what the bleep are we watching, silently judging the husband for considering this essential viewing. Halfway through the first episode, ‘How to Make Small Talk’, however, I wasn’t just hooked but profoundly touched. Not only by the narrator’s – the titular John Wilson – confident awkwardness but his fascination with and ability to structure seemingly banal footage into everyday poetry.
Trying to explain How to with John Wilson to someone and talk them into watching it, is a bit like trying to persuade someone of the wild wonders that is Ween’s discography. You just can’t quite put your finger on what makes it so special. It’s a perfect medley of so many elements that make up a beautiful whole, choosing just the one example or that one adjective won’t do it just. It’s like that classic writing exercise proposed by Anne Bernays and Pamela Painter in their book, What If, that asks you to think about how you would explain the same scenario to five different people – say your mother, your best friend, husband, stranger, and a TV fanatic. You’ll be pitching a different version of this show to each one of them because you can. It offers so much, you can pick that one thing you know will speak to that particular individual.
The docuseries, which first premiered on HBO in October 2020, is shot on a Sony FS5, and rarely do you get a glimpse of Wilson in front of it. Instead, you get to see what he sees as he walks the streets of New York City – and, occasionally beyond – and talks you through how these impressions tie in with his creative mission of the day. These missions range from learning ‘How to Put Up Scaffolding’ to getting behind the true meaning of ‘How to Cover Your Furniture’. Wilson will let you in on how these subjects – both titular and actual – make him think and feel verbally and visually. In the process, he finds himself inspired to view the mundane in a new metaphoric light and uses his impressions to encourage you to do the same.
In the day and age of all things reality – ranging from television to blogs, to Tik Tok – I never thought I could enjoy, let alone get so deeply into, yet another perspective on real life. But Wilson’s approach is far removed from self-obsession and sensationalism, and much more focused on empathy, purpose and spontaneity. It's a bit weird, a little NYC whacky, and very human. A “grab bag” of all of Wilson’s favourite things, from which he pulls up stuff so random, the series is pretty much impossible to define. And that’s exactly how Wilson likes it, and that’s what draws me so deeply into this crazy wonderful collage of footage and his strangely soothing titbits of advice which, more often than not, veer far from the episode’s title and original intention.
I haven't seen season two yet; I've been too busy making risotto for my family. I'm excited to binge on the delightful unpredictability of NYC’s streets, its people, and the many peculiar situations they stimulate, now that the nights are finally getting colder. How to with John Wilson was at the height of the global pandemic’s second wave, and is now, in what feels like the never-ebbing tide of the Corona aftermath, visual comfort food for the soul. It doesn’t feel at all coincidental that its second season dropped on Thanksgiving 2021 - a holiday focused on the type of togetherness that is only now starting to wane from being as complex and anxiety-inducing as it has been for the past two festive seasons. John Wilson serves the quirk and an extra helping of compassion, reminding us that, “when everything you know has to be thrown out completely, your idea of perfection should probably be thrown out too.” And that seems like a wise motto to live by now, and going forward.