Having followed filmmaker Taylor Sheridan through a few of his recent projects—Yellowstone and its prequels, 1883 and 1923—I wasn’t surprised that we began enjoying Landman when it debuted in 2024. Sheridan grew up in Texas, and his familiarity with the land and lifestyle shows in his portrayal of life in the West Texas oil boomtowns.
Viewed from a Marxist perspective, this is no underdog story or ascension narrative. It’s not Titanic’s Jack Dawson snubbing his nose at class dynamics or Will Hunting struggling with a decision about leaving his “Southie” homies and using his massive intellect to improve life’s station. It’s a preferred reading all the way.
Sellnow says “a preferred reading reinforces the status quo ideology about empowerment by proposing taken-for-granted assumptions as common sense.” In Landman, money calls the shots. Those at the top of the oil industry live large, bear the fruit, and break the rules pretty much as they please, while the laborers—largely Latino—risk life and limb under the hot sun to keep the system churning before retiring to their meager barracks to do it again the next day.
The show unabashedly backs hegemony when it comes to race (white), gender (male), and economics (wealth wins). Its protagonist, Tommy (Billy Bob Thornton), is a wealthy, chain-smoking alpha male. The two women in his life, partner Angela (Ali Larter) and daughter Ainsley (Michelle Randolph), frequently wear next to nothing, are portrayed as highly emotional, and often turn to “retail therapy” at high-end clothing stores to solve their problems before hopping on a private aircraft for their next adventure.
With each passing episode, my wife and I agree it’s a lot for our brains to overcome between some interesting relationships, first-rate cinematography, vibey music, and ample humor. Some of the ludicrous misogyny has to be satire, right? I mean, Archie Bunker was over-the-top racist in the groundbreaking All in the Family, but the moral of the series was clear: Don’t be like Archie!
However, Season 2 Episode 9 this past Sunday reached a new, Marxist low. I’m not sure we’ll recover. Spoiler alert: If you’re watching and haven’t seen the episode yet, you might want to stop here (presuming at least someone has made it this far 😆).
Module 2 has shown us that hegemony favors cisgender over non-binary—she/her and he/him over they/them. The most recent Landman episode reinforced this with a preferred reading that conjures adjectives like troubling, offensive, and obnoxious.
Ainsley heads off to cheerleading camp at TCU only to be shocked that her assigned roommate is a non-binary character named Paigyn (Bobbi Salvör Menuez) who baffles Ainsley with “they/them” pronouns, a pet ferret, and a long list of wellness demands ranging from no meat or music in the room to avoidance of “triggering” words. Paigyn is portrayed as rigid, dull, and humorless.
Some reactions to the episode slammed it as “rage bait.” Many others proved that analysis correct by posting that the show took some kind of brave stand against “woke” culture, as if the portrayal of Paigyn accurately depicts non-binary people. We held out hope that perhaps the show would play out with Ainsley being asked to stick with her room assignment, get to know her roommate, and perhaps overcome some of her prejudices. Perhaps an oppositional reading, in Marxist study, was there for the taking. But alas …
With one episode remaining in Season 2, there’s no opposition in site. It brings up some questions as we consider pop culture from a Marxist perspective. The articles and videos show us that some readings can change as a text develops. How long is too long to wait? Can you think of examples where a text or artifact seems to portray one reading throughout, only to take a dramatic turn?
I don’t expect it from Landman. It follows a formula that seems to be winning financially. Its Season 2 premiere was the biggest opener in Paramount+ history, and Season 3 is in the works. Whether we’ll be there for it has become an open question.
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