What if someone told you there was a faceless old woman secretly living in your home? That’s right. She’s always been there, completely out of sight. She likes to sift through your possessions, sleep next to you in your empty bed, and look out for you. She’s always been there, and she not only lives in your home, but in everyone else’s. Believe it or not, if you live in Night Vale, this isn’t the worst thing to have happen to you.
"Welcome To Night Vale" is a widely popular podcast. Over the past three years, it has surged to become one of the most popular podcasts of all time, dominating iTunes charts. With its popularity, it has attracted fans far and wide, quickly selling out touring shows all over the globe. So what is "Night Vale," and what is all the hype about?
The series follows a radio announcer Cecil Gershwin Palmer, and his scientist boyfriend Carlos in a friendly desert community known as Night Vale. The series is nothing if not complicated. Mix political satire with "The Twilight Zone," "Twin Peaks," and Orwellian themes, and altogether you’ve got one absurd tale to tell. Fans tune in every two weeks to hear what the weather, traffic, and finance is like in a far-away town whilst dabbling in surrealistic existential dread and of course dealing with the monsters of the week in an alternate reality eerily similar to and yet starkly contrasting our own. One of the co-writers, Joseph Fink, in an interview, talked about his love of conspiracy theories, and wanted to create a story where it was understood that “every conspiracy theory is true."
Things we, in our reality, consider strange are quite common in Night Vale. Portals to other dimensions can open at any time, whole forests can appear overnight, and during the high school’s Homecoming game every year, dead (past, present, and future) alumni come out to talk to their loved ones at halftime. Not to mention its oppressive government that surveils the town constantly, censors and “retrains” their thoughts, and throws citizens in prison for voting the wrong way yet is still under the guise of “democracy.” A town proverb is, “If you see something, say nothing, and drink to forget,” which applies to many aspects of their often helpless lives. It’s a world filled with political intrigue that is not discussed lightly, and it can be darkly gruesome, and yet also ridiculously lighthearted.
The other co-writer, Jeffery Cranor, says here that he and Joseph Fink have “always thought about Night Vale as a reflection of our own world,” absurd by the standards we live in, but “it’s also filled, just like the real world, with terrifying things -- there’s an intrusive government, it’s filled with dangers that are weird and scientifically-befuddling, and can kill you.” It’s a dangerous world to live in, much like our own. No matter how bad (or weird) things get, we still have to live our lives, no matter how mundane. People are born every day, and people die every day. People go about their business still, just like in Night Vale. So it goes.
In another interview, Joseph Fink said that the story “comes from taking the mundane and moving into the bizarre. You take something simple that fits in [a small town setting], and then the next step is you find something truly horrifying and make it more mundane." Day-to-day life becomes a battle with the unknown, but not all of it is so bad. Some of it is in fact hilarious. Cecil, the main character, happily updates on the current goings-on with his boyfriend, friends, and family. Cecil loves to talk about his boyfriend, and loves to trash-talk other members he finds abhorrent because of the “dry scones” they bring to the local PTA Meetings. It is, after all, just a friendly small town radio station, and human beings talk about human things, like their feelings. The world itself may seem incredibly alien to us, but that doesn’t mean all the people within it are. Even if a cat appears in the radio station floating four feet off the ground and is incapable of travel, the workers at the station have taken to making him a litter box and buying him food.
"Welcome To Night Vale" really does whatever it wants. Most episodes are individual stories completely self-contained, and others build up a recurring plot line. The series also has no real corporate sponsorship. Largely, the series has been provided and paid for by fans who have donated to keep the series alive, leaving the creators with only themselves and their fanbase to answer to. "Night Vale" also has a consciously diverse cast, and while the main character is gay, it isn’t the crux of the show. Cecil is just a main character who happens to be gay. There are many episodes where his sexuality doesn’t even come up; it is simply an aspect of his character. Considering how immensely popular the series is, this could send a message to Hollywood and other national programs to cast more diversely and create shows that have gay characters/non-gender binary identifying individuals that aren’t solely about their defined qualities.
Overall, "Welcome To Night Vale" has the world’s attention because it strikes a chord in people. It has a lot to say philosophically about the human condition.To allure and keep an audience engaged with many who didn’t even grow up listening to radio, and without descriptions of most of their characters, the fact that it still keeps and generates interest are impressive feats in and of themselves. Besides, who doesn't want to listen to the hypnotic, dulcet tones of its lead voice actor, Cecil Baldwin? Give it a try for yourself. Just as Cecil speaks to his listeners, the story might speak to you.
If you haven’t given this podcast a listen, you have been missing out on quality intelligent entertainment. Episodes are about 20 to 30 minutes long, and can be downloaded for free on iTunes or listened to on YouTube.
