Nic Pizzolatto is a genius writer, who was shot into widespread recognition with his True Detective. The crime thriller TV Series descends into madness, as it is not limited by the boundaries and it constantly tries to push the genre’s limitations. Pizzolatto’s narrative prowess, integrated with dark and twisted visions for the show made the show instantly a fan favorite series, and fans could not get enough of it.
True Detective is truly a masterpiece of a show, that has a distinct style featuring philosophical undertones with well-written layered characters. However, Nic Pizzolato shared that the dark and disturbing visions that were featured in the show were not born out of his imagination but from his twisted childhood which clearly has been loved by the viewers of the show.
Nic Pizzolatto’s Twisted Childhood-Shaped True Detective
True Detective is a slow-paced and burning crime drama that one can not stop after watching one episode. The series is an entertaining and gripping study of characters, that has been reinforced by dark and thought-provoking themes and violence. While many praised Nic Pizzolatto for his imagination to come up with such scenes, he surprised them, when he shared that it was his distorted childhood that assisted him with such unsettling narratives.
In one of Pizzolatto’s old interviews via Feedbooks, the writer shared that he grew up in a region that happened to be extremely ignorant and violence was a common medium of communication. He shared that his favorite literary writer was William Faulkner and his love for him meant no bounds when he read Absalom, Absalom, which made him think,
“‘Yes. That’s exactly what it’s like. He’s right.’ And feeling like I was no longer alone with the insane thoughts and feelings I had, the degree to which I was haunted by where I came from.”
While the writer shared his love for William Faulkner and how his love for literature helped him stay sane. However, he shared his childhood experience in South Louisiana, on the Gulf Coast where he grew up, which happened to be one of the most rough and disturbing childhoods, that one can have.
Nic Pizzolatto Shares His Early Life Episodes
In the same interview, Nic Pizzolatto shared that he grew up in a “very poor, very isolated rural area,” and there they have “casual violence” which happened to be very normal for the people. He described the people as drunkards, who would always fight with each other, and even cheat each other, mostly because they were ignorant and fanatical of religion, which would make one twisted.
He felt that,
“Where I came from a lot of people viewed violence merely as efficient communication.”
He added that there were some episodes “I’m not comfortable talking about, and I guess that’s one reason I write.” This is the reason he left his home at the young age of 17, and has disconnected with his parents as they largely remind him of the “physical trauma” during his childhood. Nic Pizzolatto felt that growing up in such a place, one would either try to stay reformed by being poor and dying eventually or turn towards crime and survive.
True Detective can be streamed on Max.
