Dickinson Is Stylistic and Anachronistic
As I watched the gorgeous, emotional finale of Dickinson, I finally realized what I could most compare its visuals to; it’s like watching a historical drama that takes place in the pages of an Anthropologie catalog.
That’s not a knock on the show, by the way—Dickinson knows what it wants to be and nails its style so perfectly that it’s rarely jarring. Among all the realistic, period-perfect details, there’s also lovingly-crafted wallpaper and a certain slant of light that makes the set design look like something you could find on someone’s home décor Pinterest board.
Furthermore, Dickinson isn’t afraid to blend the language and signifiers of today with the stories of yesteryear. The most notable example is a party in an early episode that takes a traditional party dance and turns it into a party montage with twerking and dancing that would belong in a contemporary club scene. Other notable instances include dialogue like, “Don’t make this weird,” or the moment when Emily does a stitching sampler that reads, “F My Life.”
Dickinson also uses current music to score its most emotional moments, its silly montages, and its dance scenes. My personal favorite use of modern music involves Emily and Sue dancing around, dressing up in men’s clothes, while Lizzo’s “Boys” plays in the background.
(Full Disclosure: I’m listening to the Dickinson playlist on Spotify as I write this article—it’s pretty great!)
All of these touches could turn off a viewer, and that would be fair. However, they cumulatively provide a decisive creative vision that gives Emily and her show a strong, clear voice.
Plus, one of the underlying themes of Dickinson is that Emily’s time isn’t so different from our own: from political divides to ideas that marginalize groups to the everyday difficulties of navigating dating norms, the examples of connections to the present are plentiful. The anachronistic and stylistic choices of the show support these connections in a way that a more traditional period piece would struggle to do.
Maybe you got Apple TV Plus to watch The Morning Show. Maybe you’re like me, and didn’t plan on getting the service at all. Either way, I’d recommend checking out Dickinson, because it was the earnest Young Adult drama I needed in my life with plenty of style, big feelings, and, of course, poetry!