Diksha Sundriyal
Prime Video’s ‘I’m A Virgo’ follows the story of Cootie, a 13ft tall nineteen-year-old who has been out of touch with the world all his life. Afraid of what might happen to him if the world finds out about him, his parents kept him a secret. They make a house specific to his requirements, bring him food, and provide him with an education. But staying out of touch with the world comes with several challenges, which become apparent when Cootie finally goes out.
‘I’m A Virgo’ uses absurdism to underline the issues at its core. It plucks several things from real life and presents a twisted version of them so that the world feels familiar to the audience, even if it has people with superpowers. One of those things is an animated series called ‘Parking Tickets.’ It appears repeatedly throughout the show, and its undercurrents resonate with what ‘I’m A Virgo’ wants to say. SPOILERS AHEAD
Parking Tickets is Not Based on a Real Show
‘Parking Tickets’ is a fictional animated series created to serve the plot of ‘I’m A Virgo.’ Writer-director Boots Riley created it, and to bring it to the screen, he teamed up with Ri Crawford and David Lauer, who also worked on Riley’s debut movie, ‘Sorry to Bother You.’ They used stop motion animation to create the TV series in the world of ‘I’m A Virgo.’ The fictional series contains cameos from actors like Joel Edgerton, Danny Glover, and Slavoj Žižek. The voice of Justin, whose only sounds in the show are “Boyoyoyoyoyoyoing,” was voiced by Juliet Lewis, who gave two hours to record the sound in different tones used in the show.
One of the reasons why Riley wanted ‘Parking Tickets’ was to show how invested people usually are in the media they consume and how it affects their perception of things and the relationships they form with other people. In the Prime Video series, people bond over ‘Parking Tickets.’ It is revealed to be one of the most popular shows, which has gained such a status that people are ready to lose their minds if that’s what it takes to watch the banned episode of the series. It has also extended into a video game and merchandise, making it a very profitable venture.
As for the plot, ‘Parking Tickets’ oscillates from extremely grim to extremely silly. The characters always seem to be in some sort of sad situation, and their monologues are about death and suffering. But then there are also devil kids and the Boyoyoyoyoyoyoing. For Riley, this was part of the absurdity that ‘I’m A Virgo’ focuses on. The writers of ‘Parking Tickets’ come up with dialogues about existentialism and get the audience so immersed in it that it leads to mental breakdowns. This investment on both parts reflects the real-life relationship between people and the media they consume.
Read More: Is I’m A Virgo Based on a Comic Book? Are Cootie and Jay Whittle Real People?
