Scapegoating Hollywood for the world's ails is as passé as using dial-up (which, as a cliché, is even passé), as safe as proclaiming Bush can't orate, as edgy as recycling. I suppose if all I saw day in and out were "The New Adventures of Old Christine" and that insipid Brad Garrett sitcom whose title I am uninspired to even lift a Google finger for, I'd think what the fuck myself. But oh Argentina, you marvelous glass house you, let's not cast the first stone, because the last time I couch surfed, your pratfall-style humor left mucho to be desired in the, well, quality-control department. And while there’s dreck in every entertainment industry, the thing about Hollywood is that when it’s good, it is pretty damn good. I was about to list examples but being anal retentive, spent way too many brain cells revising/editing the list.
So here's a tip: Stop importing junk* like The Bachelor and My Super Ex-Girlfriend. There’s a host of brave, smart, well-crafted movies and TV shows that still manages to awe and inspire, making us think differently in an age when being derivative is pretty much the norm. Don’t shoot the messenger--just use your God-given talent to spam filter.
Having said that, I can fully get behind the loathing of Disney for inflicting High School Musical and its multitude spinoffs on an unsuspecting generation. (So if you come across a Mickey hate graffiti in the near future...)
* I know it's the guilty-pleasure thing, the liking-a-bad-boy-while-hating-yourself thing, but lord help me, I kinda dig "Two and a Half Men." So there, I outed myself.
1 comment:
Well, Two and a Half Men is a skillful sitcom in the old-fashioned mold, so no shame there. It's hard to know what criteria the gatekeepers are using regarding the flow of American culture. In addition to what is available, my biggest gripe was the delay in when shows would ultimately arrive. The internet water cooler can really make you feel out of the loop.
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