The Death of Intellectualism
I wanted to take a moment and harp about something that I have known for a week or so now, but haven't said anything about... Partly just to deck the halls of my blog with the cynicism I am so in touch with and partly just to make an entry so people don't think I am dead.
I want to talk about Television.
There is no historical doubt that TV was an irreplaceable cultural revolution. Since its inception, it has brought a world together in ways its creators probably could have never fully imagined. Throught its buzzing cathode ray tubes, we have watched men land on the moon, seen entire wars come and go before us, seen reflections of the racial and sexual changes that have been strived for for forty years. The televison has virtually CREATED 20th and 21st century culture.
But that is merely the historical perpspective. A romantic vision masking the monster that now lay beneath...a monster that slept until only too recently. No longer can we can consider televison in this romanticized way. No longer should we view TV through rose-colored glasses. TV is no longer that revolution, no longer that unique page in human history (we leave that now to the Internet). NO, televison is now a plague, a disease that infects 95% of the American population, including myself. I try to be self-inoculating against the disease, but it is not so easily done.
People are often fascinated by the way I discuss the shows that I do watch with fervor. I enjoy talking about them in depth, exploring the narrative and character development, critiquing continuity and cinematography (or animation). Given the right narrative, there are even philosophical, anthropological and metaphysical themes to discuss. And people are dumb-founded by this. "Do you ALWAYS think this much?", they say. "Why would you want to think that much when you're watching TV?", they ask.
I no longer respond to these inquiries with my typical acerbic quips.
If one is watching television in order to avoid conscious thought, we aren't going to have alot more to discuss within that realm.
Which brings me closer to my point: Television no longer feeds the audience intellectual entertainment. Sure, it does still exist, peppered over countless channels, to be discovered by the few intellectuals that turn on the damn thing because they ENJOY thinking while being entertained, but because our numbers are so low now, so are revenues and this means that these shows rarely last more than a season or two. The pathogen for this plague has become the bloated, mindless drivel that pervades the air waves simply because it is marketable. And because the general populace no longer reads when they are not on the internet, they turn IMMEDIATELY and without question to television as their only source of "imaginative" escape. The average audience member is not even aware anymore that the next reality show they have become addicted to is only aired because some fucking executive wants to stay rich and he/she knows that they can market virtually ANYTHING to our dulled, numbed psyches.
So now, the final point; the reason I started this rant: Star trek Enterprise was cancelled on February 2nd, 2005. Not a surprise to any of us that enjoyed it, we barely had enough ratings to get this last, fourth season. But it is a reflection of what I am trying to convey here. THE SHOW WAS NOT BAD! IN FACT, IT WAS GREAT SCIENCE FICTION! It was well-written, well-produced and a wonderful continuation of a dorkily distinguished and geekily proud franchise. But apparently, it was not marketable enough. Therefore, it was treated as such: No advertising. No cast interviews on popular late night shows. A shift to a TERRRIBLE time slot. It was treated as a pariah and it died as one. This can be said for many of the shows of which I am huge fan: Firefly, Futurama, the soon to be cancelled Arrested Development and Family Guy, just to name a few. Family Guy being the only show in those examples that is to be resurrected in the coming months. Know why? BECAUSE THE SYNDICATED RERUNS BECAME SUCH A HIT ON THE CARTOON NETWORK THAT FOX (THE NETWORK THAT CANCELLED IT) DECIDED THEY WANT TO MAKE MORE MONEY OFF OF IT!!!
I wish I didn't want to watch it.
OK, this has become long-winded. To put icing on the perverbial cake, I am going to end with a post about Enterprise's cancellation I put on a website my freinds and I share that (hopefully, humorously) expresses my anger. For those of you with faint hearts or a desire to avoid dirty language and graphic imagery, I recommend that you not read this. Seriously. No, really and truly SERIOUSLY, DO NOT READ IT. I don't want any phone calls. I say that mostly for my mother, as she sometimes reads my blog. I would edit it, but...that's not me. Thank you and Good night.
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posted on 1/19/2005
We've been preparing for this for a long time, bud. Stay strong. CUZ SOMEBODY HAS TO!!! I'M TOO BUSY CRYING AND BEATING MY HEAD INTO THE TELEVISION!!! GODDAMMIT! WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE?!!! WHY IS INTELLIGENT TELEVISION TREATED LIKE THE FUCKING PLAGUE?!! WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU SUPER-SIZE SUCKING, FAT-GUZZLING ASSHOLES WANT?!!! HUH?!!! HUH?!!! YOU WANNA JUST RUN 24 HOURS OF FUCKING MINDLESS, BRAIN-MELTING, SOUL-SUCKING, KITTEN-KILLING REALITY SHOWS?!! WILL THAT MAKE YOU ASSHOLES HAPPY?!! HUH?!!! WILL THAT MAKE YOU SKEET ALL OVER YOUR FAT, HAIR-COVERED SPOUSES?!!! FUCK!!! AND I TELL YOU WHAT, AS A FUCKING BREAK FROM THOSE BRILLLLLLLLLLLIANT TREATISES ON THE HUMAN CONDITION, WE'LL RUN THE SAME GODDAMN EPISODE OF BLUE COLLAR TV OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN UNTIL YOUR EYES BURST AND YOU VOMIT FUCKING BLOOD!!! HOW ABOUT THAT, BINGO?!!! YOU LIKE THAT SHIT?!!! HUH?!!! YOU WANT MORE?!! BEND OVER AND LUBE IT UP, BEEATCH!!! DADDY NEEDS HIS "ENTERTAINMENT"!!! HALLELUIAH!!! HOLY SHIT!!!
I...
I didn't mean to yell. I'm sorry.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I want to talk about Television.
There is no historical doubt that TV was an irreplaceable cultural revolution. Since its inception, it has brought a world together in ways its creators probably could have never fully imagined. Throught its buzzing cathode ray tubes, we have watched men land on the moon, seen entire wars come and go before us, seen reflections of the racial and sexual changes that have been strived for for forty years. The televison has virtually CREATED 20th and 21st century culture.
But that is merely the historical perpspective. A romantic vision masking the monster that now lay beneath...a monster that slept until only too recently. No longer can we can consider televison in this romanticized way. No longer should we view TV through rose-colored glasses. TV is no longer that revolution, no longer that unique page in human history (we leave that now to the Internet). NO, televison is now a plague, a disease that infects 95% of the American population, including myself. I try to be self-inoculating against the disease, but it is not so easily done.
People are often fascinated by the way I discuss the shows that I do watch with fervor. I enjoy talking about them in depth, exploring the narrative and character development, critiquing continuity and cinematography (or animation). Given the right narrative, there are even philosophical, anthropological and metaphysical themes to discuss. And people are dumb-founded by this. "Do you ALWAYS think this much?", they say. "Why would you want to think that much when you're watching TV?", they ask.
I no longer respond to these inquiries with my typical acerbic quips.
If one is watching television in order to avoid conscious thought, we aren't going to have alot more to discuss within that realm.
Which brings me closer to my point: Television no longer feeds the audience intellectual entertainment. Sure, it does still exist, peppered over countless channels, to be discovered by the few intellectuals that turn on the damn thing because they ENJOY thinking while being entertained, but because our numbers are so low now, so are revenues and this means that these shows rarely last more than a season or two. The pathogen for this plague has become the bloated, mindless drivel that pervades the air waves simply because it is marketable. And because the general populace no longer reads when they are not on the internet, they turn IMMEDIATELY and without question to television as their only source of "imaginative" escape. The average audience member is not even aware anymore that the next reality show they have become addicted to is only aired because some fucking executive wants to stay rich and he/she knows that they can market virtually ANYTHING to our dulled, numbed psyches.
So now, the final point; the reason I started this rant: Star trek Enterprise was cancelled on February 2nd, 2005. Not a surprise to any of us that enjoyed it, we barely had enough ratings to get this last, fourth season. But it is a reflection of what I am trying to convey here. THE SHOW WAS NOT BAD! IN FACT, IT WAS GREAT SCIENCE FICTION! It was well-written, well-produced and a wonderful continuation of a dorkily distinguished and geekily proud franchise. But apparently, it was not marketable enough. Therefore, it was treated as such: No advertising. No cast interviews on popular late night shows. A shift to a TERRRIBLE time slot. It was treated as a pariah and it died as one. This can be said for many of the shows of which I am huge fan: Firefly, Futurama, the soon to be cancelled Arrested Development and Family Guy, just to name a few. Family Guy being the only show in those examples that is to be resurrected in the coming months. Know why? BECAUSE THE SYNDICATED RERUNS BECAME SUCH A HIT ON THE CARTOON NETWORK THAT FOX (THE NETWORK THAT CANCELLED IT) DECIDED THEY WANT TO MAKE MORE MONEY OFF OF IT!!!
I wish I didn't want to watch it.
OK, this has become long-winded. To put icing on the perverbial cake, I am going to end with a post about Enterprise's cancellation I put on a website my freinds and I share that (hopefully, humorously) expresses my anger. For those of you with faint hearts or a desire to avoid dirty language and graphic imagery, I recommend that you not read this. Seriously. No, really and truly SERIOUSLY, DO NOT READ IT. I don't want any phone calls. I say that mostly for my mother, as she sometimes reads my blog. I would edit it, but...that's not me. Thank you and Good night.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
posted on 1/19/2005
We've been preparing for this for a long time, bud. Stay strong. CUZ SOMEBODY HAS TO!!! I'M TOO BUSY CRYING AND BEATING MY HEAD INTO THE TELEVISION!!! GODDAMMIT! WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE?!!! WHY IS INTELLIGENT TELEVISION TREATED LIKE THE FUCKING PLAGUE?!! WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU SUPER-SIZE SUCKING, FAT-GUZZLING ASSHOLES WANT?!!! HUH?!!! HUH?!!! YOU WANNA JUST RUN 24 HOURS OF FUCKING MINDLESS, BRAIN-MELTING, SOUL-SUCKING, KITTEN-KILLING REALITY SHOWS?!! WILL THAT MAKE YOU ASSHOLES HAPPY?!! HUH?!!! WILL THAT MAKE YOU SKEET ALL OVER YOUR FAT, HAIR-COVERED SPOUSES?!!! FUCK!!! AND I TELL YOU WHAT, AS A FUCKING BREAK FROM THOSE BRILLLLLLLLLLLIANT TREATISES ON THE HUMAN CONDITION, WE'LL RUN THE SAME GODDAMN EPISODE OF BLUE COLLAR TV OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN UNTIL YOUR EYES BURST AND YOU VOMIT FUCKING BLOOD!!! HOW ABOUT THAT, BINGO?!!! YOU LIKE THAT SHIT?!!! HUH?!!! YOU WANT MORE?!! BEND OVER AND LUBE IT UP, BEEATCH!!! DADDY NEEDS HIS "ENTERTAINMENT"!!! HALLELUIAH!!! HOLY SHIT!!!
I...
I didn't mean to yell. I'm sorry.
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posted by Sean Corley at 3:06 PM
1 Comments:
Yep. You're still alive.
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