Tuesday, March 04, 2008

The emptiness of our entertainment lives

So "American Idol" is back. I've been feeling like I ought to blog a bit about it, though I'm finding the whole enterprise kind of boring. The question, I suppose, is: Is it the show (perhaps it's not as good as it used to be or it has run on past it's natural life span) or is it me (perhaps I've become too much of an old fogy)? What say you? One small piece of evidence that the show itself is lamer than it used to be is that even the scandals are kind of boring.

I've also been meaning to blog about "The L Word"--especially after raving to Raphy about it recently--but I'm also finding it hard to watch. I have to agree with James Wolcott, who finds himself:

docked in front of The L Word, hooked on the negative suspense of whether Bette and Tina, America's most boring lesbian couple, will get back together and spare us another season of Marlee Matlin's sign-language overacting, and when, where, and how the bratty, insufferable poseur Jenny will finally get hers. Oh, when will the long-postponed reckoning come? Well, not tonight, as the big dramatic payoff featured the annoying, nattering Alice reprising the climax of An Office and a Gentleman lesbian-style with her black lover. I recognize that if you're not a regular viewer of The L Word, it may seem as if I'm trafficking in obscurities, but to those of us who have watched The L Word from its pagan beginnings, these are matters of utmost doctrinal importance, testifying to the emptiness of our entertainment lives.


Empty indeed.

I'd like to add another book to the list of books I will not be reading: Master of Dialogue Richard Price's Lush Life. In fact, I've managed to not read any of Price's books, though--I should confess--I once thought about reading Clockers, but, in the end, did not.

I have jury duty tomorrow. As someone who studies American politics--with a particular interest in the courts--I ought to be looking forward to this. But, alas, I am not.

Oh, btw, Canada: Stop trying to mess with our elections. Haven't you learned anything the last eight years? We're allowed to mess around in your business, but stay out of ours. Got it?

UPDATE (9:30 PM or so): Re. Idol, it was kinda funny how Randy thought Simple Minds' "Don't You" was by INXS--and no one bothered to correct him. Also, Jason's version of "Hallelujah" was pretty awesome. Seacrest out!

Posted by jwb at 8:06 AM   

5 Comments:

Blogger Marty said:

Hey John,

Just thought I'd return the favour for referring me to the Kant attack ad by pointing you to this clip, German vs. Greek philosophers, taken from Month Python:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGRXF4t_nHI

Also, thought you might enjoy this podcast, which seeks to defend the Anglosphere through satire:

http://podcast.shirenetworknews.net/
at 12:23 PM     

Blogger Marty said:

I thought you might enjoy some Canadian perspectives on the Obama-NAFTA-Canada controversy. Here's a link to The Globe & Mail's take on the Canada-Clinton cabal's recent attempt to pull the rug out from under Obama:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080305.wnafta06/BNStory/National/home

David Frum also generates some conspiracy theories on the controversy at his blog-diary:

http://frum.nationalreview.com/
at 9:22 AM     

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