| Monday, April 17, 2006 |
09:37 - As opposed to what?
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One of the Adult Swim bumps last night went something like this:
This is a bump
Written by writers
And approved by a set of standards & practices.
Preceding it was a promo
Written by writers
And approved by a set of standards & practices.
Following it is a show
Written by writers
And approved by a set of standards & practices.
One block, three sets of standards.
How American.
We prefer BIG to efficient.
[crappy 1980s live-action tv network]
Now, I can handle America-bashing that has grounds; if they were poking fun at SUVs or guns or something, at least they'd have a point to make that's grounded in reality. Even though I might disagree with it, at least arguing with it would potentially have some semblance of being a productive use of time. And I don't doubt that the bump writers have some frustrations to work out against their various onerous standards-n-practices bodies.
But what I don't get is when people bash America for no reason that I can discern. I mean, what, now they're picking on us for being too bureaucratic?
What country is popularly reputed to be less bureaucratic than the US? France, where half the country works for the government and the rest want to? Britain, where everyone fears the future of Brazil? Russia, where not just bureaucracy but rampant corruption are the mechanisms by which the country is run?
Methinks the bump writers don't have any idea what they think they're comparing America to here—they just know that it plucks the right comedic strings to pick on it and give the vague impression that everything is better elsewhere.
Which is fine if you're a comedy writer; nobody expects you to be some high-powered political analyst. But it's the impulse that gets to me: the idea that America-bashing, even if it's completely groundless, is a sure way to score points, one that nobody will call you on.
I mean, what does that say about what we've become? Do we as a country hate ourselves that much, that we're willing to criticize ourselves completely gratuitously? Just because it feels good?
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Brian Tiemann
