The Dumbing Down of America
While flipping through the ridiculous amounts of cable channels, it's hard not to think that America is maybe losing some of its intellectual edge. I mean, we are thankfully past the absurd era of "World's Scariest Police Car Crashes When Animals Are Attacking the Driver" shows on Fox (I hope Rupert had all those responsible sacked), but we still are far from intelligent programming. Just recently, one of the most successful television shows ever had its finale. The show revolved around the premise that a group of total strangers were stranded on a desert island and had to survive together, but could vote one another off the island. For those of you who were lucky enough to be abroad, under a rock, or living in a cave, the show was called Survivor; it was by far the most frightening signal that America has entered the Apocalypse. Forget the four horsemen, the "Final Four" of Survivor will suffice to herald the Last Judgment. When society reaches a point that nearly half of America sits and allows a show like Survivor to rule their lives and thoughts, you know that Satan can't be far from establishing a kingdom on Earth, through the inconspicuous rule of CBS of course. And while I am thankful that Survivor is finally over, I weep at the notion of the sequel in production as I type. As a wise philosopher once said, "Good Grief!" Never before have I been so absolutely petrified of the thought of television. Even though I am not a God-fearing gerbil, I would pray to God three, five, thousands of times per day in order to stop the madness of "REAL TV!"
But CBS is not to blame for the decline of American television.no, no, no. By far the roots of this decline can be traced to the expansion of cable television. I can now turn on my television and find seventy-five channels of absolute crap (Comedy Central, Bravo, and Cartoon Network shall be duly noted as exceptions). Most heinous of all these criminal channels is Music Televison, aka MTV. Any station that touts Carson Daly as its star should be investigated by the FCC. If it's not illegal, it should be. Honestly, I cannot believe that someone like Carson Daly can host a television show, let alone be worshipped by millions of children between the ages of twelve and sixteen. Every weekday America's youth tunes into watch N'Suck and Backdoor Boys battle it out for the #1 musical spot, while talented bands like Rage Against the Machine (which is typically the only band whose music carries a socio-political message above "I need to smell for drugs so I can by a nicer car") aren't even voted onto the show by the viewers. Has America's youth become so stupid that they can't comprehend words such as "mantra, tabloid, and testify"? In this gerbil's opinion: yes.
That is why I am forced to bear AJ's (and the rest of N'Suck's) ugly mug(s) whenever I flip past channel 36. It is depressing that this is what America's youth idolizes. I weep for the future.
Are we too late though? Although MTV and Survivor have further perpetuated America's stupidity, is it too late to reverse the process? This gerbil says "NO!" Through quality programming like "The Awful Truth" with Michael Moore, C-Span, and other "intelligent" forms of television, we can reclaim what is rightfully ours (that would be our minds, for those of you who aren't following my thought pattern). But more importantly, it is important to break free of the iron grip of television. We should read more. Philosophy. Marx. Plato. Aristotle. yada yada yada. Simpsons are on, must end
now.
-The Geriatric Gerbil
While flipping through the ridiculous amounts of cable channels, it's hard not to think that America is maybe losing some of its intellectual edge. I mean, we are thankfully past the absurd era of "World's Scariest Police Car Crashes When Animals Are Attacking the Driver" shows on Fox (I hope Rupert had all those responsible sacked), but we still are far from intelligent programming. Just recently, one of the most successful television shows ever had its finale. The show revolved around the premise that a group of total strangers were stranded on a desert island and had to survive together, but could vote one another off the island. For those of you who were lucky enough to be abroad, under a rock, or living in a cave, the show was called Survivor; it was by far the most frightening signal that America has entered the Apocalypse. Forget the four horsemen, the "Final Four" of Survivor will suffice to herald the Last Judgment. When society reaches a point that nearly half of America sits and allows a show like Survivor to rule their lives and thoughts, you know that Satan can't be far from establishing a kingdom on Earth, through the inconspicuous rule of CBS of course. And while I am thankful that Survivor is finally over, I weep at the notion of the sequel in production as I type. As a wise philosopher once said, "Good Grief!" Never before have I been so absolutely petrified of the thought of television. Even though I am not a God-fearing gerbil, I would pray to God three, five, thousands of times per day in order to stop the madness of "REAL TV!"
But CBS is not to blame for the decline of American television.no, no, no. By far the roots of this decline can be traced to the expansion of cable television. I can now turn on my television and find seventy-five channels of absolute crap (Comedy Central, Bravo, and Cartoon Network shall be duly noted as exceptions). Most heinous of all these criminal channels is Music Televison, aka MTV. Any station that touts Carson Daly as its star should be investigated by the FCC. If it's not illegal, it should be. Honestly, I cannot believe that someone like Carson Daly can host a television show, let alone be worshipped by millions of children between the ages of twelve and sixteen. Every weekday America's youth tunes into watch N'Suck and Backdoor Boys battle it out for the #1 musical spot, while talented bands like Rage Against the Machine (which is typically the only band whose music carries a socio-political message above "I need to smell for drugs so I can by a nicer car") aren't even voted onto the show by the viewers. Has America's youth become so stupid that they can't comprehend words such as "mantra, tabloid, and testify"? In this gerbil's opinion: yes.
That is why I am forced to bear AJ's (and the rest of N'Suck's) ugly mug(s) whenever I flip past channel 36. It is depressing that this is what America's youth idolizes. I weep for the future.
Are we too late though? Although MTV and Survivor have further perpetuated America's stupidity, is it too late to reverse the process? This gerbil says "NO!" Through quality programming like "The Awful Truth" with Michael Moore, C-Span, and other "intelligent" forms of television, we can reclaim what is rightfully ours (that would be our minds, for those of you who aren't following my thought pattern). But more importantly, it is important to break free of the iron grip of television. We should read more. Philosophy. Marx. Plato. Aristotle. yada yada yada. Simpsons are on, must end
now.
-The Geriatric Gerbil