i've been a bit busy trying to make rent in this weak-ass world.
but i got home from work late tonight and turned on the tv and caught a Saturday Night Live from 1981. you know what? shit isn't that much different now. topics included the recent assasination of Anwar Sadat, growing tension in the middle east, Reagan's foreclosing of Social Security, and racism in america. yeah, some of it was funny.
Most of it wasn't. you know what really hit me tho, that the program was socially concious. Between a few funny gags, there were serious and poignant expression pieces thru short films, and even heartfelt songs sung in a completely straight face by some of the actors onboard in the day. Where is this social commentary now in SNL? Mostly reduced to absurdity and ironic inside jokes that don't leave you with much substance once the cheap laugh has worn off.
Yeah, i'm fascinated and addicted to nostalgia. But only because i use it as a litmus to understand how far we have denegrated from even 20 or so years ago in this case.
Am i jaded? Absolutely. I, obviously, am an old man on this site. I've been able to see events unfold in my lifetime from their inception to their fizzle.
Tonight i realized that some old vehicles for social awareness have denegrated to the point of becoming the machine. Would i watch a new SNL starring Ben Affleck? Sure, if i was wasted, and needed a companion to help me finish the beer in the house . But this show tonight kinda caught me offguard. Yes i'm negative. yes, election day slinks ominously closer with no resolve and little hope. But i truly believe that the writing was better, and the intent was more focused upon our actual world (and this particular show featured no "stars" other than newcomer eddie murphy in only one skit), rather than taking us to the whimsical, absurd ideas that pervade the show today. Did I enjoy "fat guy in a little coat?", or "the coked up werewolf", or whatever SNL pitches now? Mostly, but I enjoyed more knowing that SNL could produce a short piece on alienation in modern society, or the short film on the physical effects of cleaning up the aftermath of Sadat's assassination on everyman's conscious, in addition to the usual skits, in this old, throwaway episode.
Of course, some things never change. In this particular program, Ray Davies of the Kinks sang a "heartfelt" song about lecherously looking at underage girls in the park, with the chorus "come to daddy". Yay! But I still think "I'm Not Like Everybody Else" is frickin' amazing tho.
I know that I can take shit too seriously. One on one, I'm a complete ass that everyone can enjoy and poke fun at. One on everyone, I'm an introverted turd with little respect for the modern culture that ghosts into my pores while i'm sleeping and tells me nothing really matters anyway as long as I'm american.
but i got home from work late tonight and turned on the tv and caught a Saturday Night Live from 1981. you know what? shit isn't that much different now. topics included the recent assasination of Anwar Sadat, growing tension in the middle east, Reagan's foreclosing of Social Security, and racism in america. yeah, some of it was funny.
Most of it wasn't. you know what really hit me tho, that the program was socially concious. Between a few funny gags, there were serious and poignant expression pieces thru short films, and even heartfelt songs sung in a completely straight face by some of the actors onboard in the day. Where is this social commentary now in SNL? Mostly reduced to absurdity and ironic inside jokes that don't leave you with much substance once the cheap laugh has worn off.
Yeah, i'm fascinated and addicted to nostalgia. But only because i use it as a litmus to understand how far we have denegrated from even 20 or so years ago in this case.
Am i jaded? Absolutely. I, obviously, am an old man on this site. I've been able to see events unfold in my lifetime from their inception to their fizzle.
Tonight i realized that some old vehicles for social awareness have denegrated to the point of becoming the machine. Would i watch a new SNL starring Ben Affleck? Sure, if i was wasted, and needed a companion to help me finish the beer in the house . But this show tonight kinda caught me offguard. Yes i'm negative. yes, election day slinks ominously closer with no resolve and little hope. But i truly believe that the writing was better, and the intent was more focused upon our actual world (and this particular show featured no "stars" other than newcomer eddie murphy in only one skit), rather than taking us to the whimsical, absurd ideas that pervade the show today. Did I enjoy "fat guy in a little coat?", or "the coked up werewolf", or whatever SNL pitches now? Mostly, but I enjoyed more knowing that SNL could produce a short piece on alienation in modern society, or the short film on the physical effects of cleaning up the aftermath of Sadat's assassination on everyman's conscious, in addition to the usual skits, in this old, throwaway episode.
Of course, some things never change. In this particular program, Ray Davies of the Kinks sang a "heartfelt" song about lecherously looking at underage girls in the park, with the chorus "come to daddy". Yay! But I still think "I'm Not Like Everybody Else" is frickin' amazing tho.
I know that I can take shit too seriously. One on one, I'm a complete ass that everyone can enjoy and poke fun at. One on everyone, I'm an introverted turd with little respect for the modern culture that ghosts into my pores while i'm sleeping and tells me nothing really matters anyway as long as I'm american.