I went to my mom’s house today and we sat down and watched “Lonesome Dove.” This is an old show with one of my favorite actors from when I was younger, Robert Urich, and lots of other to-become-famous names. It’s cowboy and indian stuff. It was fun! When I got home, later I watched “The Goldbergs.” That’s not so old, they’re basically current episodes smart-TV-style … mask-free modern entertainment. The show is funny and well-written, and depicts a typical family in America …
I posted recently that, because of political correctness, I can’t say anything anymore. Somehow, what normally would be a perfectly sensible sentence, today feels like it would be inevitably misinterpreted … totally and wholly wrong, in fact, even with ethical considerations. It’s way too heavy. I was talking about a funny show!
Comedy has been taking a hit for being politically-incorrect, even across international borders, forever! Professional comedians and writers ride the line, while they make us laugh!
The feeling of “free expression” in America has been tightened, like a noose around my neck. And all I want to do is express the simplest concept, that there used to be such a thing as a “typical family in America,” and they were white and lived in the middle of the country. Another comedic layer is made possible with “The Goldbergs,” because they are a Jewish family, so the quirky things and terminology of that faith can be comedic fodder.
But look at this family. Seven seasons in, they’re a hit! They are mostly good-looking, and have a mom (the central character, a blonde-dooed housewife who gets what she wants!) who teaches them (here I go again) traditional, typical American values.
This kind of stuff used to be so much easier to write about!
I feel as if I’m climbing out of a hole, as I continue …
See, the problem with all of this, is we’re being made to feel as if Americans don’t have these great values, the Leave it To Beaver values everybody cherishes, the values of family, integrity and trust. All that changed is we all put a bunch of masks on. You can’t see faces on TV shows anymore. Coupled with a narrative of hate embraced by the news media, which many people don’t investigate further, the world has changed!
If you watch a six-month-old episode of “The Goldbergs,” though, you’re STILL watching the current popular hit show! Even though it suddenly looks and feels softer, like a kiddie show; that’s because switching the channel will surely get you CBS and looting, violence and devastation, the (temporary) real world.
We’re not losing it – we’ve already lost it.
But on the other hand, the Goldbergs prove we haven’t really lost anything permanently. We’re just in a bubble of reality, based on a distinct period of time, which will pass. Then we’ll be back to thinking the Goldbergs is a great TV show, with a handsome and smart bunch of typical Americans just going through typical growing up stuff, teaching us through clever-wittedness some traditional vales, the kind of values many Americans have.
Just watching TV can be a complete time-warp. But these shows, only half-a-year-old, are really the proof we need we’re not crazy; proof yes, things were normal once, and it wasn’t that long ago!
People trust police officers. Most teachers are good. Growing up can be crazy, but friends support us.
When you’re here (You are Here.), it’s hard to see, but all those things never changed.
Fear mongering has grown into a monster embodied by technology. Fresh air, and some old sitcoms, can help.
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Thank you for this – I live in the UK and have never seen “the Goldbergs” but I’ve found some YouTube clips and will watch them tonight. Your words about the “narrative of hate” are very powerful and just as relevant over here.
I must go now and remember to put on my mask (metaphorically and literally).