Frustration Like Banging Your Head Against a Wall

Things have gone well recently.

Personally, I mean. I’m busy, but happy. But only on a personal level. But no one wants to hear about the happy. Hate and rage make for much more interesting developments, don’t you think? Let the rage begin…

On the state of the world today, I am rather upset. Entertainment, politics, and the general state of humanity have all gone to hell recently. Human decency has gone out the window to be replaced by a frothing maelstrom of selfish endeavors.

Politically, well, it’s all gone to shit. Washington can’t decide what’s going on, with the democrats abandoning plans they themselves put in place(“Health Reform? What health reform?”), the republicans treating every bill like it was drugs, and they’re all D.A.R.E. officers (“Just say no!”), and then you add in the combination of the birthers and the media on every side (I’m looking at you talking heads) attacking the most frivolous things I’ve ever seen. It’s like after Cronkite died the media went looking for a new low point in journalism. I wouldn’t even call it that anymore. It’s not journalism, its political pandering. FOX NEWS has the conservatives (both crazy and sane), MSNBC has the liberals, and CNN doesn’t know what’s going on or where they are. I mean, really? You use Twitter and Youtube as a legitimate source of news? I’d be better off getting my news from Wikipedia.

Entertainment is even worse, with shows becoming spectacles. I’ve never been a fan of reality TV, nor of cop dramas, but it seems that T.V. has increasingly become stupefied. I see a good show every once in a while, in among the shit being aired. Reality T.V. exploits others, and I’d rather not see it. T.V. (or rather, good quality T.V.) should be about stories, jokes, people interacting with one another in a manner that benefits, instead of flailing around on camera yelling at each other for prize money. I want to see more shows like The Wire, BSG, Kings, Deadwood, Rome, Firefly and The Tudors. (And yes, I know some of those shows were HBO, but still, good quality is good quality.) Instead, we get yet another CSI, or Dancing With the Stars, and now we have a show that nearly broke my mind when I heard about it. Please give us better thought out pitches guys. Please?

And now they’re making remakes of all the old favorites of Hollywood, in a move that I like to call raping my childhood. The newest offender? Rats of Nimh remake. Dear god, you’re also moving on Goonies, Gremlins, Nightmare on Elm Street, GI JOE, and countless others. Night of the Thousand and One Remakes. Where’s the original ideas? There are a couple coming out with original thoughts behind them, but besides these, I just don’t really care that much. Give me a new, juicy series or movie I can sink my teeth into. Something with actual character development, or a well thought out plot. Mindless Escapism is fun every once in a while, but not all the time.

Lot’s of other things on my mind today, but we’ll leave that for another time. But in the meantime, I ask you, please, entertainment and news industry, please drag yourself out of the gutter you’ve gotten yourself into. I want be proud of what my country can accomplish, not ashamed of the loads of crap we export.

Pat Out.