American Tragedy

A co-worker delights in sharing the plot lines of a show called "The Intervention" in which families and friends attempt to intervene in the lives of people caught in horrible addictions and situations. The latest episode seems to involve a childhood rape survivor who will not swallow any food (or saliva!) and is feed only through some sort of feeding tube. My observation was that the show will have to resort to more and more bizarre scenarios in order to keep its audience. I suspect the reason someone would watch this would be to achieve some sort of catharsis. I feel the same thing about "Super Nanny", that wife swapping show, etc ...

The sense that the culture is degrading feels more urgent with every new "reality" TV show. But, if people are benefiting from these gross shows, we shouldn't complain, right? After all, the Greeks did this all the time. Read Oedipus Rex.

What if all those Greek tragedies (and Shakespearean one's? or am I being unfair?) became popular during times when their own contemporary cultures were in periods of "cultural decline?" If western civilization experiences four generation cycles, do these "coarsening" events occur in the same phase of the cycle?

Stereotypes

I am calling an official ceasefire in the war against Asian American Women!

First there was Disney's The Suite Life of Zach and Cody, the London Tipton character is spoiled, self-absorbed.

On Cake TV (yes, I said, "Cake TV"), the character Miracle is a - wait for it - spoiled, self absorbed Asian-American.

Now there is a Washington Mutual ad featuring an Asian-American professional woman who fantasizes about slipping into pink, fur-trimmed and racing across the salt flats in a pink rocket powered car.

In each of these cases the women are bailed out by their white friends. The amazing thing here is how easily Americans can shift from one insulting stereotype to another without any seeming awareness of what is going on.