Hey ya'll. I told you I'd be back. On a personal note before I start, let me just say this: I've heard of "Let's just be friends" talks, but I didn't even know you could have a "Let's just be acquaintances" talk. Ex-girlfriends . . . go figure.
Anyhow. I must say, I am really disappointed with popular entertainment right now, in a variety of ways. Let's start with movies. This summer's picks have been, well, less than satisfactory. We've had your standard fare of action movies with zero value in terms of writing or acting. Except for League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. It was bad, but Sean Connery is a good actor, even in awful movies. We've also been given the "Romantic Comedy" selection, which always turn out to be funny in no way, but emphasize a kind of romance that makes me wonder what sewer the writers crawled out of. Heck, even for kids movies, it wasn't a blockbuster summer. Finding Nemo was good, but certainly not of the same caliber as some of Pixar's previous films (at least in terms of writing). As for the next SpyKid's movie, even I would have found this bad when I was 12. And do we really need another version of Freaky Friday? Yeesh.
Television isn't getting much better. I'll admit that I like watching some of the cartoons on WB, like Yu-Gi-Oh, Pokemon, and X-Men Evolution. Yeah, they're sappy and silly, but that's what makes them fun. But Fox cartoons? Do they think kids have the IQs of balsa wood? Seriously, the shows they have are just plain bad. And what's with all of the cartoons that try to emulate the success of Pokemon or any other anime cartoon, yet come from American artists and writers? Monster Rancher was pretty dumb. Fighting Foodons? Jeez, that show scrapes the bottom of the barrel in terms of quality. This is why I love Cartoon Network. They have the best cartoons, especially the anime. I really love the shows that can successfully combine character development and breathtaking action, while keeping their priorities straight, and yet using both to strengthen one another. Action is fun, but watching characters grow and change is what makes most anime so very satisfying. This is why most of the crappy American cartoons that the networks put out fail; because their characters remain static and never change from episode to episode. Eventually, all of the possibilities are played out and it's just time to put them to rest.
But it doesn't just stop at cartoons. What's up with this "Queer Eye" show? Jeez, I don't know what's more offensive, the in-your-face way they're promoting homosexuality, the stereotypical gay male they're throwing out there, or the way they portray straight men as being unable to face such "earth-shattering" issues as fashion, gourmet cousine, or basic hygiene. Yeesh. Myself and plenty of other straight, single men out there can cook just fine, have very acceptable wardrobes, and can certainly clean up after ourselves. We don't need overly effeminate weirdos watching us shower (seriously, they did this on an episode my sister was watching . . . gross!!!) in order to impress the opposite sex and feel good about ourselves.
I'll stop now before I start going on again about homosexuality. I already did that recently enough, eh? Hope you enjoyed the ranting, and I'll bring you something else to chew on soon enough.
Hal
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