The Cultural Divide

This post is one that I’ve been meaning to write for a few weeks now, but it keeps getting away from me. After watching last night’s Super Bowl however, there have just been too many glaring reminders to put this off any longer.

Dear Readers, there is a cultural divide in America and it’s growing every day. Some of you will already know what I’m talking about, those of you who, like me, are in the minority. But most of you will probably have no idea what I’m talking about because like most of America, you are in the majority. Let me use some interesting moments from last night’s Bowl to illustrate this cultural divide.

Three specific things caught my eye last night. The first was a commercial for CBS’s hit sitcom Two and a Half Men, proudly advertising the show’s status as television’s most-watched comedy. Then, there was the commercial for Criminal Minds, or what TV Guide calls “TV’s Best Drama.” And last, though certainly not least, there the Super Bowl Halftime show starring Prince as Freddy Mercury, Jimi Hendrix, Dave Grohl and some Hispanic lady in a purple bonnet.

Now you might be wondering, “But Jonah, what do those three things have to do with a so-called cultural divide? They all seem fine to me.” Please allow me to explain.

We are living in an age of extreme cultural division between the intelligent, artistic entertainment of the few and the mindless spectacle entertainment of the many. Two and a Half Men is the country’s #1 comedy? Seriously? For those of you who know me, you’ll know that there’s nothing I hate on television more than CBS. There is not a single show on that intelligence-forsaken network that I watch. I don’t watch any of the 9 CSI‘s or crap reality shows or formulaic sitcoms or any of the dime-a-dozen military dramas. CBS is an example of what often makes me despise this country, with its entire primetime television schedule based around safe, non-risk taking, non-form advancing, recyclable drivel for America’s idiot masses. And yet it’s the #1 NETWORK IN AMERICA??? It makes me want to throw up.

Other things that make me want to throw up: ABC. Aside from Lost (which I am looking forward to blogging about this coming Thursday), there is not a single show I watch on this equally vapid, mind-numbing network. Ugly Betty? According to Jim? The George Lopez Show? Do you know people who watch these shows? If so, are they mentally retarded or just from the South? I’ll cut ABC a little more slack than CBS, since I do have some respect for Grey’s Anatomy, but I still hate its guts. It’s as if CBS and ABC are committed solely to preserving the status quo; in twenty years, we’ll be studying the idiocy of these television shows in the same way we now laugh at the campiness and stupidity of our old favorites like Miami Vice or Full House.

If you’re like me, then the only network tv you really watch is NBC and Fox (in that order). NBC is without a doubt the most intelligent and cutting-edge network on television right now. Without NBC, we’d be stuck in a land of multi-camera sitcoms with laugh tracks, procedural dramas, and stupid shows about attractive middle-aged women and the stupid things they do in different stupid settings. Take a look at NBC’s current schedule and you’ll find all of network tv’s best shows, excluding Lost and a small handful from Fox. First and foremost, NBC Thursday’s “Comedy Night Done Right” has recaptured all the magic of “NBC’s Must-See TV Thursday” of yore. With it’s four hilarious back to back comedies, Thursday night has regained its former glory and become the second best night of tv (With 24, Prison Break, Heroes and Studio 60, Monday’s are just too awesome). With the critical and popular hits My Name is Earl, The Office, Scrubs, and 30 Rock, NBC has placed itself at the forefront of television comedies. These are the only live action comedies on tv today that take any sort of risks or offer any sort of meaningful entertainment. These shows push the envelope in terms of format, content, writing, acting, directing– you name it.

While at times these shows might not seem like much (especially Earl), you have to give them credit for at least trying to be different, for attempting to do something new with the medium of television. If you don’t watch these shows regularly, set your Tivo from 8-10 this Thursday (all shows are new this week!) and give it a shot. All are episodic serials (meaning that while there are some greater story arcs carried throughout the season, each episode is pretty much self-contained), so you won’t feel like you’ve missed too much. And even if you don’t enjoy all or any of the shows, you can at least give yourself a pat on the back for trying something new and culturally relevant.

Aside from it’s comedies, NBC also offers some of tv’s best drama with shows like Heroes, Friday Night Lights (the best show on tv that you aren’t watching), and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. Yes, it still offers standard procedural fare with its 7 different Law & Order‘s and it’s countless attempts at successful reality tv (with Deal or No Deal as one of the network’s biggest smash hits). But you can’t blame them for needed to keep up with the crap put out by CBS and ABC. Even though it’s not something I particularly enjoy in a tv show, I admire NBC for being the only network to have politically and socially relevant programming on the air. From E.R’s several episode arc about the genocide in Darfur, to Studio 60′s discussion of television censorship, to last week’s Scrubs about the war in Iraq, NBC is constantly addressing important issues, while other networks are content to poop out the same old worthless garbage over and over.

And sadly, the division doesn’t end when your television is off. How many people do you know who actually like Prince? Does anyone really think he’s a good singer, or that his weird feminine jumpsuits are actually cool? His performance at the Super Bowl was a perfect example of the corporate-driven moronic majority that I’ve been talking about:

His set-list was comprised of horrific 30-second covers of other people’s songs, followed by his hit song “Purple Rain” from like, twenty years ago. Talk about a recycled culture. And the worst part is, I bet most of America really enjoyed it, happy to have the same crap they’ve already been hearing for years being pumped back into their ears once more by a far superior artist. Of course, CBS showed us numerous shots of the crowd happily and enthusastically enjoying the show, which is pretty much exemplary of how this culture works in the first place. “See everyone, isn’t this fun? All the other happy boys and girls love this stuff, and so should you!” It reminds me of a certain argument I always use when I have this debate with someone. Think about Britney Spears, one of America’s best-selling recording artists in her day. How many of you really thought she was the best singer? How many of you thought her talent was equal to the amount of success she received? My guess is nobody really thought she was the best, but because MTV and US Weekly and other crap like that told us she was the best, and since EVERYONE else already liked her, hell, we did too, even if she didn’t deserve it.

Back to Prince: Notice how the best part of the show was the cool lights and smoke effects? That’s Majority Culture in a nutshell: all spectacle and no substance. Put a famous name, a famous song and some screaming fans on CBS and it doesn’t matter what the hell the entertainment actually is because people are going to watch.

The trend even extends to The Great White Way, where absolutely horrific shows like The Wedding Singer, Tarzan and The Producers are consistently more popular than groundbreaking, innovative shows like the incomparable Spring Awakening. Broadway more than any medium these days is an example of our shitty recycled culture, where the bottom line is the dotted line upon which you sign your soul away for cash. Over half the shows on Broadway are either revivals (Les Mis is frickin back already?), musicalized versions of movies (most of which we didn’t like all that much anyways), or pop music compilations from formerly popular artists like Mamma Mia’s ABBA or Ring of Fire‘s Johnny Cash. What once delivered so many gloriously innovative and relevant shows has since become a wasteland in which only a handful of truly important new musicals can emerge.

Now, I don’t mean for this to sound condescending or elitist because its not like people who are in the majority are stupid and people who are in the minority are smart (although this is often the case). It’s just that the majority of people in America do not demand enough from their entertainment and are happy to be fed the same, dull, formulaic content over and over again. Well, if my blog has one goal, it’s to tell you to STOP! Demand more from your tv, from your movies and from your music! Look outside of the I-Tunes store homepage, or Desperate Housewives or A Night At the Museum. We are in a golden age of media, my friends. I truly believe this. Everyday, a small collective of innovative producers, writers and performers are trying their hardest to create something challenging and new, something that offers you a fulfilling experience every single time you watch or listen, and they are most definitely succeeding. Don’t settle for Prince and Britney when you can have Umphrey’s McGee or Corinne Bailey Rae. Don’t watch Cheaper By The Dozen (yes, I hate Shawn Levy) when you can watch Little Miss Sunshine. Don’t go see Beauty and The Beast when you can see Spring Awakenings. Don’t settle for CBS when you can change the channel to NBC. Stop settling for the safe and easy majority; we’ve got a nice spot on the minority side with your name on it.