I haven’t sat down to watch TV in a really long time. Some of the shops and restaurants here have TVs playing, and I am just so over it. In the evenings, I sometimes catch a few glimpses of an Indonesian version of American Idol. There are young girls on the stage covered in make-up, and a flamboyantly “happy” judge on the panel that counsels them on their fashion faux pas, their hair styles, and their lack of voice training (which he demonstrates by singing their own songs back to them in a very feminine voice). I know many non-western countries tend to trail western pop-culture trends, but really… aren’t we globally over this stuff yet? Guess not.
Today as I hobbled with my bad back to get some food, I saw that MTV was on in one of the restaurants. “Pimp My Ride” is still on the air. Come on MTV, are we serious? Not only does this program have absolutely nothing to do with “music television”, other than its potted-out, played-out host “X to the Z, Xzibit!” (if you call what he spews music), but how many hoopties in south LA must we “pimp-out” with the latest 17-foot rims, 35-foot sub woofers, and theatrical hydraulics? It’s a cultural joke. And we are the punch line.
Am I over-simplifying the simpleness? Maybe, but it’s just too damn easy. Call me cynical… but somebody please remind me why I should be “proud to be an American” again? Because the word “proud” would imply some degree of deliberate identity and comradeship with the collective whole that is described, but I do not really feel that way. Yes, I am very often thankful to have been born within the borders of the landmass that is named The United States of America. I am thankful to have been offered a decent education, most natural human rights, and a relatively generous economy. But I have lived on 4 continents, and I have used my civil liberty of getting the hell out when I have so chosen. And when you strain your eyes to see the poetic American apple pie from afar, it starts to look more and more like a rectangular crust in a cardboard jacket from the McDonalds dollar menu. But hey, “at least I know I’m free”.
Today as I hobbled with my bad back to get some food, I saw that MTV was on in one of the restaurants. “Pimp My Ride” is still on the air. Come on MTV, are we serious? Not only does this program have absolutely nothing to do with “music television”, other than its potted-out, played-out host “X to the Z, Xzibit!” (if you call what he spews music), but how many hoopties in south LA must we “pimp-out” with the latest 17-foot rims, 35-foot sub woofers, and theatrical hydraulics? It’s a cultural joke. And we are the punch line.
Am I over-simplifying the simpleness? Maybe, but it’s just too damn easy. Call me cynical… but somebody please remind me why I should be “proud to be an American” again? Because the word “proud” would imply some degree of deliberate identity and comradeship with the collective whole that is described, but I do not really feel that way. Yes, I am very often thankful to have been born within the borders of the landmass that is named The United States of America. I am thankful to have been offered a decent education, most natural human rights, and a relatively generous economy. But I have lived on 4 continents, and I have used my civil liberty of getting the hell out when I have so chosen. And when you strain your eyes to see the poetic American apple pie from afar, it starts to look more and more like a rectangular crust in a cardboard jacket from the McDonalds dollar menu. But hey, “at least I know I’m free”.
3 comments:
This is publishable.
Yeah I agree with Mom.
i am so proud to be an merican. So excited to place another talking head in the top spot :).
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