March 13, 2009
The Week In Television
Also, Truth and Beauty
It's been a pretty quiet week, all things considered. NBC's Thursday lineup was solid. I actually like Kath and Kim as a revival of screwball comedy, though I'm sure it won't get renewed. 30 Rock and The Office this week were OK. The best Office moment was easily Andy's angry rebuttal to Pam and Jim's love advice: "Two hot people with a perfect working relationship would not understand that [pain]."
Family Guy's gleeful foray into gayness, genetic engineering, and eleven-ways seemed downright normal to me, a clear indication that I've been irrevocably warped by the series. Given that I don't think being gay is a choice, the show's straightforward ideological statement(s) on the issue didn't bother me. But I'm kinda suprised that no one is shrieking about its pro-gay agenda. Is Family Guy now uncontroversial? Mirabile dictu.
More likely, Family Guy flies under the ideological radar because it is "low" comedy with a very specific, college-guy demographic. That means most serious cultural critics don't even acknowledge its existence. But imagine all those eighteen- to twenty-four-year-old college guys watching a show that promotes gay rights. Those guys vote (or at least will someday), and after some of the older guys die, may even become the majority.
You can argue about television's influence on people, but I know my students love the show and its creator. I love the idea that Seth Macfarlane is quietly brainwashing these kids to be good citizens. I know he's an atheist, and hell, I'm agnostic, but I think it would be hilarious if God had saved him from 9/11 for a reason. That would be some freakin' awesome Providence right there.
Speaking of serious comedy, the big news this week is Jon Stewart's interview with CNBC's Jim Cramer. There is general agreement that Stewart won hands-down. But give Cramer his due. He was contrite, and he had the balls to show up to take the beating that he (and many others) had earned.
More importantly, he showed up even though he was completely out of his league. I've said it before and I'll say it again: Jon Stewart is one the finest interviewers out there. And let's face it, The Daily Show is the only program practicing responsible journalism these days.
Many seem disturbed that Stewart took this interview so seriously, and some online forums reflected public disappointment that he hadn't gone into "serious journalism." Stewart himself acknowledged the irony of being the serious voice of media responsibility, and promised "to go back to making fart noises" if Cramer would do a better job of reporting.
How was this interview not serious journalism? The interview by any other name would ring just as true. Stewart's powerful segment only seems ironic because most people assume that humor cannot have any serious (i.e. true) point. Factually and philosophically untrue.
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