I can’t find much to overtly disagree with Shawn about. But I did chuckle a little at his indignation.
CBS programming is chock full of cretinous buttweasels? Check.
The PTC is a reactionary relic whose members fart dust? Check.
The only person in this story who isn’t full of shit is the shit-talking father in the original Twitter feed. He may be a living, breathing American icon, albeit a PC incorrect one that is fast fading from collective consciousness. I suspect that Shit My Dad Says has become so popular because it taps into the almost inexplicable chaffing most of us feel at the daily prescriptions for “correct” dialogue we are told we must adhere to. Most of us want to say things, but can’t because of fear of being drummed out of polite company. We laugh, often in shock, and secretly admire those that no longer give a fuck what others think of them. Also, he seems cranky and blunt, but never unnecessarily cruel. And it should be noted that at least in the beginning, he was unaware that his pearls of wisdom would be consumed by anyone other than his son. (One does suspect a bit of creative editing.)
The second point worth noting is that mass appeal entertainment media have always appropriated edgy performers, sanded the edges off and turned it into pablum. The ENTIRE POINT of most broadcast TV fare is to pretend to push some button and then give you a few moments of vanilla sandwiched between commercials. Whether it’s Pat Boone neutering “Tutti Frutti” or the Gidget “surf” movies of the early 60′s, mainstream entertainment frequently shamelessly nabs ideas from the artistic vanguard, dumbs it down and proclaims it as something new.
Which is why you can draw a shakey line between Lenny Bruce to George Carlin to Steve Martin to Bob Saget hosting “America’s Funniest Home Videos.”
There is more than a little hucksterism at work here. I’m not going to defend the PTC. I’m sure they are not the kind of people I want to sit around and read “Tropic Of Cancer” with. But they do seem to have a purpose and not just as some kind of wimpy cultural speedbump so slight that nobody really slows down. They are a natural foil (anyone that has ever taken Literature:101 knows that conflict is central to any story) and CBS is using them as a patsy.
CBS wants “initial buzz” and controversy. Then they want a show that will appeal to the greatest number of nimrods that still sit around snarfing Crunch N Munch and watch broadcast TV. They will “focus-group” and tweak this thing until it ends up being “Goofy Stuff My Pop Sez” and make it a game show with a charming host, precocious kids and their wonderful but bewildered fathers. Sort of a “Kids Say the Darndest Things”, but in reverse and with Whoopi Goldberg instead of Art Linklater.
They get to pretend to be a victim of censorship and still get to take the original brilliant nugget and turn it into absolute drivel. Which is what they wanted to do in the first place!
CBS is a tired venue rapidly losing significance. The PTC long ago lost whatever muscle it had. (not ever that much I suspect) Cable, the internet and Redbox have beat their ass like a steel cage match between Mike Tyson versus Emo Phillips. Seriously, when was the last time anyone turned to CBS for edgy comedy? Does the Golden Girls count?
The entire thing would be sad if not so predictable. I don’t blame the creator for cashing in, but it seems incredibly ill advised if he thought he was going to see his original intent retained in any perceivable form. He should have sold it to HBO or Showtime and kept the title. Jerry Stiller should have been the Dad. Now THAT’S a show I would have wanted to see.
Matt
john
Shawn
