American Traditions

MSNBC reported that Oprah’s ratings were down, but she still was ahead of Dr. Phil. In reflecting the iconic days of American television, nothing could be more stark than the absence of Phil Donahue, Johnny Carson, Merv Griffin, Dick Cavett, and Tom Snyder. Even Brooke Burke, Rita Sever, and Stephanie Miller cast positive images onto the screen. Now we have soap box shouters like Glen Beck, Nancy Grace, and Judge Judy. It’s being forced to eat your vegetables. “Take your tabloid TV, or the evil witch will boil you in her pot and eat you.” That campaign of fear and intimidation has reached new boundaries, and it seems to be everywhere. The movies abandoned higher ideals and settled on primitive tribal themes. Even with differing plots they still use the same jungle drum cues. Sony introduced infrasonic frequencies to the theaters, and they haven’t stopped yet. The sounds of explosions, traffic noise, and thunder have become the backdrop of our cinematic lives. Music, soothing, massaging, tempering music has been stuck in a drawer of the vanity until the little princess comes home. Sentimentality is gone, because there is nothing to be sentimental about. Glamour is bulimic waifs striding angrily on the runway. Fashion is a hood rat with his pants half off. (What Michael Jackson and the K-Mart blue light special have in common) Eloquence and class are passé. Why has America become so abrasive, sarcastic, and selfish? Why on American Chopper are we being primed to wait for Paul Sr.’s angered outburst? Why has America become “Low Brow?” It is because shows are uninteresting without the drama, but we have failed to pass the torch of the arts to a youthful generation. Without the tools of the stage, sound production, lighting, scenic design, and talent the entertainment industry will continue to fail producing television and film. Spoiled children don’t deserve to produce TV shows. Adam Sandler wasn’t chosen. He decided for himself, and within the genre he so avidly produces the greater moments in American history are lost. When we decided to become low brow our higher aspirations were filed away with the rest of the history of literature and drama. Somehow we became so full of ourselves we forgot about our history. That is why Memorial Day is a bust. Basing your entertainment on a historical perspective solves the credibility problem. We don’t have to reinvent American society every time someone wants to make a TV show. That is a large task, and that’s what Sony’s Hollywood and Rupert Murdoch’s Fox are trying to do. There is an American tradition in place, and who’s to say there was anything wrong with it? Chemistry Professor Holden Thorp recently was chosen to be Chancellor of the University of North Carolina. He, like most graduates of Chapel Hill, has a dedicated allegiance to the traditions of the Tarheel state. Tradition is the major component of an education at Chapel Hill, because they started strong and continued over time. Television has a strong tradition, and it is a shame modern day producers are extemporizing without a blueprint. While an attempt at Thorp’s entrepreneurial savvy is being tried on television, devotion to the tradition would serve it better. To be successful at it you need talent, and we have stopped teaching that.