7.22.2009

The Deification of Young and Stupid, by Craig Ferguson

I think I have developed a man-crush on Craig Ferguson. Not only is he a bleeding-heart Naturalized American (he celebrated his nationalization on his late-night talk show), but he brings an air of intelligence and wit to late-night comedy that has been conspicuously absent since Carson stepped down. For example: the deification of the Young and the Stupid. Go ahead. Watch and let me know what you think. For me, Ferguson's got a great point: what do we value more than youth and exuberance? What do we value less than experience (read: "old") and stability (read: "boring")? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

3 comments:

SGarff said...

Very interesting. It reminds me of a documentary that Frontline did a while back called "Merchants of Cool." It's an in depth look at how the youth are marketed to and manipulated by Madison Avenue. You can watch the whole thing here:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/cool/view/

I should warn you there are some pretty graphic illustrations of the disgusting and destructive ways that young people are marketed to, but it's a real eye-opener.

This obsession with youth is strange. Nowhere is this unrealistic mindset more ubiquitous than here in Los Angeles (ok, maybe Happy Valley is worse). But even more dangerous than the desire for eternal youth, is the embrace of Stupid.

The thing about Stupid is that it doesn't care about the long-term. Stupid can't think ahead or plan. Stupid has no notion of consequence. The only way people that peddle Stupid can survive is to keep coming up with more and new Stupid. Everything becomes dumbed-down. Politics becomes sound-bytes. Art becomes sex, with a few explosions thrown in here and there. Music becomes...um well, the Jonas Brothers. Oh, and literature becomes Twilight.

Don't mind me. The bar exam has put me in a real bad mood.

ebv said...

Ditto, Steve. A sad, frustrated, mildly panicked ditto.

-eric

bets said...

i wholeheartedly agree.