A Blast From the Past

Yesterday's conversation about The O.C. really got me thinking about "quality television". I started hearing my grandmother's voice going off in my head saying, "you kids and your television today! It's disgusting!" I did a quick run through of the television shows that Grandma would mention "Leave it to Beaver", "The Little Rascals", "The Carol Brunett Show", and a few others I cannot remember.

Then, there it was! In The New York Times is an article about Carol Brunett and a touching story about her memoir, which is claimed to be a "barrel of laughs" about her journey and the story, rather than the ugliness that can cloud the entertainment business. After reading this article, I thought about how excited I am to read her book, but also I began to wonder, where did America go wrong that the humor of Carol Brunett is no longer the norm for entertainment.

I begin to wonder where the changes in society began that we no longer find it funny to watch clean family entertainment to loving things such as D*ck In a Box? Perhaps it is because that society now has lost the innocence that my mother and father's generation were lucky enough to have. A time before having a smartphone was the normal thing to do and where playing outside and using your imagination ruled the world. I wonder what went wrong and how can we go back?

Unfortunately, I don't ever think society will be able to return to the roots of the Carol Brunett humor or playing pretend are sadly gone. I vote that our class starts a revolution and we play pretend, we laugh at clean humor, and we change things! A big dream...but definitely feasible.