Hello? Anyone still out there? Well, if you are you may want to skip this one. It's so convoluted it might be a bit hard to follow. You might just write this one off and dismiss it as a bit of a James Joyce "stream of consciousness" gibberish. (Or accept that I'm offering a morality piece; the moral being "Hollywood is nuts because they live in a world the rest of us aren't privileged to share.)
So, this week two little tidbits passed before my consciousness that set me off on a bout of linear thinking. The first one was a read of Martin Short's semi-autobiography. (You remember Martin Short...the infamous "Ed Grimley" on Saturday Night Live, the theatrical Martin Short in Three Amigos and Father of the Bride.
Well I really like Martin Short. I think he's hilarious. Love his "Jiminy" interviews, and his "Ed Grimley" and all the other wacky characters he portrays. And for the first half of the book I was chuckling right along with Martin, enjoying all the many "insider" stories he was offering about pals like Steve Martin and Billy Crystal and Larry David. Oh, about every ten pages or so he would have to insert some snide remarks about a Republican politician...maybe a Reagan jibe, or a Bush nasty, but, still and all, I was enjoying the easy and humorous read.
About half way through the book some of the enjoyment began to dim a bit. I couldn't really put my finger on just why, but nevertheless, the chuckles began coming less frequently. Well, upon a few occasions, when I put the book down, I wandered over to the computer, called up U Tube, wanting to once again review a few of Martin's dopey clips.
So, as I scanned through clip after clip I came to some associated old clips of Martin....back when he was doing SCTV up in Toronto. Anyone still with me? Anyone remember the obscure, but very funny SCTV shows? Suffice to say they were Canada's version of Saturday Night Live...if it was done on one tenth the budget.
So I watched some of those old SCTV clips and then came across a two part "SCTV We Remember", which consisted to two of the old players, Gene Levy and Joe Flaherty reminiscing about the old shows. As I watched those two I began to experience one of those "Twilight Zone" moments...where it seemed Joe and Gene were simply doing a parody...that this wasn't a fond look back at the old show..but just a continuation of "making fun", simply another skit not unlike all those hundreds of other skits that made fun of us folks over here in the real world! And it wasn't! But, because these folks had always made fun of everything and everyone, how could I take this sincere remembrance seriously? (I hope you're getting this because it's hard to put these feelings into words).
So, after watching this "SCTV Remembers" stuff, I returned to Martin Short's book..and it all seemed to be more of the same....a recounting of comedians making fun of how the rest of us live our lives. And I realized they can do that because, at least the successful ones, can entomb themselves in the hard shell of fantasy, involved in a world of their own, a world where folks don't have to worry about the consequences of bad government, or the consequences of war, or even having to worry about earning enough money to feed and clothe and educate your children. And, as reward for living in this fantasy world, they are paid obscene amounts of money and, better yet...are worshipped by the very folks who are being laughed at!
And that's Hollywood! Or New York, or Toronto, or any other urban center whose entire purpose of existing is to establish a "coddling nest" for the cultural and entertainment icons who light up our TV or movie screen, or scream their musical angst through our blue tooth speakers!
And, as I read Short's "insiders" nuggets, I could recall a hundred other celebrity remembrances just like them. And the common denominator in all of the celebrity utterings seems to be that a very large hunk of the celebrity world are simply living in a world as unrealistic as one can imagine, with all of them involved in some grand self-masturbation ritual that feeds on itself, and then recycled for the next generation of entertainment fairies.
Believe me, as this blog has often attested, I have no illusions about Hollywood liberalism. It disgusts me. I believe it has done so much societal harm...far more than any entertainment value we can derive from them. But, perhaps for the first time, I believe I better understand how they came to be that way....how they are so self-involved, so self-loving, so cynical of the working stiff, so steeped in mastubatory delight, that they simply can't understand the world that most of us have to live in....without security details and gated communities...and certainly without reward for pretending to be someone other than ourselves.
Okay. I'm done. Moral: Hollywood is nuts. (And you didn't even have to read all my gibberish to know that, right?)
3 comments:
Hollywood isn't much different than a Cult. People come there from all walks of life, seeking to be part of something. Many make it. Many more don't. Those that do, begin thinking alike, personally and Politically. There's no room for another point of view. What's funny is that Trump is a classic Hollywood type. What he says in those clips is common place and accepted as Hollywood "talk". But he has become an Outsider. So all the "horror" Hollywood is showing for Trump's words is as phony as it gets. But it's what one expects from a fantasy world such as Hollywood. Diniro's "I'd like to punch him in the face" is a classic phony line. He probably smoozes with Trump at cocktail parties and talks about p---y right along with him. Phony, phony, phony. and we Idolize these Jerks? So sad.
Carey knows that culture. I don't. I do know the libs I am (quasi) friends with feel no guilt whatsoever over their affluence. In fact, they live to get more. It isn't so much guilt, but more along the lines of being completely self absorbed. That explains the lack of charitable giving, the vulgar displays of wealth, and the arrogance of someone like an actor or an entertainer lecturing those of us with actual skills and real jobs. IMHO....
Well, I'm glad at least two people understood what I was trying to say. Have a great day everyone.
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