Although it doesn’t really deserve to be a target, this review of a recent Simpson’s episode titled “That 90s Show” (thanks to Steve for forwarding the article along…I guess…) set me off because of something that’s been bothering me for a long time now.
As vaguely absurd as it is to review a Simpsons episode, the reviewer does make some worthwhile points. Overall, yes, the episode was weak, and, yes, the quality of the show has taken a nosedive over the last 6-7 years or so. All very true. To be honest, “That 90s Show” was actually the first new Simpsons episode I’ve seen in a good five years or so.
But the quality of the episode and the show itself are nearly inconsequential, because here are the parts of the IGN review that struck me:
But nothing was funny enough to cover up the fact that “That ’90s Show” was thumbing its nose at all the great, established, hilarious moments and episodes we’ve come to love and cherish.
It was an insult to all the great lines we all have memorized and throw into conversations without missing a beat. I mean, I can’t ignore what I know. I can’t pretend that everything I’ve watched happen to Homer, Marge, Bart and everybody else living, working and dying in Springfield, USA is just one big, fat lie. Am I overreacting? Probably. But to any diehard fan of The Simpsons, “That ’90s Show” was an abomination.
For my purposes, the phrases that most matter are:
-”…WE’VE come to love and cherish.”
-”…an insult to all the great lines WE…”
-”…to ANY DIEHARD FAN of The Simpsons…”
So right there is my huge, raging-out-of-control problem that pisses me off to no end about modern geek and nerd culture: The Sense of Entitlement.
Let me put it another way using this poor, unaware Simpsons reviewer as an example: what exactly, in the name of all that is holy, does The Simpsons owe this guy? Because that’s really what he’s saying, that The Simpsons owes him, a life-long fan, a great show.
What exactly does The Simpsons owe any fans or anybody whatsoever? Did the show borrow money from you? DId you give it mouth-to-mouth while it was choking to death? Did you help the show move? Did you save its dog or child from being run over by a car? Did you give it a blowjob?
Those are all various hypothetical real-world situations in which a person might “owe” another person something. All The Simpsons did was be one of the greatest television shows ever for, like, six or seven years, changing the face of TV and comedy in the process. I think The Simpsons has probably done its job. It’s accomplished all it can reasonably hope to accomplish.
Let’s look at some other recent examples of nerds getting mad about something sucking. What about the whole Spider-Man “One More Day” debacle? Sure, it’s a dumb, wtf head-scratcher of a story line. If you were disappointed, I’m sorry. But you know what? Joe Quesada or Marvel doesn’t owe anybody a thing. They don’t owe long-time Spider-Man fans or readers a spider-masterpiece or an apology for a continuity shake-up. They’re just trying to sell comics. And you know what? They did. A lot of them.
Or take the oft-targeted George Lucas for example. There hasn’t been any worthwhile Star Wars anything since 1983. In fact, more than a few aspects of the prequels are, let’s be honest, insulting. To everybody. But even though I worshipped those first three movies when I was a kid, did George Lucas owe me personally good prequels to those original films? Does he owe Star Wars fans something? Absolutely not.
George Lucas didn’t ask his movies to be cultural sensations. He didn’t ask 85% of American males born between 1967-1980 to get emotionally involved in his clever pulp mishmash and embrace The Force as some kind of new pop religion. The man should do what he wants to do…which, apparently, is concoct atrocious movies about people in outer space.
Anyway, this baseless, selfish whining by “fans” about themselves and what they deserve is one of the main dangers of investing a lot of time in what is, generally, garbage culture.
Now don’t get me wrong, I love garbage culture — just look at this site. But superhero comics, toys, big Hollywood blockbusters, etc: these types of entertainment don’t usually set out to change people’s lives. They don’t try to make an artistic statement (although sometimes they have artistic aspects, which is a blast to try to figure out). They don’t beg for this kind of constant attention and OCD-level involvement. They don’t ask to fill voids in people’s lives. They are entertainment, pure and simple. Usually disposable entertainment. To take them too seriously — or personally — is not only psychologically and socially dangerous, but also antithetical to what garbage culture is all about: fun.
Couldnt have said it better myself!
You know, every once in a while I look at the comments about something like, say, the new Indiana Jones trailer, and I see a TON of over-the-top and generally unjustifiable BILE being posted.As if people are taking out their rage at everything wrong in their life on some silly movie or something.Hey, dude, Indiana Jones isn’t the reason your job sucks and you can’t get laid, OK? In fact,I’m guessing your problems have more to do with A) your general hostility toward the world at large;and B) You not doing something more productive with your time than going around on the Internet bitching about stuff. Oh, and also: why are you wasting your time on pop culture you profess to hate? If You REALLY hate it, STOP WATCHING IT;if ALL of the people why whine about how crappy THE SIMPSONS hs become would just turn off the TV, the ratings would crash and the show would have been cancelled YEARS ago.(Oh,one last thing: all you TRANSFORMER and G.I. JOE fans accept that NO ONE is going to be stupid enough to make a “Mature” movie based on a line of TOYS.It’s ok to still love the stuff you loved as a kid; but it IS kid’s stuff- give the NEXT generation of kids the opportunity to enjoy it for THEMSELVES, alright? )(Wow-that sounded dangerously like the kind of thing I’m complaining about, didn’t it?)
I don’t disagree with your feeling at all, and the world would be a better place if the nerd sense of entitlement went the way of the dinosaur.
But, this line?
“George Lucas didn’t ask his movies to be cultural sensations.”
I disagree on, completely. I think that anybody who releases their movies to a national audience is hoping for them to become cultural sensations. They are inherently asking for such a thing. It’s as simple as wishing for success. He wanted the movies to become popular, so he could keep making them. Not that it’s a bad thing, but he got exactly what he wanted.
“But, this line?
“George Lucas didn’t ask his movies to be cultural sensations.�
I disagree on, completely. I think that anybody who releases their movies to a national audience is hoping for them to become cultural sensations. They are inherently asking for such a thing. It’s as simple as wishing for success. He wanted the movies to become popular, so he could keep making them. Not that it’s a bad thing, but he got exactly what he wanted.”
Well I don’t think he was thinking “I want this to be a cultural sensation,” but he definitely wanted success, yeah. But I think more to Andrew’s point is that Lucas is gonna make the movies he wants, no matter who his fans are or how many there are. I remember when Attack of the Clones came out, and Lucas had given N’Sync a cameo. It was stupid, of course, but what can you do? The guy’s daughter was a huge N’Sync fan, and he did it for her. My friend Janet was livid. She literally said, “He owes us!” And I said, “What does he owe you? He didn’t ask you to be a fan of his.” He ended up taking the cameo out of the movie because fans went nuts, which is probably all for the better, but really, it’s up to the creators what they’ll do with their creations.
Apo,
I totally understand what you’re saying. I agree that it’s almost absurd for any director — or any artist for that matter — to release their work and not want a wide audience.
However, I still have to stick to my guns and imagine that Lucas set out on his Jedi path without intending for people to anally pore over every little detail of Star Wars as if it were some kind of personal scripture: collecting every toy, analyzing every scene, reading every novel, memorizing every line, comparing the original script to the final product, cursing the disappearance of Gary Kurtz, repeatedly watching the prequels even though they claim not to like them, fetishizing weaponry, etc. And then complaining about what Lucas decided to do with the franchise. Taking the quality of latter SW as a personal affront.
Hope I’m making sense at this point…
Am I allowed to feel entitled when I subscribe to HBO for their series and they shitcan them in the middle of massive story arcs like Deadwood and Carnivale?
Because, I do.
No. You should feel angry, disappointed, and frustrated, but not entitled.
Man, after The Wire ends, is there any point to having HBO?
Entourage and….Entourage?
I want to feel entitled…
Entourage, Curb, Real Time, Flight of the Conchords (Best series they have had in a decade)
Yeah, that’s true. Personally I could take or leave Entourage and Real Time, but Flight and Curb are pretty great. I’m going to miss having a big, anchoring, must-see drama, though. Maybe they’ll come up with something. Aren’t they working on some kind of crazy fantasy (like D&D) series?
In treatment is pretty good. Not as big, but does fill the drama shoes. I’m avoiding any “Drama” puns related to Entourage.
Bring on JOHN ADAMS!! Giamatti’s going to be sick in that joint, son!!
Giamatti should relaunch Grizzly Adams!
Oooh. If Werner Herzog was on board with this it would be my most anticipated show ever.
I think there’s a difference between asking for people to obsess over your movies, and asking people to become fans of them. The latter is inherent in the act of publishing them on such a large scale. Don’t forget that Lucas was and is also interested in making movies as products. He wants to sell them to people, and the people who will buy them and their associated merchandise repeatedly and continually are the ones that make you rich.
Again, just to be totally clear, I agree that the sense of entitlement shown by a lot of nerds is ridiculous and damaging. I just don’t think it’s accurate to paint a picture of George Lucas as some dude who just wanted to make his movies. He also wanted to sell them.
That’s pretty much the same thing I’ve been saying regarding Star Wars. All that vitriol spewed at Lucas started to get under my skin after not too long. I was wondering what magic power (Force?) Lucas had that compelled them to go see the Ep. 1, and then after not enjoying the first one they lined up for the Ep. 2. Then after complaining to the ends of the earth about the second, they nearly trampled each other getting into the theaters for Ep. 3. Was there a squadron of armed stormtroopers holding blaster rifles on them forcing (forcing! hah!!) them to attend these films? I say, YOU create a vast, complex fictional universe and then YOU can dictate how it’s run. If it’s somebody else show, just sit back, shut up, and enjoy the ride.
P.S.: The Simpsons suck.