Friday afternoon ramble

The Post's front-page story is a must-read for a million reasons. I have too much to say about it-- I don't even know where to start.

I have almost as much to say about Robin Givhan's column, and I'm going to actually say some of it. Where to start? First of all, this isn't the first time Ms. Givhan has talked about TV as a common cultural language, and she makes a really interesting point. I briefly read a review of "Year One" that said that making a funny film with Jack Black and Michael Cera would be so easy a caveman could do it (and yet, the critic says, the filmmakers didn't pull it off). But putting that reference out there, and knowing that people would get it, is an exercise in trusting in cultural literacy. But I digress.

As for the Cosby show, one silly critique I recall hearing--and the one that apparently sparked "Married with Children"--was that the family was much too functional. Now, my family is nothing like the Cosby's, but that's not to say I couldn't like it.

Next, the point she makes about Sex and the City is interesting. It's also a theme in Will and Grace, but not the one she associates with the show in the article: those "layered," "flawed" women whose professional life is apparently seamless but whose personal life is a mess. Are those women prototypical?

Finally, what is it about women struggling with their weight, especially women you wouldn't expect, like Phylicia Rashad? Does that mean the rest of us are just screwed?

I also wanted to say a bit more about Rock'n'Roll. I can even tie it into a mom story: I fell in love with Tom Stoppard my first semester at Smith, when we read "Arcadia" in a class. My mom hated the very idea of that class, berated me about it non-stop, thought it was the biggest waste of money ever. That was probably where she began her tradition of throwing a fit whenever I told her what classes I was taking (and later, what job/intership interviews I was going to). I guess she had a point: that class probably never gave me any useful job skills; but it really helped teach me to think, to write, to engage in ideas. I'm not sure I'd have dragged myself out on a Thursday night (much less dragged out my friend, after dinner) if I didn't appreciate what an amazing playwright he is and what that's worth. But I do, and almost fourteen years later, I'm benefiting from it.

What else about the play? It even managed to get in a Che allusion without mentioning Che. Which is especially impressive since it's a play about communism and its symbolism vs. its reality. And I don't remember the exact line, but at one point, Max talked about the absurdity of catalogs from which you could order hammer-and-sickle socks. Che t-shirt, anyone?

Finally, watch last night's Daily Show in it's entirety-- it's worth it.