September 18th, 2006
Term Limits
Rather than searching the Internet, I want to know what the phrases "so over" and prefix "post-" mean in the context of media criticism? Also, how could one possibly use these phrases in any sort of critical writing without getting stabbed in the face?
Keith Phipps weighs in:
Well, let's get to the second part of the question first: You don't know where we live, and I question your knifing skills.
Now to the first part: I don't think you've ever seen the term "so over" in these pages. My take on it as that it's tied to a way of looking at culture in terms of cycles and expiration dates rather than in terms of quality. It's not, we hope, what we try to do here.
However, it admittedly has some legitimacy as a kind of realpolitick way of looking at pop culture. If a band, for instance, waits too long between albums, it can miss its moment and be perceived as irrelevant. (Hello, Cornershop.) If a film fails at the box office, it can be seen as having little to offer, no matter how high its quality. (Hi there, Down In The Valley.) That type of commentary has its place, and we tend to follow it here, sometimes against our best judgment. (I've got Jeffrey Wells' website bookmarked.) But it's hard to see how the slow encroachment of sales and box-office totals into the critical assessment of art will benefit that art in the long run, except to ensure to confuse quality with marketability.
As for "post-", it's a perfectly fine prefix that's just gotten overused. Although anyone who uses terms like "post-Britney" might deserve some kind of punishment, if not quite a knife to the face.
Stumped!
After correctly identifying a mysterious TV show as Misfits Of Science last week, we were flooded with other hazy memories of forgotten shows and movies. Here are a few. Write in if you can identify them:
I have a couple vivid memories of cheesy, probably made-for-TV movies from the '80s, and I can't for the life of me figure out what they're from:
The first was about a group of kids who are able to talk to each other through blinking their eyes. No super powers or anything, they've just all memorized Morse code or something and can communicate this way. They somehow get mixed up in some sinister plot involving adults (possibly the CIA or something like that). A couple of scenes I remember apart from the blinking include a mix-up between a chocolate-candy hand grenade and a real grenade, and a kid sitting poolside and ordering a beer, then being brought a root beer.
The second one is even more obscure and less clear. All I remember is (possibly) the beginning, where a jet airplane either accidentally or purposefully drops some type of bomb/payload into a warehouse. It doesn't explode—instead, there is a black, gooey substance in the bomb, and it is close to dripping out and causing some type of disaster. A kid is brought in who has some special mental powers, and just as the black liquid is about to drip, the kid is able to mentally return the goo to the bomb and save the day.
Spencer
I've had these two TV shows that I cannot place bouncing around my head from my childhood, and you've gone and volunteered to find them for me. Sweet. Here goes:
1. This was a sci-fi-type Saturday-morning, live-action show from the early '80s, I reckon, with a team exploring the countryside and doing good. The most prominent element is they drove a white RV, laden with antenna and all sorts of other cool stuff to make it look like it came from the future. I'm sure they also wore white suits, probably tight-fitting in an early-'80s sort of way. I'm also sure the show was bad, but can't remember anything else.
2. This primetime, mid-'80s show was called Phoenix Rising or some such nonsense, and featured this guy (you'd recognize him if you saw him) as some sort of mystic traveling the countryside helping people. But he could call the spirits of his ancestors or some such nonsense, and I seem to also remember there were lots of moments with glowing things he used when needing help from beyond. Or some such nonsense.
Dave
Orange County
So there you have it. Next week, more questions and more answers. But you need to help us out. Send your questions to asktheavclub@theonion.com.
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