Monday, November 10, 2008

Speak up about dumbing down




The great thing for TV, is to get people who will embarrass themselves for the entertainment of others, whether it be marriages that are on the rocks discussed in a public forum; sad 'z' list ex-performers who get into reality show in an attempt to revitalize their careers; nice old codgers who really can't cut the mustard in ballroom dancing; performers who get it spectacularly wrong, or a performance that is simply edited to show the worst bits ~ all in the name of entertainment. Paying a class act would be far too expensive! I guess this is what is meant by dumbing down. Even experienced broadcasters can sink to the level of leaving messages, in bad taste, on an elderly actor's answering machine and we all saw where that led!

It must be a sign of getting mature when one harks back to days when entertainers were skillful, fun, but not always 'novel'. How I still enjoy a classical piece of jazz or a routine by Victor Borge (Who? you ask; it's an age thing. C'est la vie)

1 comment:

Brian Sibley said...

Brilliant! What a wonderful gift to make us laugh at such innocent fun. And hats off to Marilyn Mulvey for coping with the comic of absurdities of 'The Great Dane'!