Hollywood bets on America's lack of critical reasoning... again
Our public education system does not teach healthy skepticism. And that is what allows activist entertainers to sell politics as "art."
There was a survey, years back, that I heard about. (Apparently my google kung-fu is not strong enough to find it online, so take this evidence as annecdotal, not scientific.)
In this survey, pollsters asked America's teenagers about daytime talk shows. Specifically Jerry Springer.
Q:Do you watch Springer?
A:Oh, yeah. All the time.
Q: Does Jerry ever have "troubled teens" on his program?
A: Oh yeah! All the time! It seems like every other show is about "out of control" kids.
Q: Do think those shows accurately portray your experiences?
A: Oh, no! That stuff is obviously fake! No teen on that show looks or acts like me or any of my friends!
Q: Does Jerry ever have KKK members as guests?
A: Oh, yeah! All the time.
Q: Do you think those interviews are accurate?
A: Well, I guess those shows seem real, so those are probably real.
Thus demonstrating how a majority of teens fail to take evidence of "obvious fakery" when it comes to topics they have personal experience with, and apply that same skepticism to topics with which they have little to no experience.
All of this is a long way of introducing the highly skeptical review of FX's new series, "Over There" by Faces From The Front.
"Over There" may still turn out to be a hit, despite terrible accuracy problems and an obvious political agenda easily spotted by veterans. Case in point: I've never been a firefighter, but I'm a huge fan of the successful FX series, "Rescue Me." Here's to the hope Americans won't consider either one a documentary.
There was a survey, years back, that I heard about. (Apparently my google kung-fu is not strong enough to find it online, so take this evidence as annecdotal, not scientific.)
In this survey, pollsters asked America's teenagers about daytime talk shows. Specifically Jerry Springer.
Q:Do you watch Springer?
A:Oh, yeah. All the time.
Q: Does Jerry ever have "troubled teens" on his program?
A: Oh yeah! All the time! It seems like every other show is about "out of control" kids.
Q: Do think those shows accurately portray your experiences?
A: Oh, no! That stuff is obviously fake! No teen on that show looks or acts like me or any of my friends!
Q: Does Jerry ever have KKK members as guests?
A: Oh, yeah! All the time.
Q: Do you think those interviews are accurate?
A: Well, I guess those shows seem real, so those are probably real.
Thus demonstrating how a majority of teens fail to take evidence of "obvious fakery" when it comes to topics they have personal experience with, and apply that same skepticism to topics with which they have little to no experience.
All of this is a long way of introducing the highly skeptical review of FX's new series, "Over There" by Faces From The Front.
FX's new drama OVER THERE about an Army unit in Iraq is well produced and visually arresting but takes a sharp left turn from reality.
After watching the Pilot episode of 'Over There,' I conclude that the only thing they got right were the uniforms which, right down to the black socks used to cover goggles, were spot on.
Unfortunately, the costume designer is the only person who seems to have actually studied the war, pictures of the war or video of the war.As someone who has been over there it was easy to see that if Steven Bochco hired a military consultant, he didn't pay attention to him or, if they did listen to him, that consultant should be fired.
"Over There" may still turn out to be a hit, despite terrible accuracy problems and an obvious political agenda easily spotted by veterans. Case in point: I've never been a firefighter, but I'm a huge fan of the successful FX series, "Rescue Me." Here's to the hope Americans won't consider either one a documentary.