Replies

A little sense of humor goes a long way, I think. You can still like Dubya and find some ribbing funny - the Cady Huffman 'love scene' where Larry loses the loving feeling because she has a particularly starry eyed picture of President Bush in her dressing room is very funny, whether we are GOPers, Dems, or not.

There are plenty of themes I don't care for that creep into all sorts of dramas and comedies - adultery, drug use, alcoholism, promiscuity, etc. That's not to say that those things can't be funny in the right context. When something crosses the line (entirely a judgment call that I make unilaterally), I get alienated, though never angry.

A good example is 'Pleasantville,' which is a terrible psychological bloodletting for its creators. Adultery adds 'color' to a housewife's life. A heavy handed and clumsy methaphor for segregation. Etc. I turned off the film after 40 minutes - it was AWFUL entirely on its own merits. The themes were handle terribly.

Another example are some Cheech & Chong films, which while certainly crude do get a lot of laughs and mileage by making fun of drug and alcohol abuse, larceny, etc. They don't particularly offend me, but that's not to say I endorse any of that behavior.

So I know what you mean, though - as the ribbing becomes increasingly condescending it becomes alienating. When the themes explored become pervasive and obnoxious, it is alienating too. The creative types who have pushed that far are people I normally didn't support anyway.

So just cut some slack - life is a lot easier that way, I find.