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| Rob's Soapbox | ||
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Congratulations!
You have finally landed on the one page on this entire site (and on the entire internet for that matter) that is purely without bullshit... my soapbox page. There are a lot of times during our show that, whether it's because of time constraints and other obligations, I don't always get to address some issues that I feel don't get the attention they deserve. There are even more times when I just don't feel like waiting until the show the next day to get some things off my chest. Thus, I have started the "Rob's Soapbox" page. If you have clicked on this page looking for someone to coddle your fragile sense of self-esteem, or tell you what you want to hear or to reinforce your outdated world view, then exit this page right now and go somewhere else. If you are in search of the last forum for reason and common sense left in the world, then sit back, relax, and enjoy. I make only one promise with this soapbox page... if you read long enough and often enough, you will eventually be offended. So here's my latest soapbox. Listen up, 'cause you just might learn something... |
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November 22, 2004 OUR KIDS ARE GETTING DUMBER All it took was 54 minutes of the new Sponge bob Square pants movie (that’s when I walked out) to convince me that my long standing suspicion is true: American kids are getting dumber. A few caveats before continuing; *I’m not talking about “little” kids, like say, 7 and under. Those aged kids are supposed to be mental midgets and have (and always will) laughed at everything. I’m not being a typical adult here. Generation after generation has not accused kids of getting dumber. Most of us do feel out of touch with teenage trends as we get older. Most of us, as we age, feel that kids take unnecessary risks and push the envelops more than “we” did. Those are normal, adult thoughts about the generations that follow them. Accusing kids of being dumb, however, is not. That, by the way, doesn’t make it any less true. *I’m not speaking from ignorance. Many of you like to think that the only reason I have no interest in children is because I don’t spend time with them. Sorry, not true. Almost all of my opinions about kids come from hands on experience, many of them pleasant. The simple fact is that I don’t have that unbridled affinity for children that most of you do. You really need to accept the fact that just because someone doesn’t feel the way you do doesn’t mean that they don’t have the same experiences as you. I simply don’t fall down all silly over myself when a child enters the room. Some kids are great, many are rats. Deal with it. The "Spongebob Squarepants" movie confirms that kids have at least lost their ability to identify what is funny, but I think it would be a mistake to stop there. Humor is one of the most intelligent facets of the human mind. Whether it’s slapstick or highbrow, it takes a high level of intelligence to write, produce, execute and appreciate humor. The only exception to that rule is simple, predictable humor; the kind that a 10-year-old balloon holding drool machine could write; the kind found in "Spongebob." The humor that does exist in this move is crude if anything. Spongebob getting “drunk and hung over” on ice cream sundaes is hardly thought provoking. Bubbles being blown everywhere with random outbursts of singing is just simple. A fire underwater? That’s just ignorant. A child over 7 that is still watching Sponge bob is stunting his own mental growth. It saddens me that I saw so many 10 year olds at the theater this weekend. And they were laughing. Idiots. Just to prove myself right, I rushed home after watching Sponge Bob and put in my Bugs Bunny DVD confirming what I had already known to be true; the classics still rule. Nowhere can you find more biting, intelligent, thought provoking comedy than Bugs Bunny. I watched the Flintstones and saw brilliant comedy with great real-life overtones attached to them. Today’s cartoons and kids shows are not about writing, comedy and intelligence, they are about the same thing this dopey society is becoming more about; feelings. All of today’s cartoons focus on the message, not the messages. Spongebob’s movie is all about empowering kids to believe in themselves and not sell themselves short. Great, we’re raising a bunch of falsely self-confident, unfunny dweebs who sing all the time. Sounds like I’m living in a Keebler village. Oh, by the way, if you want to see pictures of me, Arnie and Dawn at this monstrosity of a movie, click here.
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