Last night I watched the TNSFKAMST (Thursday Night Shows Formerly Known as Must-See TV). To be honest I'd forgotten it was Green Is Universal week; I was just indulging in a little sitcom sitdown. But there was no escaping the green message, and it was ... what's the word? ... artificial and painful and forced.
Three of the four shows -- My Name Is Earl, 30 Rock, and Scrubs -- took the over-the-topness over the top, having fun at their bosses' expense and doing the movement no favors. Earl was forced to wedge a green message into a school program about prison. David Schwimmer showed up on 30 Rock as an obnoxious, rigid, predictably narrow-minded green superhero who was a hit with the Today show crowd (and yes, that made me wince); Al Gore swooped in to add substance to his message, but promptly disappeared to save the whales. On Scrubs, Janitor turned his life into an eco-crusade, complete with Scout-style badges, only to learn that it's daunting and overwhelming and people don't really listen. Only The Office took a different route, with a bizarre -- but refreshing, given its context -- tale about finding oneself in the woods.
Throughout the evening, NBC aired mock PSAs featuring stars of the shows giving useless advice about going green. Seizure-inducing "tips" flashed at the bottom of the screen during the shows as well, and earnest ads from corporate giants touted various levels of eco-cred.
What were we to make of it all? At the end of night, I just felt depressed. All this attention on green issues is amazing, it really is -- when you see a Wal-Mart ad in prime time with a woman talking up a CFL bulb, you know things have changed. But is the messaging nothing more than the same old "greens are self-righteous prigs" shtick? Is the backlash against the popularity of green just a reversion to the pre-popularity mindset? I thought the conversation was changing. Now I'm not so sure.
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Comments
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Erik Hoffner Posted 7:12 am
09 Nov 2007
What was more depressing was the Envi Media Awards the other night. Should've been called the Envi Entertainment Awards. It was so empty, it was like looking at Access Hollywood Goes Green or something.
Erik
The Orion Grassroots Network: 1,100+ grassroots groups working for conservation & more
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Delay And Deny Posted 7:19 am
09 Nov 2007
To bad all this Green Movement didn't happen during the early 1970s (oh, wait a minute...it did), then Normal Lear could have written it into the script as the episode where the Meathead comes rushing home from a rally at NYU banning high carbon emitting Bunsen burners in the Chem Lab. Gloria would chirp that she just bought a hemp micro-skirt.
Archie would come home, and ask "Where's my New York Post, you dum Pollack you?"
Meathead would say, "Arch...do you know how much CO2 is emitted just to print a newspaper so you can read the sports page?"
At that point Edith would come from the kitchen. "Why are you two always fighting about Global Warming?"
"Edith, stifle yourself. And as far as warming, my beer, that's what my beer is, so get back into the kitchen and get me a cold one."
Meathead, "Arch, that's why temperatures are rising every year, because hot heads like you keep making things warmer!"
http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/54/039_12682 ...
John Bailo
Sutext:
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Pangolin Posted 8:31 am
09 Nov 2007
Then they fired the Green guy for telling the truth. Total realism.
You mean it wasn't?
Put the Carbon Back
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SpaceSuzy Posted 10:01 pm
13 Nov 2007
I'd love if it all stays, but after a year or so, the media and general population will become bored with it and move onto something new.
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