Tag: television

Ruddy Glory: The Resonance of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

Was May demonstrating, knowingly or not, that even the isolated and disparaged—on the very nose of their ridicule—could be pointing the way brightly ahead through a dark and foggy future? Assuming that he was well aware of the increasing indignities and sufferings endured by his much-maligned people in the wider world, I can only think so.

The Power of Place: Northern Exposure and South Side

Places shape us and provide the contours of our communities. And despite the grittier dramas, the grip that a place has on us is not always all about past crimes and complicated emotions. Sometimes even a place we can’t seem to “escape” can be a source of pleasure or comfort in some ways.

The Power of Place: Huckberry’s Dirt

Huckberry’s success speaks to a desire for adventure and relationship with the land within the American public. People want to go backpacking and hiking and ride their motorcycles across the vast expanses of these United States, or at least they think they do.

Ted Lasso and the Temptation of “Aww, Shucks” Idealism

Is there an alternative to the Ted Lasso cynicism-versus-optimism dichotomy, an alternative that recognizes human limitations but nonetheless offers hope? I might start with becoming attentive enough to our ignorance, and expectant enough of our own mistakes that we not overshoot the scale of what we’re trying to do.

The Social Network Fantasy

In today’s Los Angeles Times, Neil Gabler has an insightful piece on the way in which the “gang of friends” has become the dominant social group on American television.

Not a “Modern Family” At All

Claremont, CA. ABC’s hit series “Modern Family” has returned to the air for its second season. It’s the “modern” elements of the “Modern Family” that...

Lessons from the Jersey Shore

Jersey Shore teaches us something about the tragic dimensions of the culture in which we live, and in which we raise young people.

Big Secrets

  Claremont, CA. Yesterday I was walking past the post office in my latte-liberal, bohemian-bourgeois town, when I saw a picture of President Obama made...

Turn On, Tune In, Watch TV

  Claremont, CA. I am not ashamed to admit it: I like television. I think television is important. I think television is worth watching.  Oh, I...

Why we do not own a Television

April was "Media Awareness Month" at our sons' school. I took a couple weeks off from the Porch, and I also published a...