Quote:
Originally posted by Sidd Finch
I would suggest that negative reactions to a cultural artifact tend to be similar in force to the positive reactions to that same artifact. So, your husband, or Sebby, or whomever doesn't particularly like the show. Would they rant and rave about it, if the show were getting only a lukewarm response from the general, and especially female, public? Doubtful. But the show gets held up as some icon of insight, brilliance, womanhood (yes, I'm exagerrating here), and the reaction to that grows from "I don't really like the show" to the furor of spitting bile that Mr. Bill apparently descended into on a weekly basis.
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Nah -- it's more of an eye-rolling when he would see me watching it, along with a snide comment about how dumb the show was. It wasn't dumb. It was reflective of a demographic that a lot of women could relate to. It obviously struck a chord with many women, and I attribute that chord-striking to the relative "reality" that their conversations reflected. (In the wrap-up show, the writers revealed that many of the plot lines and silly happenings were based upon real-life events that had happened to the writers themselves or their friends -- for example, being broken-up with on a post-it.)
So again, I don't know why the visceral reaction to it -- because "it's dumb" doesn't seem like enough of a reason to get apoplectic about its success. Why get so angry about reflecting genuine (albeit "Hollywood-ized") conversations (however banal -- newsflash -- when chicks get together, they often talk about pedestrian subjects in between the regular deep thoughts and discussions about literature and philosophy) among a group of women friends? It just doesn't add up.
