kids are always smarter than we think they understand the machination behind all this stuff, they understand the nature of power and how it’s used and abused.Īnd it’s strange dealing with kids. now, I might be some old bastard crying about how the old days were better and smarter, but loony tunes did offer a more complex view of the world, didn’t it? or alice in wonderland in which everything is not so simple, not so black and white, and the protagonist is a smart girl who, despite getting caught up in some silly shit, at a certain point, won’t take any more crap. they offer a manichean view of the world with little or no shading in which all people are good or bad. This kind of shit, the natural assumption of a 'nemesis', comes out of the strange fascist mythos of these shows. So my friend julian told me a story about his nephew who consumes all this shit like I consume glenfiddich and one day the kid looks over at julian and says “bill (his stepdad) is my nemesis. it felt and looked like bosnia circa 1998: crying babies and people in rags and bombed out huts, etc… the episode i saw had the main group of good guys, led by avatar, trying to help refugees who were kicked out of their village by a marauding warlord. and here’s the thing: on the surface it’s really good: visually sophisticated, emotionally complex, well crafted. The one that left the deepest impression was their favorite animated show avatar: the last airbender. now there’s watered down versions of the pop culture trinity but I saw something else that freaked me the fuck out. I’ve been taking care of these two kids - the boy is 9 and the girl is 12 - and have had to sit down and watch kid t.v. phil and the final few minutes of most reality shows. the second is all that obligatory sex shit and covers just about all cop procedural shows, law and order svu, csi, etc… and the third is best seen on daytime television, oprah, dr. The first requires no explanation: taking delight in the misfortune of others is the bread and butter of talk shows, reality t.v., most sitcoms, and hour long dramas. the second is all that obligatory sex shit and covers just about all cop procedural shows, law and o i have this theory about television (well, really all pop culture, but let’s stick with t.v.) – that it can, in its entirety, be reduced to three things, my holy trinity of pop culture: I have this theory about television (well, really all pop culture, but let’s stick with t.v.) – that it can, in its entirety, be reduced to three things, my holy trinity of pop culture: 1) schadenfreude 2) panty-sniffing 3) happy tears the first requires no explanation: taking delight in the misfortune of others is the bread and butter of talk shows, reality t.v., most sitcoms, and hour long dramas.

Watch avatar the last airbender book 3 ep 13