Questions Only VII: Answer In Your Pants

[RJDiogenes]

This is great news! I can't wait to be a frequent visitor to your new blog

Thank you. Hopefully sometime this month.

It's kind of funny how killing people is, on rare occasion, as sad necessity, and yet here we are, each week watching episodic television where this sad rarity happens all the time

Murder and mayhem are entertaining.

So if I told you that during a round of golf with the General, on the 6th fairway let's say, he hit a bad shot which I criticized, setting him off in a rage where it was either me or him, and somehow I got the better of him, you'd be very understanding. Actually, come to think of it, you wouldn't believe that could vanquish him for a second

I'd be pretty impressed.

Well, that would be awful. Unless the guy really, really deserved it But even then, I'd have to see a priest to receive obsolution, and a psychiatrist to deal with the tremendous pain and guilt.

No police, though.

Even if you killed someone in self-defense, would you be able to live with it very easily?

Probably not. Killing somebody would be a pretty miserable thing to have to do.

Suppose you had to kill an alien visitor in self defense-- would you report it or just try to cover it up?

[scottydog]

Killing an alien visitor would be very bad, mostly because who know what their alien punishment is for killing. I don't think I'm capable of covering anything up. My wife says I'm a very bad liar And she's right. I'd have to come clean about the killing, and hopefully I did it in self-defense so that the punishment wouldn't be too bad.

One of the worst things that could happen is accidentally killing a pedestrian while I'm driving a car. Even if it wasn't my fault, I'd be haunted forever. Would you feel worse killing a small child by accident than you would an adult?

[RJDiogenes]

Killing an alien visitor would be very bad, mostly because who know what their alien punishment is for killing. I don't think I'm capable of covering anything up. My wife says I'm a very bad liar And she's right. I'd have to come clean about the killing, and hopefully I did it in self-defense so that the punishment wouldn't be too bad.

It would be funny if First Contact came about because the aliens needed to extradite you for a murder trial.

One of the worst things that could happen is accidentally killing a pedestrian while I'm driving a car. Even if it wasn't my fault, I'd be haunted forever. Would you feel worse killing a small child by accident than you would an adult?

Very much worse. If it was an adult, I could at least console myself that he was probably a jerk.

What do you think would happen if advanced aliens announced themselves and it turned out that they are authoritarian, racist, sexist, and religious, but sweet and loving toward other planets?

[scottydog]

It would be funny if First Contact came about because the aliens needed to extradite you for a murder trial.

I shudder to think what their punishment would be Unless it's something so alien, so bizarre, like "You are condemned to having sex with one thousand beautiful women."

What do you think would happen if advanced aliens announced themselves and it turned out that they are authoritarian, racist, sexist, and religious, but sweet and loving toward other planets?

But why would they pick on poor old Earth?

I still maintain that interstellar space-faring races must be morally and ethically advanced to have not self-destructed before developing interstellar capability. Humans have a long way to go in this regard.

What's your favorite Meryl Streep movie and why?

[RJDiogenes]

I shudder to think what their punishment would be Unless it's something so alien, so bizarre, like "You are condemned to having sex with one thousand beautiful women."

That would be pretty bad, because somewhere around 137 you'd come to hate both sex and women, and then you'd die.

But why would they pick on poor old Earth?

I didn't say they invaded, just that they made contact.

I still maintain that interstellar space-faring races must be morally and ethically advanced to have not self-destructed before developing interstellar capability. Humans have a long way to go in this regard.

You'll love the Orville finale.

What's your favorite Meryl Streep movie and why?

The River Wild, because it's the only one I've ever seen. What's yours?

[scottydog]

That would be pretty bad, because somewhere around 137 you'd come to hate both sex and women, and then you'd die.

Plus, around 137 my penis would fall off

The River Wild, because it's the only one I've ever seen. What's yours?

Oh my, you're missing out! She's the greatest actress of our generation, IMHO. Not sure which is my favorite -- I asked the question because The Wife and I watched her in 2008's Momma Mia. Not her best movie, but she shines as always. She was amazing in Sophie's Choice, one of her early movies.

What about Tom Hanks? Please tell me you've seen more than one Hanks film.

[RJDiogenes]

Oh my, you're missing out! She's the greatest actress of our generation, IMHO. Not sure which is my favorite -- I asked the question because The Wife and I watched her in 2008's Momma Mia. Not her best movie, but she shines as always. She was amazing in Sophie's Choice, one of her early movies.

She generally doesn't do the type of movies that interest me.

What about Tom Hanks? Please tell me you've seen more than one Hanks film.

I've been a Tom Hanks fan since his Bosom Buddies days. That's one of my all-time favorite shows. I've seen him in Splash and Forrest Gump and a handful of other things. But, again, he mostly moved on to stuff that doesn't interest me.

Did you ever watch Bosom Buddies?

[scottydog]

Strangely... no Not even one episode. I wonder if it holds up today?

Would you binge watch Bosom Buddies if it were available?

[RJDiogenes]

Strangely... no Not even one episode. I wonder if it holds up today?

Everything holds up today.

Would you binge watch Bosom Buddies if it were available?

I have the complete series on DVD. If you ever decide to watch it, just remember that the pilot episode comes across as a pretty standard sitcom, but it takes off starting with the second episode. I assume that's because Hanks and Scolari threw themselves into it and influenced the writing.

Is there any TV show that you loved in your childhood that you think didn't hold up?

[scottydog]

Now that you mention it.... no. I agree that everything holds up, as long as you take into account the historic and cultural context in which the TV series was made. Obviously some things are dated. But that's perfectly okay.

What do we do about old movies or TV shows that show material that wasn't offensive at the time but is offensive now. An example is old movies that show people made up in Blackface or as minstrels. Do we still show those movies if they are hurtful to some of the audience?

[RJDiogenes]

Now that you mention it.... no. I agree that everything holds up, as long as you take into account the historic and cultural context in which the TV series was made. Obviously some things are dated. But that's perfectly okay.

Everything is a product of its time, but people still read The Epic of Gilgamesh and perform Shakespeare. After it's been around a while, entertainment ages into culture, like grapes ferment into wine.

What do we do about old movies or TV shows that show material that wasn't offensive at the time but is offensive now. An example is old movies that show people made up in Blackface or as minstrels. Do we still show those movies if they are hurtful to some of the audience?

Sure, why not? There's no reason for people to consider them hurtful. Unfortunately it's very profitable for influencers to perpetuate and exacerbate conflict.

Do you think that digital media will change how culture evolves going forward?

[scottydog]

Do you think that digital media will change how culture evolves going forward?

It could indeed. I've heard historians lament that since the 1990s when email and internet changed communication, precious few people actually write handwritten letters to each other. Presidents, for example, left behind physical artifacts of their communications which could be studied, analyzed, and learned from.

Not anymore. This could mean we're less likely to learn from history.

How else does the digital world change culture's evolution?

[RJDiogenes]

Not anymore. This could mean we're less likely to learn from history.

On the other hand, tons of stuff is now archived on the Internet and in private hands. And to a level of detail unprecedented in history.

How else does the digital world change culture's evolution?

In the past, cultural memory was mostly short. If a book went out of print, it was in danger of being lost-- and many have been. Many movies and TV episodes have been lost, as well as music. Before the era of recording instruments, music only existed as live performances. Much artwork has been lost or misplaced. Much culture has been lost because of war and other conflicts, but also just by replaced by something new and then forgotten. But now culture is archived and readily available. For example, a hundred years ago, kids would have little opportunity to experience their grandparents' music-- now we have satellite radio stations that play music going back decades. The Arts have much more staying power, I think.

What do you think will be most remembered of 20th century culture in centuries to come?

[scottydog]

I'd have to say major efforts toward achieving gender and racial equality. The beginning of the 20th century saw women as basically the property of men, with no voting rights or ability to doing almost anything on their own. They came a long way, baby. Racial equality, too, saw obvious amazing progress.

Men's roles also witnessed dramatic change, with men being allowed to be more feminine and to do things like be stay-at-home dads.

What are your thoughts?

[RJDiogenes]

I'd have to say major efforts toward achieving gender and racial equality. The beginning of the 20th century saw women as basically the property of men, with no voting rights or ability to doing almost anything on their own. They came a long way, baby. Racial equality, too, saw obvious amazing progress.

I was thinking more about the Arts, but, yes, the 20th century was definitely the American Century. The decline in the infant mortality rate led to a somewhat successful women's rights movement in the 20s, and then the invention of reliable birth control led to the ultimate success of the movement in the 60s. Ironically, it was probably the World Wars (and the Southeast Asian wars) that led to the success of the Civil Rights movement. In any case, the country and the world changed more in about a decade than it had ever changed before in history.

Men's roles also witnessed dramatic change, with men being allowed to be more feminine

I'm so grateful for this.

What are your thoughts?

I agree that the 20th Century will be remembered as the century that everything changed. They say that the past is a foreign country, but the past prior to the 1900s is an alien planet.

So as far as the Arts go, what do you think will survive from the 20th century, in the same way that Shakespeare, Bach, and van Gogh, et al, have survived?