I'd actually argue that the 2016 Trump campaign was powered by an overwhelmingly positive energy. There was a joyous, humorous creativity to the meme culture - Pepe wasn't angry, he was mostly laughing; the atmosphere at his rallies was like a festival; the focus, MAGA, was certainly experienced by every supporter as a very positive message; and while his opponents perceived his treatment of them as angry attacks, his supporters found a great deal of cathartic release at his relentless irreverence to the norms expected within the professional political class
Trump's rallies were upbeat and a full on carnival atmosphere. This was true for the Penguin as well. ("Hizzoner the Penguin" Season 2 Episode 17.) The Penguin's rallies were full of entertainment including beautiful dancing girls. Batman gave boring speeches with few atendees.
But when it came to debates, Trump was all in with the name calling. He hurled the kind of mud that most candidate would have proxies sling. Behold the debate between Penguin and Batman:
So much of the culture today is totally lacking in aspiration. As you point out, the old sitcoms, we are told, were ‘lies’, but they represented something. More consequentially, the constant and corrosive refrain is to point to ‘reality’ as a way to wholly discredit anything like vision, idealism and principle. Thus America’s founding documents have to be dismantled, all men are created equal dismissed, because of the ‘reality’ that Jefferson owned slaves. This line of attack, using unpleasant truths to actively undermine a citizenry’s sense of itself, is ultimately nihilistic and purely destructive. And it is attack we’re seeing from the woke elite, not simply legitimate criticism. We always knew Jefferson owned slaves, but now he has to be ‘cancelled’. It’s a deliberate campaign of demoralization. I wish you the best fighting it.
You can fight too. See to it that today's youth get their recommended allowance of Beverly Hillbillies and Gilligan's Island. Once upon a time, reruns of these classics were hard to avoid. Alas, no longer.
Not as complete as Tuttle Twins -- some follow-through conversions are in order -- but vastly more entertaining.
I'd actually argue that the 2016 Trump campaign was powered by an overwhelmingly positive energy. There was a joyous, humorous creativity to the meme culture - Pepe wasn't angry, he was mostly laughing; the atmosphere at his rallies was like a festival; the focus, MAGA, was certainly experienced by every supporter as a very positive message; and while his opponents perceived his treatment of them as angry attacks, his supporters found a great deal of cathartic release at his relentless irreverence to the norms expected within the professional political class
Trump's rallies were upbeat and a full on carnival atmosphere. This was true for the Penguin as well. ("Hizzoner the Penguin" Season 2 Episode 17.) The Penguin's rallies were full of entertainment including beautiful dancing girls. Batman gave boring speeches with few atendees.
But when it came to debates, Trump was all in with the name calling. He hurled the kind of mud that most candidate would have proxies sling. Behold the debate between Penguin and Batman:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFJaoGHz5p4
It was at his inauguration speech where Trump was as gloomy as Carter.
So much of the culture today is totally lacking in aspiration. As you point out, the old sitcoms, we are told, were ‘lies’, but they represented something. More consequentially, the constant and corrosive refrain is to point to ‘reality’ as a way to wholly discredit anything like vision, idealism and principle. Thus America’s founding documents have to be dismantled, all men are created equal dismissed, because of the ‘reality’ that Jefferson owned slaves. This line of attack, using unpleasant truths to actively undermine a citizenry’s sense of itself, is ultimately nihilistic and purely destructive. And it is attack we’re seeing from the woke elite, not simply legitimate criticism. We always knew Jefferson owned slaves, but now he has to be ‘cancelled’. It’s a deliberate campaign of demoralization. I wish you the best fighting it.
You can fight too. See to it that today's youth get their recommended allowance of Beverly Hillbillies and Gilligan's Island. Once upon a time, reruns of these classics were hard to avoid. Alas, no longer.
Not as complete as Tuttle Twins -- some follow-through conversions are in order -- but vastly more entertaining.
I am cheerful by nature. So should alt-media be. Silly but fierce. Sage advice.