The interest in "Wagon Train" is not in revisiting my childhood but rather in observing the benignity of the show since it was an adult show which was popular for years. While the vibe is deliberately twisted in positive ways, the result was harmless in something which is really a series of morality plays.
The high interest is from the contrast to shows now which get ratcheted up to the level necessary to combat the unseen menace which is all around.
Today's Rockhouse Hare-Brained Theory is there's a whole lot of behavior control coming out of television with the Fifties / Sixties often giving us shows which were artificially-sweetened but were nevertheless harmless which made for a generally calm vibe. Current television generates a high level of agitation either from high-tension cop shows and things of that nature to the yap shows in which the barkers absolutely never stop talking. It's relentless and immediately agitating.
Ed: so this is Conspiracy Theory Day?
Nope since I don't know why such trends exist but we can see them. "Wagon Train" wasn't unique and there were shows my mother called 'slug and slay' but I don't think they were as pervasive as now. It may not be some King Monkey is throwing the bananas but rather we may do it to ourselves. TV is a reactive medium and the content will be driven by whatever vibe is coming to the writers. Right now that vibe looks shitty and paranoid whereas back then it did not so it seems that has to be asking why should it be different.
I suspect the problem is much more likely that we inflict this on ourselves. After twenty years of continuously violent and horrible shit for news, that's got to have an effect on the writers. They're got two choices of trying to mitigate it in some way or rolling with it and thus expanding the agitation.
Ed: people are more sophisticated now.
Rubbish as the "Wagon Train" generation came through WWII. The difference for the Now is any kid younger than twenty has never seen anything but war. It's not sophistication when they don't know anything else; it's traumatization.
The material they write is going to reflect that and it will be interesting to see how that manifests. Some of them have in their heads already The Story They Must Write. What do you suppose that might be.
The high interest is from the contrast to shows now which get ratcheted up to the level necessary to combat the unseen menace which is all around.
Today's Rockhouse Hare-Brained Theory is there's a whole lot of behavior control coming out of television with the Fifties / Sixties often giving us shows which were artificially-sweetened but were nevertheless harmless which made for a generally calm vibe. Current television generates a high level of agitation either from high-tension cop shows and things of that nature to the yap shows in which the barkers absolutely never stop talking. It's relentless and immediately agitating.
Ed: so this is Conspiracy Theory Day?
Nope since I don't know why such trends exist but we can see them. "Wagon Train" wasn't unique and there were shows my mother called 'slug and slay' but I don't think they were as pervasive as now. It may not be some King Monkey is throwing the bananas but rather we may do it to ourselves. TV is a reactive medium and the content will be driven by whatever vibe is coming to the writers. Right now that vibe looks shitty and paranoid whereas back then it did not so it seems that has to be asking why should it be different.
I suspect the problem is much more likely that we inflict this on ourselves. After twenty years of continuously violent and horrible shit for news, that's got to have an effect on the writers. They're got two choices of trying to mitigate it in some way or rolling with it and thus expanding the agitation.
Ed: people are more sophisticated now.
Rubbish as the "Wagon Train" generation came through WWII. The difference for the Now is any kid younger than twenty has never seen anything but war. It's not sophistication when they don't know anything else; it's traumatization.
The material they write is going to reflect that and it will be interesting to see how that manifests. Some of them have in their heads already The Story They Must Write. What do you suppose that might be.
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