The Boomer Mindset: Comedy Gold That Keeps On Giving

One thing you can say about Boomers--a term I use to describe not only that unmistakable combination of pretention, self-absorption, lame counter-culturalism and bad music found in the Worst Generation but also their sad, younger acolytes--they are the gift that keeps on giving. Just when you think their obvious and threadbare approach to life and the arts can't possibly inspire anyone else to mouth the next cliche, it comes.

The latest example is from Robert Redford's unintentionally hilarious "anti-war" film "Lions For Lambs". Ross Douthat, reviewing the firm for National Review, informs us:

[Meryl] Streep’s reporter confines herself to lecturing [Tom Cruise's hawkish Republican senator] about how you can’t “kill people to help people,” and explaining that this is just Vietnam all over again. “Equivocation is defeat!” he brays; she asks him if he’s ever heard of The Who, and adds, in case we aren’t clear on the point, “Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.” (I’m not kidding: She really says this.) It’s like watching Sean Hannity debate Jane Fonda after they both spent the whole day together sniffing glue.

You just can't make this stuff up. The cliched understanding of the world, the deification of the reporter, the evil, Republican senator, citing the wisdom of Rock "lyrics"...it's all there.

Is there no one in the arts world, no one at all, who tires of this tripe? Who can provide us with an alternative?

A Helpful Note for our East Coast Readers

Now that the Ducks are ranked number two in the nation, we'd like to take this opportunity to remind our East Coast friends--once again--the the correct pronunciation of the great state of Oregon is like this:

Or-a-gun

and NOT

Or-a-gone

As in, "At the end of the season, Or-A-Gun reminded East Coast and Midwest football fans how consistently over-rated SEC and Big-12 teams are."