1) the NY Times article on Lost and Heroes (among other TV shows): “The Unseen and Unexplained, Inching Closer to the Truth” by Alessandra Stanley.
To quote the author and article: “‘Lost,’ on ABC tonight, is the most intriguing of all the series that traffic in the supernatural, mostly because it defies its own illogical reasoning.”
Excuse me? I does not defy its own (il)logic, which would imply inconsistency or contradiction (either that, if it defies it, perhaps it is logically consistent, and that bothers the author … but it’s not particularly following a logic, either). That is — so far! — not the case. But the author’s reason (perhaps) for saying so is covered a paragraph or two later: “No matter how far-fetched and complicated that imaginary world may be, it is bound by its own intricate set of rules and customs, be it Quidditch regulations at Hogwarts; etiquette on Superman’s native planet, Krypton; or military rank in ‘Battlestar Galactica.'” That’s the problem: the author assumes that certain genre conventions define how particular shows work. She assumes a similar set of conventions for “Lost,” but is unable to list them — but if no such conventions are listed, how can “Lost” be defying them?
If there is any “logic” or convention that “Lost” follows it is simply that of 1) unexpected character relations, 2) characters often not being who they claim to be, 3) a process of revealing more and more character backstory that then directly influences the character’s “current” decisions or behavior.
“Heroes” is quite clearly in many regards a comic book drama. It has super powers (matching the kind you find in the DC and Marvel universes), super villains to go with potential heroes, etc. “Battlestar Galactica” resembles a number of space operas but is arguably popular because it works as a human drama. It has very few hard sci-fi elements (except space ships) and, more seriously than Star Wars, traffics in myths and mythology, yet unlike the uncritical mythology of the Star Wars movies the faith and myths of Battlestar Galactica test and questions these matters.
And “Lost” — oh, “Lost.” The simple premise of the article is that there is an increase in supernaturally oriented shows. With this I cannot disagree, though this increase goes back to the 90s, and, frankly, quite a number of them annoy me in their premise because they simply celebrate a certain type of supernatural — the paranormal and prayers and such (which is to say New Age and Christian mythology and common superstition) — as simply true. “Lost” is interesting, it debates its potentially supernatural elements, and when it does provide a scientific explanation (as it always does), it opens up more questions, more doors and paths.
2) Amaechi comes out: “Former center becomes first openly gay NBA player.” This is not the bad thing. In fact, SI’s Phil Taylor has a very good commentary on the issue (“Long way to go: Confronting homosexuality a major issue in sports”).
But let us now read what homophobes of the day Shavlik Randolph and Steven Hunter have to say.
Randolf: “As long as you don’t bring your gayness on me I’m fine.” As long as you don’t bring your gayness on me? Is this some sort of fucking disease?
It gets even better with what Philadelphia center Steven Hunter had to say: “As long as he came to play basketball like a man and conducted himself like a good person, I’d be fine with it.” See the homophobic assumption embedded here? Like a man — that’s right, you see, because if you’re gay, you’re not manly. Oh, and the whole morality play. Nice use of stereotypes, Mr. Hunter.
It’s not as if this directly effects me or I have some sort of need to feel offended on behalf of someone else, but the blatant, open, and accepted bigotry evident in sports at all levels is disgusting.
Like it or not, for many sports are a major if not the major shared cultural experience in this and many other countries. Futbol! Fussball! Soccer … But there’s baseball, football, basketball, and hockey in this country. They’re things that little kids play, teens play, adults play, and despite our talk of sportsmanship and the like, along with religion sports are one of the main ways in which we perpetuate prejudices in our culture — although, and to end on a positive note — when it comes to racial integration — sports are arguably an important means for overcoming such views.
