One friend is a widely published writer, the other an engineer.
The first show was "Slings & Arrows," a Canadian series about a troupe of actors doing various Shakespeare plays. Sounds OK so far, doesn't it?
Trouble is, these characters are unbearably obnoxious. I don't know about you, but I do not find obnoxious people funny or entertaining or interesting or intriguing or admirable or even despicable.
I find them just plain obnoxious and annoying.
My friend who liked the show also likes "Curb Your Enthusiasm," about an obnoxious jerk. I hate that show, too. I don't know why anyone would like obnoxious people. Maybe he finds them funny. I don't.
The second show was "The Good Wife," which I found intriguing, interesting, serious, moving and altogether pretty good. Not the best TV I have seen but worth watching.
It is about a woman lawyer whose husband cheats on her and resigns his job as state's attorney and goes to prison.
She is forced to move from a ritzy house to a cheap apartment, move her kids from a high-priced private school to a public school, and go back to work.
It is about her travails. It ranges from good to great. I watched four episodes last night.
In contrast, I turned off "Slings & Arrows" after five minutes and had to force myself to watch that long.
What does all this mean? I think it means that we all have different sets of tastes and symbols and referents in our unconscious minds. We don't know what is in there until we are tested, either in real life, or by watching some kind of art, like a TV show.
Then we find out something about ourselves. In my case, I don't have any aesthetic distance on obnoxious people. I don't like them. Period. Simple enough.
As my old acting coach, Alex Bruhansky, said, "You can do anything on stage, but you cannot be boring." I would add to that, you can't be obnoxious. At least not with me.
Funny thing is, the show I liked was recommended by the engineer.
-- Roger
© Copyright 2011, Roger R. Angle
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