Entries in South Park (3)
7 Patriotic Videos of Pure Hilarity
First of all - America is the greatest, freest, fittest, smartest, prettiest, sexiest, sweetest, funniest, nicest, swankiest, toughest nation in the world. And if you don't like it - you can GET OUT.
Secondly - we have a lot of problems. there's a lot wrong with the greatest, freest, fittest, smartest, prettiest, sexiest, sweetest, funniest, nicest, swankiest, toughest nation in the world.
But one thing we do very well? Humor. And nothing is quite so funny as our own history, our own screwed up nation and a man getting kicked in the groin. That's just science.
Here are 7 hilarious patriotic videos that focus on our nation's younger days:
7) The Whitest Kids U'Know, Jack & Oswald
My favorite part? "You have a flag! That's very nice." Some of the jokes land flat...but then the music picks up...
They Live
Double Dip Demands is a column in which I propose films that deserve a re-release on DVD/Blu-Ray with more special features, better transfers and other nerdy bits. Some of the films have no DVDs out there for Region 1 viewers, and some of them have a really crappy version that's bare bones or poorly put together. Who speaks for these films? I do.
The Film: They Live (1988)
Cast & Crew: John Carpenter (writer/director); Ray Nelson (based on his short story "Eight O'Clock in the Morning"); "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, Keith David, Meg Foster
Plot Synopsis (from IMDB): A drifter discovers a pair of sunglasses that allow him to wake up to the fact that aliens have taken over the Earth.
Is It Out on DVD Currently?: Yes - but in a bare bones release with no extras.
Why Does it Deserve Special Features?: Discarded and derided at the time of its release, They Live is a clever and profoundly prescient movie that arrived in theaters wearing the trappings of a dumb B-Movie. They Live has since gone on to influence many other films and filmmakers, as well as graffiti artists, video game designers with its stylish simplicity and biting social commentary. A forerunner to 21st century cultural memes, They Live lambastes consumer culture and the vapid selfishness that defined Reagan-era America and is just as relevant in today's world of Weapons of Mass Distraction.
What Should be on the Disc?
Immodest Proposal: The Simpsons Should Start Aging
Immodest Proposal is a place where Rob Dean makes humble suggestions that would forever alter the world and vastly improve the lives of everyone. But, you know, you don't have to listen to him, or whatever.
The Simpsons is in a rut. That venerable institution, once lauded by cool english teachers and awkward IT staffs alike, has fallen into disrepair and it may take drastic measures to bring it back.
Starting around the early 2000s, it seemed there were less good episodes per season; instead the show was dominated by stunt casting, delving into backstories of lesser characters, random "travel episodes" that eventually descended into becoming the lazy set-ups that were mocked by earlier Simpsons episodes. Random changes were made to characters - Apu's octoplets, for example - that served as nothing more than 30 minutes of filler. The writers began lapping old scripts, revisiting plot points that were already dealt with or that previous writing staffs derided (rightfully) as cheap and uninteresting.
How can the producers hope to rescue the show? What price will they have to pay to escape from the shadows of Macfarlane's Animation Empire and reassert itself as the rightful Emperor of Smart and Important Cartoons? My suggestion: it's time for the characters in The Simpsons to start aging.