Saturday, December 21, 2013

Who Cares About Duck Dynasty?

Apparently not a member of the Duck Dynasty cast.
I was briefly Duck Dynasty curious when I thought it might be a new Disney or Warner Brothers cartoon series. I quickly lost interest when I found out it was another "reality" show about inbred yokels who use high powered weapons to slaughter birds. (Aside: A TV show where people hunt water fowl using hand-made bows and arrows, then I might be interested.)

A few years ago the rage was for bounty hunters and slutty celebrities. Now every pawn broker and tow truck operator seems to have his own reality TV show. Always popular are trailer trash willing to humiliate themselves like the Honey Boo Boo clan. Duck Dynasty is another example of the freak sideshow class of entertainment.

Duck Dynasty precursor.
The purpose of the freak sideshow is to put truly pathetic people on display so the rest of us can believe our miserable lives are, at least, better than theirs. Nineteenth century circuses would display people with hideous birth defects or disgusting habits for the enjoyment of others. In England, families would day trip to the Bedlam insane asylum for an entertaining outing. Christmas was a favorite time to view the caged crazy people.

Apparently there is something of an uproar because the head freak of Duck Dynasty said something outrageous and entirely within character but outside the confines of the show. It was like a sideshow geek biting off the head of a chicken on a public street. Some people were disgusted by this public display of freakiness. Others are defending him because he has a constitutional right to be a disgusting freak or their share his perversions. The freaky has gotten so freaky some believe that Duck Dynasty will affect senatorial election results in Louisiana and Texas.
Who's the bigger fool, the fool or the fool who follows him? ~ Obi Wan Kenobi

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