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| Do you think I'm pretty? |
The postmodern aesthetic is a curious beast. I am bothered by what I see. Why has Ugly become the pop-culture lingua franca? I suppose one could take the high road and claim that art is now taking its cues from Guernica, but that would be pretentious. It's just ugly.
I would not let my kids watch "Rugrats". The ugliness offended me, and I preferred that they see prettier things. You know, like "Jem" or "G.I.Joe". (There was the Ren and Stimpy video, but hey, John Kricfalusi is the Arbiter of all true Animation Goodness!) "South Park" has flashes of prophetic insight, but it is itself ugly, while decrying the culture's ugliness.
The bane of reality TV has brought us the likes of Boo Boo Honey and her mastodonic mother, bellwethers of our physical future. Adult Swim offerings are hideous, if funnily written. Everywhere, everywhere, ugly tonight.
The Dread Dormomoo and I are at Anime Blast Chattanooga, and are having lots of time to talk of things like this. Her question mirrors the statement of a very aware person:"Your mouth says what your heart is full of.". Is the ugliness rampant in the West a reflection of its inward arrangements? May be an obvious question, but it is the one no-one is asking. As the West continues to flee from the foundation that made it great, I suspect that beauty in our culture will increasingly become a premium.
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