C I P R I A N I

I have yet to watch a single episode of Duck Dynasty. I know little about it and the only interest that I had in it was piqued when Judd Apatow mentioned it in an interview months ago – or maybe it was on twitter. Hell, it might have been both. Anyway, I’m fond of a lot of Apatow’s work and I figured if he liked it, there might be something to it. However, I don’t know if he was even being serious when he mentioned that he watched it. I didn’t delve too deeply. Time is precious and it’s one of the many reasons I haven’t gotten around to watching Duck Dynasty. There’s some great television out there, both old and new, and I need to catch up on most of it; I’m behind on Game of Thrones, so while I can’t speak to whether or not Duck Dynasty is great television, I’m not going to get around to watching it this year. Or maybe ever.

I’m not even sure what exactly Duck Dynasty is about. When I first heard the title, I thought it must be a cartoon on DisneyXD. I was obviously crossing my wires and thinking of Disney‘s The Mighty Ducks and DuckTales.

Hmmmm…”Duck Tales”. Only now do I realize the clever play on words.

While life, indeed, is like a hurricane, from what I gather from the recent outrage over what one of the members of this Duck Dynasty said, I’m guessing the show must be about an enlightened guy who looks a lot like Larry Charles and never says an unkind or unwise word or does anything stupid. This is remarkable to me. I don’t watch a lot of Reality Shows. Why? Maybe it’s because I can’t stand staring into that deep, dark, truthful mirror. But from what I have watched, some reality shows feature people saying things that are often rude, ill-informed and, in some cases, just downright stupid. Perhaps the reason for this show’s success is because this never happens on their program. This is just a hypothesis because, as I said, I’ve never watched the show.

Though I must admit I don’t even have all the facts about the uproar or even what this guy actually said. All I know is that one of the stars of the show took part in an interview with the news magazine GQ and uttered something that was anti-homosexual in nature. That and a lot of people are really upset about it. Especially A&E, the network that airs the program, because they “suspended” him from the show. So my guess is that on the show this gentleman usually says things that are wise, inspiring, and sometimes witty – and most importantly, never offensive to anyone, so that’s part of the reason why his comments were such a shock. I further suspect that also his actions on the show probably don’t ever offend any particular group and that’s perhaps part of the massive appeal of this show? That the show usually breaks down stereotypes rather than perpetuate them? Again, I don’t know because I don’t watch the show.

And yet, try as I might, I can’t escape knowledge of its existence. Like a Kardashian on a cover of a magazine, though I do not care, it has somehow permeated my life and society in such a way that I can’t avoid it. So much so that now I am even complicit in its ubiquity.

Though I don’t know what was actually said, from what I gather, I don’t agree with it – How’s that for a tight summary of the way pop discourse sometimes occurs?

I can only assume that much of it is planned. A PR stunt to boost ratings or to get folks like me that have never even watched the show to tune in or at least start talking about it (Success!)? Or there’s some terrible thing going on in the world that we all should be talking about instead and this is the media diversion of the moment? Or maybe there is no conspiracy. I guess it’s possible that this fellow simply spoke out of turn and sent the network scrambling…

These are our times. Take a look at this clip from awhile back, particularly around the 2:39 mark:

http://youtu.be/m_cXGP3tmYM?t=2m39s

This was a charity event. Mr. Reeve clearly meant no offense by what he said, but the term he used is just no longer acceptable. While it’s not exactly the same thing, had that moment in time happened yesterday instead of over thirty years ago, Superman would have had to issue an apology on twitter and Facebook, and Warner Bros. would have had to release an official statement of contrition.

See this article:

Sometimes labels are useful – like the ones we put on our food that tell us that they’re full of chemicals that have no other use than to slowly kill us but we ignore it anyway because it tastes good. Others can blur the truth and cause great injustice. While still some others seem just superfluous. Like “Gay Marriage”. If two people, gay or straight, love each other, why can’t they simply celebrate that love and promise to spend the rest of their lives together in public and then try their damnedest to do so, and in doing so, have a “marriage”? I’m really not sure why a marriage between two homosexuals is illegal in some places. This means gay weddings must also be illegal and that’s not only silly, but almost ironic.

If two folks you don’t even know want to get married, why is it anyone’s business except the two people getting married and maybe the people around them? I understand not understanding homosexuality completely, but I don’t understand why anyone outside of the relationship in question would protest the pursuit of their happiness, which really is what marriage ultimately is (though divorcees might argue otherwise). To me it’s kinda self-evident, like it says in The Declaration of Independence. But while I also don’t completely understand why some people might have a beef with that wonderful document, everyone has the right to free speech. And that’s the beauty of the American way.