cult status
Created | Updated Apr 2, 2002
Is it me , or has society in the twenty first century completely lost the joy that is cult status . The Young Ones , Monty Python and the Hitch Hikers Guide to The Galaxy , all these bygone greats thrived on their cult audience . Hidden away from the tedium of the mainstream , enjoyed by the wide , and conversely ‘select’ few who really ‘get it'
If we look through our TV guide today we see very few programs, that people can get worked up about . I’m not saying that comedy these days is inferior , it might be better and more sophisticated than it has been for a while , what I’m saying is that comedy is no longer selective.
Gone are the days when groups of people would sit around quoting from a show that is special to them , because they feel that they are the only people who watch it , the only ones who fully appreciate it . We no longer have any feelings of belonging or possession .
I think the problem is that everybody watches everything now.
Even the dark surreal genius that is ‘ The League of Gentlemen’ is enjoyed by both my 9 year old cousin , and my 78 year old Grandad . Is Nothing sacred ?
Perhaps the diversity of an audience is the mark of a good show ,but I’m not so sure . I like to feel involved , I want to feel that as a viewer I am part of the show . When watching television now it is no longer possible to feel as if you are part of a special little group ,because you’re not . By watching a program we no longer have common ground with the rest of the audience .
It’s not only the small screen that is affected by all this mainstream commercialism , when was the last time you saw a movie that you could really label cult ? The Withnail and I era is over .
Why is this ? What has happened to the general public ? Perhaps it is the oversized budgets and glossy finishes that detract from the home-made feel that the Young Ones and Python had . Perhaps I am looking back at a past with far too much nostalgia -maybe high production values ought to be celebrated , rather than begrudged. Whatever , all I know , is that the excitement has gone from television . I think I shall blame Rupert Murdoch - 300 channels and the constant repitition of
programs until you're sick of them . He is the true culprit, thereason
for this loss of urgency .
Digital television ?
Bah Humbug .
Liz
If we look through our TV guide today we see very few programs, that people can get worked up about . I’m not saying that comedy these days is inferior , it might be better and more sophisticated than it has been for a while , what I’m saying is that comedy is no longer selective.
Gone are the days when groups of people would sit around quoting from a show that is special to them , because they feel that they are the only people who watch it , the only ones who fully appreciate it . We no longer have any feelings of belonging or possession .
I think the problem is that everybody watches everything now.
Even the dark surreal genius that is ‘ The League of Gentlemen’ is enjoyed by both my 9 year old cousin , and my 78 year old Grandad . Is Nothing sacred ?
Perhaps the diversity of an audience is the mark of a good show ,but I’m not so sure . I like to feel involved , I want to feel that as a viewer I am part of the show . When watching television now it is no longer possible to feel as if you are part of a special little group ,because you’re not . By watching a program we no longer have common ground with the rest of the audience .
It’s not only the small screen that is affected by all this mainstream commercialism , when was the last time you saw a movie that you could really label cult ? The Withnail and I era is over .
Why is this ? What has happened to the general public ? Perhaps it is the oversized budgets and glossy finishes that detract from the home-made feel that the Young Ones and Python had . Perhaps I am looking back at a past with far too much nostalgia -maybe high production values ought to be celebrated , rather than begrudged. Whatever , all I know , is that the excitement has gone from television . I think I shall blame Rupert Murdoch - 300 channels and the constant repitition of
programs until you're sick of them . He is the true culprit, thereason
for this loss of urgency .
Digital television ?
Bah Humbug .
Liz
