The "Dumbassification of America"

[BlueEyedSon]

Discuss.

(I hear Chuck D & the Unfiltered cast use this term every day and I love it. I was entertaining some European friends and they wanted to know what the hell was happening here in the US. So I told them.)

Please post your example of the "dumbassifiaction of America". Mine - for today - is that news about Michael Jackson is more important than what's happening in Iraq.

[Jack_Dawson]

1. The Bachelor, Survivor, Mole, Fear Factor

Blah Blah Blah

[Skittles]

14. THANK YOU

the mentality of the people who are entertained by this f***ing CRAP just makes me SHUDDER. And that includes some DUERS!!!!!

[Jack_Dawson]

18. DUers like that shit?

I thought we was smarter than that.

[Skittles]

19. oh no

there have been several threads about these shows with lots of fan posts - very disturbing.

[skypilot]

24. You know I love you guys but...

...you really should stop this. Yes, some of us like SOME of the "reality shows". It's just mindless fun like any other mindless fun out there in the world. I don't think that "several" threads out of the dozens and dozens and dozens of threads here at DU signifies a disturbing trend. It's not as though our live revolves around these shows. And some of them aren't as bad as some of you imagine. Take "Fear Factor" for instance, lots of people talk about the show as if it involves NOTHING BUT eating gross crap. The "eating challenge" is just ONE of the THREE challenges on the show. The others are physical challenges that are quite fun to watch especially with women competing right alongside men, and often beating them. Some of you should really lighten up and just let some people have their fun. We're not idiots just because we squeeze in some mindless fun now and then.

On edit: Also, if "bad" television is a sign of "dumbassification" then America is not he only victim. Countries around the world have their own appalling shows and some of "reality shows" on TV in America originated in Europe.

[Skittles]

25. can't

it's crap and this "mindless fun" reflects the dumbing down of America.

[skypilot]

28. People have mindless fun...

...in all kinds of ways. I don't think that in and by itself is indicative of dumbing down. And like I said in the "edit" portion of my post these kinds of shows aren't only shown in (and didn't all originate in) America.

[Skittles]

31. when I catch these shows (Tom watches them sometimes)

I'm very aware of the fact that these people are humiliating themselves and acting in sometimes very appalling ways for money. I simply find it disturbing rather than entertaining. The fact that such a phenomenon is not exclusive to America doesn't make me feel better.

[skypilot]

36. Yes, there is a disturbing element to some of them...

...but I don't think that all the people who watch these shows are too dumb to see that. Some of them I just DON"T watch because some are more disturbing (and humiliating to the contestants) than others. For some reason a show like "American Idol" gets lumped in with something like "Big Brother". In my eyes "AI" is simply a singing contest and some of the singers are quite good--especially for being as young as they are. There is a bit of humiliation in the show in the form of the consumate jackass named Simon Cowell, but, you know what, I just mentally filter him out and enjoy the singing. And that's pretty much why I watch that show, some of the contestants are great singers. I don't think I've succumbed to dumbing down simply because I appreciate that.

On edit: The fact that these shows are all over the world was not meant to be reassuring. I brought it up only because whenever conversations about the dumbing down of America take place reality shows seem to get mentioned as though they are something unique to America and our particular dumbing down process. I just think that the conversation about dumbing down can be broadened.

[Skittles]

44. making a celebrity out of that piece of shit Simon

that about says it all

[skypilot]

45. Yes, that is the DOWNSIDE...

...to the show. But, like I said, I just mentally edit him out. There are still some great singers on the show. Screw Simon.

[Taylor Mason Powell]

49. Um...that show is an import.

So it reflects the dumbassification of...England?

Simon's comments may be rude, but he's almost never wrong in what he says. My issue with him is that he's sometimes way too NICE.

[Taylor Mason Powell]

50. DING DING DING DING!

It's amazing to me how people at DU succumb to this notion that the existence of a particular cultural product they don't like is somehow an indictment of the entire culture. Some of you would consider the fact that I ocassionaly enjoy American Idol to be evidence of my intellectual inferiority. To which I say: bite me!

I agree with the general premise that America has been dumbed down, but Reality TV is not a good example.

You want a good example of the dumbing down of America, just look at the electoral map, and how much RED there is. That's all the evidence I need.

[catzies]

51. My problem isn't with the mindless fun

I have plenty of mindless fun. Chacon a son gout.

But I do get bothered when I hear the news channels discussing the reality shows as if it were NEWS.

I also get bothered when I hear people discussing EVERY DAMN DETAIL of those shows but don't pay any damn attention to current events going on in the REAL WORLD (no, not the MTV show) around them.

[redqueen]

53. You made a very important distinction

It's not the reality shows or their popularity in and of themselves that are indicative of how dumbassified we are, it's the majority of the watchers caring about NOTHING BUT such fluffery. It's the news media treating it like NEWS!

Great post! :D

[skypilot]

54. Here we can agree.

When the show is over I don't need any supplemental coverage. I get my fix and move on to other things.

[Skittles]

56. OMG

it drives me INSANE. "REALITY CRAP TV SHOWS" ARE *NOT* F***ING NEWS! UNLESS THEY'VE BECOME A CULTURAL PHENOMENON, WHICH THEY HAVE!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA. Bad example MY ASS.

[HFishbine]

62. Look

If you are responsible, seek the truth, act when and where you can to better the world around you, then why shouldn't you be entitled to some fun -- however mindless it may be?

It's the folks for whom Survivor, the Michael Jackson trial and video games are the primary focus of attention that are the dumbasses. I'm sure plenty of DUers can watch an hour of Survivor without compromising their moral and intellectual fortitude.

[redqueen]

26. I agree with you

It's no worse than soap operas or sitcoms.

I guess people are only supposed to watch 'quality' teevee. I wonder which handful of people are sufficiently qualified to tell us which shows are good enough for us to watch.

:eyes:

[Skittles]

33. did I ever say people should NOT watch them?

Or that they should not be shown? I said I simply find them appalling.

[redqueen]

34. Hmmmm

In my example below, I used the horrible symptom of working class people not realizing who's looking out for their interests (to the limited extent they still are, admittedly). I do wish for this to change.

I guess your example is different. I guess it's a sign of the dumbassification of America that we can just mock and let be. :shrug:

[Skittles]

37. I just wish people could empathize more

the fact that people will do anything for money does not entertain me.

[redqueen]

40. Well, me either

But that's not a (primitive) human trait I find unique to reality TV shows.

[Skittles]

43. LOL

you got that right :o

[FreeSpeechCrusader]

41. You know what I find "very disturbing"

The condescending nature that you apply to all that watch even one reality show...I mean people watch what they are going to watch. I watch Survivor...does that automatically make me less of an intellectual because I didn't automatically check on what I should enjoy with you? Just wondering because I find your post...very disturbing.

[Taylor Mason Powell]

52. Right on.

"The fact that people will do anything for money does not entertain me" is of course a completely legitimate statement. But going on from this to conclude that anybody who IS entertained by it is a moron? That's where I would have to strenuously object.

[Skittles]

59. I disagree

it's my right

[Skittles]

58. to each his own

what you find entertaining makes me sick

[Taylor Mason Powell]

64. people singing makes you sick?

:wtf:

You clearly have some issues.

[Skittles]

67. no

publicly humiliating people who don't sing up to standard is sick

[Selwynn]

60. You're absolutely right....

...I mean, survivor still sucks, but ... hehe :)

[Selwynn]

57. I hate those shows :(

[Skittles]

61. good for you, Selwynn

there's some hope :D

[OpSomBlood]

2. An uneducated populace is easier to coerce.

Look at the red states, and compare that with the states with the worst education records.

[bif]

3. Elvis worship

Never understood it.

[Triple H]

4. Our pResident.

Need I say more?

[RT Atlanta]

5. Here are some more examples of non-issues

That are put forth to hide the REAL news:

Scott Peterson trial

That girl in MN who faked her kidnapping earlier this month

The local news medias fascination with the "if it bleeds, it leads" idea. I am truly sorry for random killings and horrible accidents that happen every day, but how does that affect you and me... it doesnt. More importantly, what about leading with larger issues affecting all of us - healthcare, kids going hungry, our country's reckless fiscal policy, etc.

[tigereye]

10. interesting article about this very point in the Sun NY Times

entertainment section, if you have access to that. This past Sunday, that is.

[phillybri]

6. Anti-intellectualism runs rampant...

Liberals are referred snidely as "intellectuals", as if having a brain is some sort fo liability...:eyes:

[Jeff in Cincinnati]

9. Nothing New

Richard Hofstedter's "Anti-Intellectualism in American Life" his the bookshelves in 1963 and is still considered a classic. Here's a discussion:

http://www.brothersjudd.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/reviews.detail/book_id/530/

[Liberal Gramma]

7. Sensationalism sells, but

it doesn't educate. And ignorant people are more malleable, so they can be manipulated more easily. The solution to this is rooted in the school system: teach children to think for themselves rather than rewarding sheeplike behavior and testing for standardized learning objectives. There is nothing more vital to education than the development of critical thinking.

[tom_paine]

8. The Creation of a Punditocarcy itself is prime example of Dumbassification

Exactly when the hell did the vast majority of people start to need a bunch of Lying Detatched Millionaire Know-Nothing Blowhard to tell us what we should think about what we just saw?!?

:wtf: :wtf:

The very EXISTANCE of a Bloated Punditocracy is an affront to the beliefs of the Founding Fathers (who believed we Commoners were capable of eductaing oursdelves to the level of understanding required to have a hand in our own decision-making).

[tigereye]

11. what is so sad is that even "thinking"

or the ability to ask questions is seen as a liablity. Why think when God has told you the answers. (*, I mean, generally.) WHy read, why ask questions? Why feel uncomfortable? sigh

[CBHagman]

12. The moment of truth for me was...

...the day O.J. Simpson was acquitted and I went home from work, turned on the CBS Evening News, and saw that they devoted the ENTIRE broadcast to the trial and acquittal. The ENTIRE broadcast. I though we were certainly doomed as a country.

That is not to say I care nothing for murder victims; quite the contrary. But it was about celebrity, which seems to rule virtually every broadcast/print decision these days.

Oh, and the fact that Paris Hilton is deemed important enough to feature in a TV show, a book, or a newpaper article is surely the sign that our civilization is virtually at an end.

STOP IT, PEOPLE. JUST STOP IT.

[kerry-is-my-prez]

13. Some freeper rated either the book OR the review with a "D"

Can we change that?

[Skittles]

15. Hate radio

I challenge anyone to listen to fifteen minutes of Michael "Weiner" Savage without feeling sick.

[bigtree]

16. The impression that Bush in his ignorant , half ass responses

and Cheney, in his sniveling, smearing attacks, somehow represent the attitudes of most Americans, more than the thoughtful, informative presentation of issues that comes from our candidate.

[redqueen]

17. My example

That hordes of the right-wing working class seem to have forgotten entirely that their relatively comfortable existence is mostly due to LIBERALS fighting and DYING for their RIGHTS. Now they're convinced that we shouldn't even HAVE a minimum wage, that unions are terrible so we should just scrap the whole thing and let the fatcats call all the shots, etc. etc. etc.

Breaks my heart, thinking of what all those men and women went through to secure these rights, and now they're being pissed away by the useful idiots for the ruling class.

[DaveSZ]

20. Why do you think the GOP always cuts education?

Stupid people who can't think critically are easier to manipulate.

[redqueen]

27. Exactly

Ignorant peons are cheap-labor-conservatives' wet dream.

[NewJeffCT]

23. Minimum wage

It's like $7.10 per hour here in CT, and I believe our unemployment rate is lower (4.9%) than the national average... Hmmm....isn't that strange?

[redqueen]

29. LOL!

Thanks for that stat! Nothing like reality to screw up a freeper's talking points. :)

[lapislzi]

21. FUJIOK

The "f-you, jack, I'm OK" attitude I hear from people that earn $14 more per pay period because of Chimpy's tax cuts. "I got mine, you go get your own."

These are the people who believe everything they see on TV. If they read a paper, it's the NY Post or Washington Times. They would no sooner question these sources than they would question whether the sun rises in the east.

[redqueen]

30. I like that. I think I prefer another acronym

IGMFU (iggum-fu): I got mine, f$&# you!

Thanks to calimary for sharing this gem. :)

[lapislzi]

38. Like that too!

with mine, you pronounce all the letters, as in, "F-U, J, I OK!"

Life is better with punctuation!

[MallRat]

22. MICHAEL JACKSON! oooh, so pretty... soooo shiny...

The "dumbassification of America" is the function of The Matrix.

We are all enveloped in a construct designed by our conservative leaders and corporate media. If there's any unpleasantness they don't want us to see, they bury it in the paper or the newscast, and run with wall-to-wall celebrity coverage.

Bush just handed the keys to Fallujah to a former general of Saddam's Republican Guard? MICHAEL JACKSON INDICTMENT!

If you're not a critical thinker, American culture provides a very seductive, happy little existence.

Take the red pill, America. TAKE THE RED PILL BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE.

-MR

[seabeyond]

32. buying bush ad kerry soft on defense

when cheney was the sec of defense and it was his appropriations bill that kerry voted on and the people dont question bush and the ads.

that is the dumbest for me, told a friend this is how stupid bush thinks you are and the thing, if you dont know better, than you are being that stupid. woke her up a bit hearing she is that stupid

[redqueen]

35. Well done!

I'll have to try that tactic sometime.

[drumwolf]

39. The fact that so many people think Saddam and Osama were butt buddies

But then, a towelhead is a towelhead, right? Even if one is a secular Arab nationalist influenced by modern-day Stalinism and the other is a religious Islamic fundamentalist. :eyes:

BTW, Media Whores Online (RIP) used a term often that I'm surprised hasn't made it over to DU: "Moron-American." I think that is the perfect phrase to describe so many of the sheeple here.

[Postman]

42. Fox News Channel...

talk about a bunch of dumbasses.

[Liberal Gramma]

55. Discredited and criminal dumbasses

Have you ever noticed how many of their "experts" have ...um...had a little controversial event in their pasts? Oliver North, Newt Gingrich, Geraldo, William Bennett to name just a few that come to mind.

[Snellius]

46. Minnesota replacing Paul Wellstone with Norm Coleman

NBC replacing Johnny Carson with Jay Leno.

[dryan]

47. Talk shows in the daytime

Every time I am off during the week it never ceases to amaze me how lowbrown daytime TV is especially the talk shows (Jerry Springer, Leeza, and even Oprah at times).

[dryan]

48. Talk shows in the daytime

Every time I am off during the week it never ceases to amaze me how lowbrown daytime TV is especially the talk shows (Jerry Springer, Leeza, and even Oprah at times).

[JohnOneillsMemory]

63. SportsTVSportsTVSportsTV is meant to DISTRACT AND INDOCTRINATE>

All that shit on TV is meant to take up your time and brain cells with trivialities and indoctrinate you into fearing what the other viewers fear so you won't know what the fuck is going on in the world and control your own gov't.

http://www.mackwhite.com/tv.html
The TV Hive Mind and Propaganda Since 1938

[carols]

65. The number of people who listen to Reich-wing radio and...

think it is real news.
Carol

[JohnLocke]

66. Scott Ritter, et. all.