Most disappointing American cultural trend

[felonious thunk]

[Screaming Lord Byron]

1. We're dumbing down the world.

I’m dumbing down the world
Yes I’m dumbing down the world
And my head is held high
And the glint in my eye
And my arrogance rumbles before me!

I’m dumbing down the world!
I’m dumbing down the world!
I’m dumbing down I’m dumbing down the world!
I’m dumbing down the world!

And my thoughts are banal like a stagnant canal
And my sycophants shamble behind me

I’m dumbing down the world
YeahI’m dumbing down the world
I’m dumbing down I’m dumbing down the world
YeahI’m dumbing down the world!

And my power is come aroundis come around
Yes! my hour is come aroundis come around - look around!

I’m dumbing down the world
YesI’m dumbing down the world

And my works are designed to suck blood from your mind
For you energy feeds and sustains me!

I’m dumbing down the world!
YesI’m dumbing down the world
I’m dumbing down the world (and I love it!)
I’m dumbing down the world

[NC_Nurse]

2. Too many choices

They are ALL disappointing, I couldn't choose just one...My top few were:
Reality TV
Dumbing Down
Corporate Whoredom

:shrug:

[Bertha Venation]

3. With the country's first Lowest Common Denominator president,

how could I choose anything but "dumbing down?" Although "reality tv" was mighty tempting.

[Liberal Christian]

31. Reality TV is part and parcel of dumbing down.

[Endangered Specie]

4. Definetly need an "All of the Above" option

[Misinformed01]

5. Angry rich white kid music

I can't stand it; the lyrics themselves aren't so bad...it's the shit that passes for a "tune."

[felonious thunk]

7. Y'all don't know what it's like

Being male middle class and white!

[Misinformed01]

10. nope. Just female, middle class and white

I know what hurts my ears mostly, so in a very real way, I DO feel your pain.

Now, take it back, damnit--keep that pain to yourself!

[meegbear]

6. blogs

anybody can have one and anybody does.

[Kellanved]

8. You can remove the "American"

Same story everywhere. :hi:

[felonious thunk]

9. ugh

That's the MOST disappointing thing to hear.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

11. This garbage qualifies as "culture"?

[felonious thunk]

12. Sadly, I think it does

call it pop culture if you like, but 100 years from now, when historians look back on early 21st century American culture, what are they going to discuss?

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

18. I just hope they skip over it completely.

Except the part about how we all celebrated for 749 consecutive days when George Bush was killed by flying shrapnel during a "surprise visit" to Iraq. :evilgrin:

[terrya]

13. Let me narrow it down a bit. Any reality show involving bachelors...

and bachelorettes.

Making a complete and utter mockery of the sancitity of marriage in the process.

Terry

[felonious thunk]

15. lol

No, no Terry. It's like a happy fairy tale, the reality tv. People wish for wishes and get happiness in return! That only strengthens the bond of marriage. What could be more blessed than getting wasted in hot tubs while parading yourself around in front of cameras and choosing your prince or princess from among a selected group, most of whom you make out with prior to finding just the right one.

[terrya]

16. Ohhhhh. NOW I see, felonius monk.

Yes...you're right of course. That's the magic of heterosexual marriage on reality shows.

Listen to me complaining in my first post. My goodness, am I a grumpy grump, or what?

Terry

[Rabrrrrrr]

14. The incessant celebration of mediocrity

And I'm not just talking about American Idol, but the whole kit and kaboodle everywhere.

[BiggJawn]

23. William Hung

I Rest My Case.

[terrya]

24. BiggJawn..we could do a thread alone on this, One more: Anderson Cooper.

[Rabrrrrrr]

26. Thomas Kinkade, "Friends", Howard Stern radio,

Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, country duck interior decor, constant remakes of old movies instead of original stuff, most of the people on Survivor, evening news programs, most journalism, pop music, rap and hip hop music (themselves, and also some of the things they glorify), chain restaurants (Olive Garden, Applebee's, McDonald's, Cracker Barrel, ad nauseum), logo-laden clothing (Gap, etc.), and on and on and on and on and on...

[mmm]

17. rap 'music' is the clear winner

[SOteric]

19. Where is the option for monster truck rallies, and

weak standards of education in public schools.

[gyopsy]

20. Big companies have taken over everything

I don't think you'll find too many people now who remember a time before the big chains took over America. There used to be sizeable differences between states and now most states kind of look the same and have the same likes and dislikes.

[StayOutTheBushes]

25. Particularly, say, California and Montana or Alabama and

New York?

[Cat Atomic]

21. Super-sized meals.

It sums up the whole problem.

[YellowRubberDuckie]

22. Fashion trends where underwear sticks out all over the place...

I'm so sick of seeing stuff I should only be seeing while doing my own laundry.
Duckie

[Kat45]

27. Too many choices that deserve to be chosen, but

I went with 'everything dumbed down' because a lot of the other choices are partly or wholly caused by that umbrella topic. And 'everything corporate' is its partner.

[TheMightyFavog]

28. The whole fucking system

We teach our children to hold a person that can hit, throw, or catch in a highter light than someone who who is intellectualy gifted.

Not to mention the blatant proliferation of Philistinism in this country.

[pippin]

29. Celebration of the ugly and the stupid

[DrWeird]

30. People who don't like rap music.

A clear sign of the dumbing down of america.

[kodi]

32. keeping it real. dave chappelle has examined this at length for its danger

.

[Catholic Sensation]

33. i'm sorry, when there's a reality show where girls get plastic surgery

and then have to do a fashion show to actually "win", the trend has becomming beyond disappointing.

[carols]

34. Some of the choices could conceivably be subsets of the others

so it is kind of hard to choose. Reality TV is definitely a subset of the dumbing down and corporate stuff. And actually it could be argued that dumbing down is only a symptom of rampant corporatization. But I freakin' hate Reality TV so I had to go with that.
Carol

[Deja Q]

35. I'm disappointed

Corporate elements control it all. So why don't they have the highest # of responses?

They love reality TV because it's cheap to make.

Sex sells.

Violence sells.

They dumb people down because the lowest common denominator sells more.