It feels a bit like that day when a municipal garbage strike ends. There's a sense of relief when crews hit the streets but there's no joy in it. You just want them to get on with it, get it over.
That's how I feel about America's elections today. I don't need to be riveted to the TV set as the numbers come in and the talking heads endlessly hype the idea that, if this state and these three or four states go this way, there's still a chance - wafer thin to be sure but still a chance - that this person could become the next president of the United States.
Bring me the butcher's bill when the slaughter is over. That's plenty soon enough. Tell me who won the presidency, how the parties did in Congress, spice it up with a vignette or two over loopy ballot initiatives that got voted up or down - that's enough, more than enough. It should all fit on one page, triple spaced at that.
No, tonight, my TV will be set to NetFlix and it's going to stay there. There's a pretty good series, "The Crown," about Elizabeth from princess to wife, mother, Queen and such that's pretty good. I've saved plenty of episodes for a good binge session. In other words, I'll watch something interesting and entertaining when a good many of us will be watching something as voyeuristically perverse as a multi-vehicle highway wreck in progress.
Remember that night, eight years ago, when Barack Obama became the first person of colour elected to the presidency? Remember the excitement, the outright joy? Well there won't be any of that tonight.
I simply do not understand why Canadian media spends so much time on a foreign election. Yes, the US is big, powerful and next door and Canadians should have a general idea but that doesn't explain The National doing the CNN bore-a-thon. We get as much, if not more, coverage of the US election as our own. The only reason that I can think of is that it is cheap to do. While this goes on there is no need to do serious investigative reporting, no need to expose this or that politician or explain to Canadians the difference between dilbit and sweet crude, no need to scare the people about global warming.
ReplyDelete"There's a pretty good series, "The Crown," about Elizabeth from princess to wife, mother, Queen"
ReplyDeletemea culpa - we've been enjoying this too - while endlessly joking about how 'above it all' we are when it comes to the royal & celebrity distraction circus.
Then I see this:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/nov/08/the-crown-portrayal-of-history-insult-to-my-generations-struggles
Ya, the red shirts in Siam might weight in here
For the first time in my memory, the CBC is covering the election results with the same absorption as the American networks.
ReplyDeleteIf you want a break from The Crown, I've seen a few good ones lately: Locke, The Intouchables, Mustangs, and The Man Who Knew Infinity. If you like a fun romcom, Mr. Right was cute. I've been doing Westworld too, but I'm withholding judgment on it for a few more episodes (and it's not on Netflix - but I believe the rest are).
ReplyDeleteThat article in The Grauniad gave me a laugh. Poor old sod. And then there were the people in the comments section telling the BBC it should be ashamed of itself for making the program. I sometimes despair of The Grauniad - they appear to be mastering the black art of posting meaningless, irrelevant click-bait shite.
ReplyDeleteAnyong: I have a choir rehearsal of the "Messiah" this evening until nine and then I hope to finish the "Upside of Down". Cheers
ReplyDeleteNPoV - I read Harry Smith's critique and found it disappointing. He complains that, by concentrating on Elizabeth, it ignores the lives of ordinary British men and women in that era. Yet it never pretended to be more than it is and there's nothing wrong with it if it's less than all encompassing of British society or at least that part Harry seems to think ought to be included. It is, after all, a private, commercial production. It's not an attempt to mask Harry's experience or to consign that part of history to the dustbin.
ReplyDeleteHarry, stop the whinging.
Of course the CBC is giving this too much attention but they're only following the "if it bleeds, it leads" adage. America will wind up tonight and tomorrow and for a long time to come, wounded and bleeding. It's the spectacle factor that makes the election such a draw.
ReplyDeleteMarie - thanks. I'll jot down your recommendations before I migrate to the livingroom.
ReplyDeleteYou can watch the new Beatles movie on CTV. Seems the accountants at Bell told CTV News that election coverage would not be cost-effective for the shareholders.
ReplyDeleteLine of Duty is worth your time too. As is Shetland.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the suggestions everybody. Should be a pleasant evening.
ReplyDeleteListening to Derek Trucks Our of Madness and reading The Black Hills.
ReplyDelete