> Okay, let's see some evidence of this degeneration of popular culture- on
> why Bonanza is such an improvement on the Practice, why fifties horror
> flicks are so much better Scream or The Others, why Bewitched was so much
> better than Buffy the Vampire Slayer?
James Wolcott made a similar argument in Vanity Fair a year or so ago. He said the films of New Hollywood (1969-1974) were overrated compared to contemporary fare. Some were, but many were not. Indeed, were it not for the first two "Godfather"s, early Altman, the work of Hal Ashby and Scorcese, and Lucas's "American Graffitti," the look of contemporary film would be much different (just as Kurosawa, to cite one major influence, set the table for many of the above). TV's a mixed bag: there are shows today that are superior to the crap of the 60s and 70s, but you'll never see another "Green Acres," perhaps the most surreal, absurdist program ever to appear on American television.
> I don't see it. Popular music is in a definite downturn right now, but
the
> early to mid-80s were not bad compared to almost any period except the
late
> 60s/early 70s.
Matter of taste here. I think mid 80s pop music was awful. The explosion of alt music in the late 70s, along with the birth of rap, was the last real major shift, Nirvana notwithstanding.
> For all the homogenization of global capitalism, there has also been a
flowering of
> diversity, both in source of content and in distribution, that makes me
> yearn not at all for the days of the studio hegemony in Hollywood and the
> Big Three networks in television.
All part of the evolution. And it shows that people desire diversity, if they are given the chance to experience it. (Of course, every avenue is owned by a mega-corp, but then Mozart had to choose between the church and the crown. Some things never change.)
> So where is the loss from a few decades ago?
There has been some loss, but many gains as well. Life is a butterfly's dream. We do not exist. I didn't type any of this. The world is not here.
DP