I Really Miss the 90s

Recently I started watching ER and The West Wing series. ER can be brilliant but also too… I’m not sure what to call it… in the viewer’s face with their progressive agenda. It can also be just plan canny at times.

I forgot how absolutely brilliant The West Wing is. I know it’s basically pure fiction with virtually no resemblance to actual politics, but it’s brilliantly written fiction from a time when America still had some vestiges of health and integrity left.

Below is a clip of genius script writer Aaron Sorkin talking about writing dialogue:

I can also see how both of these shows could have fed into a certain type of coastal elitism which taken to far can be destructive.

The shows are sort of peak USA before the mass invasion. At the same time, there were incredible dance scenes going on in real life, the job market was excellent, and there was amazing energy.

I hope we can bring that energy back. It’s going to take some work.

I mention these series because people have mentioned other recent films like Eddington, Roofman, and Bugonia as commentaries on modern times. Perhaps they are to some extent, but I don’t find these stories are too deep actually. I actually don’t recommended watching these movies.

I like fiction and literature to have a certain depth, which is often very lacking in Western drama/film (compared for example with Japanese).

But yeah, compare the energy of The West Wing with these three movies. There’s no comparison.

Things may be unhealthy and sick in the *real* world, but I want to keep them healthy in my own mind, even if that’s the only place they will be healthy.

I’m not waiting for others to understand enlightenment and cultivate skill, discipline, and devotion. It’s already here for at least this person. If others are too preoccupied with their Tinder swipes and infinite brown slaves, so be it.