Style vs Substance: An Indictment of a Culture that has Neither

     2012...The future has arrived and it is ugly, trite, and superficial. If the era of HD has taught us anything, it's that you can put lipstick on a pig, but in the end it's still going to stink like shit. In a time when human beings have so many things vying for their attention, it's easy to slap some fancy special effects on something and know that millions of popcorn munching Americans will line up to see all the pretty lights. But where is the art? Where are the meticulously hand drawn cartoons of our youth? Where is the focus on directorial craftmanship over fancy technological wizardry? And most important of all, where is the heart? The Dr. knows that he's not the only one being left with an empty feeling by today's entertainment. The recent resurgence of retro culture can testify to that. It's as if the glitzy patina of  CGI, HD, 1080p emptiness is finally starting to crack and peel, exposing what is in essence a body without a soul. An empty vessel. Pick any episode of "I Love Lucy" and you'll find more beauty, heart, and soul in that grainy black and white than you will ever see in today's meticulously polished turds. Compare an episode of "The Brady Bunch" with it's pastels and soft focus to an episode of "CSI" with it's lightening cuts and blue filtered "style" and the difference is clear:

We are unique and beautiful snowflakes.

Look at us! Everything is blue! Fuckin A! Cool!

     And of course, there is the saga of Star Wars, who's example alone could prove the point a thousand times over. The original trilogy oozed style. And that should come as no surprise considering George Lucas channeled 1950's era serials to create his sci-fi epic, showing once again that sometimes the old things really are the best. Cut to 1999 and the release of "The Phantom Menace" and you'll find an entirely new Star Wars. Not one that channels old school cool, but one that sold its' soul for a pretty face. George himself admitted that he waited to continue the story of Star Wars "until the technology was there to do it the way I wanted." Was it a visual spectacle? No doubt about it. Just look at how real Jar Jar Binks looks! Wow! Did everyone on the planet fucking hate Jar Jar Binks? No doubt about that either.

Put your fucking thumb down, and your tongue back in your mouth before I rip them both off and shove them up whatever amounts to an asshole for your species.

     The age of digital is slowly decaying the foundation of artistic hand-worked style that the medium was founded on. In 1977 people accepted that a little toy spaceship hovering over a scale model of the Death Star was indeed a spaceship. Why then, in 2012, do we require a $5 million dollar computer crafted special effect to convince us of the same thing? Sure, it may look more "real", but in the end it does nothing to improve the nature of the film, and is therefore wasted money. The Dr. of Culture prefers his spaceships lovingly handcrafted in miniature by true artists. One may look more "real" on film, but guess what? In real life, the model is the only one you can actually touch with your hands.The ironic thing in all this is that the ongoing search for more, better, bigger special effects has led us down a road where style trumps substance but the products being produced have neither.
      Lack of substance is no more apparent than in todays infatuation with reality tv. Now, I should be clear here, there is a certain brand of reality show that even the Dr. can enjoy. Shows like "The Deadliest Catch", "Gold Rush", or "American Chopper". And do you know why boys and girls? Because they involve real people, real danger, real drama; thus the name "reality tv". There is however, a horde of impostors in our midst. A group of slimy, slithering snakes seeking to slide into your subconcious and shit slippery streams of stink into your psyche. Yes, I'm talking about:

          Aside from the fact that these shows are in no way "reality", their major crime is lulling people into being content with the contrived and the mediocre. They are devoid of style, starving for substance, and most egregious of all: popular as fuck. Which is in essence why this article is an indictment of a culture without style and substance and not the shows made by said culture. The movies and shows are a symptom of the disease, but we the people (read: you the people) are the actual cancer that is killing the beautiful things in this world. By agreeing to watch things like this you are telling networks that "Yes, this is fine. Please give us more things like this and we will continue to watch them. I have forgotten what good tv looks like, but that is fine because I am fat and happy with bad tv." Sad sad sad America, you should be ashamed of yourselves.
      But though this article may be all doom and gloom, there is reason to be optimistic. Modern shows such as "Breaking Bad", "Game of Thrones", "The Walking Dead"; and movies like "The Avengers", "Star Trek", and "Black Swan" are proving that you can still marry special effects and storytelling in a way that does not discount either. In other words, style and substance, wrapped up neatly in a single package. Perhaps we will come full circle. Perhaps movies such as "The Artist" will remind people of the beauty that only a black and white picture can hold. Perhaps those of us who are 80's children will begin to yearn for those things that we loved as kids, and as we grow older and become the new lords in Hollywood, we will seek a return to our stylistic roots. Perhaps Disney will remove their heads from their asses and once again begin releasing wonderful hand-drawn movies that my great-grandchildren will still be watching 70 years from now. Either way, one unequivocal truth remains: what is cool and popular today will always be trumped by what was beautiful and special yesterday. Peace out.