Has anyone else noticed that on Showtime's series Dexter, even the "minor" predators have professionally-decorated kill rooms?
And it's not just their kill rooms, but their entire houses are nice - living rooms, kitchens, bathrooms, hallways - Dex's guest stars live in spacious coastal bungalows, no matter what they do for a living. But even saying "nice" is an understatement; most guest villain lairs glow with an intentional color scheme, as though Ty Pennington had spent a week remodeling the set before film crews arrived. It doesn't matter if they're a UPS driver/kidnapper or a cannibalistic salesman in a shopping mall kiosk, Miami's hourly wages must allow a very high standard of living. As 30Rock's Liz Lemon would say, "I want to be there."
And it's not just their kill rooms, but their entire houses are nice - living rooms, kitchens, bathrooms, hallways - Dex's guest stars live in spacious coastal bungalows, no matter what they do for a living. But even saying "nice" is an understatement; most guest villain lairs glow with an intentional color scheme, as though Ty Pennington had spent a week remodeling the set before film crews arrived. It doesn't matter if they're a UPS driver/kidnapper or a cannibalistic salesman in a shopping mall kiosk, Miami's hourly wages must allow a very high standard of living. As 30Rock's Liz Lemon would say, "I want to be there."
I'm often amazed at the size of dwellings depicted on weekly TV. From Sheldon' Big Bang apartment to Temperance Brenner's incredible house on Bones, these places are huge - especially when you consider that in real life, they have to be twice as big from what we see on the screen. Can you imagine how much rent the real life Friends apartment would have cost in NYC? Or how about Niles' cavernous pad on Fraiser? Remember Different Strokes?; Mr. Drummond' s two-story penthouse had no visible ceiling. That place must have been massive. No wonder Mrs. Garret had such big hair.
Years ago, Rush Limbaugh suggested that television's Dallas was the reason The Soviet Union finally fell. The communists saw the Ewings' lifestyle and assumed that all Americans lived in luxurious houses, wore fancy clothes, and rolled around in either pickups, Cadillacs, or helicopters. In 1982 America, maintaining Linda Grey's hair cost more per week than most Russians spent on food. According to Rush, the lavish neon of Dallas bore stark contrast to the Orwellian streets of Moscow - where babushkas were far more common than Sue Ellen Ewing's shoulder pads.
American television forced Communists to look at their own bleak lives, then compare their lifestyles to what they saw on Dallas, Falcon Crest, Dynasty, and even 80s sitcoms. American television had lines for a Cabbage Patch dolls, St Petersburg television - for those lucky enough to see it - had government-sponsored programming. I don't remember any Americans saying that while watching Soviets stand in line for toilet paper.
American television forced Communists to look at their own bleak lives, then compare their lifestyles to what they saw on Dallas, Falcon Crest, Dynasty, and even 80s sitcoms. American television had lines for a Cabbage Patch dolls, St Petersburg television - for those lucky enough to see it - had government-sponsored programming. I don't remember any Americans saying that while watching Soviets stand in line for toilet paper.
Two years ago, I read a heartbreaking book called "Escape from Camp 13" - the story of a man who escaped from the harshest prison/labor camp in all of North Korea. The book was gut-wrenching; Shun in-geun's harrowing story exposed North Korea's NAZI-like concentration camps - and their complete disregard for human life. Reading this book made me understand why George W Bush called the DPRK "evil," and for the last two years I've followed events in that country - from smuggled YouTube videos, to the stories surrounding Dennis Rodman's shameful behavior. North Korea is tragic, and I genuinely believe that its government will soon collapse - creating a humanitarian crisis. When I read about people's lives in the DPRK, I'm often reminded of the wives in polygamist marriages: happiness is replaced by conformity, and people live entire sheltered lives, never experiencing joy.
The reason I believe North Korea is in decline is because the country's government is increasingly unable to hide the outside world from its people. And television in particular - just like the old USSR - is the one thing that does the most damage by showing North Koreans how we live in the rest of the world. South Korean soap operas are the most popular; their language/culture is similar enough for those in the DPRK to understand. Simple pleasures like running water, working electricity, and seeing Koreans with the freedom to wear whatever clothes you want: these are the images that will make North finally throw out the Kims.
The reason I believe North Korea is in decline is because the country's government is increasingly unable to hide the outside world from its people. And television in particular - just like the old USSR - is the one thing that does the most damage by showing North Koreans how we live in the rest of the world. South Korean soap operas are the most popular; their language/culture is similar enough for those in the DPRK to understand. Simple pleasures like running water, working electricity, and seeing Koreans with the freedom to wear whatever clothes you want: these are the images that will make North finally throw out the Kims.
That being said, I believe North Korea will fall a lot quicker if we actively "attack" them with current American television. As Dallas is back on the air, we'll start with that; forget dropping Christian leaflets over the boarder, let's drop DVDs and 10-gallon hats.
Considering that much of the DPRK is starving, I think Honey Boo Boo should be next - particularly, the "sp'ghetti n' butter" episode. We could follow that with Gordon Ramsey's programs, and all of Rachel Ray's shows. Hell, we should just beam a 24 Food Channel feed into the country...show the North Koreans that if they kick out their government, they can be just as fat as their dear leader. Especially if Paula Deen makes that pie out of Krispy Kreme donuts.
And the DPRK could only be the beginning. We could go back to Russia again, this time with The L Word, and episodes of Queer Eye For the Straight Guy. We could change the face of Al Qaeda with Baywatch, old episodes of VIP, and anything starring Tori Spelling. While we're at it, let's get Band of Brothers on Iranian TV; let's see how hard it is to deny the holocaust when you're watching Schindler's List in a barcalounger, along side Ahmadinejad.
Considering that much of the DPRK is starving, I think Honey Boo Boo should be next - particularly, the "sp'ghetti n' butter" episode. We could follow that with Gordon Ramsey's programs, and all of Rachel Ray's shows. Hell, we should just beam a 24 Food Channel feed into the country...show the North Koreans that if they kick out their government, they can be just as fat as their dear leader. Especially if Paula Deen makes that pie out of Krispy Kreme donuts.
And the DPRK could only be the beginning. We could go back to Russia again, this time with The L Word, and episodes of Queer Eye For the Straight Guy. We could change the face of Al Qaeda with Baywatch, old episodes of VIP, and anything starring Tori Spelling. While we're at it, let's get Band of Brothers on Iranian TV; let's see how hard it is to deny the holocaust when you're watching Schindler's List in a barcalounger, along side Ahmadinejad.
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But no matter what programming we export, one thing is certain: our enemies will know that life is so good in America, even our villains live in nice places. And if our bad guys live like that, think of how the good guys live. America's true power lays within our depiction on television. We can use that to our advantage, and I for one, really like Dexter's apartment.
It reminds me so much of my own home...
It reminds me so much of my own home...