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Pop culture and 'best-of' lists create waves of tension
- By Kimball Bennion
- Trail Staff Writer
- In our nation’s 230-year history, we have had only one civil war. Think about it. We were so polarized on the issues of the time that we actually ended up splitting in two and going to war. Brother against brother. Union against Rebels. Patrick Swayze against James Read. It has been hailed as the bloodiest war in American history. All because we couldn’t see eye to eye with our fellow countrymen.
If middle school social studies teachers attempting to get me excited about their classes have taught me anything, it’s this: “If we don’t learn from our past, we’re bound to repeat it.” If the civil war were to repeat itself today, the catalyst wouldn’t be a political issue like slavery or secession. It would be pop culture.
In the 1860s, pop culture’s influence on American society was no more than the occasional outing to Ford’s Theater. But the times, they have a-changed. Pop culture is everywhere, and it is a hot topic for debate and ill will.
If you want an example, this time of year is a great time to find more than one. Go to your nearest magazine rack and you’ll find all the end-of-the-year lists than you can stomach. Best dressed of 2006. Best albums of the year. Best television shows of the season about being backstage at a sketch show. The list of lists goes on and on.
They must sell because they’re made every year. My question is why. People must be drawn to things that make them angry and frustrated, because I have yet to meet anyone who ever agrees with a best-of list.
Somehow, year after year, we are utterly shocked that a jaded critic living miles away does not share our own personal tastes.
It’s the authoritativeness of lists that gets us. If someone says, “I just bought the new K-Fed CD and it rules,” we might chuckle and politely disagree. But when K-Fed gets the number one spot on a top-five list, we lose it. Why shouldn’t we? We paid good money for the album they put at number three, and we thought it was a good investment. How dare somebody take the time to logically rank five specific albums in order from worst to best only to place our’s at three? It’s an insult.
Worse is when the list transcends the year, decade or even the century and says, “of all time” or “ever.” How pretentious can you get? For example, is George Clooney really the sexiest man alive? Does this mean the previous year’s sexiest man has been done in somehow? “Sorry Mr. McConaughey, but it does say ‘alive,’ and George is clearly this year’s winner.”
If we’re going for accuracy here, we would do better with lists like “Sexiest man that agreed to be interviewed,” or “The top 63 greatest albums of all time with 37 more albums that you’ve never heard of. We mixed them in there to confuse you and to make us look like pretentious music snobs. We even put one of them at number four.”
Of course, from a magazine editor’s point of view, “Sexiest man alive” and “100 greatest albums of all time” may be more readable and eye-catching, but we all know what they really mean.
Yes, I myself have made plenty “of all time” lists, and yes, I have made instant enemies in the process.
But my case is different. After all, I was voted the greatest newspaper columnist alive, so I think I would know what I’m talking about.
Dave Barry, you will be missed.
- Trail Staff Writer