Joyce Minor

Sometimes you just have to vent

Minor Musings
Published: August 15, 2010

Remember the scene in the movie "Network" where a TV exec gets fed up so he sticks his head out the window and shouts, "I'm mad as hell and I'm not gonna take it anymore!" His frustration resonates with passersby and soon people all over New York are yelling out their windows to release stress.

Recently we saw this played out in real life when a flight attendant reached his ultimate frustration level and shouted obscenities over the PA aboard a packed flight waiting for takeoff. Then he grabbed a beer and exited via the emergency shoot. His swansong was applauded by people across the country who blogged and tweeted their sympathy and approval. He felt vindicated, no doubt, till he was arrested.

The fact is that all of us humans can identify with him. We all live in a pressure-cooker world, where eventually we just have to vent. Well, lookout world, I'm there!

I'm up to my lipstick in frustration with the TV/movie industry. Here's just a partial list of things that really honk me off:

•I hate TV commercials that are three times louder than the show.

•I'm fed up with programs where the background music is so loud you can't hear the dialog.

•I'm sick of shows where savvy, educated professionals go to bed with everyone they meet yet never get AIDS or STDs. That's unrealistic and sends a totally skewed message to our youth.

•I'm disgusted by movies and shows where two-thirds of the people are gay and the rest are all cool with it. That's equally unrealistic, when homosexuals actually are only between 3 and 10 percent of the population.

•I'm sick of shows where everyone in the world is tall, thin and attractive; no one is overweight, disabled, ugly or old. What an unreal (and might I say, boring) world.

•I'm fed up with programs that portray all Christians as either stupid or bigots or both.

•I'm sick of reality shows like Survivor, The Bachelor, and Big Brother that put people in stressful close quarters, doing bizarre things to crank up personality clashes and encourage backstabbing - behavior we should not be glorifying.

•I hate commercials for stain removers that don't remove stains.

•I'm sick of local news reports with meaningless video totally unrelated to the report.

•I get even more ticked off when the reporter only tells us half the story, neglecting to address the most obvious question viewers will have.

•I'm fed up with air conditioning commercials that promise ultimate "climate control," when in reality, even the latest, most up-to-date systems give you only two choices, freezing to death, or drowning in your own sweat. American technology sent men to the moon 40 years ago, so why is it we still can't make an HVAC system that works?

•I feel abused when actors, who make more in a day than I make in a year, get on TV and beg me to donate to their pet charities, while children are starving to death all around the globe.

•I hate commercials that push scented candles, perfumed detergents, fabric deodorizers, and 99 different types of air fresheners, all of which cause indoor air pollution and irritate allergies.

•And I hate it even more when the very next commercial is for allergy medications to clear out the congested sinuses caused by all the competing air fresheners in our homes and workplaces.

•I'm fed up with endless commercials touting the services of tort lawyers anxious to co-opt your paltry share of some class action suit that will ultimately benefit no one but them.

•And worst of all, I detest those ridiculous ads trying to convince me to buy gold because the price is higher than it's ever been. How stupid do they think I am? Even kids know you buy when the price is low, not high. Kids also know when something sounds too good to be true, it is. There's a catch. In this case it's hidden fees and rules restricting resale, but the ads don't even mention them.

I could go on and on but ... ah-h-h, I'm feeling better already.