The following two paragraphs are as far as I got into another essay.
The remainder of the envisioned writing is in notes (and the footnotes
for the first essays), most of which I'll probably use in one form or
another in the cartoon series.
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I say that lethargy had set in; that is another way of saying "The Jerry Springer Show" became popular. With each episode giving seemingly sincere attention to an issue, the actual interest came when there was a fight (and, God willing, some chair-throwing). But it was only an early, notorious example. Its success spawned more of the same, and much of the TV programming from then on would tend toward its low standard. While they seemed to highlight the quirky facets of varied examples of the human species, one had to wonder at a vague feeling of watching hogs wallow in their filth. And since black folks were increasingly on display especially, one might think there was a problem somewhere.
Amid all this, Rupert Murdoch entered the fray like a dingo in heat, trying to extend his media empire to the US. Initially, that might have seemed a good thing as it opened some competition to the major TV networks (NBC, CBS, ABC). But his FOX network would present programming like "Married......With Children," which had cynical humor, plumbing the dregs of "real life."
