Ok, I’ve just seen the Burger King commercial. You know the one. With the Darth Vader-freaky Burger King costume dude staredown. I’m disturbed by all of this. First of all, I have no idea how the scariest mascot ever presented is supposed to encourage me to purchase fast food. Seriously, is there a more frightening sight than that Burger King mask? I mean, it makes you long for the days of the Jolly Green Giant walking around, flattening whole villages, and having biological functions that really, really screw up the environment. But I digress.
The real thing that bothers me is the complete whoring out of Star Wars. Sure, it is a pure pop culture phenomenon and I grew up with it. Had the action figures and the lunch box. Avoided the sheets and bedspreads and the pajamas though. I even remember watching the Star Wars Christmas Special the day it was broadcast. (If you ever want to be freaked out of your mind, search Ebay for a copy of it. It may be one of the most bizarre things ever shown on broadcast television). But even with all that, even given that the entire thing is basically one big marketing campaign, you don’t want to see Darth Vader selling hamburgers. Here is one of the iconic images of the last thirty years, one of those few movie characters who really seems to strike a universal chord in an audience. Doesn’t it cheapen the character to just turn it into a shill?
For those wondering, I am not going to be one of the first in line to see the new movie. I will see it, maybe this weekend, maybe not. Part of me wants to skip the opening weekend in a silent protest to George Lucas. He’s going to end up with my money anyway, might as well make him wait a little while. Plus, I really need more than twenty four hours to finish off my Boba Fett costume. (I’m kidding. Though it would be pretty sweet).
Another update on my life, I did finish Mike Gayle’s “Dinner for Two” and my life didn’t turn upside down. At least that I know of. I have to say, I am still walking on eggshells, wondering when I am going to open my email and discover a message that makes me question my entire life once again. Does anyone else have coincidences like this? I mean, where a book or a song or some random event seems to signal a turn of events in your life. My other one is that there is this no name brass band out of Madison, Wisconsin of all places who seem to be the bearer of bad news for me. I’ve seen them twice in my life and both times within a week I was in the hospital. I might fear no man but I definitely fear this band.
Pretty much it for a Monday night. We need some new pop culture news fast. Come on, there has to be a teen diva just dying to do something stupid. This is America, we need popular people to fail. It makes us all feel better about our own lives. Wow, how cynical is that?
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