Social Lubrication
The ticking time bomb is a well worn trope of action drama… One of the primary arguments for torture was the ticking time bomb “Jack Bauer’s 24 scenario.” If there was a dirty bomb ticking down, poised to to incinerate your grandmother and everything she ever loved, wouldn’t you want to wire a car battery to the nearest person of interest and save the world? The “intelligence community” has universally said this scenario is a load of bunk. However, it provides a simple and compelling illustration for those who have been drawn into the FOX drama on television…
Now from the Discovery Channel we have “The Colony” which has just recently launched.
“For 10 weeks, a group of 10 volunteers, whose backgrounds and expertise represent a cross-section of modern society, are isolated in an urban environment outside Los Angeles and tasked with creating a livable society… Experts from the fields of homeland security, engineering and psychology have helped design the world of The Colony to reflect elements from both real-life disasters and models of what the future could look like after a global viral outbreak.”
”If you want to imagine the future, imagine a boot, stamping on a human face forever.” – George Orwell
the eulogist
Golden Knuckles
m.londus.pike
I watched one episode of “The Colony” because of this post (uhhh.. Joy Division’s “Colony” just came up in iTunes as I typed that – cue Twilight Zone theme). I couldn’t get over the fact that the participants were REALLY acting as if it was the end of the world. They were crying, yelling, getting violent etc. I know there are psychological factors involved but I just couldn’t buy into the show for the very fact it’s JUST A SHOW (which I kept yelling at the TV by the way). Too bad. It’s an interesting idea.
They should get some washed-up Hollywood losers to replace the volunteers, throw in Pauly Shore and Stephen Baldwin as a panel of washed-up nobody judges and rename it Celebrity Biodome.