11/07/2023
Life and Laughter During Days Gone By
Last night, I watched several episodes of “Saturday Night Live” from 1978 and laughed so much that Pippa came over and sat down beside me to see what all the fuss was about.
It was so much fun to go back in time for a few hours, to revisit:
“Samurai TV Repairman” with John Belushi and Buck Henry
Weekend Update with Jane Curtain and Dan Akyroyd. “Jane, you ignorant slut!”
Roseanne Roseannadanna and her insightful description of a “rectal eclipse.”
Steve Martin performing “King Tut.”
The Blues Brothers, with Akyroyd on harmonica and Belushi doing handstands.
The Czech brothers (Akyroyd and Martin), “two wild and crazy guys,” looking to pick up women “with big American breasts.”
The Greek “cheeseburga” diner with Bill Murray as the fry cook.
And so much, much more,” including Jimmy Buffet singing “Son of a Sailor,” despite a broken foot that he kept propped on the edge of a boat.
But what struck me the most about that time trip is how certain I felt that life was so much better and people were so much happier then. Yes, technologically we’ve made many advances that have improved quality of life since 1978. That’s not what I’m talking about.
As I watched those SNL episodes, I realized that divisive politics didn’t infest every aspect of our lives as it does today. Those skits had no agendas other than to make people laugh. Period.
Yeah, I know I probably sound to some just like an ol’ guy reminiscing about the “good ol’ days” and there is some truth in that. As we age, we do look back fondly at the times of our lives, not matter how good or bad they actually might have been.
And I also know that for young adults today, what they are experiencing now is “normal” for them and they too will look back nostalgically at life in the 2020s, including the music, fashion, and culture.
Still, I think there’s more to my argument that life was better and people happier then than generational prejudice. And as someone who has worked in media for much of his adult life, I believe that media has played a significant role in the decline.
From CNN, the first 24-hour news station, to TikTok, we are where we are today because of information overload and competition for viewers and profits by dividing us into factions and normalizing any and all behaviors, no matter how bizarre, illogical, destructive, and/or dangerous they may be.
When “social media influencer” is a lucrative profession, this ol’ guy thinks we are in a bad place intellectually, morally, spiritually, and culturally.
NOW, BLATANT COMMERCIAL PLUG: If you want to read and wax nostalgic about life during a simpler, more innocent time, check out my book Under the Bed: Tales from an Innocent Childhood.
