Sharknado and a nation divided
“America is the greatest melting pot in the world. It’s a place where people of all origins are welcomed, somewhere where the pursuit of life, liberty and happiness is assured to law abiding citizens. But certain issues divide us and prevent a perfect melding within our society. Sharknado is one of those issues.”
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America is the greatest melting pot in the world. It’s a place where people of all origins are welcomed, somewhere where the pursuit of life, liberty and happiness is assured to law abiding citizens. But certain issues divide us and prevent a perfect melding within our society. Sharknado is one of those issues.
If you are not familiar with Sharknado you can be forgiven. The film premiered last night on the obscure cable network “SyFy”, once known as the Sci-Fi Channel. It was awful, but in all the right ways, and it is bound to re-air many, many times. So if you missed it you’re bound to catch it eventually, assuming you seek it out.
Americans can be divided into four Sharknado-related categories: those who have seen (or will see) Sharknado and loved it, those who saw (or will see) Sharknado and can’t for their lives imagine how anybody liked it, those who will refuse to ever watch Sharknado because they know it’s dumb and those so disconnected from popular culture that they will never even hear about Sharknado.
Of the four groups, two are most at odds with one another; folks who saw the film and loved it versus those who refuse to watch a stupid “B” movie and think that anyone who watched it is an idiot. These two sub-sets of people represent the divisions that tear our nation in two. There may never be reconciliation, but there’s hope.
It comes down to how seriously one takes one’s self. Folks who consider themselves too cerebral for such a movie struggle to understand how anybody could stand being subjected to such foolishness; those who delight in the utter idiocy of Sharknado cannot grasp how anybody would not enjoy it. There’s no middle ground on this pressing societal issue.
In many ways the Sharknado dilemma mirrors our attitudes toward gay marriage, abortion rights, immigration and many of the other caustic topics that prevent us from embracing our fellow Americans. In order to coexist, Sharknado fans and those who are anti-Sharknado must search for mutual respect and focus on their similarities.
Pro-Sharknadists and anti-Sharkadists both love their children in the same way, breathe the same air and enjoy the fragrance of flowers. They see eye-to-eye on the things that matter.
It’s time for Americans to agree to disagree on Sharknado and respect each other mutually. Perhaps they can find agreement on a different pressing topic such as the song “Blurred lines” sucking donkey balls.
