| Losing the spirit of the show |
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| written by rmarkd |
October 19, 2005 - 10:52 AM PDT |
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3 out of 3 members found this review helpful
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This DVD of Bullshit covered 4 topics
PETA:
P&T take on PETA, starting with a group protesting an animal care clinic that also puts animals to sleep, and ends with a very ironic twist. They made some interesting points, but the story seemed to meander and go off topic (for example, they brought in Ted "The Nuge" Nugent to shoot some bows and talk about how a discussion of not eating meat "made no sense to him"). Penn was in full profanity form, but what's missing -- in contrast to the first season -- is how they make the other side seem so ridiculous. 7/10 for this episode.
Safety Hysteria:
Again, some good points about how we've gotten so scared of germs and some of the silly steps we've taken to feel safer. I wish they made a clearer connection between our fears and how people benefit and fuel our fears. 6/10.
The Business of Love:
What I thought was the weakest link, this episode tries to make fun of all the love self help, such as the "Men are from Mars" type books. They jokingly stressed that we're actually both from Earth, but I think they miss the point that men and women are different, and we have to realize that. I *think* their basic gripe is how there's all these people trying to get money out of fixing people up and keeping people together. And, to an extent, I agree, but I don't think they were all too clear in what they were trying to prove. 5/10.
War on Drugs:
Here, they discuss the war on drugs (particularly marijuana). They show how pot can be medicinal for some, but that the gov't refuses to allow it, although a choice few do get medical marijuana from the federal gov't. They discuss how alcohol and tobacco are far more dangerous and bring in doctors to stress there hasn't been one death directly from using pot. They show the silliness of the "gateway drug" argument. But they missed the discussion of pot usage and crime (or lack thereof) and only touch on the cost it takes to imprison users. They also really didn't make the connection between the gang crimes during prohibition and the gang crimes with the current drug war. It's still their best episode in the DVD, but lacking. 7/10
I pretty much side with them on all these topics, to varying degrees. Unfortunately, they've forgotten the spirit of the show. Instead, Penn swears alot and makes fun of the people they show (and not in a way that strengthens their point, they just make fun of them). I want to like the episodes, but I just feel they don't do enough to make their case. Contrast this with their first season and you'll see what I mean. The first season was really more about uncovering the bullshit, but this DVD seems to be more about entertainment.
6/10 -- interesting, sometimes funny, but I think they're losing the spirit of what Bullshit was initially about. |
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