The Worst Year*
Michael Scott
There’s something to be said about the way Family Guy deals with long-running jokes. This kind of humor certainly wasn’t invented by the the show, which first ran in 1999, but it became known for frequently using this kind of joke. The joke would hit once, maybe it’d score a laugh but probably nothing too crazy for the mile a minute that Family Guy normally moves, but then it’d hit again. That second hit of the joke was usually bigger, more ridiculous and was kind of the pay off for the set-up. However, Family Guy would often take the joke further, having it appear countless more times or simply lasting a long time. For a 21 minute show burning excessive runtime with singular, often inane or annoying jokes is bold to say the least. Detractors might argue that certain episodes of Family Guy might qualify as overly-long, unfunny jokes in and of themselves.
That’s kind of how I feel about 2020.
Covid-19’s spread and the disgusting degree to which it was mishandled by world governments (notably China and the US) is just the tip of the iceberg. There’s also killer hornets and other deadly invasive species, climate change which has seen fit to set the entire west coast of the US on fire for half the year, the ongoing issue of police brutality against minorities which has unfortunately been swept under the rug yet again due to everything else overshadowing it DESPITE increasingly widespread support for the BLM movement.
And all of this…. all of this shit makes it so that when I have a personal problem…like something that just effects me, or the people I love I can’t complain about it. Or maybe I can, but it feels inappropriate. Should I complain that the university I attended tried to retroactively deny my graduation due to a clerical error on their part? The assault? I busted my ass at that school. Apparently I was the only one, because I did multiple group projects alone, wrote award-winning research papers, and graduated despite the smoke-choked Californian air, the riots, the killer virus spreading through the country etc, etc, etc.
Am I stronger for it? No. But I’m angrier. More tired, more desperate for work and human connection, and creative outlets.
Is it hypocritical that I believe in experiential relativism, but not in moral relativism? My degree in Communication Theory should say otherwise, but here I am.
I’m ready and willing to change the world, really, to try to make it a better place through humor, or thoughtfulness, or joining the ranks with another force for good but I’m waiting for that bell to ring. With a family that is unable, or unwillingly to help, friends who are as lost as me, partners who don’t have their shit together enough to allow me to pull us out of the muck I’m still stuck. Stuck here.
But I guess that’s the thing, tragedy becomes comedy over time. And much like Family Guy’s ridiculously long-lasting jokes is that they often eventually wrap around from being tiresome to being so tiresome they become funny and fresh again. I can’t say whether water-boarding your viewers to get a laugh is good form, but I can say that it does, eventually, work. So when does that break come? Cause’ I’m ready for it.
I’d be lying if I said that this post wasn’t inspired by my recent binge-watching is Unus Annus on youtube, which is set to be deleted in just a few days.
Let’s seize the day.
If you’ve read this, and felt that you relate to any of it, know that despite our differences, you’re not alone. And if you want to join forces with a fellow creative (big me) who’s idealism might be holding him back, reach out to me. I’m ready to create with you*
Email me at mrcannonwow@gmail.com to pitch writing projects, podcasts, videos, gaming groups, art projects, or literally anything else creative.
Oh and if you find this page, a year, 5 years, 10 years after this was posted. Please reach out anyway, because I want to hear from you.