#or you know. maybe i AM the cultural idiot who can't be trusted with media

[rubiatinctorum]

the whole cultural idiot thing is part of why i find a lot of too-online musicals discourse absurd. the wise and brilliant critic is aware that dear evan hansen's evan hansen isn't very niceys, and the founding fathers weren't very niceys, and mr hyde and the opera ghost and sweeney todd aren't very niceys. but the critic also believes that the rest of the audience is a) fucking stupid. and b) so liable to be so mesmerized by the little songs and dances that they will leave the production believing that evan hansen was a hero and alexander hamilton in real life was a hero and erik poto was a hero. at some point we must recognise the other members of the audience were both not born yesterday and are here for an interesting experience, and yes, a crafted story, same as the critic thinks themselves to be, and they will not all pour out onto the streets to do great interpersonal violence because they saw a man on the stage do so.

and it's just like. funny to me. on some level. because as much as it boils my carrots to see bad takes about musicals i enjoy posturing as genuine analytical essay material rather than a scandalized reading of a summary (say essay and i WILL be checking for your thesis statement, your point evidence explanation, etc), it also doesn't escape me that the cognitohazard production that people are saying should not be allowed to exist because of the harm it is perpetuating is also the progenitor of such dangerous lines as "i'm sending pictures of the most amazing trees." PLEASE be real for a minute.