Are we getting dumber? Seriously, are we as a species becoming less intelligent? Evolutionary scientists believe they have solid evidence. I say you don’t have to go nearly that far. The evidence is all around us and much of it is simply too hilarious (and wrong) to pass up. So, I’m going to begin to feature it here. When I run across something from our current culture which suggests our species is slipping, I’ll highlight it here to remind us that if indeed we are riding our own melt… we might as well enjoy it. You have to laugh about it because it’s so sad. The dumbing-down of North American culture is funny, but it’s no joke.
That being said. I love our culture, the good, the bad, and the stupid. So this feature is all in good fun. Feel free to rail against me and defend the offenders. Because if we are actually getting dumber, I could not have escaped the evolutionary trend!
Today’s candidate: Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter
Yes, you read the title correctly. I feel as though what should follow next is a Seth Meyers Amy Poehler “really?” sketch. Really, Tim Burton? That’s the movie you want to make? Really?
My wife and I finally got out of the house to see a movie together last night. It’s been months. I really can’t even remember the last time we saw a movie together in the theater. I’m pretty sure it was Shakespeare in love… just kidding. It was Midnight in Paris and it was only okay. So, we were strolling down to our theater when one of those life size movie display ads caught my eye. I saw the name “Abraham Lincoln” and thought I recognized the picture as a likeness of the dead president. I was kind of excited until I took a closer look. The rest of the title was “Vampire Hunter.”
Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter
Are we getting dumber? If this movie is any evidence, the answer is yes. Of all the things we could do with the life of Abraham Lincoln with our contemporary movie-making skills, we choose to make him a vampire killer? He lived what was possibly one of the most exciting, action packed, intriguing, and tragic lives of any US president in history… but what will introduce him to the next generation will be that he is a vampire hunter?
I get it. The vampire thing is a cipher for slavery. Once the connection is made between the two, all that is left to do it to perpetuate the myth that the sin of slavery is something our country was able to slay somewhere back in our past. It’s not. It’s something we have to confess and live with, and live with its effect on our society today, in order to move on in any authentic way.
Here’s the trailer.
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In