If you are in your 30's or even younger, you may not know the name of Terry Southern. Terry was one of the finest satirical writers of his generation, and although he passed away in 1995, some of his works are considered classics. As a screenwriter, he is most remember for writing Dr. Strangelove, the 60's satirical film about nuclear war. I also remember his wonderful film, The Loved One, about the high-end mortuary business in Los Angeles.
But thanks to a wonderful article in the Washington Post by Peter Carlson, I was reminded this week that Southern also wrote the novel, The Magic Christian. The book was made into a mediocre film (according to critics) starring Peter Sellers and Ringo Starr. While I never read the book, I secretly liked the film because it was so bizarre.
The story is about a zany multi-millionaire who spends his time seeing how people will degrade themselves for money. In the novel and the film, the main character builds a huge vat and fills it with a mixture of blood, urine and manure. On top of this nasty concoction, he floats thousands of hundred dollar bills (British Pounds in the film) while announcing to passersby that the money is free for the taking. Of course, several people overcome their nauseousness and dive in for the money.
The point of Mr. Carlson's excellent article is that in his story, Southern unknowingly predicted the rise of Reality TV. Several of these shows apparently have their participants humiliate themselves in increasingly horrific ways to achieve some goal. With every new show, the envelope for acceptable cheap thrills is pushed even further. Personally, I find this type of show not worth my time, and since so many reality shows plague our TV sets, our TV set is off far more than ever before.
For far more details, you need to read Carlson's excellent column at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A44133-2004Nov11?
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