Suppose you woke up one day and realized that you had been transported to an absurdist parody of reality. This is a common trope in cinema. Many films, including Back to the Future, Groundhog Day, Pleasantville, Stranger than Fiction, Idiocracy and Isn’t it Romantic, to name just a few among many, start with this very premise.
Of course these are merely movies. As much as we might find them entertaining or thought provoking, we understand that they are only fiction.
In real life we expect things to be at least a little bit sane. Which is why I was caught off guard by Sharpiegate.
Our elected political leader is doubling down on a lie so utterly petty and ridiculous, so head slappingly stupid, that it could not possibly be part of any sane reality. As though we had suddenly discovered that our elected leader was Derek Zoolander.
Suppose you made a film in which somebody was transported into a fictional world where such idiotic things actually happen. People might find your story genuinely funny.
But that’s because at the end of your movie, the credits would roll and the audience would be able to go back to a sane reality. Unfortunately, we all seem to still be trapped inside this movie.
Could somebody please wake up the projectionist?
Harold and the Purple Crayon is now Donald and the Black Sharpie.
Nice one!
I have to give credit where due: Jimmy Kimmel’s show actually created a mock-up of “Donald and the Black Sharpie” as part of his stand-up during Sharpiegate.