# Slaughtering Sacred Cows of Entertainment **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 9, 2005, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slaughtering-sacred-cows-of-entertainment/283834 "2005-01-09T03:25:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![Odinoneeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/97f17d/32.png) [@Odinoneeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odinoneeye)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2005, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slaughtering-sacred-cows-of-entertainment/283834/201 "2005-01-11T20:58:48Z")
> [@GargoyleWB](#): > > The thing with Dune is that, taken in isolation, it is merely an above average pulp scifi story, nothing earth shaking. But in context with the whole Dune series, it is the finest scifi series ever written. So if you only read the first book, feel free to slaughter it as a sacred cow, but if you’ve read the whole series then it’s a glove slap and arquebusses at twenty paces for you! 🙂 I started to read Dune Messiah and gave up after about 20 pages. I’ve had most of the series explained to me and I still don’t get the appeal. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2005, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slaughtering-sacred-cows-of-entertainment/283834/202 "2005-01-11T23:04:10Z")
> [@Odinoneeye](#): > > I started to read Dune Messiah and gave up after about 20 pages. > > I’ve had most of the series explained to me and I still don’t get the appeal. I can see that (even though I don’t hold quite the same opinion). What gets me is that _Dune_ is all most people think about when they hear Frank Herbert. He wrote other stories not in the Dune-iverse that are fantastic. Seriously, they wipe their ass with _Dune_. Which books? \*The Dosadi Experiment Whipping Star The Jesus Incident Destination: Void\* And most especially, _White Plague_ Herbert’s Dune-iverse is like the Tolkien sagas to me. Parts of it can be very entertaining, but they just took it too far, maybe. Or, perhaps those alternate realities are supposed to be similar to real life, sometimes exciting, but otherwise ho-hum. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still a HUGE fan of the Dune saga and of Middle Earth, but there’s no way I can immerse myself as deep as some people do. ---
**Author:** ![kelly5078](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6f9a4e/32.png) [@kelly5078](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelly5078)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2005, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slaughtering-sacred-cows-of-entertainment/283834/203 "2005-01-11T23:59:51Z")
Picasso - His best stuff is interesting, but not much more. I Love Lucy - Not funny. Ever. Shakespeare - Yes, I like him, but all the wordplay gets really tedious. Chaplin - I just get bored. Johnny Carson - The guy’s so full of himself he makes Letterman seem humble. David Letterman - The guy’s so full of himself he makes Carson seem humble. Marilyn Monroe - Not really all that sexy. Certainly not a great actress. Can’t sing, either. King Kong - Boring and blurry. ---
**Author:** ![Roadfood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9fc348/32.png) [@Roadfood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roadfood)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2005, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slaughtering-sacred-cows-of-entertainment/283834/204 "2005-01-12T01:21:09Z")
**Pulp Fiction** is the worst movie ever made, and that includes _Plan 9 From Outer Space_ and _Attack of the Killer Tomatos_. I mean, what the hell is it that makes people rave so much about that stupid, insipid conversation about what they call a Big Mac in France? Why do critics think that’s so innovative, creative, or whatever other superlatives they heaped on it? It’s two guys in a car talking about the name of a hamburger, fercryinoutloud! And the rest of the movie was just awful, pointless, unconnected, violence for the sake of violence. Tarrentino is the worst, most over-rated director in the history of movies. ---
**Author:** ![Odinoneeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/97f17d/32.png) [@Odinoneeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odinoneeye)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2005, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slaughtering-sacred-cows-of-entertainment/283834/205 "2005-01-12T01:45:28Z")
> [@Roadfood](#): > > **Pulp Fiction** is the worst movie ever made, and that includes _Plan 9 From Outer Space_ and _Attack of the Killer Tomatos_. I mean, what the hell is it that makes people rave so much about that stupid, insipid conversation about what they call a Big Mac in France? Why do critics think that’s so innovative, creative, or whatever other superlatives they heaped on it? It’s two guys in a car talking about the name of a hamburger, fercryinoutloud! And the rest of the movie was just awful, pointless, unconnected, violence for the sake of violence. Tarrentino is the worst, most over-rated director in the history of movies. I really hope you’re not trying to suggest that Attack of the Killer Tomatoes was anything less than a cinematic triumph! “Puberty loooovvve” ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2005, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slaughtering-sacred-cows-of-entertainment/283834/206 "2005-01-12T01:49:38Z")
I can’t stand Bugs Bunny. Or Mickey Mouse. Or any Hanna Barbera (sp?) or Warner Brothers cartoons pre-Tiny Toons or Disney Characters pre-Duck Tales. I blame my mother. I wasn’t allowed to watch them when young, so I obviously missed some crucial brainwashing phase of development that everyone else had. I’m the only person I know IRL who can’t stand “Golden Era” cartoons. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2005, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slaughtering-sacred-cows-of-entertainment/283834/207 "2005-01-12T01:58:01Z")
5 pages in and nobody else has mentioned **Eric Clapton**? Please, tell me I’m not the only one who gets bored listening to someone masturbate his guitar. And **Mel Brooks**. Maybe because he’s not considered a sacred cow. I dunno. Never cracked a smile at any of his stuff. Speaking of which: **The Producers**. Haven’t seen the play; can’t sit through the movie. The cast is just vaguely creepy. **Alfred Hitchcock** - he’s supposed to be technically great, and people rattle off all these gimmicks and stuff he did, but except for _Rebecca_, it just misses. And I’ll eight-third **Seinfeld** (except for the first two seasons). ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2005, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slaughtering-sacred-cows-of-entertainment/283834/208 "2005-01-12T02:05:35Z")
> [@bup](#): > > 5 pages in and nobody else has mentioned **Eric Clapton**? With the possible exception of Jimi Hendrix, the greatest guitarist of all time. Student of Robert Johnson, who sold his soul to the Devil at a crossroads for the ability to play the Blues. ---
**Author:** ![kevja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/aeb1de/32.png) [@kevja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kevja)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2005, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slaughtering-sacred-cows-of-entertainment/283834/209 "2005-01-12T02:51:12Z")
“Friends” (saw part of one show; the epitome of pretense) Buscemi, Steve (yeah, good character actor, but not a genius or anything) Connery, Sean (he aint that good, or hot, he’s turned into a cliché) Costas, Bob (twerp) CSI (saw it once, thought it was a retread of “Mannix”) Eagles, The Letterman, Dave (uncool guy, who acts like he’s cool, trying not to act cool) Pulp Fiction (it was good, but this worship stuff is weird) Springsteen, Bruce (except for his acceptance speech at the Oscars for “Philadelphia” and his cover of “War”) ---
**Author:** ![Farmwoman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8dc957/32.png) [@Farmwoman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Farmwoman)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2005, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slaughtering-sacred-cows-of-entertainment/283834/210 "2005-01-12T03:20:48Z")
> [@bup](#): > > 5 pages in and nobody else has mentioned **Eric Clapton**? Please, tell me I’m not the only one who gets bored listening to someone masturbate his guitar. Technically, his guitar can only masturbate itself. What he’s doing is making hot riffy luuurrve to the thing. But I guess some may say he’s masturbating _himself_. Just kidding eric. say you’ll forgive me. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2005, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slaughtering-sacred-cows-of-entertainment/283834/211 "2005-01-12T04:58:34Z")
You want sacred cows? I got your sacred cow right here. **Led Zeppelin** Lousy music and vocals that sound like a cat with its tail caught in a door. Why every classic rock station in the world thinks that they must play a LZ song every fifteen minutes is beyond me. ---
**Author:** ![Othersider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/cab0a1/32.png) [@Othersider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Othersider)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2005, 9:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slaughtering-sacred-cows-of-entertainment/283834/212 "2005-01-12T09:17:54Z")
> [@Menocchio](#): > > Your favorite show sucks. > > If you like your favorite book, you obviously can’t read. > > Your favorite movie is partially responsible for the decline of Western civilization. > > No one likes your favorite band except losers and pedophiles. > > Your favorite actors and artsists themselves should be shot on general principals. Past instances in which I professed to like you were fraudulent. 😃 > [@bup](#): > > 5 pages in and nobody else has mentioned **Eric Clapton**? Please, tell me I’m not the only one who gets bored listening to someone masturbate his guitar. If you perceive Clapton’s playing as wankery, you should probably avoid Eddie Van Halen’s. ---
**Author:** ![PookahMacPhellimey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pookahmacphellimey/32/3175_2.png) [@PookahMacPhellimey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PookahMacPhellimey)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2005, 10:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slaughtering-sacred-cows-of-entertainment/283834/213 "2005-01-12T10:10:35Z")
> [@BurnMeUp](#): > > My list of things I can find no redeeming qualities in that people seem to piss themselves over: > > U2 > Radiohead > Phish/Greatful Dead > Tool > Thomas Kincade > Shrek 1 and 2 > Bruce Springstein (sp?) > The Mists of Avalon (the book, everone knows the mini-series sucked) > Lucielle Ball (in anything she was in) > Futurama > The Lord of the Rings books (the movies were alright) > John Grisham > Jim Carey > Adam Sandler > Buffy the Vampire Slayer > Vincent Gallo > Sex in the City > 24 > and many many more Excellent list! I agree most of those except the ones that I don’t agree with. 😉 J The whiny Britishness of Radiohead reminded me of some more. Did anyone mention the dreaded Coldplay? Or Dido? Oh and Norah Jones. ---
**Author:** ![KRC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/45deac/32.png) [@KRC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KRC)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2005, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slaughtering-sacred-cows-of-entertainment/283834/214 "2005-01-12T10:15:32Z")
I second Picasso. Most overrated pseudo-genius of the 20th Century. Proof that you can fool too many people too much of the time. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2005, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slaughtering-sacred-cows-of-entertainment/283834/215 "2005-01-12T15:33:55Z")
Whenever a thread like this is started, we should recall the wise words of Stanley Crouch: when you get right down to it, NOTHING is as popular as we think it is! When you speak of “sacred cows” of entertainment or art, you’re suggesting that “EVERYBODY lovers this except me.” But you know what? NOTHING is loved by everybody. NOTHING is loved by the majority of Americans. NOTHING is loved by more than a sizable minority of Americans. Look at it this way: there are about 300 million people in the U.S. today. So, if you read that the new CD by Britney Spears has sold 20 million copies, the proper respponse is not “Man, I must be the only one who doesn’t like her.” Rather, it’s to say “20 million SOUNDS like a lot, and it is, but that’s still only 1 person in 15.” Look at two blockbuster films- “Titanic” and “The Passion of the Christ.” Both earned over $400 million at the box office. But think about it- a movie ticket costs about $8.00, right? So, to make $400 million, a movie “only” has to attract one sixth of the population. And when you consider that a LOT of the people who went to see those movies went multiple times, you begin to realize that the vast majority of Americans HAVE NEVER SEEN those supposed “blockbusters.” When you look at it that way, it’s just plain silly to ask “Am I the only one who didn’t like this-or-that album, movie, book or TV show?” Of COURSE you aren’t! The vast majority of Americans have never watched a single episode of “The Sopranos.” Most Americans have never bought a Prince CD. Most Americans didn’t go to see “Spiderman 2.” Most Americans have never read a John Grisham book. So, relax! No matter what piece of popular culture you dislike, you can console yourself with the knowledge that MOST people in this country don’t like it, either. “Everybody” doesn’t love Tolkien. “Everybody” doesn’t love the Beatles. “Everybody” doesn’t love Tom Clancy. “Everybody” doesn’t love Emeril Lagasse. It so happens that I love all those guys! But unlike their detractors, I know very well that I’m in the minority, and that doesn’t bother me in the least! Read what you like! Watch the movies you like. Listen to the movies you like, and don’t work yourself into a tizzy worrying whether mainstream America agrees with you. ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2005, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slaughtering-sacred-cows-of-entertainment/283834/216 "2005-01-12T15:53:38Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Unnecessary rant snipped. Your point? Sacred Cow doesn’t mean 100% popularity. I’m pretty sure what the OP means, for example, when you’re talking to someone and they say, horrified, “You mean you didn’t like _The Davinci Code_?” That would probably be considered one, except it’s maybe too new. But my point is made. Meanwhile, there are few on the planet who woud say, horrified, “You mean you don’t think Pauley Shore is the funnies man on the planet?” Oh, and I’d like to add The Davinci Code. That had to be one of the silliest books I’ve ever read. -Joe ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2005, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slaughtering-sacred-cows-of-entertainment/283834/217 "2005-01-12T16:01:46Z")
> [@Merijeek](#): > > Your point? > > Sacred Cow doesn’t mean 100% popularity. > > I’m pretty sure what the OP means, for example, when you’re talking to someone and they say, horrified, “You mean you didn’t like _The Davinci Code_?” > > That would probably be considered one, except it’s maybe too new. But my point is made. > > Meanwhile, there are few on the planet who woud say, horrified, “You mean you don’t think Pauley Shore is the funnies man on the planet?” > > Oh, and I’d like to add The Davinci Code. That had to be one of the silliest books I’ve ever read. > > -Joe Your point? If “The Da Vinci Code” is a sacred cow, we need a new term for the Beatles and Tolkien! Dan Brown is popular, but he’s not taken seriously by more than a handful of people. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2005, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slaughtering-sacred-cows-of-entertainment/283834/218 "2005-01-12T16:18:08Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > If “The Da Vinci Code” is a sacred cow, we need a new term for the Beatles and Tolkien! Absolutely. Sacred cow \<\> popular. When people use Dan Brown and Hanna-Barbera as examples of SC’s, we need a new definition. I’m waiting for someone to attack Beethoven’s 9th, for example. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2005, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slaughtering-sacred-cows-of-entertainment/283834/219 "2005-01-12T16:22:39Z")
Actually, I thing \*\*astorian \*\*brings up a good point. Really, exceedingly, astoundingly popular means only that a small \*minority \*of people have seen/read/heard it. Kind of gives one hope for humanity. Thanks for the Doper Total Perspective Vortex, **astorian**! 😃 > [@jsc1953](#): > > Absolutely. Sacred cow \<\> popular. When people use Dan Brown and Hanna-Barbera as examples of SC’s, we need a new definition. Actually, I only mentioned Hanna-Barbera 'cause I was too lazy to look up whether Bugs Bunny came from them or, as I think more likely, Warner Brothers. Regardless, I don’t like their cartoons, either. ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2005, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slaughtering-sacred-cows-of-entertainment/283834/220 "2005-01-12T16:27:33Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Your point? > > If “The Da Vinci Code” is a sacred cow, we need a new term for the Beatles and Tolkien! > > Dan Brown is popular, but he’s not taken seriously by more than a handful of people. Which is why I mentioned that Dan Brown’s stuff might not quite fit. And you might want to think about what “taken seriously” means and then explain it. Either way, if popularity is not a measure in this, why did you have ten paragraphs ranting on how popularity isn’t important? -Joe [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slaughtering-sacred-cows-of-entertainment/283834.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slaughtering-sacred-cows-of-entertainment/283834.md?page=12)