On the philosphy of Bill And Ted.

[theweaselking]

The internet bores me today, and so, as often happens when I'm bored, my mind has wandered.

I picked up the Bill And Ted's Ultimate Super Mega DVD Collection a couple of weeks ago, and what always strikes me about those movies is how utterly *implausible* it is to base an entire society around the music of Bill And Ted.

And, even worse, it always strikes me how that's really sad.

Think about it. Their motto is twofold: "Be excellent to each other" and "Party on, dudes". Deconstruct that. The prime commandment - the fundamental driving urge of this future society - is to be excellent to each other. Excellent. Not nice, not good, not okay, not "as they treat you" or even "as you would have them treat you", EXCELLENT. No exceptions, no special cases, no loopholes of any kind. You are to be, in all ways, "excellent" to everyone.

Let's look at "excellent"
Excellent (adj): Of the highest or finest quality; exceptionally good of its kind.

This is an entire society founded on the principle that everyone should at all times, treat each other in ways that are of the highest or finest quality. A society with tolerance, understanding, equality, and the largest supply of awesome waterslides of any intelligent species they have come into contact with. A society where the best job prospect for a supervillain - where he can do the MOST damage in his quest to annihilate this society - is a High School Gym Teacher.

And it's completely, fundamentally, utterly implausible as a society, so much so that it can only appear in a comedy, because modern humans really aren't willing to accept a society whose guiding principle is "Be excellent to each other."

And that's sad.

Party on, dudes.

(Next time: the Care Bears as brilliant Zoroastrian allegory)

Comments

[windswept.livejournal.com]

I think, though, that you need to incorporate the thoughtfully named "Wyld Stallyns" into your analysis. Although they communicate the compassionate and peaceful "be excellent to each other," they also use as their medium the wild and unpredictable sounds of rock-n-roll, and the image of nature running wild and free and powerful. It's not a timid excellence they promote - it's an energetic, proactive excellence. An excellence of youth, if you will. An excellence that needs to be incorporated before society has hardened and jaded us with adulthood.

Truly, it's a Platonic vision. Teach the children to be excellent to each other, and a perfect society will follow.

[scifantasy.livejournal.com]

I can now hear, in my mind, a rock cover of "Teach Your Children Well."

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

You are wise.

[zenten.livejournal.com]

That is sad.

And I want to read your essay on the Care Bears.

(Next time: the Care Bears as brilliant Zoroastrian allegory)

[graethorne.livejournal.com]

=sreaming in huge, hairy font=

=fleeing into the wilderness=

[frith]

You are to be, in all ways, "excellent" to everyone. This would be most exhausting physically and mentally.

Send in, the Bears...

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

Maybe, but when everyone is doing it in return to you, I suspect it will be less exhausting and you will be able to recover faster.

[windswept.livejournal.com]

And, I would rather hear about the Smurfs thant the Care Bears. I know, it's been done in Donnie Darko, but I suspect there's more to tell.

Or even My Pretty Pony.

[elffin.livejournal.com]

There is always the stopgap of "Party More, Bitch Less, No Drama."

I actually wrote that as a constitution of a student government in high school. Someone on /another team/ wrote their evaluative essay by writing page after page of commentary & expansion of it.

[waterspyder.livejournal.com]

Me too!

[eididdy.livejournal.com]

You know, I can only take so much from you. If you keep smack talking Bill and Ted, the knives are coming out.

[desdenova.livejournal.com]

Well, NOW I'm depressed. Thanks.

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

Smack talking? They're great in every way. I'm depressed that we're not good enough for Bill And Ted.

[eididdy.livejournal.com]

I was being sarcastic anyway buddy. Party on.