by Rollin Bishop

I've been thinking a lot about the difference between what makes something popular and what makes it meaningful. The two are not always overlapping, even if we wish they did, and just because you like something doesn't mean it's particularly meaningful or good. The reverse is also true; whether something is meaningful or good doesn't actually directly correlate to you liking it. Or, perhaps, something is only good if you like it. Art!

So, then, what is the purpose of a list of "best" anything? Online, anyway, the point is engagement. It's inherently subjective! Canon is a trap! The only way to win is to not engage; doing so positively or negatively doesn't matter so long as you're doing it. But the New York Times has released a list of The 100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century, and it features basically no animation on it at all. (If you look closely, you can catch BoJack Horseman at #44.)

On the face of it, that's wild. There's been plenty said about what should or could belong here that isn't, and it's not particularly hard to stake a claim and defend it given the absolute dearth of animated material on top of the — if I were being generous — somewhat more questionable entries. Homeland at #38, NYT? Are you sure? Did we see the same show?

But instead of nitpicking and foolishly engaging (which, again, is what they want, and I came so very close to engaging above) with the accursed list, I will instead plant my feet firmly on adjacent ground and say: Bluey, the animated series from Ludo Studios for preschool children created by Joe Brumm starring anthropomorphized blue heelers that does not appear on the list, really is that good.

You probably don't need me to tell you that Bluey has been wildly successful, but there are plenty of reasons people find to downplay it. It's aimed at children, and anything that passes a certain cognitive threshold might immediately be considered by parents watching along to be particularly interesting. Its airing and subsequent rise in popularity also happens to coincide both with the advent of Disney+ and the Covid-19 pandemic. This is just true! These are the facts.

While that all maybe helps its visibility in the collective consciousness, it doesn't change the fundamental fact about what Bluey is and does. At its core, it's a show about imaginative play, told imaginatively, using simple building blocks of emotions and relationships to tell complex stories. That maybe sounds all a bit high and mighty for a description of a preschool show, especially to anyone that's maybe already written Bluey off, and to that I say: Watch "Sleepytime" and get back to me.

Friends have asked me before what it is about animation for kids that appeals to me. It's a fair question; I'm nearing 40. I do have my own children, and that certainly surfaces plenty, but I'm the kids show guy in our social circle. Other parents come to me and ask me about whether I've heard of this show or that, because their kids are talking about it.

To me, kids' media is fascinating because it is distilled and rendered into a concentrated base state. You're painting with big, bold colors to express and explore all of the emotions and feelings and relationships and concepts that people need to come to understand as they grow in approachable terms and ways. And it's about the layering of all of that together to tell more complicated, involved stories without being able to lean on bigger words, more colors, or preconceived understandings. Art.

/out of frame

😷 Rollin: Kam went so long on Tuesday that we moved our "out of frame" section to today. Hello! I've been so sick for so long that I've basically done nothing beyond what you see here on the page. And even this, I had to kick to publishing on Saturday! Apologies. Hopefully back to something resembling normalcy soon.

🤼Kambole: A significant figure in my current love of pro-wrestling was "The Bastard" Pac, real name Benjamin Satterley, who tragically and suddenly passed away last Sunday. It's hard to be brief when describing his massive impact on the wrestling scene in England and abroad, so I'll just say that his intensity and athleticism and commitment to his performance was unmatched (seriously, just watch this). 

It's been a hard month for pro-wrestling fans and more so for pro-wrestlers, as a few people in the community have passed, and Pac's death has been particularly hard on a roster of wrestlers who were still grieving the loss of Andy "The Butcher" Williams. The televised tribute to him on this past Wednesday's AEW Dynamite was emotionally grueling but also utterly beautiful in how each match pinpointed different wrestlers who shared history with Pac across promotions, and how the wrestlers involved then paid homage to their friend's history. 

🎮📚 Toussaint: Been playing through Control Resonant lately, which has been a blast more or less. Besides that, I've been reading The Gates of Midnight, the final book in Helene Wecker’s Golem and the Jinni trilogy. If you love historical fiction, I highly recommend you check it out.