Dialogue of the Day - 8.5.08

Come on! It's the media age. We can do it overnight! Britney Spears shaves something or shows something or shows something shaved, and it's around the world in seconds. Trust me, lady, I can make you Mother Teresa — with better boobs.

-- Marc, Ugly Betty
“Bananas for Betty” – Season 2, Episode 10

I love Ugly Betty (and not just because I’m gay), and I love Marc (and not just because of the identical moniker). Quite possibly the gay-friendliest show on television, Ugly is the entire package. Topical and transcendent. Caustic and saccharine. Side-splittingly funny and rip-your-heart-out dramatic. You can find examples of each in every 42 minute episode. Beyond the general hilarity of this quote, think for a moment about what is written between the lines.

In today’s world, everyday people can become celebrities just by posting a video to YouTube or blogging about just about anything. The internet age has brought into existence the 4th dimension. Communities form and function on a virtual landscape that operates in conjunction with and concurrent to the real world. Often, they complement each other. Some use the internet to escape the dreary realities of everyday life. Others use real world events to bolster their virtual image. That can be, in turns, revelatory, exciting, amusing, thought-provoking, sad and shameful.

No matter how mundane the content, there’s an audience out there to consume it. Whether it’s to watch a celebrity train-wreck in progress or the simple beauty of a giggling infant, our every curiosity can easily be satisfied. I, for one, will be watching.