Seth and Oscar, a Match Made in Heaven

          News that Seth MacFarlane has been named host of next year's Oscars has pop culture consumers grinning and strutting because MacFarlane is the creator of a cartoon program on Fox called Family Guy.  Isn’t it cool that one of our own stars has plucked this honor, they seem to be saying and preening at the same time.  MacFarlane's honor represents their own entry into acceptable mainstream entertainment and validates their own taste in TV shows.  But it ought to alarm them too because it proves they are no longer on the radical cutting edge of contemporary TV; they are now in the cultural mainstream--uncool.  Perfectly forgettable.
          Maybe MacFarlane's choice is just pathetic, a by-now unnecessary additional proof that we are a nation of adult cartoon watchers, and that this lingering adolescence has intruded into what would normally be our years of maturity.  Good grief, is there no point at which we grow up?  No point at which we switch from "classic" comic books to actual classics?  No point at which the term "classic rock and roll" becomes an embarrassment?  No point at which we replace pop culture with real culture?
          I suppose not--but it's worth the effort to fight the drift, to raise consciousness, to expand horizons, and to improve taste.  Meantime, Mr. MacFarlane will continue giving the people what they want.  It's just a shame they don't want more.