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Twitter has in many ways become a force for evil, since those heady early days when it was a lovely place to come and chat with usually friendly strangers. Social media now has a streak of poison running through it where inadequates can make themselves feel powerful by being anonymously threatening to strangers or become President of the United States.I hope that when everything settles the internet might be used for good and that people will see it’s a way to communicate with each other without the filter of the custodians of their particular culture and the world will be at peace. You may call me a dreamer, but it’s nearly Christmas and at Christmas we can say these things and turn up at our best friend’s house and try and seduce his wife via the use of corny placards.
Anyway, one person who uses Twitter to great effect is TV’s Richard Osman. He engages with people, is prepared to challenge the echo chamber at time (particularly when people are complaining about the quality of TV) and is very funny too. But the highlight of his feed and perhaps Twitter itself is his occasional World Cup of Things, where he encourages his followers to vote on stuff like what’s the best chocolate bar or crisp. It’s light-hearted, competitive, promotes conversation and takes us back to a time where you could have an opinion about something and argue vociferously for it without having to denigrate anyone who disagreed with you. Or where you could denigrate them in a jokey way and they would understand it wasn’t serious. Because who could get annoyed about such trivial stuff about whether a subjective opinion is better than another one. Oh….
Anyway, this Christmas he is doing a World Cup of Christmas films, which might actually prove more divisive than some of the other contests, because people feel very strongly about this one. Me included. Because I know that the correct order is objectively Die Hard, Muppets’ Christmas Carol and Elf in the 1,2,3 spots. And I will be committing some terrorist atrocities if that is not the final order. Because I’s A Wonderful Life is a terrible film which does not understand the true implications of a person not existing. If George hadn’t existed, the film thinks, he wouldn’t have been there to save his brother falling through the pond. But if George hadn’t existed, nor would his brother (if he was younger) and so many things woudl be different anyway that the incident would never have occurred. The truth is our existence causes loads of random things to occur, some positive, some negative, most beyond our control and each of the things that happen have a knock on effect for others that might be bad or good too.
Why won't everyone just accept that I am right about everything? And that anyone who is critical of me must be chastised by everyone who likes me (whether they think I am right or not) You idiots. (Twitter condensed).
There was some debate on Twitter about whether we could make the vote work out by combining a few films into one. It would be terrific fun to have Die Hard where the villain was Elf or indeed a Muppet version of Die Hard as someone else suggested (but a Muppet version of anything would be awesome - Twelfth Night is the one I’d really like to see - which would be Christmassy too funnily enough).
I am sure that as this is 2016 the public will get the vote wrong. But from now on let’s just ask people to vote for stuff that they can have strong opinions about but which will change nothing. If politicians had put this vote together then the result would lead to any film that didn’t win being destroyed. Which I am guessing will leave us all just watching Home Alone for ever and rueing our fucking stupidity.
