Remembering Don Knotts
Don Knotts has passed away at the age of 81. For years he humored us as the bumbling deputy, Barney Fife who helped to curb crime in Mayberry.
Mayberry was a rather innocent place in which the crimes were rather petty. I don’t recall a single murder in the more than 250 episodes. The sheriff, Andy Griffith, did not even carry a gun. Today’s television viewers see more violence in one commercial than ever took place in Mayberry over several years.
Knott’s humor was never coarse or vulgar. Although he may have had amorous intentions from time to time, the show never displayed the kind of blatant sexual language, innuendo or nudity so prominent in contemporary programs.
In Mayberry the F word probably stood for Fife. Today, the Hollywood writers have pushed language beyond acceptable barriers. A family with young children cannot watch television without having one finger always ready on the clicker to escape unacceptable content that arises with great regularity and rapidity.
Opie Taylor, the young boy appearing on Mayberry spent his time fishing, playing ball and chatting with Aunt Bea. He was not learning to put condoms on bananas, wondering whether he was a homosexual, trying to avoid gangs at school or experimenting with illegal drugs.
I am going to miss Don Knotts, Barney Fife and Mayberry. His passing reminds us that things never stay the same. It also jolts us when we realize how far and fast we have spiraled downward.
Some would argue that we are continuing to progress and become more enlightened than we were several years ago. I’m all for progress, but I’m not sure that leaving Mayberry is such a good thing after all.
Those who disagree will argue that I have my head in the sand and that the world is just not the same as it used to be. We just need to learn to deal with it.
They may have a point, but I wonder whether many people who resign themselves to those arguments might actually rather like the way things have gone. Deep down they don't mind it so much, at least not enough to want to do something about it.
If someone had kidnapped their child, I wonder if they would respond, "That's just the way the world is today."
The world is indeed a different place. As it continues to lurch into the future I will miss Don Knotts. He worked hard for so many years providing us with humorous and wholesome entertainment. Mayberry won't be the same without him.
Mayberry was a rather innocent place in which the crimes were rather petty. I don’t recall a single murder in the more than 250 episodes. The sheriff, Andy Griffith, did not even carry a gun. Today’s television viewers see more violence in one commercial than ever took place in Mayberry over several years.
Knott’s humor was never coarse or vulgar. Although he may have had amorous intentions from time to time, the show never displayed the kind of blatant sexual language, innuendo or nudity so prominent in contemporary programs.
In Mayberry the F word probably stood for Fife. Today, the Hollywood writers have pushed language beyond acceptable barriers. A family with young children cannot watch television without having one finger always ready on the clicker to escape unacceptable content that arises with great regularity and rapidity.
Opie Taylor, the young boy appearing on Mayberry spent his time fishing, playing ball and chatting with Aunt Bea. He was not learning to put condoms on bananas, wondering whether he was a homosexual, trying to avoid gangs at school or experimenting with illegal drugs.
I am going to miss Don Knotts, Barney Fife and Mayberry. His passing reminds us that things never stay the same. It also jolts us when we realize how far and fast we have spiraled downward.
Some would argue that we are continuing to progress and become more enlightened than we were several years ago. I’m all for progress, but I’m not sure that leaving Mayberry is such a good thing after all.
Those who disagree will argue that I have my head in the sand and that the world is just not the same as it used to be. We just need to learn to deal with it.
They may have a point, but I wonder whether many people who resign themselves to those arguments might actually rather like the way things have gone. Deep down they don't mind it so much, at least not enough to want to do something about it.
If someone had kidnapped their child, I wonder if they would respond, "That's just the way the world is today."
The world is indeed a different place. As it continues to lurch into the future I will miss Don Knotts. He worked hard for so many years providing us with humorous and wholesome entertainment. Mayberry won't be the same without him.
posted by Steve at 10:41 PM
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