Does Leo DiCaprio Think We’re Stupid?

On Sunday night, I Tivo’d “Greensburg”—the Leonardo DiCaprio show about how the Kansas town turned tragedy into triumph by rebuilding green after being literally devastated by a tornado—and I just got around to watching it.



Wow. It was . . . umm . . .notwhat I expected.



I thought it was going to be a two-hour (inspirational) documentary. Instead, it is a (condescending) series. For some reason—or, rather, for many reasons—the fact that it’s a series turned it from real to reality TV (and we all know there’s very little reality in that genre). Conversations seemed forced or, worse, fake. I dare say that even the idea of going green didn’t come from the town manager, as presented, but by show producers.



So many TV shows are dumbed down. Here’s a news flash for producers: We’re not dumb. Some of us are actually very intelligent. A television screen is like an x-ray machine, revealing the truthandthe lies. With “Greensburg,” I saw few truths.



I hope I’m wrong. I just don’t think I am.



For the record, I think the concept of a green town is brilliant. Can you imagine living in a place whereeveryhome and business is environmentally friendly? What I worry is missing is the green passion. Every home might be green, but are the homeowners shutting off the lights when they leave the room, using recycled toilet paper, and driving hybrids?



Or am I asking too much?



I realize that a green home/business is a huge, massive, monumental step, and if we all lived that way, we’d all be better off. But, to me, green comes from the inside out. If the house is green, but everything inside has off-gases and pollutants, it hardly matters. I’m not sure how many episodes are in the series and, perhaps, during the construction, Greensburg’s citizens do discover and develop a green passion. I hope so. I’m just not sure I can watch the show to the end. The forced and fake reality of it all makes me feel a little green (as in queasy).



Question of the blog:What didyouthink of “Greensburg”?