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Californication and Cultural Imperialism Baywatch and the Creation of

World Culture . Ed. Andrew Anglophone. Point Sur: Malibu Universi ty

Press, 1997.

Reviewed by David Lavery, Middle

Tennessee State Universi ty

We live in the age of the Los

Angelization of Planet Earth.

William Irwin Thompson

The te l ev i s ion se r i e s Baywatch premie red in1990 on NBC and was cance l l ed due to poor

r a t i ngs . Resu r r ec t ed in 1992 as an

independen t , non ‐ne twork p roduc t ion o f Al l

Amer i can Te lev i s ion , t he se r i e s then

became in wor ld wide synd ica t i on , t he mos t

popu la r show in the h i s to ry o f the med ium,

cu r r en t ly a t t r ac t i ng app rox ima te ly 1 b i l l i on

v i ewer s in hundreds o f coun t r i e s a round the

g lobe .

Andrew Ang lophone o f the Un ive r s i t y o f Nor the rn Sou th Dako ta a t Hoop le has

pu t toge the r a co l l ec t i on o f d i sce rn ing es says fo r Ma l ibu Unive r s i t y P re s s en t i t l ed

Cal i forn ica t ion and Cul tura l Imper ia l i sm : Baywatch and the Crea t ion of World

Cul ture . No doub t some wi l l ques t i on the need fo r a scho la r ly book on such a se r i e s .

Indeed , i t wou ld be a lmos t t emp t ing to read the es says in Ang lophone ’s vo lume—

app l i ca t i ons o f soph i s t i c a t ed and of t en abs t ru se au couran t me thodo log i e s to a ve ry

low cu l tu r e phenomenon—as quas i ‐pa rod i e s o f t e l ev i s ion c r i t i c i sm and cu l tu r a l

s tud i e s , wh ich i s , fo r th i s r ev i ewer a t l ea s t , no t to condemn them or doub t the i r

va lue .

Ang lophone ’s own in t roduc t ion . “Amer i ca Makes Al l t he Images : Baywatch as

a Semio t i c Expor t , ” t akes i t s t i t l e f rom Wim Wende r s ’Tokyo‐Ga , a documen ta ry

t r i bu t e to the g rea t J apanese au t eu r Ozu . Dur ing a v i s i t t o a t e l ev i s ion as sembly l ine ,

t he German expa t r i a t e f i lmmake r, hav ing jus t f i n i shed a long so jou rn in the Un i t ed

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Th e Co l l e c t ed Wo rk s o f D a v id Lav e ry 2

Sta t e s , muses on Japan ’s dominance o f the indus t ry. “The Japanese , ” he obse rves ,

“make a l l t he TVs , bu t the Amer i cans make a l l t he images . ” Wi th i t s t r emendous

in t e rna t i ona l popu la r i t y, Baywatch has obv ious ly con t r i bu t ed migh t i l y to keep ing

Amer i ca in the b l ack in the cu l tu r a l exchange economy, and i t i s fo r th i s r ea son ,

Ang lophone a rgues , t ha t i t i s wor thy o f se r ious cons ide ra t i on . Ang lophone wou ld l ikeh i s book to s t and as a con t r i bu t ion to the s tudy of cu l tu r a l impe r i a l i sm , the

hegemon ic co lon i za t i on unde r wor ld cap i t a l i sm of o the r cu l tu r e s by dominan t

cu l tu r e s l i ke tha t o f the Un i t ed S ta t e s . ( I t i s t o th i s coe rc ive s ign i fy ing sup remacy

tha t “ the Ca l i fo rn i ca t i on” o f h i s t i t l e r e f e r s . ) To some ex ten t he succeeds .

The t i t l e o f the book , wh ich sugges t s a s t rong ly neo ‐Marx i s t app roach , a

cu l tu r a l s tud i e s cons ide ra t i on o f Baywatch as a p r ime case o f Jameson’s “ l a t e

cap i t a l i sm” a t work , i s i n a sense mis l ead ing . A l though i t does indeed cons ide r the

se r i e s in an in t e rna t i ona l con tex t , i t does much more as we l l , o f f e r ing a va r i e ty o f

app roaches to Baywatch bo th as t ex t and cu l tu r a l / economic phenomenon . Al low me

to o ff e r a b r i e f gu ided tou r, su r f i ng ove r the book’s deep wa te r s and nav iga t i ng

ca re fu l l y i t s sha l l ows .

The au tho r o f an ea r l i e r book onThe Case of Cal i forn ia , a co l l ec t i on o f

psychoana ly t i c med i t a t i ons on eve ry th ing Ca l i fo rn i an , f rom fas t food to Va l l ey Gi r l s ,

Lawrence A. Ricke l s , P ro fe s so r o f German a t UC San ta Barba ra , u se s h i s e s say, “Tan

Lines and Iden t i t y : A Psychoh i s to r i ca l Read ing o fBaywatch , ” t o examine Baywatch ’ s

cu l tu r a l momen t . Ju s t a s Er ik Er ik son wan ted to unde r s t and , i n Young Man Luther ,

why the Refo rma t ion happened when i t d id , wha t f ac to r s in h i s to ry ’s deve lopmen ta l

p sycho logy produced Mar t i n Lu the r when and where i t d id , R icke l s seeks to asce r t a in

the why and where fo re o f Baywatch . Why d id the 1990s need

th i s show? To wha t in ou r unconsc ious does i t speak?

In “Sur f and S imula t i on : Baudr i l l a rd and Baywatch , ”

Marc Kipnes s adop t s some of the ideas o f the French

ph i lo sophe r o f communica t i on , e spec i a l l y those exp re s sed in

Baudr i l l a rd ’s two t r ave l books abou t the Un i t ed S ta t e s ,

America and Cool Memories , i n o rde r to a s se s s the cu l tu r a ls ign i f i cance o f Baywatch . Ca l i fo rn i a , wr i t e s Baudr i l l a rd , a PoMo de Tocquev i l l e , i s

" the wor ld cen t e r o f the inau then t i c . ” Kipnes s ’ in t en t i s t o t r ace the d i s semina t ion o f

th i s inau then t i c i t y—to show how and why Baywatch has cap tu red the wor ld ’s

imag ina t i on . Baywatch’s h i s to r i ca l momen t , K ipnes s a rgues , a r r i ved a t a t ime of

cu l tu r a l AIDS , to use Baudr i l l a rd ’s f r i gh t en ing me taphor :

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We don ' t have any th ing to oppose to [Amer i can ] cu l tu r a l con t amina t ion .

Cu l tu r a l l y and ph i lo soph ica l l y exhaus t ed , we rema in unab le to t r ans fo rm our

pas t i n to l i v ing va lues fo r the p re sen t . Our cu l tu r a l an t i bod ie s have acqu i r ed

an immune de f i c i ency and can ' t r e s i s t t he v i ru s .

Baudr i l l a rd ’s “we” re fe r s , o f cou r se , t o Europe and Europeans gene ra l l y ; bu t Kipnes s

un ive r sa l i ze s the in s igh t : Baywatch’s “ha rdbod ie s , ” h i s e s say demons t r a t e s , t r i umph

wi th ease ove r the de fense l e s s an t ibod ie s o f o the r cu l tu r e s , f rom eas t t o wes t .

Drawing on the s t i l l ‐ sugges t i ve in s igh t s o f Lau ra Mulvey, L inda Br igance t akes

a c lo se look a tBaywatch ’s t e l ev i sua l s ty l e . Focus ing on i t s open ing c red i t s equence

and then on the se r i e s ’ f i r s t ep i sode , t he c l a s s i c “Pan ic a t Ma l ibu P ie r, ” Br igance ’s “T

and A: Gaz ing Baywatch ” p rov ides no t on ly a d i sce rn ing ana lys i s o f the show’s gende r

add re s s bu t a sugges t i ve thes i s on the p l ace o f ana tomy in the pos tmode rn

imag ina t i on . Espec i a l l y i l l umina t ing i s he r b r i e f h i s to ry o f TV T & A, f romChar l ie ’s

Angels t o Baywatch .

B r igance ’s e s say fo reg rounds Pame la Ande r son , t he p l a s t i c i zed b imbo who has

tu rned on a l a rge pe rcen t age o f Baywatch ’s av id wor ld ‐wide fo l l owing . In he r p i ece

on “Dav id Hasse lho ff : A Semio t i c Approach to One of the Wor ld ’s Mos t Recogn ized

Images , ” Diane S tevenson inves t i ga t e s the appea l o f the se r i e s ’ r ea l s t a r. One of the

bes t known ind iv idua l s on the face o f the ea r th (S t evenson ranks h im r igh t up the re

wi th Michae l Jackson , Schwarzenegge r, B i l l C l in ton ) , Hasse lho ff has pa r l eyed minor

succes s in the soap ope ra Young and the Res t less and modes t US ra t i ngs fo r h i s se r i e s

Knight r ider , i n wh ich he p layed second banana to a t a lk ing ca r, i n to the t r emendous

wor ld ‐wide in t e rna t i ona l popu la r i t y o f Knight r ider and then in to the megah i t o f

Baywatch . Has se lho ff ’s popu la r i t y does no t s top the re , o f cou r se : ove r sea s ,

e spec i a l l y in Europe , he i s a mus i c supe r s t a r a s we l l , a second Elv i s , a pe r fo rmer

whose reco rd ings a l l go megap la t i num and who was , fo r example , a f ea tu red

pe r fo rmer a t t he conce r t t ha t marked the d i sman t l i ng o f the Ber l i n Wal l . A ca re fu l

l ook a t Hasse lho ff ’s phys i ca l s ign i f i e r s—he igh t , age , t i gh t buns , wavy ha i r, ches t ha i r,vo i ce—and a t h i s cha rac t e r, Mi t ch Buchanon , on Baywatch ( Mitch ’s s t a tu s a s a s ing l e

f a the r in the ‘90s a t t r ac t s spec i a l a t t en t i on f rom Stevenson ) l eads to a su rp r i s i ng

thes i s conce rn ing Hasse lho ff ’s s ign i f i eds .

Brandon Tar t i ko ff t e l l s t he s to ry o f NBC’s a t f i r s t fu t i l e a t t emp t s to se l l

Laverne and Shi r ley i n to European synd ica t i on . Af t e r seve ra l f a i l ed a t t emp t s to

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Th e Co l l e c t ed Wo rk s o f D a v id Lav e ry 4

i n t e r e s t EC ne tworks in the show, NBC remarke t ed the se r i e s wi th a f r ame ta l e

added . Lave rne and Sh i r l ey were reconcep tua l i zed as runaways f rom a men ta l

hosp i t a l , an escape dep ic t ed in a newly added open ing sequence , and the show

caugh t on . Baywatch needed no such repackag ing . Bu t the h i s to ry o f i t s marke t ing—

through ads , cds , commodi ty in t e r t ex t s , mus i c , Wor ld Wide Web s i t e s—is no t wi thou tin t e r e s t . I n “Baywatch as Commodi ty : Marke t ing the Wor ld ’s Mos t Popu la r Show,”

Dick Campbe l l , au tho r o f an exce l l en t book on60 Minutes , c a t a logues more than we

wou ld eve r wan t to know abou t the packag ing o f Baywatch and , in the p roces s , ha s

more than a l i t t l e to say abou t how Amer i ca ’s en t e r t a inmen t t a s t e has become the

wor ld ’s t a s t e .

L ike Kipnes s , K . Ka l inak d raws on Baudr i l l a rd ’sAmerica fo r he r key ins igh t in

an es say on Baywatch’s mus ic . I t i s an obscu re commen t on te l ev i s ion l augh t r acks

wh ich ca t ches he r a t t en t i on :

Laugh te r on Amer i can t e l ev i s ion has t aken the p l ace o f the cho rus in Greek

t r agedy. I t i s un re l en t i ng ; the news , the s tock exchange repo r t s , and the

wea the r fo recas t a r e abou t the on ly th ings spa red . Bu t so obses s ive i s i t t ha t

you go on hea r ing i t beh ind the vo ice o f Reagan or the Mar ines d i sa s t e r i n

Be i ru t . Even beh ind the adve r t s . I t i s t he mons t e r f rom Alien prowl ing a round

in a l l t he co r r ido r s o f the spacesh ip . i t i s t he sa rca s t i c exh i l i r a t i on o f a

pu r i t an cu l tu r e . In o the r coun t r i e s the bus ines s o f l augh ing i s l e f t t o the

v i ewer s . he re , t he i r l augh te r i s pu t on the sc reen , i n t eg ra t ed in to the show. I t

i s t he sc reen tha t i s l augh ing and hav ing a good t ime . You a re s imp ly l e f t

a lone wi th your cons t e rna t i on .

Ka l inak ’s “Sur f and Sufe i t : The Ro le o f Mus ic inBaywatch ” t r ea t s the se r i e s ’

pound ing , ove rbea r ing , annoy ing , awfu l mus i c a s equa l ly man ipu l a t i ve and “a l i en . ”

The au tho r o f a semina l ea r l i e r s tudy on the c ros s ‐ cu l tu r a l impac t o fDal las ,

Tamar L iebes o f Hebrew Unive r s i t y in Je rusa l em se t s ou t he re to app l i ed a s imi l a r

me thodo logy to Baywatch . “Decod ing Baywatch : A Cross ‐Cu l tu r a l , E thnograph icS tudy” uses in t e rv i ews wi th f i f t y in fo rman t s in t en coun t r i e s ( i nc lud ing Saud i Arab i a ,

I s r ae l , I nd i a , and Japan ) in o rde r to a sce r t a in the va r ious ways in wh ich the se r i e s i s

ac tua l l y used in d i f f e r en t cu l tu r a l con t ex t s . The re su l t i s somewha t su rp r i s i ng and a t

l ea s t pa r t i a l l y mi t i ga t e s the a rgumen t tha t a se r i e s l i ke Baywatch neces sa r i l y f eeds

the t endency toward monocu l tu r e .

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Th e Co l l e c t ed Wo rk s o f D a v id Lav e ry 5

Michae l Dunne ’s “Bakh t in Goes to the Beach : Dia log i sm and Baywatch ” i s

l i kewi se l e s s ha r sh in i t s c r i t i c i sm of the se r i e s . Drawing on Horace Newcomb’s

adop t ion o f Bakh t in i an no t ions in h i s dep i c t i on o f the d i a log i c “cu l tu r a l fo rum”

offe r ed by te l ev i s ion , Dunne sugges t s tha t Baywatch i s no t a s mono log i ca l a s i t m igh t

appea r, t ha t i ndeed i t speaks wi th many vo ice s r ep re sen t ing many cons t i t uenc i e s andseeks to be , i n i t s own s tup id way, a s po l i t i c a l l y co r r ec t a s pos s ib l e fo r a T and A

show.

E l i zabe th Kubek’s deep bu t i l l umina t ing “Mi r ro r s o f Sand : Baywatch f rom a

Lacan ian Pe r spec t i ve” i s pe rhaps the toughes t e s say in Ang lophone ’s book , us ing as i t

does the French Freud ’s d i f f i cu l t p sychoana ly t i c app roach to s tudy wha t she ca l l s

“ the p rob l ema t i c s o f pa t r i a r chy” as exp lo red in Baywatch . Tak ing as he r sub j ec t “ the

re l a t i on o f pa t e rna l o r quas i ‐pa t e rna l au tho r i t y to ‘ t ru th , ’ ” a theme exp lo red in the

des i r e fo r be l i e f , knowledge , and va l ida t i on o f i t s cen t r a l cha rac t e r s , Kubek ze ros in

on the unce r t a in r e l a t i onsh ip o f s ing l e f a the r Mi t ch and h i s t eenage son Hob ie , a

young man named a f t e r a su r f boa rd .

Wi th an in i t i a l focus on a s ing l eBaywatch ep i sode (“Now Si t R igh t Back” in

the second season ) in wh ich the l i f egua rds save ( in a d ream sequence , o f cou r se ) the

s t r anded c rew of Gil l igan’s Is land , Michae l Ca r ro l l de t a i l s—in “Sav ing Gi l l i gan : Me ta ‐

and In t e r ‐Tex tua l i t y in Baywatch ” — t he se r i e s ’ p rominen t r e f e r ences no t on ly to

o the r shows bu t to i t s e l f . As Car ro l l demons t r a t e s , Baywatch no t on ly inco rpo ra t e s

“ r ea l ” peop le in to i t s p lo t s (Wor ld Wres t l i ng Fede ra t i on supe r s t a r Hu lk Hogan p lays

h imse l f i n one ep i sode , t he Beach Boys and gymnas t Mary Lou Re t ton appea r in

o the r s ) , i t a l so inco rpo ra t e s the d i eges i s o f o the r se r i e s . In add i t i on to the ep i sode

cann iba l i z ing Gil l igan’s Is land , t he r e a re o the r s in wh ich t e l ev i s ion i t s e l f becomes the

sub jec t—the one , fo r example , i n wh ich Baywatch’s women f ind themse lves in a

fan t a sy rec rea t i on o f Char l ie ’s Angels .

O the r example s o f in t e r ‐ and me ta t ex tua l i t y abound , a s Car ro l l shows . In

“Game of Chance” the Baywa tch c rew cap tu re s a spec i a l l y des igned rec rea t i ona l

veh i c l e wh ich has been used in a se r i e s o f robbe r i e s—a ca r capab le o f in s t an t

conve r s ion in to a boa t . A t the show’s end , a s Mi t ch inspec t s the veh ic l e and i t scapab i l i t i e s ( fou r whee l d r ive , a g rea t s t e r eo sys t em) a re l i s t ed , he asks , ap ropos o f

no th ing a t a l l , “Does i t t a lk?” When to ld tha t i t does no t , he in s i s t s , w i th a wink a t

the camera , t ha t he i s no t in t e r e s t ed in i t . The wink , Ca r ro l l no t e s , i s i n t e r t ex tua l : a

r e f e r ence to Dav id Hasse lho ff ’s t a lk ing ca r in h i s fo rmer se r i e s ,Knight r ider . I n o the r

h igh ly me ta t ex tua l ep i sodes , Baywatch seems to have become as se l f ‐ consc ious as

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any ano the r work o f h igh pos tmode rn i sm. In “Beau ty and the Beas t , ” fo r example ,

t he se r i e s p l ays o ff o f i t s own repu ta t i on as a showcase fo r the phys i ca l a t t r i bu t e s o f

Pame la Ande r son and o the r s a s Ins ide Spor ts magaz ine comes to Baywa tch in sea rch

o f a l i f egua rd mode l fo r i t s swimsu i t i s sue . And in “Rescue Bay, ” fo r example , a

s l eazy t e l ev i s ion p roduce r dec ides to c rea t e a new se r i e s based on the adven tu re s o fa g roup of Ca l i fo rn i a l i f egua rds and cas t s seve ra l Baywa tch member s in the show. (He

f ina l l y dec ides no t to do the se r i e s because no one cou ld poss ib ly be in t e r e s t ed in a

show abou t l i f egua rds . ) Baywatch’s a l l u s iona ry na tu re , K ipnes s a rgues , i t s hype r ‐

awarenes s o f wha t Eco has deemed “ the a l r eady sa id , ” thus make i t e s sen t i a l l y a

pos tmode rn t ex t , t hough admi t t ed ly an un l ike ly one .

Tha t t e l ev i s ion i s a “p roduce r s med ium” i s a t ru i sm of t e l ev i s ion s tud i e s . Ve ry

l i t t l e a t t en t i on has been pa id to e i t he r the d i r ec to r s o r the wr i t e r s o f TV, who rema in

a lmos t comple t e ly inv i s ib l e and unacknowledged . Ca ro l Mar ton ’s “Deborah Schwar t z :

A Baywatch Auteu r” makes an e ffo r t t o f i l l t h i s vo id by examin ing the e igh t een

ep i sodes o f the se r i e s wr i t t en by Deborah Schwar t z . Sc ru t i nz ing the key themes ,

p lo t s , cha rac t e r s , and images o f Schwar t z ’s t e l ep l ays , Mar ton wres t l e s wi th the l a rge

ques t i on o f how an ind iv idua l vo i ce and v i s ion f ind the means o f se l f exp re s s ion

wi th in the f low of an ongo ing , h igh ly fo rmu la i c se r i e s .

In “Bash a t the Beach , ” f rom Baywa tch ’s 4 th Season . C . J . s aves the l i f e o f

wres t l e r Hu lk Hogan . In he r deb t , he ag rees to wres t l e h i s nemes i s R ick F la i r fo r the

Heavywe igh t Championsh ip as a fund ‐ r a i s e r to save the Ven ice Beach Boys ’ C lub .

Need le s s to say, t h i s ep i sode a t t r ac t s the a t t en t i on o f James Bake r o f Texas A & M

Unive r s i t y in “Baywatch and Te lev i s ion Wres t l i ng : A Nar ra to log i ca l Compar i son . ” Bu t

Bake r i s in t e r e s t ed in much more than th i s ove r t i nc lu s ion o f p ro fe s s iona l wres t l i ng

in to the t ex t o f Baywatch . Bake r ’s ingen ious es say o ff e r s a su rp r i s i ng compar i son and

con t r a s t o f Baywatch’s mul t ip l e ‐ ep i sode , ongo ing p lo t s wi th the yea r ly me tap lo t o f a

p ro fe s s iona l wres t l i ng season . Bake r f ind in bo th the same k ind o f good guys and bad

guys , t he same p lo t s , t he same human in t e r e s t s , t he same conf l i c t s , t he same c l i chés .

Bake r f inds co r r e spondences be tween Baywatch and the “gen re” o f

P ro fe s s iona l Wres t l i ng ; Karen Baso re t r ace s a l l so r t s o f o the r gen re s igna tu re s in he re s say “Al l Th ings to Al l Peop le : The Ques t i on o fBaywatch ’s Genre . ” As Baso re shows ,

Baywatch i s i n one sense on ly a “ recombinan t” ( the t e rm i s Todd Gi t l i n ’s ) warmed‐

ove r, hyb r id i za t i on o f Sea Hunt and C . H . I. P . S. , i t s ch i e f B loomian ances to r t ex t s .

(Baso re beg ins he r e s say wi th an h i l a r i ous recons t ruc t i on o f the qu in t e s sen t i a l “a l l

t h ings to a l l peop le” C . H . I. P . S. ep i sode , i n wh ich Jon Bake r and Ponch Ponche re l l o

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Th e Co l l e c t ed Wo rk s o f D a v id Lav e ry 7

no t on ly ge t the i r man in an exc i t i ng , r i d i cu lous ly ove r sco red moto rcyc l e chase scene

bu t win a d i sco con te s t du r ing which they a l so manage to de l ive r a baby ! )Baywatch ,

Baso re shows , owes much as we l l t o o the r t e l ev i s ion fo rms : to the soap ope ra ( fo r i t s

mu l t i p l e s to ry l i ne s ) , t o s i t coms ( fo r i t s a t t emp ted humor ) , t o d i s ea se ‐o f ‐ t he ‐week

mov ie s ( fo r i t s f r equen t t ack l ing o f top i ca l sub j ec t s ) , t o MTV videos ( fo r i t s mus i cmon tages ) , t o cop shows ( fo r i t s i nc rea s ing in t e r e s t i n c r ime so lv ing—a plo t e l emen t

wh ich l ed even tua l l y to Baywatch Nights , a sp in ‐o ff show in which Mi tch Buchanon

moon l igh t s a s a p r iva t e de t ec t i ve ) , t o sun sc reen commerc i a l s and o the r

adve r t i s emen t s ( fo r i t s ove ra l l v i sua l s ty l e ) .

J an i ce Rush ing and Tom Fren tz o f the Un ive r s i t y o f Arkansas , au tho r o f

d i s ce rn ing ana lyse s o f “pub l i c d i s cou r se” in cu l tu r a l phenomenon f rom Reagan ’s

“S ta r Wars” add re s s to E . T . , t u rn s he r sk i l l s a s an ana lys t o f med ia t ed rhe to r i c to

Baywatch i n “Amora l Mora l i sm: Baywatch , Pub l i c Di scou r se , and the Didac t i c Tex t . ”

Wha t in t e r e s t s Rush ing and Fren t z mos t i s t he se r i e s ’ a lmos t se rmon i sh na tu re .

Baywatch , s he shows , i s no t a l l T and A, sand and su r f , sk i ‐doos and je t sk i i s : ep i sode

a f t e r ep i sode dea l s wi th sub jec t s o f a top i ca l , i ndeed pub l i c se rv i ce na tu re : AIDS ,

a t t en t i on ‐de f i c i t d i so rde r, o i l sp i l l s , i n ju r ed an ima l s , gangs , Na t ive Amer i can r igh t s ,

t he spec i a l o lympic s , r e t i n i t i s p igmen tosa , fund ing fo r you th cen t e r s , t e en

a l coho l i sm , Alzhe imer ’s d i s ea se , obes i t y, de s igne r d rugs , home le s snes s , s exua l

ha ra s smen t , adop t ion , s ing l e f a the r ing , cus tody ba t t l e s—al l make the i r appea rance

on Baywatch . Rush ing and Fren t z f ind espec i a l l y in t e r e s t i ng an ep i sode ca l l ed

“Despe ra t e Encoun te r, ” desc r ibed on Baywatch ’s own Wor ld Wide Web s i t e a s “a

g round‐b reak ing ep i sode on the g ruesome fa t e o f unwan ted hor se s in Amer i ca . ”

In “The Pos tmode rn Inane : Baywatch and the Ins ip id , ” J . P. Te lo t t e o f the

Georg i a Ins t i t u t e o f Techno logy, wres t l e s wi th the p ro found ques t i on o f the se r i e s ’

e s sen t i a l vacu i ty. How cou ld such a de r iva t i ve , fo rmu la i c , un imag ina t i ve se r i e s

become such a wor ld ‐wide phenomenon? Baywatch’s i nan i ty, Te lo t t e sugges t s , i s no t

a c r i t i c ’s d i s cove ry ; t he se r i e s i t s e l f knows , a s i t s me ta ‐ and in t e r t ex tua l i t y r evea l ,

t ha t i t i s s tup id , and th i s se l f ‐ awarenes s shou ld be unde r s tood , acco rd ing to Te lo t t e ,

a s ye t ano the r s ign o f wha t Mark Cr i sp in Mi l l e r has ca l l ed con tempora ry t e l ev i s ion ’s“de r ide and conque r” s t r a t egy, i t s t endency to make fun of i t s e l f be fo re i t s aud i ence

has the chance to , t o acknowledge tha t i t s own badnes s i s no excuse fo r h i t t i ng the

remote bu t ton .

In seve ra l r ecen t venues , Mi l l e r, h imse l f t he au tho r o f the book’s f ina l e s say,

has commen ted on the i ron i c h i s to ry o f the ea r ly mov ie e ra d ream tha t the adven t o f

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Th e Co l l e c t ed Wo rk s o f D a v id Lav e ry 8

f i lm migh t l ead to a common , indeed a un ive r sa l , l anguage . Th i s d ream, wh ich , a s

Mi l l e r shows , was r i f e among the med ium’s found ing fa the r s , ha s now been rea l i zed .

The who le wor ld i s now hooked on the Ho l lywood tex t ; f rom Kua la Lampur to Buenos

Ai re s , wor ld c i t i z ens speak f luen t Schwarzenegge r ; t hey a re conve r san t in Amer i can

gen re s , Amer i can ac t i on ‐adven tu re / do lby i zed / MTV ed i t ed c inema t i c s ; t he i rf l uency, in f ac t , ha s made them la rge ly un in t e r e s t ed in l ea rn ing any o the r l anguage .

The Espe ran to o f the Amer i can mov ie expor t has ca r r i ed the day. Such i s Mi l l e r ’s

the s i s . In h i s e s say in Ang lophone ’s vo lume , “The Los Ange l i za t i on o f P lane t Ea r th :

Baywatch and the Dream of a Common Language , ” Mi l l e r examinesBaywatch ’s

i n f luen t i a l ro l e in th i s l i ngu i s t i c d i spe r sa l . Wha t exac t l y wi l l i t mean fo r the fu tu re o f

consc iousnes s , Mi l l e r wan t s to know, tha t 1 b i l l i on peop le wor ldwide in t e rna l i ze

Baywatch ’ s wel tanschauung ? on a week ly bas i s . “We l ive in the age o f the Los

Ange l i za t i on o f P lane t Ea r th , ” cu l tu r a l h i s to r i an Wi l l i am I rwin Thompson has

a rgued—a l ine tha t i n sp i r ed Mi l l e r ’s t i t l e . Baywatch Los Ange l i ze s wi th a vengeance .

D i d n o t t h e n o ve l i s t P h i l i p R o t h p r e d i c t b a ck i n t h e 1 9 6 0 s t ha t by

cen tu ry ’s end the f ron t page o f the New York Times would be

ind i s t i ngu i shab l e f rom sa t i r e? I t shou ld no t su rp r i s e us tha t i n the

age o f the dea th o f i rony the rea l t h ing and the pa rody of i t have

merged . Andrew Ang lophone ’s book on Baywatch ep i tomizes th i s

merge r, an ama lgama t ion as na tu ra l a s ABC and Disney.

Works Cited

Baudr i l l a rd , J ean . America . Trans . Chr i s Turne r. London : Ver so , 1989

___ . Cool Memories . Trans . Chr i s Turne r. London : Ver so , 1990 .

Campbe l l , D ick . Sixty Minutes . U rbana : Un ive r s i t y o f I l l i no i s P re s s , 1993 .

Mi l l e r, Mark Cr i sp in . “Der ide and Conque r. ” InWatching Televis ion . A Pan theon

Guide to Popu la r Cu l tu r e . ed . Todd Gi t l i n . NY: Pan theon : 1987 . 183 ‐228 .

Newcomb, Horace and Pau l M. Hi r sch . “Te l ev i s ion as a Cu l tu r a l Fo rum.”Televis ion :

The Cri t ica l View , 4 th Ed i t i on . Ed . Horace Newcomb. New York : Oxfo rd

Unive r s i t y P re s s , 1987 . 455 ‐70 .

R icke l s , Lawrence . The Case of Cal i forn ia . Ba l t imore : Johns Hopk ins Un ive r s i t y P re s s ,

1991 .

Thompson , Wi l l i am I rwin . At the Edge of His tory : Specula t ions on the Transformat ion

of Cul ture . NY: Harpe r and Row, 1971 .

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Th e Co l l e c t ed Wo rk s o f D a v id Lav e ry 9

Toml inson , John . Cul tura l Imper ia l i sm . Ba l t imore : Johns Hopk ins Un ive r s i t y P re s s ,

1991 .