Word: butte
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...society that has betrayed its own principles of freedom and liberty, two morons named Beavis and Butt-head have come to rescue us from collective repression. As MTV's disclaimer carefully warns before every episode of this animated masterpiece, Beavis and Butt-head are "crude," "self-destructive" and "antisocial." But what makes the cartoon intriguing is the appreciation among its devoted viewers--myself included. The disclaimer appropriately explains: "For some reason the wiener-heads make us laugh...
Beavis and Butt-head have inherited the controversial legacy of Lenny Bruce and Andrew "Dice" Clay. These raucous entertainers force us to confront the fact that in a society which supposedly prizes freedom, repression actually fuels the national consciousness. Nowadays, liberals, as well as conservatives, are finding greater justification for stifling individual liberty. In human activities as ancient as pornography, conservatives call for public decency and morality while liberals bemoan the objectification of women and economic exploitation. The forces of repression are increasingly converging, eclipsing the freedom of the individual...
...this desperate climate of collective, unspoken misery, Beavis and Butt-head emerge as perverse bastions of liberty. With each passing day, the chains of conformity shackle more citizens--all, of course, in the name of greater "freedom." This hypocrisy would be ironic, perhaps, if it weren't so tragic. Yet in the midst of this erosion of freedom, teen angst rears its ugly head--its Butt-head, if you will. And with him, his soulmate Beavis...
...universities become perhaps the most repressive regimes in America, Beavis and Butt-head represent the only possible escape within the present paradigm. Their lesson is instructive. As Charles Young of Rolling Stone correctly explains, "Because they are stupid, they are free." Sure, Butt-head's insights might be tautological: "I like stuff that's cool and I don't like stuff that sucks." But in all his stupidity, he is free. The mind has effectively been abandoned, as Beavis and Butt-head indicate proudly: "Words suck...If I wanted to read, I'd go to school." In the pursuit...
...their complete disregard for proper protocol, Beavis and Butt-head insult everything sacred in the modern democratic regime. In this context, Kurt Andersen of Time provides genuine insight by terming "Beavis and Butt-head" as perhaps "the bravest show ever run on national television." And MTV's creative director, Judy McGrath, aptly identifies the genesis of this courage: the members of the MTV generation are "sick to death of being politically correct...