It's "Jeans Friday" & You're Not Bringing Me Down Offa This High
I'm sure that I don't need to remind you party people that George Saunders is in the New Yorker yet again.
On the other hand, I believe this half-nakedly sentimental piece is the best thing Mr. Saunders has done in years, perhaps since "Sea Oak," so you might want to marinate on that as you read this:
I just had a great idea for a TV show: People from all over the world begin to sense they have superpowers. One guy can fly. Another can walk through walls. A cheerleader is impervious to physical harm. A kid can move back and forth in time. You get the idea: normal people, sick and tired of living under constraint, are busting out, into a world without limits!
But here’s the twist: These people, who believe they have superpowers? They don’t. They never have and never will. There is no such thing as a superpower.
The guy who thinks he can fly? Jumps off his minivan and sprains his ankle. The one who can walk through walls? Tries to run through the living-room wall and breaks a photograph of his wife’s mother. His wife is really upset. The cheerleader impervious to physical harm throws herself down a flight of stairs, breaks her back, then lies there waiting for it to miraculously mend. But no. The cat steps over her. So much for cheerleading.
Thoughts?
Perhaps we'll take this up again next week, along with what I think this promotional photo of Scott Baio has to do with it.
