Red vs. Blue

Hit and Run pointed me to this test on Slate. In the interest of full disclosure, I'll throw out my result: It's time to get out of the sun. You're looking a little red. That's amusing to me, but I live in Texas so it's not unexpected.

I find it more interesting for what it says about Slate and the people that wrote the test than the actual results. There is a strong presumption of a sort of cultural ignorance on the part of the red mindset, and similar although less pronounced one on the blue side. That's what the test is ostensibly checking, but the types of knowledge strike me as odd.

The red side is presumed to know more about country music, NASCAR, Wal-Mart and the Bible. A blue mindset apparently includes detailed knowledge of New York, Broadway, and art films. The idea that one could have a wide enough cultural knowledge base to include both sets of items is apparently inconceivable. The presumption is that if you possess knowledge of a fact, that marks you either way. Wouldn't your attitude towards that fact be more important? I know what Avenue Q is, but I really can't be bothered to care about a Broadway puppet show. I think the last few questions about which videos you would own are actually better indicators than the "Do you recognize random factoid?" questions.

I'm always left wondering if the people who write these kinds of things have ever actually been to the traditional red states. I can't honestly say I've ever been to New York, so if that's your benchmark of blueness, I can't argue with you. A little time away from there might benefit some people, though.

As a final note, I recognize Jim Jarmusch's name as the director of Ghost Dog. However, it's gonna be a cold day in hell before I can convince J to go back to one of his movies with me.