8:23 PM
When our pop culture does try to portray ordinary people, it usually flattens things out, removing the social texture of their daily lives and reducing their dreams to purely personal matters of family, friends and love. There may be no purer expression of this than in David Byrne’s film True Stories, when citizens of a small Texas town sing a populist anthem designed to show what’s in their hearts. Titled “People Like Us,” the song builds to the lines:

We don’t want freedom
We don’t want justice
We just want someone to love.

If you suggested that Byrne felt this way about his own life, he’d probably smack you.

From "Fanfare for the Uncommon Man", an essay by John Powers in this week's LA Weekly, starting with the California recall election, wandering through pop culture while taking a few political swipes, and ending up with thoughts on Harvey Pekar and American Splendor.

Discuss.