Two separate instances brought it to mind, one suggesting it
as an adjective and one as a noun in the architectural sense.
The first was an ad for an insurance company in which a
distraught individual sees his car as his baby. We’re not just talking figure of speech this time;
it’s an actual infant, several times life-size -- about the size of a car. When
the car is damaged we’re spared any blood, thankfully, but when repairs are
completed he is reunited with his oversize baby.
This is a literal manifestation of an idea neurotic in
itself, the whole thing qualifying as grotesque for me.
In the other instance, three gargoyles sit in judgement of
supplicants asking them for money to fund businesses; a hillbilly “Shark Tank”
(itself a power trip for some rich people to dominate some poorer people). This
group is from Texas, which may explain things. Apparently people in Texas you
might not expect to have money have it. In any large Eastern city these three
would be told by police to move along, but here they’re in charge.
I have no complaint against them; they’re just good ole boys
having fun and looking to make an extra buck off someone else's idea. It’s the
situation. If they're all real and not actors, I pity the poor sods who decide, or are forced by circumstances, to
grovel in front of the three for money; and I blame programmers or producers or
whoever put it on television. Or maybe it’s the television audience. People
must be watching it, which encourages sponsors to sponsor it, which keeps it on
the air.
