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All of us are tempted and sometimes give in to the temptation to indulge in stereotypes of unfamiliar places and people, instead of really knowing and experiencing them.
But I've lived in New York for 29 years, so I know for a fact, for instance, that most people in this city are not rude, fashion-crazy, morally unsound snobs. And I grew up in Nebraska, so I also know that not everyone in sparsely populated western states is a humorless reactionary.
So I was especially interested to read the news earlier this month out of Idaho -- a state even less cosmopolitan and more Republican than my home state.
The Idaho state legislature just passed a remarkable bill, a resolution commending a recent Hollywood film and its director.
Now what film, would you think, the politicians of Idaho love so much? Maybe Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ"? Or some glorification of military heroism or the old west? Or a treacly G-rated kiddie story?
To the contrary.
CLIP FROM NAPOLEON DYNAMITE:
KIP: How was school?
NAPOLEON: The worst day of my life, what do you think? Aw, gross! Freakin' idiot!
The Idaho legislators commended "Napoleon Dynamite," last year's weird, splendid indie comedy about a ridiculous and lovable high school super-nerd that was distributed by MTV.
It turns out the film's 26-year-old director, Jared Hess, grew up in Preston, Idaho, and filmed "Napoleon Dymaite" in and around his hometown.
So to find out more about it, I called the President Pro Tem of the Idaho Senate, Bob Geddes, who co-sponsored the bill.
Geddes: Bob Geddes.
KA: Senator Geddes?
Geddes: Yes.
KA: This is Kurt Andersen, public radio.
Geddes: Hi, Kurt.
KA: Uh, first of all, I wanted to ask you what prompted you to propose this bill?
Geddes: Oh, I think this is just a kind of trying to compliment them on their efforts to be successful in an area that Idaho is not necessarily noted for. I graduated from Preston High School...
Sounds like a very normal American guy, right? But the resolution he co-sponsored and the legislature passed in Idaho is the funniest piece of legislation – deliberately funniest, anyhow – that I have ever read.
You know how proclamations like this always start with a lot of tedious, forgettable "whereases this" and "whereas that"? Well, in Idaho's "Napoleon Dynamite" bill, the "whereases" constitute a kind of witty self-mocking movie review. The bill is both earnest about praising the movie's social and pro-Idaho virtues -- and makes fun of the very idea of this kind of legislative boiler plate.
Geddes: Be it resolved by the Legislature of the State of Idaho WHEREAS, Kip and LaFawnduh's wedding shows Idaho's commitment to healthy marriages...WHEREAS, tater tots figure prominently in this film, thus promoting Idaho's most famous export...WHEREAS the friendship between Napoleon and Pedro has furthered multi-ethnic relationships...WHEREAS...
And so on and on, ending with the best of all, incorporating two catch phrases from the movie that have caught on on college campuses all over America:
Geddes: ...WHEREAS, any members of the House of Representatives or the Legislature of the State of Idaho who choses to vote 'Nay' on this concurrent resolution are 'FREAKIN' IDIOTS!' and run the risk of having the 'Worst Day of Their Lives!'
That's right, the phrase "freakin' idiots" is in a bill passed by a serious American law-making body.
KA: I want to congratulate you and the Idaho legislature on this great statesman-like act.
Geddes: (laughs) Well thank you, took a lot of courage.
KA: And that's what we need more of from politicians of all stripes, thank you Senator Geddes.
Geddes: Thank you.
CLIP FROM NAPOLEON DYNAMITE
BOY: What are you going to do today, Napoleon?
NAPOLEON: Whatever I feel like I want to do. Gosh!
