Hey Little Soldier, You Ain't Ready For War

Entourage has always been, deep down, a silly show. Its a nice way to spend 22 minutes, but it doesn't mean too much. As the U.S. was awash in fake money and extravagance for its previous four seasons, that made for some laughs and some good times. But viewed through the prism of our current economic crisis, the show has turned into a blueprint for how everything has gone so wrong. Allow me to explain:

Vinny Chase = the banks that have screwed us all over

Chase and the big banks are both the heart of their respective economies. Both look good, can charm anyone in their path and really really messed up in the past year. Vinny made a stupid bet on Medellin and the banks made millions of stupid bets on shady mortgages. Both have suffered as a result; Vinny hasn't gotten a job offer in six months and many banks'stock prices have dropped precipitously; but both will be back on their feet in no time. Vinny just has to shave his beard and get back to Hollywood. The banks just have to make friends with rich bastards in other countries. And deep down, both just do not care about a damn thing. Vinny always talks about being an "artist" and wanting "challenging" roles but all it takes is a meeting with some rich d-bag to get him back into the land of Hollywood fluff. The banks are supposedly guarding your money and looking out for your long-term financial security, but, at the end of the day, are really only concerned with the top-level of the top-level of the nation's wealth and will throw you on your back in an instant if your paper isn't right.

Turtle = the average American that got screwed over

Turtle's story is, of course, a little sunnier than the American whose been laid off and evicted in the past six months, but, really, he, too, is a sad individual. Sure he's been getting laid in Mexico, but he knows that it's all an illusion. If he didn't grow up in the same neighborhood as Vinny, he'd be working in a gas station. Sure he'll get back on his feet eventually, just as many Americans will, but what happened to his burgeoning rap management career? What happened to his down-ass lady friend with a scary dad? Where's his pit bull? They all vanished along with his sponsor's financial backing and good will. It's back to the drawing board for poor Turtle. It's hard to feel too sorry for Turtle and the average American, though, because both could've been better prepared. Turtle didn't have to spend his thousands on Nikes and pot and the average American didn't have to be swindled by a smooth-talking mortgage broker. Both needed back-up plans, back then, and, now, both need to hitch their horses to a different wagon. Sadly, both never will.

Johnny Drama = the war profiteer

While the world crumbles around him, Drama, has, inexplicably, rode a wave of good fortune into money and notoriety. He's Haliburton, the oil companies and the ravenous scandal-obsessed press all rolled into one selfish and entirely non-self aware Hollywood monster. As those around them sink deeper into the abyss, Drama and the war profiteer have soared to new heights. They're both living on borrowed time, though, because both have turned a deaf ear to the lessons of their failed peers. Drama is teetering dangerously close to the edge because he won't turn right for a promotional poster. The war profiteer is just a scandal or a public awakening away from being thrown into the trash heap with the downtrodden masses that they've been getting rich off of. Both, though, seem bulletproof even as they stare anihilation right in its face.

Ari Gold = the powers that be

Gold and the powers--namely the government and the money that keeps the government in power--are smart enough to see that the old way isn't working and arrogant and power-drunk enough not to give a damn. Admitting that the system failed would be tatamount to a public stockading and both are too proud to ever let that happen. So, they just sit there and keep the wheels spinning. Ari can't have his most visible client fail, because then he'd fail. The government can't have the banks fail, because then the precious economy would be vanquised. So both are propping up their prized commodites in dubious ways and going to great lengths to keep up images. While both are working tirelessly to keep up this illusion of glamour and power, the real world keeps calling them out. Despite years of government "sponshorship" Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac still need to get bailed out. Despite years in the Hollywood trenches, Gold needs a former assistant to tell him when he's getting duped by a producer. Both are ripe for the take-over, but the actual form that the revolution will remains a huge question mark.

E = the powers that be-in waiting

The saddest moment of last night's Entourage was when we finally realized that Eric had become a suit. Standing on the Mexican beach next to Ari, trying to convince his former best friend to come back to the real world and sell out and, uh, actually wearing a suit, it was the end of Animal Farm disguised as a light-hearted premium cable sitcom. A lot is depending on Eric and a lot is depending on the new generation of power brokers in this country. Has Eric learned to separate the smart and shrewd Ari from the arrogant and compulsive? Have the young and powerful learned anything from this administration's mind-boggling mismanagement and their investment bankers' friends endless corporate card lifestyles that have finally run out? This all remains to be seen. It's a nice gesture that E let his struggling client drive around in his Lexus for the night and it's good to see Obama emerge as true contender for the throne. It'll be years, though, before we see if this generation of the disgustingly ambitious and power-hungry actually put a different stamp on their reign. If history is any judge, that's not too likely.

In conclusion, I'm not sure I want to watch this show anymore but I feel compelled to see how it ends. I'm too invested in the story arc.