The 'Assistant to the Boss' sends emotions from Heaven down to Earth when they are needed there. They come in the form of human beings. The emotion 'Guilt' is played by Dom DeLuise. He makes people feel guilty who eat too much or who commit adultery etc. It seems that Guilt himself can't feel guilty. He drinks too much on the job and makes some mistakes, so the Assistant to the Boss orders him to go on holiday. His 'Guilt Trip' takes place on a cruise ship, where he falls in love with the emotion 'Love' (played by Loni Anderson)...
There are some jokes that I liked in this episode, for example the one about President Reagan and the one about Guilt's stamina. But I think that some other episodes are a lot funnier, and I have to admit that I don't think I really understood the message of the story. The message seems to be that love and guilt belong together. Is that really so? Do the makers of this episode mean to say that love has to be so sinful that you feel guilty for the love to be real and good and exciting? Or do they mean to say that love cannot be innocent, that is do they mean to say that it's always connected with sin and guilt?
(Skip this paragraph if you aren't interested in sociology.) Coincidentally, I had read an interview with Clotaire Rapaille (in the German magazine Focus) the same day that I watched this episode. He is a French marketing guru who investigates cultural codes. Knowledge of these codes makes it easier to develop the right products for different markets. For example: Rapaille says he has found out that the (U.S.-) American code for cheese is 'dead', so it has to be hermetically sealed and has to be advertised accordingly; the French code for cheese is 'living', so they want to have fresh cheese without 'plastic body bags'. Rapaille says he likes the U.S. better than his home country, so he has moved there. But he also says something about Americans that sounds like criticism. He says that he did a study for L'Oréal. For this study, he interviewed Americans about their attitudes towards love. He says he has found out that the American code for seduction was 'manipulation', that the code for love was 'false (unrealistically high) expectations' that can't be fulfilled, and that the code for sex was 'violence'. (He doesn't speak about possible reasons for these codes. The Puritan heritage perhaps?) I don't know if Rapaille is right about all these cultural differences; I've never been to the U.S. In addition I think that he deliberately generalizes and exaggerates to make his statements sound more pregnant and impressive. But if there really are such cultural differences, that might explain my problems in understanding the message of this story.
There are some jokes that I liked in this episode, for example the one about President Reagan and the one about Guilt's stamina. But I think that some other episodes are a lot funnier, and I have to admit that I don't think I really understood the message of the story. The message seems to be that love and guilt belong together. Is that really so? Do the makers of this episode mean to say that love has to be so sinful that you feel guilty for the love to be real and good and exciting? Or do they mean to say that love cannot be innocent, that is do they mean to say that it's always connected with sin and guilt?
(Skip this paragraph if you aren't interested in sociology.) Coincidentally, I had read an interview with Clotaire Rapaille (in the German magazine Focus) the same day that I watched this episode. He is a French marketing guru who investigates cultural codes. Knowledge of these codes makes it easier to develop the right products for different markets. For example: Rapaille says he has found out that the (U.S.-) American code for cheese is 'dead', so it has to be hermetically sealed and has to be advertised accordingly; the French code for cheese is 'living', so they want to have fresh cheese without 'plastic body bags'. Rapaille says he likes the U.S. better than his home country, so he has moved there. But he also says something about Americans that sounds like criticism. He says that he did a study for L'Oréal. For this study, he interviewed Americans about their attitudes towards love. He says he has found out that the American code for seduction was 'manipulation', that the code for love was 'false (unrealistically high) expectations' that can't be fulfilled, and that the code for sex was 'violence'. (He doesn't speak about possible reasons for these codes. The Puritan heritage perhaps?) I don't know if Rapaille is right about all these cultural differences; I've never been to the U.S. In addition I think that he deliberately generalizes and exaggerates to make his statements sound more pregnant and impressive. But if there really are such cultural differences, that might explain my problems in understanding the message of this story.