The series "American Vandal" Season 1 needs an adult warning age restriction. Something that reads along the lines of - not for anyone over the age of 35. Certainly, it's hard going for anyone middle-aged, not because we are prudish, after all even those of us who cannot claim to have started the sexual revolution, delighted in indulging thereof in the seventies.

"American Vandal" is based on truth

The crime is graffiti images of male genitalia, spray painted in a lovely shade of pillar box red, onto teachers parked vehicles. We get that. And we get it again.

And again, and again, and again. By the time the super sleuth, self-appointed detectives, namely two of the pupils involved in running the school media, begin to compare the images on the vehicles with the signature of the accused's, we are frankly bored with "American Vandal".

Knee jerk reaction was to skip episode 2 of "American Vandal"

The thought of another half hour episode gazing at repeated images of the family jewels was painful but in the interest of exploring this relatively new genre of film, we decided to give it a go. The second episode of "American Vandal" focused on a new suspect who appeared to lie about a conquest of a sexual nature. Once again we were treated to repeated pictures of the scene of the crime.

We have not worked up the courage to watch the third episode. According to a review done by Mike Hale of the New York TImes, there is real merit in the way the series subverts the run-of-the-mill, true-crime conventions, but we agree on the fact that the content quickly becomes tiresomely banal.

So why is "American Vandal" such a hit?

Frankly, apart from the spoof satirical aspect, I have no idea. The only plus side I am able to come up with is that the average American teenager and small-town America should consider themselves extremely fortunate if this is a crime big enough to warrant an entire series. Or is the satire all there is to this series?

Interestingly, in the spirit of fair play, I asked several young men and women if they enjoyed the show and the overall consensus was; the males laughed. I cannot print what the females had to say. It seems the joke has worked Netflix. Whatever the underlying artistic value, people, apart from me, are watching it. Perhaps it all comes down to good marketing, which if one looks at the majority of tweets around the series, is proving effective.

I will not be applauding for American Vandal at the next Emmy Awards event. Granted, I'm undoubtedly jaded, after all, I live in Johannesburg but come on people, phone your insurance company and move on.

There is a big world out there with a million stories and frankly, art form aside, this series fails to entertain me. To add to my entertainment woes, wifi in my neck of the woods is an expensive luxury and there is no way I will waste any more precious gigabytes on this series. Instead, I will ensure I read the New York TImes before I download anything in future. Now please excuse me, I am off to indulge in good satire and download South Park.
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