Dept. of Going Out Doing What You Like

The Croc Hunter, Steve Irwin, died yesterday in one of the most god-awful ways possible: a poisonous stingray barb to the heart. Crikey, indeed.

I always liked his show. I thought he was crazy, but he evidently always knew what he was doing. The only time I really got upset at one of his shows was during the one with the spitting cobra. He had been wearing protective goggles which prevented the venom from killing him instantly, but he still needed to wash it off post-haste. He went into some local tribe's village where he was given a bucket full of water. As he washed off the venom, he sloshed water everywhere while villagers looked on in silence. His narrative voice-over pointed out that the bucket represented more water than a family of villagers would use in a day, and while he expressed his heartfelt thanks for the help, I couldn't shake that look the villagers had on their faces.

Irwin would later defend his Australianisms in an interview: "When I see what's happened all over the world, they're looking at me as this very popular wildlife warrior Australian bloke. And yet back here in my own country, some people find me a little bit embarassing. You know, there's this ... they kind of cringe, you know, 'cause I'm coming out with 'Crikey' and 'Look at this beauty.'

"Just say what you're gonna say, mate. You know, is it a cultural cringe? Is it, they actually see a little bit of themselves when they see me, and they find that a little embarassing?"

Fair dinkum, mate. I cringed when I saw him sloshing water everywhere because I saw it as a typical Westerner taking advantage of a stereotypical native, and that made me reflect on my own country's image overseas. My disatisfaction with his behavior was a disatisfaction with my sense of all things American. Hey, wasn't this supposed to be a nature show? Why is this spitting cobra episode making me think about global politics and stuff? Duh. Like all great literature and great cinema, the Croc Hunter reflected the human experience. We are all poorer for the loss of him.

I'm certain that the Discovery Channel will have some kind of farewell retrospective. I'm going to go set the Tivo now.