tv moments

This Week’s Teachable Moment on Louie: Listen to the Youth, They’re Smarter Than You

Louis C.K. has been nailing his cold-opens this season, which act as vignettes that can be digested independent from the main plotline. They really feel more like short films, a form C.K. has always liked because it lacks the restrictions of a feature. “If you have a weird little idea, you can just go out and make a short film,” he said in the DVD extras on a collection of his short films.

Last week’s weird idea was about poop. This week, we witness Louie’s brain implode when the 24-year-old owner of a kitchenware store refuses to help him purchase some copper pots as the store is closing, dismissing the “customer is always right” approach as “old-school.” When Louie becomes indignant, she calmly explains to him why he’s so upset: He’s old, and worse, irrelevant.

We’re the future. And you don’t belong in it. Because we’re beyond you, and naturally, that makes you feel kind of bad. You have this deep-down feeling that you don’t matter anymore. You should be glad, though … Do you want your kids’ world to be a step above yours? Isn’t that what we’re all doing? So, doesn’t it follow that if you’re a good parent, and your kids evolve, and are smarter than you, they’re gonna make you feel kind of dumb? So if you feel stupid around young people, things are going good.

As for Louis C.K., moments like this just continue to secure his relevance.

A 24-Year-Old Explains the Future to Louis C.K.