'Being There' in the age of Twitter

The 1979 comedy “Being There” commented on the dumbing of America in the TV age. I wonder what a remake of that movie would say about the age of Twitter, where people communicate in 140-character blurbs online. In “Being There,” Peter Sellers plays a simpleton who the upper class mistakes for an intellectual. Through a twist of fate Chance the Gardener (Sellers) becomes part of the inner circle of an aging political king maker. Here’s my favorite scene from “Being There,” courtesy of IMDb, the Internet Movie Database. Chance, now called Chauncey Gardener, is approached by a book publisher:

Ron Steigler (played by Richard McKenzie): Mr. Gardner, uh, my editors and I have been wondering if you would consider writing a book for us, something about your um, political philosophy, what do you say?

Chance the Gardener (Peter Sellers): I can't write.

Ron Steigler: Heh, heh, of course not, who can nowadays? Listen, I have trouble writing a postcard to my children. Look uhh, we can give you a six-figure advance, I'll provide you with the very best ghost-writer, proof-readers...

Chance the Gardener: I can't read.

Ron Steigler: Of course you can't! No one has the time! We, we glance at things, we watch television...

Chance the Gardener: I like to watch TV.

Ron Steigler: Oh, oh, oh sure you do. No one reads!

Twitter would take that scene to the next level.