On Sun, Jan 25, 2009 at 12:25 PM, Kevin M. <[email protected]> wrote: > > I read and then reread the piece, and it brings to mind the chief > criticism I have of New Yorker contributors in general: I don't know > what the hell they are talking about. > > In this case, I can't tell whether Franklin dislikes the show because > of Tiny Fey or loves the show because of Alec Baldwin. She spent so > much time laying down an unnecessarily complex foundation (clearly, > she gets paid by the adjective), that by the time she got to the meat > of the article, I was lost in a sea of history and analogy. There was > no lead to speak of, nor did Franklin sum up any key point (or points) > in the piece. It was flowery writing, and it failed to even state a > concrete opinion, let alone state the reasoning behind an opinion.
I can tell what she things easily enough (she has the hots for Baldwin and is jealous of Fey). I can also tell that she is honest when she says she fast forwards through scenes without Baldwin, since she does not seem to know very much about the show. And she seems to assume that New Yorker readers have neither seen nor heard very much about the show, since most of the piece is little more than describing the show (in that tortured way that Kevin noted). That's why there is nothing here - it is not really a review of the show or even a pop culture analysis, it is an IMDB synopsis of the show in New Yorker-ese. I guess that is about right - New Yorker readers want other people to think they are listening to New York Philharmonic CDs (or, better yet, those old big reel-to-reel tape recorders) while finishing up their latest oil painting, and have only heard about shows like 30 Rock from their maids. They need pieces like Franklins to give them cover when they suddenly slip and know volunteer the first name of the page on the show. (the truth of course is that most New Yorker readers know the names of all the contestants on the latest dancing celebrity or fat camp reality show, and need pieces like Franklin to let them fake their way through condescending conversations about how banal shows like 30 Rock are). I see the piece is a month old, which I suppose explains the lack of reference to Fey's brazier... --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ TV or Not TV .... Smart (TV) People on Ice! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
