TUESDAY, JUNE 25, 2024
This is your nation on Fox: For what it's worth, we disagree with the bulk of critical opinion concerning the film in question.
The film in question is Do the Right Thing. It appeared in 1989.
As a general matter, the film was widely praised by the critics. As the leading authority on the film explains, a weather forecast sets the scene, at the start of the film, for what is going to follow:
Do the Right Thing
Do the Right Thing is a 1989 American comedy-drama film produced, written and directed by Spike Lee....The story explores a Brooklyn neighborhood's simmering racial tension between its African-American residents and the Italian-American owners of a local pizzeria, culminating in tragedy and violence on a hot summer's day.
A critical and commercial success, the film received accolades, including Academy Award nominations for Best Original Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor...In 2022, the film was ranked the 24th greatest of all time in Sight and Sound magazine's decennial poll of international critics, programmers, curators, archivists and academics. It has since been featured on many other lists of the greatest films of all time by numerous critics.
As the film begins, a local D.J. gives the forecast for the day—"over 100 degrees." The sweltering heat provides a bit of dramatic context for the mayhem to come.
We rented Do the Right Thing a few years ago. We found it unwatchably tedious. That said:
"At the time of the film's release, both Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert ranked the film as the best of 1989," the leading authority reports. "Later, each ranked it as one of the top 10 films of the decade."
That wasn't our assessment. But in our occasionally rational world, it's well known that assessments offered in good faith will, on occasion, differ.
(Full disclosure: We guested with Siskel, long ago, on Bill Maher's Politically Incorrect program.)
We thought the film in question was tedious. That said, it remained quite hot in New York City over the weekend which just passed. This set the stage for our flailing American nation's latest imitation of life.
Briefly, a bit of background:
By the end of last week, it was already hot all along the east coast. As we noted on Sunday, the biggest star of our nations most watched "cable news" channel offered this bit of reporting at the start of Friday evening's imitation of a news show:
GUTFELD (6/21/24): The heat wave continues in the East. It's so hot Nancy Pelosi had to put on her backup face.
[PHOTO OF PELOSI APPEARS]
It's so hot she had to replace the stick up her ass with an ice pop.
[LAUGHTER, APPLAUSE]
[...]
It's so hot Jerry Nadler sold the shade under his ass to the highest bidder.
It's so hot he filled his sports bra with Haagen-Dazs. So hot he put a Klondike bar under each testicle
Seriously!
It's so hot Rachel Levine called in the National Guard to fan his nuts.
So it went, at the start of this primetime "cable news" program, at 10 p.m. last Friday night.
We'd be inclined to describe those remarks as an "imitation of life." More specifically, we'd describe them as an imitation of human life—as an imitation of the kind of discourse in which we humans have long pretended to engage.
"Man [sic] is the rational animal," a famous figure is widely said to have said, long ago by the Aegean. At least here in the western world, we've pretended from that day right up to this that his claim, as understood, was in fact basically accurate.
Thanks in large part to the "democratization of media," performers like the termagant have made it possible for others to see how delusional that widespread pretense has been. For ourselves, we would offer this assessment:
Here within our flailing nation, we've been conducting an obvious imitation of discourse for at least the past forty years. As of last night, it had been still hot in New York—and the termagant set out to display the accuracy of our assessment.
It had still been hot all along the east coast! Believe it or not, here's the way the termagant started last evening's primetime news program:
GUTFELD (6/24/24): Happy Monday, everyone!
So Washington officially hot 100 degrees for the first time in almost eight years. It was so hot, President Biden is decomposing at twice the normal rate.
It was so hot, Jerry Nadler filled his pants with all 31 flavors.
It was so hot, instead of Botox, Nancy Pelosi injected her face with soft serve.
The nightly Pelosi Botox report! So began the primetime news program—but at that point, a change-up:
GUTFELD (continuing directly): And it was so hot, Barack Obama moved back to Kenya.
[AUDIENCE GROANS]
What? I don't know. I don't get it!
Our provisional assessment? Nothing is too dumb or too crass for this corporate-owned imitation of life. Soon he was offering the observation shown below, concerning reported advice that President Biden needs to smile at Thursday's night imitation of a debate:
GUTFELD: There is a downside to Joe smiling...If he holds the smile for more than eight seconds, we'll all assume he [BLEEP] his pants.
As the termagant offered this observation, the camera jumped to panelist Jonathan Turley. The Fox legal analyst was plainly embarrassed, to his obvious credit.
We'll offer one more assessment. Based on past behavior at Fox, we'll assume the missing word was BLEEPed because it wasn't "pooped."
That helps explain Turley's embarrassment. Also, it helps display the extent to which last evening's show was an insult to human capability—an imitation of human life.
So it went at the start of this latest imitation of life. In fairness, this imitation of commentary is part of the wider imitation of discourse which is being conducted on the other cable news channels, but also in our biggest newspapers, as a flailing nation pretends to ready itself for Thursday evening's imitation of a political discussion / debate.
"This whole trial is out of order," Al Pacino once thoughtfully said. We'd be inclined to say the same thing about our nation's sprawling imitation of discourse, and therefore of human life.
As a nation, we keep pretending this isn't happening. Plainly, though, it is.
For the record, we have no idea why the 59-year-old TV star in question is obsessed with Rep. Jerrold Nadler, a minor figure within our current imitation of Congress. That said, it always comes back to the private parts of the termagant's targets, and to thoughts about human waste.
So it goes, night after night, then night after night after night. At the higher-level news orgs, the people who went to the finest schools insist on averting their gaze.
Fuller disclosure!
Yesterday morning, around 6:30, we suddenly thought of Abraham Lincoln as we watched Morning Joe. We thought of the way that moral giant emerged from the obscurity of the American wilderness, boasting one year of formal schooling—had inexplicably emerged as one of the greatest writers and moral thinkers in modern history.
We thought of Lincoln as we watched a little-known 22-year-old woman speak on Morning Joe. Out of nowhere, her presentation emerged from the unbearable tedium of that morning's previous pseudo-discussion.
We'll show you what that young woman said before the week is done. We'll link you to tape of what she said. Also, we'll link you to tape of a report on Kentucky PBS, late last year, about this startling young person.
Once in a while, such moments emerge from the endless imitations of life. That said, we're also forced to tell you this:
As last evening's program continued, the termagant made some perfectly decent points about the moral and intellectual squalor found within our own Blue America as we Blues conduct our own highly tribal imitation of discourse.
Tomorrow, we'll look at some of those points. But make no mistake:
Yellow submarines to the side, we're all living inside an imitation, pretty much all the way down.
Tomorrow: Termagant quotes Governor Cuomo. Also, praises Snopes
"We'd be inclined to describe those remarks as an "imitation of life." More specifically, we'd describe them as an imitation of human life—as an imitation of the kind of discourse in which we humans have long pretended to engage."
ReplyDeleteThis is an examination Somerby perhaps should have engaged in much sooner, but a comedy routine is not discourse. It is entertainment.
You could call a stage play an imitation of life in the sense that its intent is to portray reality between people in a given situation. You could even call a comedy an imitation of life, since it too portrays relationships between people in that situation. But a standup comedian who just tells a series of jokes is not imitating anything (except perhaps the role of comedian).
discourse definition: "written or spoken communication or debate"
communication definition: "the imparting or exchanging of information or news"
Gutfeld is doing neither of these things. He is not interacting with other people nor is he communicating information. There is no back-and-forth, as there is in debate or simply speaking with another person. And there is no informational content to jokes.
joke definition: "a thing that someone says to cause amusement or laughter, especially a story with a funny punchline"
The goal of a joke is the laughter or amusement. Somerby's suggestion that a joke is discourse is incorrect and perhaps that is what he means by imitation. Pretending that a joke is meant as news is highly misleading, but is that what Gutfeld is doing or is that what Somerby is doing when he compares Gutfeld's humor with news reporting, which is actual communication?
Does Nancy Pelosi have a second face or a stick up her butt? Neither of those is a correct or accurate piece of news. This communicates nothing about Pelosi. How then can it be discourse?
Somerby is playing us for fools again today, and telling his own kind of lies. Roger Ebert always insisted that a film be evaluated based on its own intent, its own goal, its own pretensions, not compared to something it was never trying to be. Gutfeld isn't trying to be Walter Cronkite, so it is wrong for Somerby to keep insisting he be compared to journalistic standards. What is Gutfeld trying to be?
At heart, this is a political show whose intent is to entertain right wingers by disparaging the left. It succeeds at that, in my opinion. Obviously, I disagree with what Gutfeld says and find his humor repulsive, but let's not pretend he is trying to do anything more than what he does. As long as his audience laughs, he is an actual standup comedian, not an imitation of anything else.
Gutfeld and Somerby both have a vague and shallow understanding of right wingers in a certain respect - they have some sense of their own traits, and a broad and fundamental misunderstanding of right wingers and leftists in a general respect.
DeleteRight wingers are out to dominate others, whereas leftists are out to help those in need; right wingers want to maximize individual wealth accumulation with no regards to the means, whereas leftists want to maximize the health and happiness of society, primarily through the means of systems and institutions.
Gutfeld and Somerby have some awareness that their obsession with dominance bucks some social norms as well as innate human nature, they experience tinges of guilt, which then makes them angry and brings out their self righteousness, unjustified as it is.
They misunderstand Dems, who operate with different a personality trait than Repubs. Dems are not triggered in the same way by challenges to dominance, which is why Gutfeld's jokes fall flat and Somerby's analyses are weak and inaccurate.
Gutfeld and Somerby have such a fundamental misunderstanding of those on the left, of Dems, that they lack any capacity to engage in good faith, coherent discourse.
"I'm into online work and let me tell you, it's not just about money, it's about freedom. I earn a decent income and enjoy the flexibility it offers."..........biggerprofit09.blogspot.com
Delete@11:32 Very clear explanation. Thank you.
DeleteFrederick Crews has died.
ReplyDelete"Uncover the secrets behind earning $200 per hour from home while balancing life with two kids. Witnessing my friend's steady $10k monthly earnings encouraged me to explore and share this opportunity. 🙂 Start your journey today!" Here ➧➧➧➧➧ https://accessway24.blogspot.com/
DeleteClarence Thomas’s bribers aren’t buying it specific decision. They’re buying his whole career on the Court — all of his votes and decisions. And they’re paying him not to retire, so Joe Biden can’t appoint his replacement.
ReplyDeleteNot “it specific decision.” You mean “a specific decision.”
DeleteThat is correct. Thomas's benefactors know with metaphysical certainty how he will rule in any given case. Paying millions upon millions to the Clarence Thomas Welfare Fund is small potatoes compared to the expected return on investment. Thomas is a whore with no shame. He will never recuse no matter how compromised he is.
Delete"Spike Lee's "Do the Right Thing" is the most controversial film of the year, and it only opens today. Thousands of people already have seen it at preview screenings, and everywhere I go, people are discussing it. Some of them are bothered by it; they think it will cause trouble. Others feel the message is confused. Some find it too militant, others find it the work of a middle-class director who is trying to play street-smart. All of those reactions, I think, simply are different ways of avoiding the central fact of this film, which is that it comes closer to reflecting the current state of race relations in America than any other movie of our time.
ReplyDeleteOf course it is confused. Of course it wavers between middle-class values and street values. Of course it is not sure whether it believes in liberal pieties or militancy. Of course some of the characters are sympathetic and others are hateful. And of course some of the likable characters do bad things. Isn't that the way it is in America today? Anyone who walks into this film expecting answers is a dreamer or a fool. But anyone who leaves the movie with more intolerance than they walked in with wasn't paying attention."
This is what Roger Ebert said in his review of Do The Right Thing. Somerby said it was tedious. That says more about Somerby than it does about the film.
To enjoy a film, one must empathize or identify with the key characters. One must care about what happens to the people in the movie. If people could do that in real life, there wouldn't be the racial atrocities depicted by films like this one. It sounds to me like Somerby refused to participate in the cooperative experience that is film viewing. And that is on him, just as it is on him when he ignores the very serious issues being decided by our Nov election in favor of pretending to criticize journalists (without saying what they do wrong), while never stating his own opinions. Life is lived by becoming involved, not by coyly hiding behind sophistry in order run readers in circles over nothing, not even a reaction to a film like Do The Right Thing. But if Somerby did react, he knows we perhaps wouldn't be sympathetic to his viewpoint, given what he has accidentally leaked about his views on racial desegregation, academic potential of black kids, and Trump's racism (some of those white supremacists were good people). No wonder he finds racial intolerance "tedious." Who wants to see the consequences of their own attitudes reflected back to them judgmentally? Too bad he couldn't learn anything from that film. It has perhaps put him in the uncomfortable position of being represented by a comedian who isn't very good at being funny.
Well said.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteMuch obliged.
DeleteLol
Delete"In fairness, this imitation of commentary is part of the wider imitation of discourse which is being conducted on the other cable news channels..."
ReplyDeleteJust as, in fairness, Baltimore is "part of" the wider continent of North America. But is it representative or similar to, or related to or causal of anything beyond itself?
"For the record, we have no idea why the 59-year-old TV star in question is obsessed with Rep. Jerrold Nadler, a minor figure within our current imitation of Congress."
ReplyDeleteNadler was chairman of the House Judiciary Committee when it tried to impeach Trump.
Democrats may forget this, but not Republicans like Gutfeld.
Republicans are very revenge oriented.
DeleteWhy is Somerby obsessed with Gutfeld's age (59)?
DeletePerhaps he’s jealous. Somerby is just shy of 80.
Delete
ReplyDelete“Concrete thinking is a more literal form of thinking that focuses on the physical world. Concrete thinkers may take information at face value without thinking beyond or generalizing the information to other meanings or situations.
While concrete thinking is needed, relying exclusively or too much on this style of thinking can impede learning, empathy, and the ability to relate to others.”
https://www.webmd.com/brain/what-to-know-about-concrete-thinking
Bob is suggesting that Gutfeld is pretending to be a sentient and feeling creature and Bob is also suggesting that much of our pubic discourse has nothing to do with higher intellectual functioning, authenticity, societal growth, or reality.
Imitation of life- anonymouse thinking.
Oddly, Somerby never mentions the term concrete thinking in his entire essay. If this is what he is talking about, why do you suppose he never mentions it?
DeleteALL people except those with abnormalities have the capacity for abstract thinking (the kind of thought usually juxtaposed with concrete thinking). It develops in middle childhood around ages 8-9+. How we think about things is a choice for most of us, or perhaps a habit. Suggesting that one's political opponents only use one form of thinking and not the other is a misuse of science, which was not developed to enable right wingers to zing their opponents, but to enable people to understand themselves better.
But you be you. You will anyway.
In order to use psychology effectively to diss the libs, you have to understand it. Try harder, Cecelia. What good is science if you cannot weaponize it against your enemies?
Delete“ Bob is also suggesting that much of our pubic discourse”
DeleteWell that might be a Freudian slip.
“Oddly, Somerby never mentions the term concrete thinking in his entire essay. If this is what he is talking about, why do you suppose he never mentions it?”
DeleteSomerby never mentions it because he never ventures any opinion or rebuttal to anything that his blog followers write.
I am calling anonymices concrete (have for years) and that is not a designation that applies to liberals in general. Anonymices are special.
Anonymouse 11:23pm, you are definitely not concrete.
DeleteAnonymouse 11:13am, good point. I probably need a permission slip from an expert to call them crazy too.
DeleteAnd yet, Cecelia, Somerby said this the other day: “ Thursday's event will feature two imitations of American political leadership. ”
DeleteI guess everyone is an “imitation” to Somerby, except bill Maher.
Cecelia, your gaslighting here is interesting. You have not been criticizing other commenters (for years) about "concrete thinking", that is a joke; in reality, that is how the commenters you do not like have been criticizing Somerby. Often you criticize commenters for considering context, and engaging with implication.
DeleteThis is just classic projection on your part, Cecelia. You have chosen the path of least intelligence; instead, how about demonstrating some of that world famous Republican personal responsibility.
Cecelia, there is no permission required to make a fool of yourself in public. Bandy Lee called Trump crazy and lost her job at Yale because of it -- it was a violation of the ethics of her profession. You have no license to lose, so you are not at that kind of risk when you weaponize psychology simply to hurt others (which is at odds with the values of the field).
DeleteAnonymices 11:41pm, hmmmm…Bill Maher or the media… the media or Bill Maher.
DeleteI’m going with Maher as the real thing too.
The real what?
DeleteAnonymouse 11:45am and 11:46am, you’re proving my point. You’re as willfully concrete as it gets, but I suppose that this is not your asphalt.
DeleteDeal.
DeleteCecelia you are proving MY point.
DeleteCope.
I am willing to believe you read something about concrete thinking, but your use of the term to name-call 11:45 and 11:46 suggests you did not understand what you read. You are just using the term (which has a scientific meaning) as an epithet, as if it were bad to think concretely. It is necessary to think that way and we use BOTH concrete and abstract thinking. Your name-calling suggests that abstract thinking is better, but that is like saying your left hand is better than the right, when we need both hands to do most things.
DeleteGreatly appreciate Cecelia identifying your comments so that I can skip over them to read and enjoy the responses.
Delete"the path of least intelligence"
DeleteStealing this now! So many uses.
Anonymices, your utterly concrete responses to Somerby quoting song lyrics or poetry are so asinine, bitter, and tendentious that either Dylan would beg you to stop.
DeleteWanting Somerby to give due credit to the author of a poem or song has nothing to do with concrete thinking. It is a matter of honesty and respect for the accomplishments of others.
DeleteAnonymouse 3:27pm, Bob always gives credit to the artist. Your tactic is to launch into quibbling attacks upon what the artist actually meant even when some lyric is being used as word play such as double entendres. Youre a professional scold.
DeleteI complain because he often does not credit artists who he quotes. Others complain about his interpretations.
DeleteNow mistakes are being called word play for Somerby, just like Trump!
DeleteAnonymouse 6:29pm, nope, Bob’s are obviously wordplays, because they’re ironic and humorous, rather being ill humored and sarcastic, which is often the case with Trump (although he can be funny too). You need to get your comic book villains straight.
Delete*rather than being
DeleteOdd that Somerby, a supposed liberal and master of standup comedy, is writing word play that right wingers find ironic and humorous and that lefties do not recognize as humor at all. If these are jokes, Somerby is badly misjudging his audience on the left.
DeleteIs it really OK to steal someone else's work to use for word play? Why does that excuse the theft? What does it hurt to say "As Robert Frost said, the woods are lovely..."? Or even: The woods are lovely...* and then below *by Robert Frost, so that people can find the reference?
I am absolutely certain they taught Somerby to do this at Harvard. He should have taught his students to recognize others. It is part of being a civilized and literate person. That you defend Somerby suggests you are not housebroken either. That is confirmed by the way you pee all over things other people here care about.
Somerby calls Homer "sacred Homer," so clearly he understands that props should go to some authors.
DeleteWhy do you even post this rubbish from Fox? Who cares?
ReplyDeleteSo Jonathan Turley appeared on Gutfeld’s show? Another reason not to watch it.
ReplyDeleteBlue tribe has near total control of the Evil Empire known as the mainstream media. The Rebels have few resources, so any struggle has to use asymmetric tactics. The easiest way to puncture the self-impressed Blue balloon is to make fun of your “very serious people” with vulgar and crude humor. So cut Gutfeld some slack. If MSM is even a little bit fair or balanced, there would be no need for the Termagant.
ReplyDelete"Yesterday morning, around 6:30, we suddenly thought of Abraham Lincoln as we watched Morning Joe."
ReplyDeleteWhy didn't he think of Abraham Lincoln as he watched Do The Right Thing? Probably more relevant.
OK I’ll bite. What the hell does Bob finding “Do the Right Thing” tedious have to do with the rest of anything in this post, or in any way significant in itself?
ReplyDeleteI remember seeing the movie when it came out. It’s the only time I saw it. I thought it was pretty good, although somewhat over rated by it champions, who tended to be of a liberal bent.
So what?
Gutfeld is consistent with the general pop culture bend of our time. His humor is for smirking idiots who kept one foot in kindergarten because they were born without a choice in the matter.
Bob might want to think about the obnoxious both siderism of Bill Maher who was out of the gate with a Paul Pelosi joke weeks before Trump. That’s a lot to ask, however, because basically Maher shares the same bullshit ticks as Bob, sometimes not as bad.
"The Fox legal analyst was plainly embarrassed, to his obvious credit.
ReplyDeleteWe'll offer one more assessment. Based on past behavior at Fox, we'll assume the missing word was BLEEPed because it wasn't "pooped."
That helps explain Turley's embarrassment."
It would be nice if Somerby thought Turley was embarrassed because of the disrespectful treatment of our elected President. Or maybe because of the idea that any old man must poop his pants. Or maybe because the joke is at an elementary school level of humor. But no. Somerby speculates that Turley was embarrassed because Gutfeld used the word "shit" instead of "poop."
Prudery over swear words is kind of a Catholic thing. If you went to Catholic school, the nuns had a zero tolerance policy, as did many parents, concerning swears and bad language. But that is largely performative with respect to the actual phenomena those words talk about. Perhaps that is why Somerby is always accusing lefties of being performative -- more of the good old right wing projection.
It is unfair to Turley to assume that Turley is embarrassed by the word instead of the joke itself, which suggests that a respected world leader who has done a lot for our country (led us through covid, kept the economy on course, cut prices on insulin, etc) is senile and poops his pants. The entire right wing should blush at that, even if they would prefer to elect Trump. Biden is still our president and he deserves better.
My SIL constantly swears in front of the grandkids. One of the kids does a very good job of substituting shit with poop at age 5. I think it shows a great deal of intelligence, he can talk like his dad and mostly stay out of trouble.
DeleteEverybody poops. Why is that funny?
ReplyDelete"Four states, three demographic groups!
ReplyDeleteMONDAY, JUNE 24, 2024
Reading scores, Grade 8: Last Saturday, Kevin Drum surprised us with a post about California's public school students."
Is this the brilliant presentation that Somerby teased yesterday? Somerby expresses surprise that Kevin Drum would have posted an article about NAEP scores in CA. But it is less of a surprise if you know a little bit about what is happening there.
1. Kevin Drum lives in Irvine, CA. That is an upper middle class suburb in previously conservative Orange County. They are very proud of their schools there and the town including the University of California, Irvine, a top school.
2. The possible decline in school test scores has been featured in the Los Angeles Times and is being widely discussed in the State. Drum would have read such discussions in his local paper.
3. It is extremely unlikely that Kevin Drum just got a wild hare and decided to look up NAEP scores for his state, on the chance that they might have declined due to covid, only to happily discover they aren't so bad after all.
So why does Somerby praise his presentation? Perhaps because it mirrors his own past discussions of NAEP scores, or perhaps because Drum occasionally links to or discusses something Somerby has said, which is a kind of flattery. And we like the people who flatter us, the best of all. And Somerby is nothing if not vain (a certain amount of narcissism may be essential for any kind of performing career).
But did Drum say or do anything brilliant?
Here is today's tease:
"Tomorrow: Termagant quotes Governor Cuomo. Also, praises Snopes"
It sounds like Somerby is going to crib some more from Gutfeld's standup routine, quoting from the transcript of his show. Well, that beats having to write something original. Does Somerby and Gutfeld know that Cuomo is no longer Governor of New York? Sssssshhh, don't tell them. Let them be happy a while longer.
"Bob is suggesting that Gutfeld is pretending to be a sentient and feeling creature"
ReplyDeleteThis implies that someone has called Gutfeld a robot. Whatever else Somerby has said about Gutfeld, I don't recall him ever saying (or hinting) that Gutfeld wasn't sentient (thinking) and feeling. That is kind of a horrible thing to say about anyone. Rocks are not sentient and don't feel, and that seems kind of harsh even for someone who dislikes Gutfeld (I'm not sure Somerby feels that way about Gutfeld, given the exposure he keeps giving his show).
"I'm into online work and let me tell you, it's not just about money, it's about freedom. I earn a decent income and enjoy the flexibility it offers."..........biggerprofit09.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteJerry Nadler is an old high school friend of my cousin Zelda. I met him many years ago when Zelda held a large birthday party in a restaurant in NY. As I recall she introduced me to Nadler and told him that I was the only Republican in the entire room. He was uninterested in that fact and uninterested in me.
ReplyDeleteAside from being fat, Nadler had a reputation of being highly intelligent.
Perhaps Gutfeld is focused on Nadler because he is the U.S. Congressman representing Manhattan, where Trump was recently humiliated?
DeleteDIC offers today's most hilarious self own.
DeleteThank you for the laugh, "David".
Yet another "I know so-and-so" screed worth absolutely nothing.
DeleteWhat a DIC.
Delete"Once in a while, such moments emerge from the endless imitations of life."
ReplyDeleteIt seems rude to call other people's lives "imitations". Perhaps Somerby feels like a fraud, but most people do not (and are not). Our lives are real and they are the only ones we get to live, so most of us are paying attention and doing the best we can day to day. It seems outrageous for Somerby to characterize that as an imitation of life.
He loves that phrase -- he's used it it sporadically in past essays. He doesn't seem to have loved the film, just as he doesn't like Do The Right Thing, also about race relations. But what does he love about it? And if he resonates to it, perhaps because he pretends so hard to be liberal here, does that mean that anyone else is pretending in their lives?
Even Trump is being genuine, showing us exactly who he is. So what gives Somerby the right to label so many of us fakes? That seems like an asshole move to me.
At least he isn't calling us all "cheap imitations".
DeleteIf Somerby were half-way diligent about maintaining his blog, he would screen out commercial spam like this.
ReplyDeleteSomerby -- please delete this kind of spam.
ReplyDeleteUnlike Bob, I found "Do the Right Thing" gripping and effective. To this day, I remember being shocked at the climax.
ReplyDeleteI spent a lot time ruminating about whether destroying the pizzeria was the right thing. On the one hand, the arsonist had real grievances. OTOH the pizzeria owner was not at fault.
A movie that held my interest and which caused me to think about an important issue decades later deserves to be ranked high.
Agree
DeleteSomebody has taken over David in Cal's moniker.
DeleteGutfeld is lucky that Somerby is mentioning his name when he lifts his standup routine and reprints it here in the guise of media criticism or some sort of musing. It is still a kind of theft because Gutfeld didn't put his jokes here himself. Somerby has become to lazy to write an actual essay without stuffing it full of quotes from The Iliad (in the public domain) and other filler. You'd think he was being paid by the word.
ReplyDelete"This whole trial is out of order," and "We're all living inside an imitation."
ReplyDeleteOur Host seems to have finally tilted off the edge of the earth. Nothing is good. Everything is unsatisfactory. Sadly, all that's left for him to do is scold us all for not seeing the world as he does.