I don't know if you have noticed, but our liberal friends have a rather high opinion of themselves, their ideas, and the ideopolises where they live in segregated conceit.
But they met their match in Tom Wolfe, writer and journalist, that died May 14, 2018 at 88. Here are the obits, and a telling 1988 Wolfe piece about howTrump Reagan connected with the white working class.
In another proof of God's existence, it was Tom Wolfe that proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that the liberal self-image was all lies and conceit.
Naturally, he did it with humor. I was watching a Scott Adams instructional video on humor, and he advertises the 2 of 6 rule: any joke must have two out of the six in: mean, clever, cute, bizarre, recognizable, naughty.
My takeaway from Adams' notion is to simplify even more. Humor is a way for humans to say nasty things without starting a riot. A spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down.
And a lot of what Tom Wolfe wrote was mean. It was mean of him to make fun of Ken Kesey and the 60s hippies. It was mean of him to make fun of Leonard Bernstein doing a Black Panthers fundraiser in his Manhattan apartment. It was mean to make fun of modern art and modern architecture. And the usual suspects didn't appreciate it.
But that's the point. When you decide to show up the fools and the knaves, the best way, the human way, is to combine the meanness with clever, cute, bizarre, recognizable, or naughty.
OK, I loved The Right Stuff about the astronauts, and The Bonfire of the Vanities about Wall Street bond boys.
But I am Charlotte Simmons really hit me between the eyes, as it evokes of the vileness of the post-sexual revolution college "hookup" culture. The New York Times obituary damns Charlotte Simmons with faint praise.
Years ago I remember Dennis Prager having a bunch of college girls on his show and talking about life, the universe and everything. What did they want? They wanted to be romanced.
Gosh. Who knew? Obviously not the critics that found Charlotte Simmons unconvincing and out of touch.
In fact, Charlotte Simmons rather put me off Tom Wolfe; the medicine was too strong. So I have not read A Man in Full although it is sitting on the shelf. Nor have I read Back to Blood.
But Tom Wolfe's passing at the good old age of 88 reminds me to get with the program. HalfPrice Books, here I come.
But they met their match in Tom Wolfe, writer and journalist, that died May 14, 2018 at 88. Here are the obits, and a telling 1988 Wolfe piece about how
In another proof of God's existence, it was Tom Wolfe that proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that the liberal self-image was all lies and conceit.
Naturally, he did it with humor. I was watching a Scott Adams instructional video on humor, and he advertises the 2 of 6 rule: any joke must have two out of the six in: mean, clever, cute, bizarre, recognizable, naughty.
My takeaway from Adams' notion is to simplify even more. Humor is a way for humans to say nasty things without starting a riot. A spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down.
And a lot of what Tom Wolfe wrote was mean. It was mean of him to make fun of Ken Kesey and the 60s hippies. It was mean of him to make fun of Leonard Bernstein doing a Black Panthers fundraiser in his Manhattan apartment. It was mean to make fun of modern art and modern architecture. And the usual suspects didn't appreciate it.
But that's the point. When you decide to show up the fools and the knaves, the best way, the human way, is to combine the meanness with clever, cute, bizarre, recognizable, or naughty.
OK, I loved The Right Stuff about the astronauts, and The Bonfire of the Vanities about Wall Street bond boys.
But I am Charlotte Simmons really hit me between the eyes, as it evokes of the vileness of the post-sexual revolution college "hookup" culture. The New York Times obituary damns Charlotte Simmons with faint praise.
“I Am Charlotte Simmons” (2004), is about a naïve freshman’s disillusioning experiences at a liberal arts college fueled by sex and alcohol. Many critics found the picture unconvincing and out of touch.Yeah, I'll bet. Because Wolfe exactly and harrowingly wrote how the hookup culture devastates young women that can't help but be sucked into its maelstrom. Liberals would rather not talk about that, and instead waffle on about "campus rape culture" and #MeToo while failing to confront the basic fact that the sexual revolution has hit, and continues to hit, women between the eyes.
Years ago I remember Dennis Prager having a bunch of college girls on his show and talking about life, the universe and everything. What did they want? They wanted to be romanced.
Gosh. Who knew? Obviously not the critics that found Charlotte Simmons unconvincing and out of touch.
In fact, Charlotte Simmons rather put me off Tom Wolfe; the medicine was too strong. So I have not read A Man in Full although it is sitting on the shelf. Nor have I read Back to Blood.
But Tom Wolfe's passing at the good old age of 88 reminds me to get with the program. HalfPrice Books, here I come.
No comments:
Post a Comment