Author News
SMIZE: Tyra Banks is Going to Write The Best Book Ever
Did you hear? The news broke late last week. Tyra Banks is going to become a YA author. For those of us who (used to) watch America’s Next Top Model, this is excellent news because now she will bring her signature flair to the written word. If you go to the website of her imprint, BANKABLE BOOKS, she helpfully explains how to pronounce the title of her first novel, Modelland. If you’re curious, that is Model Land. She also says, “I think Modelland is going to really touch the dreamer in all of us, whether you’re aged anywhere from 8 to 80.” This is good news for all of us.
Since the announcement, I’ve seen a lot of snark and garment rending and the sort of reaction that arises any time a celebrity or other literary untouchable (blogger) dares to dip their unanointed toes in the holy waters of literature. How dare they sully the serious work of the serious writer! Yes, I recognize that this is a fairly ridiculous situation–Tyra Banks with a three-book deal while we toil in obscurity is certainly frustrating but do any of us write anything remotely similar to Modelland? Does her book deal mean we won’t get one? Why do we so often begrudge certain writers their book deals? Is anyone else as excited as I am?
Tags: Random House, SMIZE, Tyra Banks
I’m bummed cause I’m 81 years old, making me one year too old for the dreamer in me to be touched by this book.
Everything in literature is a cock show. You’re right; it’s not like we in the indie lit mag vein are her prime competition, nor is she ours.
Is someone really standing at the virtual Amazon checkout counter with only ten dollars, trying desperately to decide between Modelland and the next issue of Glimmer Train? I think not.
It’s like that classic, deceptively philosophical exchange in “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”, which, I’ll admit, entirely changed my outlook on the sibling jealousy I had as a kid:
Guy at police station: What do you care if your brother ditches school?
Ferris Bueller’s sister: Everybody else has to go.
Guy:You could ditch.
Sister: I’d get caught.
Guy: So you’re pissed off because he ditches and doesn’t get caught, is that it?
Sister: Basically.
Guy: Basically, your problem is you.
Sister: Excuse me?
Guy: Worry about yourself, not about what your brother does.
Were any of US going to write Modelland? No? Then what has Tyra so boldly stolen from us?
Spot on. Good blog.
I need a sarcasm emoticon.
You are not excited.
I assume the book is ghost-written, but at least she entered at YA.
I think it’s like musicians wanting to play in the NBA (I know I could have…) and athletes wanting to rap (groan).
Just another in the long line of “I can write a check or a grocery list so why not a novel?”
Right.
Next she’s going to be a professional plumber…yes?
generally, when famous idiots “write” books they suck. I assume this one will suck.
I don’t care if she (or anyone) has a book deal. It doesn’t effect me. It’s just one more book I don’t want or need to read.
I am very excited. I’m not being facetious.
That’s how I feel, Tracy. It just doesn’t affect my life except to bring me a lot of joy. I mean, Tyra, the woman who taught us to smile with our eyes, is writing a book. That’s cause for a holiday.
I’m glad she helped pronounce Modelland on her website. I never would have separated “model” and “land” if she hadn’t pointed it out.
See? That’s what I found to be the loveliest detail in this whole story. I still cannot begin to understand how she (and her copywriters) thought that such an explanation was necessary.
I hear you. I have no doubt that it will not be… well-written.
[…] the record, I am not being sarcastic when I say I am excited about Tyra Banks’s new book. Is it going to be bad? Absolutely. Am I going to love it? LIKE […]
it is necessary if one of your target demographics are spanish speaking hispanic girls.
this is all about marketing & $$$ & scene.
actual writing i am guessing was tyra’s 0th concern.
i’m guessing.
Then you’re an idiot.
That’s just ridiculous. I’m an idiot because I like to be entertained? Give me a break.
Aha!
And I’m quite sure her concern for the writing itself was actually negative. Still awesome, though. Only in America.
Oh, man, crap. I was an actor who though she could write. I better just quit right now and go back to what I know. Sorry to have wasted your time, all. I didn’t realize there were rules about who could write. ;)
remind me to use a wind machine for my author photo
oh i believe she probably is very emphatic about the storytelling aspect but how CAN she care about the writing?
the fact she is getting published is cool with me.
why would i not want her to?
this isn’t her first book. she wrote a self-help book ten years ago.
Btw, Sean, I’m mostly just ribbing you–but I have noticed, as someone coming late to the writing world, it can be a really cliquey community. I’ve been a musician, an actor, and lately a political operative, but I’ve never run into a group as indignant as writers when someone outside the community decides to write. It can get really frustrating.
That is why I like this post.
mr. jereme-
off topic, but brown just delivered not one half hour ago “frowns…” to my doorstep direct from evil amazon
I mean really… yes, anyone can write. They may not write well, but they can do it. And maybe she will be a professional plumber, next. So what. When you achieve a certain level of success you get to do whatever the hell you want. Yes, a lot of doors are opened for celebrities that most of us have to kick down ourselves but it’s okay. It’s all okay.
She isn’t a warm person. But, umm, a book. Okay.
have you met her?
mimi,
fuck yes, you are a worthwhile human being.
one of my favorite poems in the collection is titled “NOT WEARING UNDERWEAR MAKES ME HORNY”
let me know what you think of the book.
haha
“When you achieve a certain level of success you get to do whatever the hell you want.”
????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
i’m not asking snidely, thought maybe you move in circles. she owns a house near my house i think.
I would love to see Tyra be a professional plumber. She would do amazing things for plumber’s crack.
“model” in German is “modell”
haha. i almost commented on that too but roxane hates me enough already. i assume no one can agree with the totality of that, and i choose to believe roxane meant it only w/r/t celebrities pursuing alternacareers, and as long as they dont step on others along the way. or maybe im wrong in that assumption.
Amber,
Musicians and actors have turf, some sense of, I know. I can’t believe an actual musician doesn’t laugh late night at everyone wanting to be a musician. Over drinks?
The term political operative scares me. Not sure what that means. Sounds Orwellian, but I will not fuck with one. It sounds scary. Then again I use to clean robots for pay.
Writers is not a definition, a profession. A lot of writers are weirded out by calling themselves writers. Some writers deny it. Some relish in it, think being a “writer” is all that (cough). I think writers don’t know what to think of that term. A small amount are interested in any clique. Oddly, most writing programs the writers don’t want to discuss writing. It’s unseemly to “be” a writer while you write. Maybe another post…
So, I just react today, this post, to everyone “wriitng” a book.
Putting down sentences is not wriitng. Celebrities freak me out when they write. They ALL do it, and mostly do it horribly (there are exceptions).
I just wonder why they feel the need?
I think it’s often a branch of branding. Talk show, check. Long, thing/table glammy book, check. Diet program, check.
Whatever.
But I toast her for the YA route. Celebrities usually go memoir or two then child book.
But I’m not looking forward to.
What I mean by that is if a rich and/or famous person says, hey, I want to work in a yogurt store today, they can probably find a way to make that happen. I don’t mean they have carte blanche in the anarchic sense but rather, they have the money and power to make their fantasies come true. There are a bunch of actors like Patrick Dempsey for example, who race cars. Why? Because they can. Russell Crowe has a band. James Franco likes to go to school and publish stories in Esquire.
She doesn’t seem especially warm and writer acquaintances of mine who have been on her show have made it clear that she puts the tyra in tyrant. I’m still excited for the book. I think it’s going to be like Showgirls for me–so bad it’s great.
it seemed like you were condoning the act, is all.
No, no. Just trying to say that money and power make lots of things possible. Sometimes, good (The Gates Foundation) and sometimes evil (Microsoft).
saying microsoft is evil is like saying the ‘civilized’ world didn’t benefit from nazi technology post wwii.
but yeah. i am picking up what you are putting down.
I got my MFA with Tyra ten years ago and she’s been publishing fiction, flash mostly, in internet journals since then under assumed names. I’ve read Modelland in draft, and it is amazing.
I know what you mean. And I think you totally answered my question–I think it’s hard for writers because literally EVERYONE thinks they can wrote. Musicians and actors get turf-protective too, but it’s a little easier because those things generally take more training to break into. Not that writing doesn’t take training, but people think it doesn’t, because, pen to paper, right? Also, it’s less of a monetary and time investment–don’t need to buy/learn to play an instrument, don’t need to audition, etc. Just…write.
So, I do think I get it. And I think you’re right about the branding. But to me, it’s kind of like, in that case, I don’t even look at it as writing. It’s more like advertising. A totally different animal.
Once, and she was working. So who knows. I don’t fault her much for it, but I wouldn’t run out to support her, either.
I heard it was ghost written by Ben Marcus.
PG, that’s a bit extreme but i “get” your sentiment
this tyra thing is no different from nicole richie or the hills chicks writing thinly disguised stories about their lives as fiction
it just makes the whole “thing” of writing more tiresome and absurd
“near” being within three zip codes i presume
ha ha
that is fucking funny (no sarcasm)
i hope sasha grey writes a novel about a c talk show host making her feel like shit for enjoying a little porn now and then
it is just branding
i think it would be funny to have tyra debate some schmo “writer” like blake or darby about what it means to “write” and have her scream at them within five minutes of taping and then the crowd would be whooping it up for her and she could say “I BELIEVED IN YOU AND I WANTED YOU TO SUCCEED” and then she could flash her cellulitey ass and start a riot
i mean Granite Bay, CA. its kind of a hideout for celebs in northern california.
Who really gives a shit? Another idiot celeb writes a book that they probably didn’t even write. Oh boy.
Shoe salesmen.
They’re wolves.
I’m bummed cause I’m 81 years old, making me one year too old for the dreamer in me to be touched by this book.
Everything in literature is a cock show. You’re right; it’s not like we in the indie lit mag vein are her prime competition, nor is she ours.
Is someone really standing at the virtual Amazon checkout counter with only ten dollars, trying desperately to decide between Modelland and the next issue of Glimmer Train? I think not.
It’s like that classic, deceptively philosophical exchange in “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”, which, I’ll admit, entirely changed my outlook on the sibling jealousy I had as a kid:
Guy at police station: What do you care if your brother ditches school?
Ferris Bueller’s sister: Everybody else has to go.
Guy:You could ditch.
Sister: I’d get caught.
Guy: So you’re pissed off because he ditches and doesn’t get caught, is that it?
Sister: Basically.
Guy: Basically, your problem is you.
Sister: Excuse me?
Guy: Worry about yourself, not about what your brother does.
Were any of US going to write Modelland? No? Then what has Tyra so boldly stolen from us?
Spot on. Good blog.
I need a sarcasm emoticon.
You are not excited.
I assume the book is ghost-written, but at least she entered at YA.
I think it’s like musicians wanting to play in the NBA (I know I could have…) and athletes wanting to rap (groan).
Just another in the long line of “I can write a check or a grocery list so why not a novel?”
Right.
Next she’s going to be a professional plumber…yes?
generally, when famous idiots “write” books they suck. I assume this one will suck.
I don’t care if she (or anyone) has a book deal. It doesn’t effect me. It’s just one more book I don’t want or need to read.
I am very excited. I’m not being facetious.
That’s how I feel, Tracy. It just doesn’t affect my life except to bring me a lot of joy. I mean, Tyra, the woman who taught us to smile with our eyes, is writing a book. That’s cause for a holiday.
I’m glad she helped pronounce Modelland on her website. I never would have separated “model” and “land” if she hadn’t pointed it out.
See? That’s what I found to be the loveliest detail in this whole story. I still cannot begin to understand how she (and her copywriters) thought that such an explanation was necessary.
I hear you. I have no doubt that it will not be… well-written.
it is necessary if one of your target demographics are spanish speaking hispanic girls.
this is all about marketing & $$$ & scene.
actual writing i am guessing was tyra’s 0th concern.
i’m guessing.
Then you’re an idiot.
That’s just ridiculous. I’m an idiot because I like to be entertained? Give me a break.
Aha!
And I’m quite sure her concern for the writing itself was actually negative. Still awesome, though. Only in America.
Oh, man, crap. I was an actor who though she could write. I better just quit right now and go back to what I know. Sorry to have wasted your time, all. I didn’t realize there were rules about who could write. ;)
remind me to use a wind machine for my author photo
oh i believe she probably is very emphatic about the storytelling aspect but how CAN she care about the writing?
the fact she is getting published is cool with me.
why would i not want her to?
this isn’t her first book. she wrote a self-help book ten years ago.
Btw, Sean, I’m mostly just ribbing you–but I have noticed, as someone coming late to the writing world, it can be a really cliquey community. I’ve been a musician, an actor, and lately a political operative, but I’ve never run into a group as indignant as writers when someone outside the community decides to write. It can get really frustrating.
That is why I like this post.
mr. jereme-
off topic, but brown just delivered not one half hour ago “frowns…” to my doorstep direct from evil amazon
I mean really… yes, anyone can write. They may not write well, but they can do it. And maybe she will be a professional plumber, next. So what. When you achieve a certain level of success you get to do whatever the hell you want. Yes, a lot of doors are opened for celebrities that most of us have to kick down ourselves but it’s okay. It’s all okay.
She isn’t a warm person. But, umm, a book. Okay.
have you met her?
mimi,
fuck yes, you are a worthwhile human being.
one of my favorite poems in the collection is titled “NOT WEARING UNDERWEAR MAKES ME HORNY”
let me know what you think of the book.
haha
“When you achieve a certain level of success you get to do whatever the hell you want.”
????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
i’m not asking snidely, thought maybe you move in circles. she owns a house near my house i think.
I would love to see Tyra be a professional plumber. She would do amazing things for plumber’s crack.
“model” in German is “modell”
haha. i almost commented on that too but roxane hates me enough already. i assume no one can agree with the totality of that, and i choose to believe roxane meant it only w/r/t celebrities pursuing alternacareers, and as long as they dont step on others along the way. or maybe im wrong in that assumption.
Amber,
Musicians and actors have turf, some sense of, I know. I can’t believe an actual musician doesn’t laugh late night at everyone wanting to be a musician. Over drinks?
The term political operative scares me. Not sure what that means. Sounds Orwellian, but I will not fuck with one. It sounds scary. Then again I use to clean robots for pay.
Writers is not a definition, a profession. A lot of writers are weirded out by calling themselves writers. Some writers deny it. Some relish in it, think being a “writer” is all that (cough). I think writers don’t know what to think of that term. A small amount are interested in any clique. Oddly, most writing programs the writers don’t want to discuss writing. It’s unseemly to “be” a writer while you write. Maybe another post…
So, I just react today, this post, to everyone “wriitng” a book.
Putting down sentences is not wriitng. Celebrities freak me out when they write. They ALL do it, and mostly do it horribly (there are exceptions).
I just wonder why they feel the need?
I think it’s often a branch of branding. Talk show, check. Long, thing/table glammy book, check. Diet program, check.
Whatever.
But I toast her for the YA route. Celebrities usually go memoir or two then child book.
But I’m not looking forward to.
What I mean by that is if a rich and/or famous person says, hey, I want to work in a yogurt store today, they can probably find a way to make that happen. I don’t mean they have carte blanche in the anarchic sense but rather, they have the money and power to make their fantasies come true. There are a bunch of actors like Patrick Dempsey for example, who race cars. Why? Because they can. Russell Crowe has a band. James Franco likes to go to school and publish stories in Esquire.
She doesn’t seem especially warm and writer acquaintances of mine who have been on her show have made it clear that she puts the tyra in tyrant. I’m still excited for the book. I think it’s going to be like Showgirls for me–so bad it’s great.
it seemed like you were condoning the act, is all.
No, no. Just trying to say that money and power make lots of things possible. Sometimes, good (The Gates Foundation) and sometimes evil (Microsoft).
saying microsoft is evil is like saying the ‘civilized’ world didn’t benefit from nazi technology post wwii.
but yeah. i am picking up what you are putting down.
I got my MFA with Tyra ten years ago and she’s been publishing fiction, flash mostly, in internet journals since then under assumed names. I’ve read Modelland in draft, and it is amazing.
I know what you mean. And I think you totally answered my question–I think it’s hard for writers because literally EVERYONE thinks they can wrote. Musicians and actors get turf-protective too, but it’s a little easier because those things generally take more training to break into. Not that writing doesn’t take training, but people think it doesn’t, because, pen to paper, right? Also, it’s less of a monetary and time investment–don’t need to buy/learn to play an instrument, don’t need to audition, etc. Just…write.
So, I do think I get it. And I think you’re right about the branding. But to me, it’s kind of like, in that case, I don’t even look at it as writing. It’s more like advertising. A totally different animal.
Once, and she was working. So who knows. I don’t fault her much for it, but I wouldn’t run out to support her, either.
I heard it was ghost written by Ben Marcus.
PG, that’s a bit extreme but i “get” your sentiment
this tyra thing is no different from nicole richie or the hills chicks writing thinly disguised stories about their lives as fiction
it just makes the whole “thing” of writing more tiresome and absurd
“near” being within three zip codes i presume
ha ha
that is fucking funny (no sarcasm)
i hope sasha grey writes a novel about a c talk show host making her feel like shit for enjoying a little porn now and then
it is just branding
i think it would be funny to have tyra debate some schmo “writer” like blake or darby about what it means to “write” and have her scream at them within five minutes of taping and then the crowd would be whooping it up for her and she could say “I BELIEVED IN YOU AND I WANTED YOU TO SUCCEED” and then she could flash her cellulitey ass and start a riot
i mean Granite Bay, CA. its kind of a hideout for celebs in northern california.
Who really gives a shit? Another idiot celeb writes a book that they probably didn’t even write. Oh boy.
Shoe salesmen.
They’re wolves.
all about expanding the brand
Showgirls isn’t a bad movie. But you’re very patronizing. Here’s a tip: the joke doesn’t get funny the longer you act like it it is.
No shit. What else you got?
I would read that. She’s probably a better writer than Tyra and half the dildos that publish on this site.
i think it’s somewhat disingenuous to say that it doesn’t affect other writers at all because usually when a celebrity is involved there’s also some sort of monstrous advance and no matter how many books he or she sells it isn’t usually enough to cover said advance creating less $$$ to go around for mid-list authors in the same houses. the book industry is fucked this way. and it’s not just celebrities. 8 mil to charles frazier for his second novel? damn, give him like 2 mil and how many more authors could’ve been published who would kill for like a $20,000-50,000 advance? it’s not that neat and clean w/r/t money allocation, but you get the drift.
i used to think she was “inspiring” and “encouraging” when i was younger. but then i realized that it was only a facade and that in reality, she is really selfish and judgmental. everything is always about her. she just never comes out and says it. instead, she plays either the victim or the role model.
somewhat similar to that bracket anthology editor who kept all the money and gave his secretary thousands but writers like steve almond nothing b/c $500 per writer was “insulting.”
all about expanding the brand
God, irony is so fucking 1996. Roxanne, you remind me of all of those English music journalists who used to think that they were very funny because they wore Kyle Minogue T-shirts, and they would get into long arguments with you about what a “pop genius” Kyle was, but if you ever went around to their house you would find nothing but Sonic Youth and Field Mice records. I do not think for a second that you will buy or read this book. However, I do hope Tyra will return the favor and plug your work on her show.
That said, I am slightly biased in all of this because I think that Tyra is a waste of skin.
This urge to egg idiots on because we find them slightly disgusting and funny will come to fruition one day when we have best selling author and political commentator President Palin, the first ironically elected leader of the USA.
Showgirls isn’t a bad movie. But you’re very patronizing. Here’s a tip: the joke doesn’t get funny the longer you act like it it is.
No shit. What else you got?
I would read that. She’s probably a better writer than Tyra and half the dildos that publish on this site.
“a waste of skin”? if roxane’s ironic, you’re hyperbolically hateful, mr. o’neill.
lol…. very friendly, carl
i think it’s somewhat disingenuous to say that it doesn’t affect other writers at all because usually when a celebrity is involved there’s also some sort of monstrous advance and no matter how many books he or she sells it isn’t usually enough to cover said advance creating less $$$ to go around for mid-list authors in the same houses. the book industry is fucked this way. and it’s not just celebrities. 8 mil to charles frazier for his second novel? damn, give him like 2 mil and how many more authors could’ve been published who would kill for like a $20,000-50,000 advance? it’s not that neat and clean w/r/t money allocation, but you get the drift.
Why not? She IS a waste of skin. Why should I be polite about her? I can be as hateful as I like, I gotta lot to go around…
i used to think she was “inspiring” and “encouraging” when i was younger. but then i realized that it was only a facade and that in reality, she is really selfish and judgmental. everything is always about her. she just never comes out and says it. instead, she plays either the victim or the role model.
Whether Roxane was being ironic or not, what’s with all this hating? Celebrities write books. People buy those books. Get over it. Roxane pointing out that yet another celebrity has written a book should not open her up for attacks. No one on this site is going to have the notoriety that Tyra does, that’s the truth of it, and I’m sure the book will be complete drivel, but I’m also sure there have been worse books published and inevitably, the American public at large will eat it, hungry as ever to be just a few words closer to celebrity-godheads.
It is a shame that Tyra banks walk around in so much skin, while so many more deserving go skinless.
Tyra Banks doesn’t have any notoriety. What is she notorious for? For the TV show?
As for notorious I am going to wager that at least one HTML commenter or submitter or whatever will indeed end up more notorious than Tyra Banks. We’ll need to set odds and then of course monitor all these people for at least the next 20 years. But already a person eating their own book is more notorious than the absolute bullshit Tyra Banks is at her core. Easy.
Also Sam Pink has been on this site. Sam Pink would get all Darkthron on Banks. He’s already easily more notorious.
Somebody filming themselves alone at their computer staring kind of crazy and talking crazy shit into the computer is way more notorious than rants about cold cream, etc.
Why are we defending Tyra?
This is a woman who dressed up as a homeless person for a day. But that wasn’t enough, she then wanted her “models” on the reality show thing to do a homeless person photoshoot.
Scroll on down….
http://www.beersteak.com/celebrities/tyra-banks-homeless/
No one wants to read her book, period. The book will suck, hard.
Tyra Banks will write the worst book in the world and there is no way in hell Roxanne is going to read one page. Not a word, thank gods.
Hatin
I dont think that anybody was hating on Roxane, really.
I cant believe that you are surprised that people are hating on this culture of already-loaded idiot tv celebs getting even more money to but their name on some ghost written piece of crap so megabucks publishers can sell it to people who dont know any better.
Nobody is saying that there havent been “worse books published”, or that people wont eat it up, but goddamnit does that mean we have to like it? I don’t suppose anything will really happen to the people in charge of AIG or Halliburton either, but it doesn’t mean that we should be expected give them the thumbs up while they fuck us all in the ass, you know? Lets call it what it is – its lowest common denominator shit. I’m not saying that the people who will run out and buy this should be running out an buying Joyce or whatever instead, it isn’t a snobbery thing at all. It’s just that I’m bored of this culture we have in the US of encouraging people to act like fools, rewarding them even with TV shows, book deals, etc etc.
I doubt it will stop anytime soon, and I doubt that anyone really gives a toss about my opinion, but this urge that seemingly intelligent people have to pretend that theyre in on the joke and start defending this stuff on some fatuous irony laden intellectual level is pretty sad.
Anyway, I have just written way more words than I ever intended to on the subject of Tyra Banks’ literary career, so I will stop here.
Sorry, Roxane.
One x
Damn. I do that often.
it’s not a matter of liking it. it’s a matter of whether or not you need to throw a fit to make it known how Offended you are by this Drivel…. or that someone else is being Ironic, Oh My God, it’s So 1996…. just makes you sound like a hipster diva.
hating is perfectly healthy as long as it’s not originating in ignorance.
there should be more hate. not blind hate. inquisitive, searching hate.
it’s okay.
it’s okay to not like something and to be outspoken about it. just understand why.
let’s not get knee-jerk. blind love makes everything dull.
tyra banks is blood tears.
somewhat similar to that bracket anthology editor who kept all the money and gave his secretary thousands but writers like steve almond nothing b/c $500 per writer was “insulting.”
the grumpy, fuck-these-lemming-masses-and-their-celebrity-whoring, Gen-X type of hipster, as opposed to the ironic, Pop-Culture-loving hipster, or the I-will-not-bathe-I-will-pretend-to-be-homeless hipster, or the let-us-go-to-grad-school-and-watch-Tarkovsky-in-my-apartment-in-silence type of hipster…. etc. Haha… And that’s not an indictment of hipster. I’ve gotta be like some % hipster, and you know, I don’t care either way. My point is, taking yourself too seriously sometimes makes a person look way silly, and it can be a bummer if that leads to shitting on either people and their harmless blog posts or whatever else. i don’t mean you any personal offense, mr. o’neill. and i understand if you Extremely Resent being called a hipster.
xoxo stephen
*other people (compulsive editor)
I could care less about Tyra Banks. I won’t read her book. I’m not defending her. Thanks for clarifying, Tony. And I agree with you: we live in a culture of fools and morons. We rejoice at the sight of more fools and morons, people more imbecilic than we are, fuck, that’s sad. I’m going to be a snob and read some Joyce now. And I hope to never have a conversation about Tyra Banks again.
also, i prefer oprah. ;)
Well Stephen, I doubt I’m in the right demographic to be called a hipster, really. But thanks for the life advice. I’ll be sure to plaster a big shit eating grin on my face for the rest of my time on this earth, and when people ask me what I think of life in America in 2010 I’ll give them the thumbs up and tell them, “I’m loving it!”
And I will also watch reality TV (ironically, of course), keep my opinions to myself, and never say anything that might me seem grumpy or diva-ish because having an opinion is SOOO passe.
Funnily enough, I remember you throwing quite a few fits around here when people had the tenacity to diss some of your favorite authors. And i managed to get my “fit” down to less than 47 paragraphs which is more than you managed to do. (And i didn’t mention Beckett once!)
cheers, tony. seems you acquitted yourself nicely.
Open up your heart and let that hate OUT! I dig your writing, by the way.
God, irony is so fucking 1996. Roxanne, you remind me of all of those English music journalists who used to think that they were very funny because they wore Kyle Minogue T-shirts, and they would get into long arguments with you about what a “pop genius” Kyle was, but if you ever went around to their house you would find nothing but Sonic Youth and Field Mice records. I do not think for a second that you will buy or read this book. However, I do hope Tyra will return the favor and plug your work on her show.
That said, I am slightly biased in all of this because I think that Tyra is a waste of skin.
This urge to egg idiots on because we find them slightly disgusting and funny will come to fruition one day when we have best selling author and political commentator President Palin, the first ironically elected leader of the USA.
“Celebrities write books. People buy those books. Get over it.”
So we can’t object to drivel? We have to just accept it? Fuck that. The celebrity-ogling culture that Tyra’s show and others of its ilk promote is toxic, and only encourages other people to live mindlessly. Fuck it all, seriously.
I want us as a nation to throw our fucking TVs in the garbage. Shit, I wanna run outside and light a random television on fire. Fuck.
http://www.hulu.com/watch/25109/family-guy-americas-next-top-model
She was pretty good in “Higher Learning.”
“a waste of skin”? if roxane’s ironic, you’re hyperbolically hateful, mr. o’neill.
lol…. very friendly, carl
I AM NOT JOKING. Jesus.
I’m afraid I’m not being ironic, but whatever. You don’t know me very well if you think I wont buy ten copies of this book for me and everyone I know.
I hope you’re not my Secret Santa come December.
I wouldn’t send this to someone as a Secret Santa gift–that would be silly. I will only be giving copies to people who would enjoy the book and clearly that’s no one here but me.
* “Modell”, rather
In German, all nouns are capitalized.
And I meant “model” the noun not “model” the adjective or “model” the verb.
Why not? She IS a waste of skin. Why should I be polite about her? I can be as hateful as I like, I gotta lot to go around…
i personally don’t know anything about tyra banks other than she’s a successful model, she’s very perky and enthusiastic, and she has a TV show that sometimes has “zany gimmick shows.” my first impression is: i like oprah better, “instinctively.” but that’s it. nothing more. so if she’s got a book out, i won’t buy it, because i don’t really want to read a tyra book (don’t feel a “need” to read an oprah book either).
anything beyond that, and i’d be making stuff up, projecting some weird combination of biases and fear and anger and ignorance and bitterness and jealousy and general mindlessness onto this woman i don’t know much about. “this is blood tears! drivel! this is why sarah palin will be president!” all these statements just sound like hysteria. are you THAT pissed that an enthusiastic model who may be a decent amount less “sophisticated” or “smart” than you has a TV show and now a book deal. Why do you care?
If everyone read Brian Evenson, then what??? You wouldn’t like Brian Evenson anymore, because “common folk” like it? There’d be Paradise On Earth [via “Fugue State”]? I don’t understand yallz context or goalz. it just seems like you’re bitter and grumpy over dumb shit. what is she concretely doing? she’s hosting a show that other people (not you) enjoy for some reason. does it matter if YOU enjoy it? do you need to dictate what other people like? does it affect you in some way if others like things that you find disgusting? why do you find these things disgusting? i honestly don’t think you have answers for these questions, just more of the same.
this coming from someone who really does not “care” about tyra banks, one way or the other.
for someone who doesn’t “care,” you really do seem to care. either that or you’re just really, really bored. my comment was neither here nor there, though you’re free to read into it how you will. though you already have. this isn’t the first time you’ve responded to something i’ve posted by bringing up “context and goals.” okay. but i never referred to anything as being “dumb shit.” you did. “just more of the same.” yeah. yeah.
oh, and i’d be thrilled if more people read brian evenson. i already recommend him to everyone i know. all my “common folk” friends. jesus.
Whether Roxane was being ironic or not, what’s with all this hating? Celebrities write books. People buy those books. Get over it. Roxane pointing out that yet another celebrity has written a book should not open her up for attacks. No one on this site is going to have the notoriety that Tyra does, that’s the truth of it, and I’m sure the book will be complete drivel, but I’m also sure there have been worse books published and inevitably, the American public at large will eat it, hungry as ever to be just a few words closer to celebrity-godheads.
but do you watch television?
hypocrisy is rife in here.
It is a shame that Tyra banks walk around in so much skin, while so many more deserving go skinless.
Tyra Banks doesn’t have any notoriety. What is she notorious for? For the TV show?
As for notorious I am going to wager that at least one HTML commenter or submitter or whatever will indeed end up more notorious than Tyra Banks. We’ll need to set odds and then of course monitor all these people for at least the next 20 years. But already a person eating their own book is more notorious than the absolute bullshit Tyra Banks is at her core. Easy.
Also Sam Pink has been on this site. Sam Pink would get all Darkthron on Banks. He’s already easily more notorious.
Somebody filming themselves alone at their computer staring kind of crazy and talking crazy shit into the computer is way more notorious than rants about cold cream, etc.
Why are we defending Tyra?
This is a woman who dressed up as a homeless person for a day. But that wasn’t enough, she then wanted her “models” on the reality show thing to do a homeless person photoshoot.
Scroll on down….
http://www.beersteak.com/celebrities/tyra-banks-homeless/
No one wants to read her book, period. The book will suck, hard.
Tyra Banks will write the worst book in the world and there is no way in hell Roxanne is going to read one page. Not a word, thank gods.
Hatin
I dont think that anybody was hating on Roxane, really.
I cant believe that you are surprised that people are hating on this culture of already-loaded idiot tv celebs getting even more money to but their name on some ghost written piece of crap so megabucks publishers can sell it to people who dont know any better.
Nobody is saying that there havent been “worse books published”, or that people wont eat it up, but goddamnit does that mean we have to like it? I don’t suppose anything will really happen to the people in charge of AIG or Halliburton either, but it doesn’t mean that we should be expected give them the thumbs up while they fuck us all in the ass, you know? Lets call it what it is – its lowest common denominator shit. I’m not saying that the people who will run out and buy this should be running out an buying Joyce or whatever instead, it isn’t a snobbery thing at all. It’s just that I’m bored of this culture we have in the US of encouraging people to act like fools, rewarding them even with TV shows, book deals, etc etc.
I doubt it will stop anytime soon, and I doubt that anyone really gives a toss about my opinion, but this urge that seemingly intelligent people have to pretend that theyre in on the joke and start defending this stuff on some fatuous irony laden intellectual level is pretty sad.
Anyway, I have just written way more words than I ever intended to on the subject of Tyra Banks’ literary career, so I will stop here.
‘The celebrity-ogling culture that Tyra’s show and others of its ilk promote is toxic, and only encourages other people to live mindlessly.’
i dont think thats true. to believe that, you would have to believe that entertainment is the driving force of people’s lives. people have twenties of kids and they go to jobs like registered nurse for 8-15 hours a day or do people’s taxes or do some kind of interesting job that takes esoteric knowledge and a degree in something, and then they come home and are tired and turn on the tv and eat popcorn. my experience and assumption has always been that watching tv is a passive activity one does when they are tired of doing the things that really matter during the day. if you have the time and mental energy to sit around and read a book for hours everyday, then that’s what you do, and you’ll probably work harder at seeking out those art/entertainment pockets that appeal to you, but for people who’s lives dont revolve around it, which is, i think, the majority of people, its just a thing to do and have a glass of wine with.
Sorry, Roxane.
One x
Damn. I do that often.
it’s not a matter of liking it. it’s a matter of whether or not you need to throw a fit to make it known how Offended you are by this Drivel…. or that someone else is being Ironic, Oh My God, it’s So 1996…. just makes you sound like a hipster diva.
Tyra is heinous but entertaining. Kylie Minogue is genuinely awesome. The thing I love about great dance pop like Kylie’s is its earnestness. I don’t mean the machine(s) and industry that produce and promote it, I mean the music itself. I am on some level perpetually a teenager mooning over a boy. That is not ironic. But then I am not an English music journalist, and if you inspected my rack for Kylie discs (I still have some of my jewel cases), you’d definitely find four or five.
hating is perfectly healthy as long as it’s not originating in ignorance.
there should be more hate. not blind hate. inquisitive, searching hate.
it’s okay.
it’s okay to not like something and to be outspoken about it. just understand why.
let’s not get knee-jerk. blind love makes everything dull.
tyra banks is blood tears.
I find it more interesting to interrogate and seek to understand celebrity culture than to dismiss. The hate mostly just seems boring and tired.
the grumpy, fuck-these-lemming-masses-and-their-celebrity-whoring, Gen-X type of hipster, as opposed to the ironic, Pop-Culture-loving hipster, or the I-will-not-bathe-I-will-pretend-to-be-homeless hipster, or the let-us-go-to-grad-school-and-watch-Tarkovsky-in-my-apartment-in-silence type of hipster…. etc. Haha… And that’s not an indictment of hipster. I’ve gotta be like some % hipster, and you know, I don’t care either way. My point is, taking yourself too seriously sometimes makes a person look way silly, and it can be a bummer if that leads to shitting on either people and their harmless blog posts or whatever else. i don’t mean you any personal offense, mr. o’neill. and i understand if you Extremely Resent being called a hipster.
xoxo stephen
I love Kylie! She’s been around for so long. I just love her persistence.
*other people (compulsive editor)
I could care less about Tyra Banks. I won’t read her book. I’m not defending her. Thanks for clarifying, Tony. And I agree with you: we live in a culture of fools and morons. We rejoice at the sight of more fools and morons, people more imbecilic than we are, fuck, that’s sad. I’m going to be a snob and read some Joyce now. And I hope to never have a conversation about Tyra Banks again.
also, i prefer oprah. ;)
What you consider drivel is not universal and celebrity culture only renders people mindless if they allow it to. Your disdain for common sense, intelligence and personal choices is really just too much for me. I have no shame for enjoying people like Tyra Banks (who I am able to critique just as easily as I enjoy her antics) and television and glossy celebrity magazines. I watch TV and read trashy romance novels. These things don’t embarrass me or make me a mindless idiot. This elevated attitude that popular culture is somehow beneath us is complete and total bullshit.
you assessed the viewers motivation but what is the motivation of the broadcasters?
it is merely to entertain people while they are tired or bored?
sometimes i wonder if you are a conformist at heart, darby.
sometimes i do wonder.
the common folk thank you david.
i care about a decrease in hate and an increase in open-mindedness, tolerance, and love. if that sounds earnest, it is.
it may seem silly to apply that to this situation, but i don’t think it is… i believe the hate people have for celebrities is not completely detached from the hate people have for “real-life people” or that festers in their hearts. and i think it can be toxic. this is not really directed at you specifically, there, davidpeak
[…] more than a little entertaining the last few days, too. Personal favorite controversy? Check out “Tyra Banks is Going to Write The Best Book Ever”. And then comment. And then duck like […]
Well Stephen, I doubt I’m in the right demographic to be called a hipster, really. But thanks for the life advice. I’ll be sure to plaster a big shit eating grin on my face for the rest of my time on this earth, and when people ask me what I think of life in America in 2010 I’ll give them the thumbs up and tell them, “I’m loving it!”
And I will also watch reality TV (ironically, of course), keep my opinions to myself, and never say anything that might me seem grumpy or diva-ish because having an opinion is SOOO passe.
Funnily enough, I remember you throwing quite a few fits around here when people had the tenacity to diss some of your favorite authors. And i managed to get my “fit” down to less than 47 paragraphs which is more than you managed to do. (And i didn’t mention Beckett once!)
cheers, tony. seems you acquitted yourself nicely.
I like Tyra Banks–she’s a lovely limnal figure: part very American in the unsophisticated sense, part majorly high-fashion; I like both of these dynamics. I once saw a picture of her walking an Yves Saint Laurent show when she was like 18 or so–wow, sublime/scary! Scarily Sublime! I will “say” that she’s a long ways off from a heroe of mine who happens to be/have been a model–Naomi Campbell!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Okay, but here’s why America’s Next Top Model is about more than promoting idiocy, and is in fact a weirdly riveting mass cultural text:
~Like that brilliant scene in “The Devil Wears Prada” when Meryl Streep breaks down the complex chain of production and taste-making behind Anne Hathaway’s teal sweater, ANTM shows the process of modeling requires actual work, a fine-tuning of myriad details. Industries are complex machines, even when they’re total bullshit.
~Despite its shaky connections, if any, to the actual fashion and modeling industry, ANTM maintains an illusion its a career-launcher.
~ANTM gives more visibility to genderqueer men of color than maybe any other mainstream cultural product I’ve consumed. Yet these men spend most of their time viciously policing young women’s gender expression and helping construct and disseminate hegemonic femininities.
~”Fierce” and “fierceness” have taken on crazy significance for young trans women of color — who experience some of the ugliest oppression in the form of homelessness, police violence, etc — are we supposed to go all old-school Marxist and call that false consciousness or some kind of colonized mindset? Or can we acknowledge some agency, some sense of resistance-as-play in their cooptation of high fashion femininity?
…These are just a few of the things that keep me fascinated while watching ANTM, not to mention the sheer entertainment value and hilarity of Tyra’s antics. Also, I like shiny things.
i think u make a great point, tim. there is an earnestness about a lot of pop. just because the artist and the audience know that a performance is taking place, doesn’t mean the message (something re: being in/out of love or something) isn’t in earnest. i think that’s refreshing, and it similarly makes me feel like a teenager mooning over a girl, in my case, and i love that!
I have nightmares about that one episode of America’s Next Top Model where they make the girls wear masks, insane heels, and walk on cobblestone. I imagine my ankles folding, face on the pavement, probably crying.
I like Tyra! I’d be glad to have someone give me her book!
you espousing ANTM is about as humorous as burroughs trying to convince me heroin is a great cure for occasional diarrhea.
That episode gave me CHILLS. Any time they’re asked to wear crazy heels, it’s too much for me. Tyra also did that during one of the earlier series when they used to make the girls do little activities at judging panel. At least three of the girls biffed it. Heartbreaking.
Open up your heart and let that hate OUT! I dig your writing, by the way.
uhh. thats a different discussion i think, broadcasters’s motivations, i’m just talking about what gets through. sinister motivations or not, i dont think most people are as affected as people like to think.
its not that im a conformist, its that im apathetic, at least with regard to this. i dont care if people watch mindless tv if it makes them feel good about going to work tomorrow.
apathy can only exist within the confines of conformity, i think.
i understand your sentiment.
“Celebrities write books. People buy those books. Get over it.”
So we can’t object to drivel? We have to just accept it? Fuck that. The celebrity-ogling culture that Tyra’s show and others of its ilk promote is toxic, and only encourages other people to live mindlessly. Fuck it all, seriously.
I want us as a nation to throw our fucking TVs in the garbage. Shit, I wanna run outside and light a random television on fire. Fuck.
http://www.hulu.com/watch/25109/family-guy-americas-next-top-model
She was pretty good in “Higher Learning.”
I AM NOT JOKING. Jesus.
I’m afraid I’m not being ironic, but whatever. You don’t know me very well if you think I wont buy ten copies of this book for me and everyone I know.
I hope you’re not my Secret Santa come December.
I wouldn’t send this to someone as a Secret Santa gift–that would be silly. I will only be giving copies to people who would enjoy the book and clearly that’s no one here but me.
* “Modell”, rather
In German, all nouns are capitalized.
And I meant “model” the noun not “model” the adjective or “model” the verb.
When does crazy start and high-fashion fabulousness end? I’d gander 5–mm, maybe 4.5–inch stilletos (no raised base of course); yesyes, I’m “talkin'” crazy standards: I suspect most people can’t walk well at such heights. Dumb as it likely is: I envy women for having the socially congratulated option of stilletos.
i personally don’t know anything about tyra banks other than she’s a successful model, she’s very perky and enthusiastic, and she has a TV show that sometimes has “zany gimmick shows.” my first impression is: i like oprah better, “instinctively.” but that’s it. nothing more. so if she’s got a book out, i won’t buy it, because i don’t really want to read a tyra book (don’t feel a “need” to read an oprah book either).
anything beyond that, and i’d be making stuff up, projecting some weird combination of biases and fear and anger and ignorance and bitterness and jealousy and general mindlessness onto this woman i don’t know much about. “this is blood tears! drivel! this is why sarah palin will be president!” all these statements just sound like hysteria. are you THAT pissed that an enthusiastic model who may be a decent amount less “sophisticated” or “smart” than you has a TV show and now a book deal. Why do you care?
If everyone read Brian Evenson, then what??? You wouldn’t like Brian Evenson anymore, because “common folk” like it? There’d be Paradise On Earth [via “Fugue State”]? I don’t understand yallz context or goalz. it just seems like you’re bitter and grumpy over dumb shit. what is she concretely doing? she’s hosting a show that other people (not you) enjoy for some reason. does it matter if YOU enjoy it? do you need to dictate what other people like? does it affect you in some way if others like things that you find disgusting? why do you find these things disgusting? i honestly don’t think you have answers for these questions, just more of the same.
this coming from someone who really does not “care” about tyra banks, one way or the other.
for someone who doesn’t “care,” you really do seem to care. either that or you’re just really, really bored. my comment was neither here nor there, though you’re free to read into it how you will. though you already have. this isn’t the first time you’ve responded to something i’ve posted by bringing up “context and goals.” okay. but i never referred to anything as being “dumb shit.” you did. “just more of the same.” yeah. yeah.
oh, and i’d be thrilled if more people read brian evenson. i already recommend him to everyone i know. all my “common folk” friends. jesus.
but do you watch television?
hypocrisy is rife in here.
‘The celebrity-ogling culture that Tyra’s show and others of its ilk promote is toxic, and only encourages other people to live mindlessly.’
i dont think thats true. to believe that, you would have to believe that entertainment is the driving force of people’s lives. people have twenties of kids and they go to jobs like registered nurse for 8-15 hours a day or do people’s taxes or do some kind of interesting job that takes esoteric knowledge and a degree in something, and then they come home and are tired and turn on the tv and eat popcorn. my experience and assumption has always been that watching tv is a passive activity one does when they are tired of doing the things that really matter during the day. if you have the time and mental energy to sit around and read a book for hours everyday, then that’s what you do, and you’ll probably work harder at seeking out those art/entertainment pockets that appeal to you, but for people who’s lives dont revolve around it, which is, i think, the majority of people, its just a thing to do and have a glass of wine with.
Tyra is heinous but entertaining. Kylie Minogue is genuinely awesome. The thing I love about great dance pop like Kylie’s is its earnestness. I don’t mean the machine(s) and industry that produce and promote it, I mean the music itself. I am on some level perpetually a teenager mooning over a boy. That is not ironic. But then I am not an English music journalist, and if you inspected my rack for Kylie discs (I still have some of my jewel cases), you’d definitely find four or five.
I find it more interesting to interrogate and seek to understand celebrity culture than to dismiss. The hate mostly just seems boring and tired.
I love Kylie! She’s been around for so long. I just love her persistence.
Who here actually hates Tyra Banks? I certainly don’t. I think she’s a dumbass, but that’s pretty much par for the course, as far as I can tell, when it comes to TV hosts. I don’t know her. I neither love or hate her, or whatever.
No.
What you consider drivel is not universal and celebrity culture only renders people mindless if they allow it to. Your disdain for common sense, intelligence and personal choices is really just too much for me. I have no shame for enjoying people like Tyra Banks (who I am able to critique just as easily as I enjoy her antics) and television and glossy celebrity magazines. I watch TV and read trashy romance novels. These things don’t embarrass me or make me a mindless idiot. This elevated attitude that popular culture is somehow beneath us is complete and total bullshit.
you assessed the viewers motivation but what is the motivation of the broadcasters?
it is merely to entertain people while they are tired or bored?
sometimes i wonder if you are a conformist at heart, darby.
sometimes i do wonder.
the common folk thank you david.
Why would I have to believe that? I said it encourages them to do so, not that it is the sole driving factor that causes them to do so. I think it’s fairly indisputable that the regular watching of TV encourages slack-jawed mindlessness. (And I mean mindlessness as in mindlessness vs. mindfulness, not necessarily some kind of snobbish “you should only read Shakespeare and Joyce!!!!111!” thing.)
Q. Does it make them feel better about going to work the next day, or does it make them feel not much at all, good or bad, about going to work the next day?
i care about a decrease in hate and an increase in open-mindedness, tolerance, and love. if that sounds earnest, it is.
me either. it is nice.
When did I say it was universal? What I think is total bullshit is this “Get over it; just accept it” attitude when it comes to pop culture. I’m sorry, but I think THAT attitude is the one that considers itself “above” pop culture. If I’m a part of it (and I am), then I retain the right to object those parts of it that I find despicable.
Is it a disdain for common sense, or simply practical? I know that some people can live with a TV in their house and still carefully balance their intake. But I can’t—I had to ditch it. I know that my family back home can’t. (Their lives practically revolve around SportsCenter.) I know tons of other people who can’t either, whether they want to admit it or not. And even if we could self-regulate when it comes to something as compelling as TV, I’m not convinced that it’s that much of a worthwhile activity anyway. I’m not saying everyone should read Great Books; I just think many people would be surprised how much they DON’T miss TV if they ditched their televisions, or gave them to Goodwill, or whatever.
it may seem silly to apply that to this situation, but i don’t think it is… i believe the hate people have for celebrities is not completely detached from the hate people have for “real-life people” or that festers in their hearts. and i think it can be toxic. this is not really directed at you specifically, there, davidpeak
I like Tyra Banks–she’s a lovely limnal figure: part very American in the unsophisticated sense, part majorly high-fashion; I like both of these dynamics. I once saw a picture of her walking an Yves Saint Laurent show when she was like 18 or so–wow, sublime/scary! Scarily Sublime! I will “say” that she’s a long ways off from a heroe of mine who happens to be/have been a model–Naomi Campbell!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Okay, but here’s why America’s Next Top Model is about more than promoting idiocy, and is in fact a weirdly riveting mass cultural text:
~Like that brilliant scene in “The Devil Wears Prada” when Meryl Streep breaks down the complex chain of production and taste-making behind Anne Hathaway’s teal sweater, ANTM shows the process of modeling requires actual work, a fine-tuning of myriad details. Industries are complex machines, even when they’re total bullshit.
~Despite its shaky connections, if any, to the actual fashion and modeling industry, ANTM maintains an illusion its a career-launcher.
~ANTM gives more visibility to genderqueer men of color than maybe any other mainstream cultural product I’ve consumed. Yet these men spend most of their time viciously policing young women’s gender expression and helping construct and disseminate hegemonic femininities.
~”Fierce” and “fierceness” have taken on crazy significance for young trans women of color — who experience some of the ugliest oppression in the form of homelessness, police violence, etc — are we supposed to go all old-school Marxist and call that false consciousness or some kind of colonized mindset? Or can we acknowledge some agency, some sense of resistance-as-play in their cooptation of high fashion femininity?
…These are just a few of the things that keep me fascinated while watching ANTM, not to mention the sheer entertainment value and hilarity of Tyra’s antics. Also, I like shiny things.
i think u make a great point, tim. there is an earnestness about a lot of pop. just because the artist and the audience know that a performance is taking place, doesn’t mean the message (something re: being in/out of love or something) isn’t in earnest. i think that’s refreshing, and it similarly makes me feel like a teenager mooning over a girl, in my case, and i love that!
I have nightmares about that one episode of America’s Next Top Model where they make the girls wear masks, insane heels, and walk on cobblestone. I imagine my ankles folding, face on the pavement, probably crying.
I like Tyra! I’d be glad to have someone give me her book!
you espousing ANTM is about as humorous as burroughs trying to convince me heroin is a great cure for occasional diarrhea.
That episode gave me CHILLS. Any time they’re asked to wear crazy heels, it’s too much for me. Tyra also did that during one of the earlier series when they used to make the girls do little activities at judging panel. At least three of the girls biffed it. Heartbreaking.
uhh. thats a different discussion i think, broadcasters’s motivations, i’m just talking about what gets through. sinister motivations or not, i dont think most people are as affected as people like to think.
its not that im a conformist, its that im apathetic, at least with regard to this. i dont care if people watch mindless tv if it makes them feel good about going to work tomorrow.
apathy can only exist within the confines of conformity, i think.
i understand your sentiment.
When does crazy start and high-fashion fabulousness end? I’d gander 5–mm, maybe 4.5–inch stilletos (no raised base of course); yesyes, I’m “talkin'” crazy standards: I suspect most people can’t walk well at such heights. Dumb as it likely is: I envy women for having the socially congratulated option of stilletos.
Who here actually hates Tyra Banks? I certainly don’t. I think she’s a dumbass, but that’s pretty much par for the course, as far as I can tell, when it comes to TV hosts. I don’t know her. I neither love or hate her, or whatever.
No.
Why would I have to believe that? I said it encourages them to do so, not that it is the sole driving factor that causes them to do so. I think it’s fairly indisputable that the regular watching of TV encourages slack-jawed mindlessness. (And I mean mindlessness as in mindlessness vs. mindfulness, not necessarily some kind of snobbish “you should only read Shakespeare and Joyce!!!!111!” thing.)
Q. Does it make them feel better about going to work the next day, or does it make them feel not much at all, good or bad, about going to work the next day?
me either. it is nice.
When did I say it was universal? What I think is total bullshit is this “Get over it; just accept it” attitude when it comes to pop culture. I’m sorry, but I think THAT attitude is the one that considers itself “above” pop culture. If I’m a part of it (and I am), then I retain the right to object those parts of it that I find despicable.
Is it a disdain for common sense, or simply practical? I know that some people can live with a TV in their house and still carefully balance their intake. But I can’t—I had to ditch it. I know that my family back home can’t. (Their lives practically revolve around SportsCenter.) I know tons of other people who can’t either, whether they want to admit it or not. And even if we could self-regulate when it comes to something as compelling as TV, I’m not convinced that it’s that much of a worthwhile activity anyway. I’m not saying everyone should read Great Books; I just think many people would be surprised how much they DON’T miss TV if they ditched their televisions, or gave them to Goodwill, or whatever.
the best books are already written…