For Women at ABC, Life’s a B****
While liberals scream about the right’s “war on women,” their hypocrisy is more than evident. ABC is running its second show this season with the word “bitch” in the title, and there’s only silence from the exquisitely sensitive feminists so aghast at Rush Limbaugh’s comments about left-wing activist Sandra Fluke.
Where is the left’s outrage over “GCB,” short for “Good Christian Bitches,” and for “Don’t Trust the B- in Apt. 23?” Surely, branding women as “bitches” should spur the feminists to action in droves. It hasn’t.
But if a show savages Christians, or is self-consciously “edgy” or “transgressive,” it’s left flank is secure.
“Don’t Trust the B- In Apt. 23” falls into the latter category. Within 36 seconds the pilot showed resident “bitch” Chloe (Krysten Ritter) having sex with her roommate June’s (Dreama Walker) fiancé on June’s birthday cake.
The sitcom was reviewed as witty and clever by several publications, and what’s more hilarious than the corruption of children? In the pilot, Chloe gives alcohol to a 12-year-old, who then proceeds to get drunk.
The rest of the pilot’s plot was a predictable litany of dysfunction, amorality and tired “outrageousness.” Chloe’s backstabbing romp with June’s fiancé turned out ok because he was already cheating on her with another woman. Chloe just saved her from a disastrous marriage.
The characters masturbate, walk around naked, stiff bartenders, throw the word “bitch” around five times and insult Christians (Chloe explained she once made a rap at a Christian camp called “Jesus is my n-word.”)
The cast praised the “edginess” of the show in an interview with Entertainment Weekly magazine. Ritter said, “There’s no way I could play any other role. In the pilot alone, I’m selling drugs, I’m in a rap-music video, I have a switchblade, and I’m naked. For me there was no question.”
Sex, drugs, bad language and rotten behavior on a TV show? Wow, that is edgy.
- Lauren Thompson's blog
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Comments
Definition of "edgy"
Submitted by taznar on Tue, 04/10/2012 - 4:19pm.
I guess I didn't know the new definition for "edgy" is "no socially redeemable value".
Why is trash
Submitted by NOLAgirl on Tue, 04/10/2012 - 4:26pm.
considered edgy and entertaining? I'm so sick of having this vile filth thrown in my face constantly. It's hardly even worth the effort to push the "ON" button on the remote control anymore.
Speaking of Fluke
Submitted by ricklail on Tue, 04/10/2012 - 4:44pm.
Has she gone to the camp for once useful idiots like Cindy Shehanh and Levi Johnson?
btw
Submitted by BosTarus on Tue, 04/10/2012 - 5:06pm.
I like your Psych quote.
Love Psych. Carlton Lassiter
Submitted by balboa on Tue, 04/10/2012 - 5:30pm.
Love Psych. Carlton Lassiter is one of my favorite characters on TV.
Lassie is great
Submitted by BosTarus on Tue, 04/10/2012 - 7:04pm.
I really enjoyed the Shining episode this season-the one where he buys a condo.
Also, in a similar vein, Ron Swanson on Parks and Rec is another one of my favorite characters on tv right now.
Swanson is awesome. "Give me
Submitted by balboa on Tue, 04/10/2012 - 7:30pm.
Swanson is awesome.
"Give me all the bacon and eggs you have."
Maybe I'm alone in this, but
Submitted by BosTarus on Tue, 04/10/2012 - 5:05pm.
Maybe I'm alone in this, but I don't want ALL of my entertainment to be wholesome and "for the family". If you don't like it, don't watch it-I saw the pilot and I really enjoyed it. Comedy isn't meant to appeal to every member of the public, maybe this just isn't your kind of humor.
Another who selectively applies the 1st
Submitted by Unsane on Tue, 04/10/2012 - 9:26pm.
If you don't like it, don't watch it Translation: "Why can't you critics realize that THE FIRST AMENDMENT DOES NOT APPLY TO YOU?"
Once again, like Mr. Bozell, Lauren Thompson is performing a great public service: "I'm not watching, here is why." If you agree with her, great. If you don't great.
If the artist has absolute freedom of speech, BosTarus - sadly for you, the critic has his/her absolute freedom of speech as well. Learn to deal with it.
P.S. This show is yet more reason for me not to watch TV. I haven't made time to watch a television program in many years now. They are all a waste of time.
"CONSUMED DEMOCRACY RETURNS A SOCIALIST REGIME" - Slayer, "Fictional Reality", from Divine Intervention (1994)
hahaha!
Submitted by BosTarus on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 1:08pm.
I didn't realize that every time a liberal has said "don't like it, don't watch it" they were trampling on your constitutional rights! I apologize.
Ha, I certainly wasn't trying to imply that the 1st amendment doesn't apply to you. I guess you didn't realize that I'm also allowed to complain about the criticism-unless you secretly believe that the 1st amendment doesn't apply to me...
Feel special? Well, don't.
Submitted by Unsane on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 9:24pm.
I guess you didn't realize that I'm also allowed to complain about the criticism-unless you secretly believe that the 1st amendment doesn't apply to me...Huh? "If you don't like it, don't watch it" is a whine used across the political spectrum by people like you who believe the 1st Amendment does not apply to the critic.
Where, oh where, is Miss Thompson calling for censorship? Oh, she isn't. What's the problem?
Complain all you want about criticism; but "If you don't like it, don't watch it" suggests to me you think critics should simply shut up.
I didn't realize that every time a liberal has said "don't like it, don't watch it" they were trampling on your constitutional rights! I apologize. I hate to break your Leftist bleeding heart, but my rant applies to ALL across ALL of the political spectrum. For everyone of every persuasion has whined as you have.
"CONSUMED DEMOCRACY RETURNS A SOCIALIST REGIME" - Slayer, "Fictional Reality", from Divine Intervention (1994)
There's no connection between
Submitted by balboa on Tue, 04/10/2012 - 5:34pm.
There's no connection between a political football of women's rights and a couple of stupid shows on ABC.
➚Why?
Submitted by Cool Arrow on Tue, 04/10/2012 - 9:42pm.
Because women have the right to be degraded to the level of female dog?
Meaning? You'd have no problem with "Harlem Howler Monkeys"?
Both degrade a specific human group to that of lower life form?
And balboa's OK with that. No surprise here.
You're trying way, way too
Submitted by balboa on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 8:27am.
You're trying way, way too hard.
Not at all, bal
Submitted by Cool Arrow on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 4:15pm.
And methinks thou doth protest not at all on my astute observation.
Of course Bal is for it, he
Submitted by LAM SON 719 on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 12:32am.
Of course Bal is for it, he is only outraged by the constitution and the bible.
sex, drugs, bad language, and rotton behavior
Submitted by ohio granny on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 10:09am.
A TV show with sex, drugs, bad language and rotton behavior. No wonder our teenage girls are acting like sluts. And yes, I mean sluts.
Parents trying to shield their daughters from this kind of behavior are facing an uphill battle. No matter how hard they try, the girls will still be exposed at school, commercials,TV shows, movies, etc.
No wonder our society is in troulble. So called adults engaging in animalistic behavior and considering it normal. How can we expect our children to grow up to be responsible adults?
~Homeschool
Submitted by Wrathful Brunette on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 12:48pm.
and no TV. Screen their library books and expose them only to the best literature, the best art, the best music, all exemplifying the best ideals, and when they see sh!t, they'll know it's sh!t.
well...
Submitted by BosTarus on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 1:03pm.
that's making the rather bold assumption that the "best" art is the art that only exemplifies the "best" ideals. You're cutting your child off from most art, in that case... most of literature, certainly most of cinema and music. I don't see how raising culturally illiterate children is going to help raise the pop-cultural bar.
~Um, what is your definition of 'culturally illiterate'?
Submitted by Wrathful Brunette on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 1:27pm.
Because a thorough classical education is about as culturally literate as it comes. Or do you have something against Homer, Plato, Socrates, Epictetus, Jesus, St. Augustine, Aquinus, Bacon, Chaucer, Bede, Boethius, Pascal, Locke...stop me when you see a name you recognize.
Homer?! What a chump...
Submitted by balboa on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 1:33pm.
Homer?! What a chump...
~Not the one on TV, bal
Submitted by Wrathful Brunette on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 1:39pm.
*sigh*
Bru does it again*
Submitted by cajun2 on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 1:46pm.
*snicker*
Oh, I see what you're saying.
Submitted by balboa on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 2:35pm.
Oh, I see what you're saying. You're saying I meant the Homer Simpson on TV, not the author of The Iliad.
Clever.
~...........
Submitted by Wrathful Brunette on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 2:58pm.
Your mind, it has the nimble agility of the aardvark and the blinding speed of the sloth.
Carry on, grasshopper.
Ha
Submitted by BosTarus on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 2:06pm.
Homer's great (both the Greek and the cartoon)-but I'd avoid the Illiad. And Sophocles. And I'm assuming Shakespeare is out of the question. Certainly nothing written in the past 200 years-Hemmingway, Dostoyevsky, Saldinger, Twain even. And don't bother with the visual arts-you'd have to exclude Michelangelo, Goya, anyone French (maybe save for Renoir), certainly nothing committed to paper post 1880. My point is only that art should not be defined by its subject matter-because art is meant to challenge. Only espousing the finest of virtues and ideals is not Art's job (and shouldn't be)... but I'm also not saying that Art that does promote those values is worth less either. I'd just feel bad for any student deprived of any cultural variety.
~Deliberately prick-ish
Submitted by Wrathful Brunette on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 2:29pm.
You were on the thread where I was enthusing over a work of Twain's..
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/paul-wilson/2012/02/13/comic-book-buffy-vam...
Hemingway was a hack, as was Salinger. Art is only meant to "challenge" in the deluded mind of a liberal, as I expressed here..
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/clay-waters/2010/12/13/talking-ants-crucifi...
Oh, and my two favorite authors are G.K. Chesterton and C.S. Lewis. Their works were written in the 20th century, fyi. But keep googling crap and throwing it out there, it's amusing.
Sorry
Submitted by BosTarus on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 2:44pm.
Didn't mean to come off as "deliberately prick-ish"... but I can assure you I didn't need to google to come up with the names of 8 or so artists-I'd hope you think I'm a bit smarter than that.
I'm glad you're a Twain fan, but I definitely wouldn't call Hemingway or Salinger a hack. I was never a huge C.S. Lewis fan, but I did enjoy the Narnia books a bit as a kid.
And I'd hope that you don't need to be a deluded liberal to want to be challenged. If that's what makes me a deluded liberal, then I've never been prouder to be insulted!
~Narnia books?
Submitted by Wrathful Brunette on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 2:51pm.
You..do know he wrote a lot more than just the Narnia books, right?
Art is not a social weapon for "challenging" people, unless you're a sick b@st@rd who only seeks to offend. If you want to be "challenged", read a philosopher and work out what you agree with, don't agree with, and why.
Yeah...
Submitted by BosTarus on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 3:11pm.
I "do" realize that, I was just trying to find a little common ground, saying that I enjoyed his kids book offerings when I was younger.
And "challenge" doesn't have to mean offend. I just think all your definitions regarding art are very narrow. Also, Art can be a social weapon, if it calls for it. Try telling Goya, Michelangelo, Velazquez, Picasso, Chaucer, Shakespeare, Orwell... anyway, you get the point.
Also, don't make the mistake of thinking that one who defends low art is incapable of appreciating, or even championing, high art.
~Liberals always call offensive 'art' "challenging"
Submitted by Wrathful Brunette on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 3:26pm.
So they can pretend that wallowing in filth = intellectual enlightenment.
So, what have you read of Lewis's, other than the Narnia books?
Sometimes that's used as a
Submitted by balboa on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 3:36pm.
Sometimes that's used as a crutch, that something is challenging when it's just...gross. But there are times when art is challenging and not just for the sake of being shocking.
But the reverse is just as pointless, taking in only shiny, pretty things, whether it be art, books, movies, TV, or music.
Exactly,
Submitted by BosTarus on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 3:35pm.
at it's worst, "challenging" art is just offensive gross-out art. At it's best it can be culturally elevating. It'd be a shame to lump all art, besides that which only serves to celebrate the highest of virtues, into the former category.
~What can be more truly "challenging"
Submitted by Wrathful Brunette on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 3:43pm.
or culturally elevating than art which celebrates the highest virtues? The highest virtues are the most difficult to attain, while it is easy to sink into degradation. There's nothing challenging about that.
Also
Submitted by BosTarus on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 3:42pm.
in regards to your question about Lewis (don't want you to think I'm avoiding it):
Not much. I read the Narnia series when I was little, and I've only read selections of the Screwtape Letters (because another work I was into, referenced them regularly-so I was curious). I had always intended to go back and finish that one-it's certainly in my queue! But, yeah, not too familiar with Lewis-but I guess I was never too drawn to read much more.
~Check out 'Surprised by Joy', his autobiography
Submitted by Wrathful Brunette on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 3:55pm.
Very good reading, and his matter of fact account of the rampant pederasty in English public schools never fails to startle those who pigeonhole Christians as uptight, judgmental prudes.
Thanks for the tip
Submitted by BosTarus on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 4:04pm.
Consider it added to the queue! And no one can beat the English in the "uptight, judgmental prude" race.
Bos
Submitted by Radical1979 on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 2:35pm.
I suggest you save your pity for the kids who are allowed to wallow in MTV, Jersey Shore, and the movies like "Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter". The kids who are watching that dreck and little else are missing out on the beauty of real art.
There is a huge difference between Shakespeare and the violence and sex in his plays, which is not showed in graphic detail, and that of current "art". It's a straw man to compare Michelangelo to a crucifix in urine. All art is not created equal, and to suggest that by refusing to respect art that someone finds offensive is a deprivation of culture is ridiculous.
~Charles and Mary Lamb
Submitted by Wrathful Brunette on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 2:45pm.
Brought 20 of Shakespeare's best works to a child's literary level. I have a paperback copy of it which will be part of my children's reading, and when they're in high school they'll read the originals.
Bos is twisting the meaning of what I'm saying to imply that they'll be wrapped in cotton wool and sheltered from all that's bad about the world.
Raising your children on the best doesn't mean shielding them from what's worst about human nature, it means putting it in the proper context, at appropriate age levels, while holding up what is good, and right, and pure as the standard to strive for.
Bru
Submitted by Radical1979 on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 2:50pm.
And Bos knows he's twisting the meaning of what your saying. He must be one of those people who finds "Jersey Shore" enlightening because it makes him feel smart because he understands the plot.
Ha
Submitted by BosTarus on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 2:51pm.
Well, I am a big defender of current television-but I can assure you that Jersey Shore does not fall under the umbrella of my defense... I'm a big time long-form narrative fan... crappy reality tv doesn't really do it for me. So nothing with "Jersey" or "Housewives" or "the World's blankiest blanks" in the title for me.
There are tremendous shows on
Submitted by balboa on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 3:03pm.
There are tremendous shows on TV right now, but some people will always badmouth it.
TV has never been better -- and simultaneously worse.
Amen brother!
Submitted by BosTarus on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 3:11pm.
We're living in a veritable Golden Age of television!
That's one of the stupidest comments ever.
Submitted by Radical1979 on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 3:40pm.
.
~"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times"
Submitted by Wrathful Brunette on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 3:45pm.
Bal unintentionally imitates Dickens. LOL!
Really? THAT is one of the
Submitted by balboa on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 4:08pm.
Really? THAT is one of the stupidest ever?
There is a tremendous range of great TV programming right now. There are so many diverse and interesting and fascinating shows. It's never been this good.
On the other hand, there are also a high number of stupid shows (mostly reality, but definitely not all).
So you've made stupider comments?
Submitted by Radical1979 on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 4:07pm.
I can't argue with that. But this one ranks right up there, because I notice you aren't naming names of great TV programming.
Mad Men Justified The
Submitted by balboa on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 9:18pm.
Mad Men
Justified
The Closer
Breaking Bad
Psych
Modern Family
Community
30 Rock
Walking Dead
The Amazing Race
Portlandia
Top Chef
Game of Thrones
Fringe
Big Bang Theory
The Good Wife
Suburgatory
30 for 30 films on ESPN
Parks and Recreation
Iconoclasts
Suits
Downtown Abbey
Homeland
Frozen Planet
How the States Got Their Shapes
The Killing
Modern Marvels
That's at least a start.
Are you kidding?
Submitted by Unsane on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 9:33pm.
How does anyone spend that much time sitting on their ass watching TV like that? Those days for me have come and gone.
Of ALL the shows you have listed, I MAY have seen a total of ONE hour of it all, lifetime.
There is so damn much going on in this world at any given time, I cannot bear to waste it just sitting around watching TV.
"CONSUMED DEMOCRACY RETURNS A SOCIALIST REGIME" - Slayer, "Fictional Reality", from Divine Intervention (1994)
Damn
Submitted by Boudin on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 9:34pm.
You must watch tv 18/7
Pretty obvious what your "problem" is
TV snobs such as yourself?
Submitted by balboa on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 9:41pm.
TV snobs such as yourself?
You kidding me,
Submitted by Boudin on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 9:44pm.
I am watching Gunsmoke as I type this!
Ok, I retract my previous
Submitted by balboa on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 9:56pm.
Ok, I retract my previous statement. :-)
You've made my point...
Submitted by Radical1979 on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 9:33pm.
Obviously what someone likes is subjective, but Parks & Recreation is great TV? The Amazing Race?
I've heard good things about some of the shows, like Game of Thrones, but considering there are 24 hours in a day and a diversity of channels this doesn't seem like the golden age of TV.
Well, sure, the true golden
Submitted by balboa on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 9:40pm.
Well, sure, the true golden age of TV was long ago, but I would argue that the high number of channels and the emergence of great cable series make this a great time for TV.
And P&R is great stuff! Amazing Race, while not "great," is very entertaining and interesting.
I find the Amazing Race to be
Submitted by Ms. Independent on Thu, 04/12/2012 - 10:35am.
a great teaching tool for my children. It gives us a chance to discuss things like teamwork, ethics, and morals. From the show we learn tidbits about a country and its culture and customs. And afterwards, we often try to learn more about the location where the episode took place. The show has helped my kids develop a love of geography. IMHO it deserves every Emmy it has won.
The Amazing Race? Thumbs down
Submitted by Unsane on Thu, 04/12/2012 - 9:02pm.
Nothing develops a love of geography in children faster than travel. JMHO.
"CONSUMED DEMOCRACY RETURNS A SOCIALIST REGIME" - Slayer, "Fictional Reality", from Divine Intervention (1994)
I'm sorry
Submitted by BosTarus on Thu, 04/12/2012 - 1:33pm.
I was away from the computer just as this conversation heated up!
Bal, your viewing list is practically mine! I imagine your dvr is virtually identical to mine own!
AND that doesn't include the amazing shows that have been aired within the past 10 years-the Wire, Deadwood, Six Feet Under, Arrested Development, Freaks and Geeks, Futurama, Friday Night Lights, Battlestar (polarizing, I know)... so many!
Don't let anyone tell you that this is not a Golden Age of television. Film had its widely considered golden age in the late 60s and early 70s... it's TV's turn now. And you can't say "just because there's a bunch more channels... blah blah blah"... that's like saying the Renaissance wasn't a golden age for Art, there just was more artists... that's Why it was a golden age! TV, for the first time in it's history, is now considered a viable (if not preferred) form of storytelling by writers.
For the first time in TV's history, you have writers with properties for sale arguing for television series instead of one off films! It's very exciting! 12 years ago, no one would consider taking a popular book franchise like Game of Thrones, and turning it into a tv show... instead they would have made terrible movies with the bulk of the material cut for time!
Anyway, I'm excited if you couldn't tell.
Also, 2 good friends of mine created one of the 30 for 30 docs on ESPN-"Silly Little Game". Did you see that one? We really enjoyed it
Haven't seen that one yet.
Submitted by balboa on Thu, 04/12/2012 - 1:51pm.
Haven't seen that one yet. Those documentaries are great.
Have to confess that I don't get Futurama or Arrested Development. And I've tried.
But I watched Battlestar Galactica in about two weeks. Everything else you mentioned I was totally on board, plus LOST which was an obsession, Alias for about the first one-and-a-half seasons.
Well
Submitted by BosTarus on Thu, 04/12/2012 - 2:02pm.
My wife and I lean heavily on comedy and cartoons-there are a ton more I didn't even mention-especially Adult Swim! But that's what's great about Golden Ages! There's something for everyone!
Yeah, We inhaled Battlestar! it ended a bit sloppily, but on the whole, It'll still go down as one of my favorite series. We also binge watched LOST-at the end, it left us pretty pissed-but we loved the first few seasons! I never watched Alias, but I've been meaning to. My wife loved Buffy, which is another favorite of the past decade, but I could never really get into it. We also loved Veronica Mars, though that didn't last long.
If you get a chance, check out "Silly Little Game"-it's a really fun one, about the birth of fantasy baseball leagues.
BTVS was awesome. How it
Submitted by balboa on Thu, 04/12/2012 - 3:56pm.
BTVS was awesome. How it never got nominated for an Emmy is beyond me. Just for "Hush" alone.
Veronica Mars was gone way too soon...
Ahh, love among the libs, ---
Submitted by matthewdean on Thu, 04/12/2012 - 9:03pm.
sweetness personified. :o)
MD
And yes
Submitted by BosTarus on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 2:54pm.
I was intentionally "twisting" your words-only because you were providing a very narrow definition of what you consider "the best".
And just because I have a broader idea of what makes good art, doesn't mean that I won't personally "hold up what is good, and right, and pure as the standard to strive for." I just think that'll be my job as a parent, not the artist's job. But again, I'm all about art that does highlight the virtues of man. I just don't dismiss any art that also shines a light on the darkness of man either.
Shining on the darkness of man...
Submitted by Radical1979 on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 2:59pm.
Surely Shakespeare does that, but without the crass exploitation we so common in "art" today. For example the recent thread here about the t.v. series in which a young girl drank from a penis mug. That show is described as "edgy" and "daring", but rarely does it mention any insight into the human condition highlighted by the show. It's all about shock value, which is labeled as art.
Don't judge Abraham Lincoln
Submitted by balboa on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 3:04pm.
Don't judge Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter before you see it!
~Locking this in
Submitted by Wrathful Brunette on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 3:08pm.
.
It might wind up stinking,
Submitted by balboa on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 3:35pm.
It might wind up stinking, but it might be pretty cool.
~For a second, I thought you meant your comment
Submitted by Wrathful Brunette on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 3:43pm.
that I locked in.
why not?
Submitted by Boudin on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 9:37pm.
This title gives me a clear idea weather or not its worth while.
~Liberals use the light as a halo on the ugly and bestial
Submitted by Wrathful Brunette on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 3:06pm.
and sneer at traditional concepts of morality.
I am speaking as a parent; I ignore the "art" of those who celebrate ugliness. There's enough ugliness in the world already without deliberately creating more of it and elevating it to the level of 'art'.
I reeled off some names off the top of my head in roughly chronological order; I wasn't trying to put out a comprehensive list of every single author, seminal philosopher, artist, or musician that will comprise the core of my children's education. Obviously.
Seriously?
Submitted by Unsane on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 9:34pm.
Hemingway sucks and is overrated.
The Iliad is a classic of literature. Period.
Shakespeare is quoted every single day. His impact on the English language will be felt long after your pop-culture heroes and heroines have entered The Sleep Of No Dreaming.
"CONSUMED DEMOCRACY RETURNS A SOCIALIST REGIME" - Slayer, "Fictional Reality", from Divine Intervention (1994)
Hemingway's not my favorite,
Submitted by balboa on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 9:34pm.
Hemingway's not my favorite, but overrated? Moveable Feast, The Sun Also Rises? Awfully good.
Hemmingway was a boring drunk who wrote about drinking.
Submitted by Radical1979 on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 9:36pm.
Ugh.
So,
Submitted by Boudin on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 9:40pm.
Whats wrong with that? Some of my best stories happened while I was,,,,,,, never mind
Don't forget the word "boring"
Submitted by Radical1979 on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 9:41pm.
Writing about sitting at a bar and drinking does not make a good story.
i will say Hemmingway's house in Key West is fun to visit.
~Hemingway was a shallow, ugly soul
Submitted by Wrathful Brunette on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 9:58pm.
whose only redeeming literary feature was the eloquence with which he described the taste and texture of food. Other than that, bleh.
City I grew up in
Submitted by Boudin on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 10:02pm.
Named their streets after items in his books.
Overrated.
Submitted by Unsane on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 10:42pm.
Yes, overrated. I kept getting told as I was growing up about how he was the ultimate 20th Century American author. "The Old Man And The Sea" was garbage.
But Hemingway isn't as grossly overrated as Charles Dickens. He is THE most grossly overrated author in English. What the hell else did he write that was worth a damn outside "A Christmas Carol"?
"CONSUMED DEMOCRACY RETURNS A SOCIALIST REGIME" - Slayer, "Fictional Reality", from Divine Intervention (1994)
Not up on my Dickens. These
Submitted by balboa on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 10:52pm.
Not up on my Dickens.
These days, a good mystery floats my boat as much as anything else.
Not up on my
Submitted by bkeyser on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 10:58pm.
Dickens.
Bal? You couldn't find a better choice of words? lol
Oh...yeah, that's not right.
Submitted by balboa on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 11:05pm.
Oh...yeah, that's not right.
~Let me guess
Submitted by Wrathful Brunette on Thu, 04/12/2012 - 10:10am.
Some dumb@ss "English teacher" forced you to wade through Great Expectations.
Sheesh, have you been stalking me?
Submitted by Unsane on Thu, 04/12/2012 - 9:05pm.
Ninth grade. I HATED that novel. And the swipes I have taken elsewhere at Dickens does not help.
"CONSUMED DEMOCRACY RETURNS A SOCIALIST REGIME" - Slayer, "Fictional Reality", from Divine Intervention (1994)
~I hated it, too
Submitted by Wrathful Brunette on Thu, 04/12/2012 - 9:15pm.
and I'm a Dickens fan. It's completely unlike most of his works; don't dismiss Dickens based solely on that. David Copperfield is a fantastic book, for instance.
English teachers seem to pick the very worst books to force kids to read; it's as if they want people to develop a dislike for literature.
"Shallow, shallow, give it to me, give it to me..."
Submitted by Unsane on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 9:27pm.
Raising the pop-culture bar should never be the goal. For pop-culture sucks.
I love seeing the culturally shallow lecture others on how to raise their kids.
"CONSUMED DEMOCRACY RETURNS A SOCIALIST REGIME" - Slayer, "Fictional Reality", from Divine Intervention (1994)
Also
Submitted by BosTarus on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 1:05pm.
I've never bought the premise of our "declining society"... I don't see how we're in much trouble-when, statistically speaking, we're doing better than ever, on the whole! So I don't think The B---- in Apt 23 is evidence of spiraling cultural output.
sure Bos*
Submitted by cajun2 on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 1:47pm.
There is no "declining society" from your ivory tower or the view from your high horse.
http://theadvocate.com/home/2534195-125/zachary-mother-arrested-after-baby
http://www.childhelp.org/pages/statistics
http://www.disastercenter.com/crime/uscrime.htm
http://www.trivisonno.com/food-stamps-charts
Keep your eyes and mind closed. The truth is lurking nearby.
You do realize...
Submitted by BosTarus on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 1:54pm.
that one of your links shows a steady decline in every statistic over the past 25 years. And an individual story of violence isn't enough to prove a declining culture. Also, the food stamp statistic is partly due to the broadening of the qualifications and the fact that we just suffered a terrible recession.
The fact is, violent crime, sex crime, teen pregnancy have been on a steady decline for 25 years. Also, on a global scale, human rights abuses are at an all time low. I'm proud to be living today-and I'm excited for the future!
Things seem bad because we have a dozen 24 hour news networks desperate for ratings, and violence and sex and controversy are ratings bonanzas! So we get this terribly distorted portrait of our own culture.
you do realize*
Submitted by cajun2 on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 2:05pm.
The decline in teen pregnancy is due to 50 million abortions. You do realize that a child dies from abuse and neglect every day in this country is dispicable but since Roe vs Wade, that number has declined so that shows progress right? The number of violent crimes has increased among those under 18 as victims and perpetrators. But thats an improvement right? Overall human rights abuses are declining??? It is if you do not count stoning women to death who have been raped. The public hanging of homosexuals in muslim countries. It does go down if you dont count the dead in riots and civil war in the middle east. It shows a decline if you dont count the dead Christians in muslim countries as recently sited by our own state department as not being hate crimes. Redefine, skew the statistics, they are just numbers not like they represent real dead babies or anything.
This "distorted" portrait of our own culture is in your mind Bos, not a distorted reality.
Ha! Well, typically
Submitted by BosTarus on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 2:48pm.
public stonings, hangings, persecution, genocide, and civil war are included within "human rights abuse" statistics... in fact, those make up the bulk of what constitutes as "human rights abuses". So, yeah, its on the decline EVEN IF you dare to factor in those things.
bos
Submitted by Agnostic on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 2:18pm.
"Things seem bad because we have a dozen 24 hour news networks desperate for ratings, and violence and sex and controversy are ratings bonanzas! So we get this terribly distorted portrait of our own culture."
The media does not depict an accurate view of anything due to various influences, including personal and political bias, and I believe you are correct in many ways that we are not in the social decline across the board.
However, I do wonder if the availability of information will be enough to offset the fall in the higher levels of education. I also wonder if the societal acceptance of often destructive ideas leaves open to a social fall within our society.
Every generation seems to think the next will bring ruin but there is always a trade off when moving from the old to the new. The decrease in the work ethic was not as devastating to society due to the move to a service based industry and further automation. It is my feeling however that at some point we will give up too many of the 'qualities' that define people of superior thought and action. When that time comes we will start a moral decline.
Agnostic,
Submitted by BosTarus on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 2:39pm.
You're very right-and complacency is very dangerous. I'm definitely an optimist about the future, but I also try to remain aware of everything that still sucks... because if you just keep convincing yourself that things are getting better and you stop doing anything about it, you hit that peak... and things stop getting better.
I hope that we are a wily enough creature to prevent that from seriously happening.
seriously bos*
Submitted by cajun2 on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 5:35pm.
A wily creature does prepare for future events, good or bad. Its only the stupid that live in denial of the obvious.
Bos is a wily enough creature to ---
Submitted by matthewdean on Wed, 04/11/2012 - 6:02pm.
misspell "Iliad" and "Salinger" in one post and still attempt to impress all with his erudition reference all areas of civilization's output.
MD