July 26th, 2011
A little over a month ago, I engaged in the profoundly masochistic act of reading David Mamet's most recent book. As rambling, bumbling, and painfully obtuse a portrait of neo-conservative conversion as it is, I didn't consider the possibility that Mamet would, in short order, embarrass himself further. This appears now to have been a terribly misguided overestimation. Since legitimate political and literary observers of all stripes have savaged its inanity, Mamet hasn't exactly had much of a promotional junket.
But, the 700 Club was more than willing to have him on. It's about what one would expect. There are broad character assassinations of "liberal Jews." Regarding American Jews who voted for Obama, Mamet stipulates they should be asked, "are you crazy?" It is, however, when Robertson poses the question "do you think the Jews are ever going to wake up?" that we discover Mamet has become the kind of man who treats such lines of inquiry as legitimate. There is also Mamet's reinterpretation of the biblical plagues... they "were actually sent on the Jews" and not Pharaoh.
It's enough to make one wonder whether he has a full grasp of the concept of self-loathing.
(via)
Showing posts with label David Mamet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label David Mamet. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Monday, June 20, 2011
Hitch Shreds Mamet
June 20th, 2011
Having recently read David Mamet's jaw-droppingly shallow The Secret Knowledge: On The Dismantling Of American Culture, I was pleased to see that Christopher Hitchens also had endured its confused mixture of false history and pamphleteering. I was also surprised. I say this because my reaction to the whole of the work upon completion was, "Well... there went 2 days worth of reading I'll never get back." Considering Mr. Hitchen's ongoing battle with cancer, I expected his review to be more withering.
Hitch writes at The New Times Review of Books:
"Propagandistic writing of this kind can be even more boring than it is irritating. For example, Mamet writes in “The Secret Knowledge” that “the Israelis would like to live in peace within their borders; the Arabs would like to kill them all.” Whatever one’s opinion of that conflict may be, this (twice-made) claim of his abolishes any need to analyze or even discuss it. It has a long way to go before it can even be called simplistic. By now, perhaps, you will not be surprised to know that Mamet regards global warming as a false alarm, and demands to be told “by what magical process” bumper stickers can “save whales, and free Tibet.” This again is not uncharacteristic of his pointlessly aggressive style: who on earth maintains that they can? If I were as prone to sloganizing as Mamet, I’d keep clear of bumper-sticker comparisons altogether."
Having recently read David Mamet's jaw-droppingly shallow The Secret Knowledge: On The Dismantling Of American Culture, I was pleased to see that Christopher Hitchens also had endured its confused mixture of false history and pamphleteering. I was also surprised. I say this because my reaction to the whole of the work upon completion was, "Well... there went 2 days worth of reading I'll never get back." Considering Mr. Hitchen's ongoing battle with cancer, I expected his review to be more withering.
Hitch writes at The New Times Review of Books:
"Propagandistic writing of this kind can be even more boring than it is irritating. For example, Mamet writes in “The Secret Knowledge” that “the Israelis would like to live in peace within their borders; the Arabs would like to kill them all.” Whatever one’s opinion of that conflict may be, this (twice-made) claim of his abolishes any need to analyze or even discuss it. It has a long way to go before it can even be called simplistic. By now, perhaps, you will not be surprised to know that Mamet regards global warming as a false alarm, and demands to be told “by what magical process” bumper stickers can “save whales, and free Tibet.” This again is not uncharacteristic of his pointlessly aggressive style: who on earth maintains that they can? If I were as prone to sloganizing as Mamet, I’d keep clear of bumper-sticker comparisons altogether."
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