The whole ecosystem of celebrity has broken down for writers. If you go back to the '50s, '60s, and '70s, writers were on TV a lot, and they were allowed to misbehave a lot. Truman Capote was a pop figure, but it wasn't until he went on David Susskind's show and had that extraordinary voice and manner that everyone could imitate, that he really took off as a figure. Norman Mailer and Vidal, the same thing. The bestselling writers now, there's no great animal energy with them.
I think ambition is a desire for recognition. People want to be special. I think ambition can take in a whole package of things, power or sexual exci… - James Wolcott
I think ambition is a desire for recognition. People want to be special. I think ambition can take in a whole package of things, power or sexual exci…
- James Wolcott
Used to be, conservatives revered the Average American, that Norman Rockwell oil painting of diner food, humble faith, honest toil, and Capraesque vi… - James Wolcott
Used to be, conservatives revered the Average American, that Norman Rockwell oil painting of diner food, humble faith, honest toil, and Capraesque vi…
Wisdom is for statues. Humor uncaps our inhibitions, unleashes our energies, seals friendships, patches hurts. Laughing is probably the most alive yo… - James Wolcott
Wisdom is for statues. Humor uncaps our inhibitions, unleashes our energies, seals friendships, patches hurts. Laughing is probably the most alive yo…
In the voyeurism of Reality TV, the viewer's passivity is kept intact, pampered and massaged and force-fed Chicken McNuggets of carefully edited snip… - James Wolcott
In the voyeurism of Reality TV, the viewer's passivity is kept intact, pampered and massaged and force-fed Chicken McNuggets of carefully edited snip…
Like Andy Warhol and unlike God Almighty, Larry King does not presume to judge; all celebrities are equal in his eyes, saints and sinners alike shari… - James Wolcott
Like Andy Warhol and unlike God Almighty, Larry King does not presume to judge; all celebrities are equal in his eyes, saints and sinners alike shari…
Book-jacket design may become a lost art, like album-cover design, without which late-20th-century iconography would have been pauperized. - James Wolcott
Book-jacket design may become a lost art, like album-cover design, without which late-20th-century iconography would have been pauperized.
As music migrates into our iPods, CD collections require less and less room, residing in our heads rather than resounding off the walls. The protract… - James Wolcott
As music migrates into our iPods, CD collections require less and less room, residing in our heads rather than resounding off the walls. The protract…
Even the most piddling life is of momentous consequence to its owner. - James Wolcott
Even the most piddling life is of momentous consequence to its owner.
With 'Black Swan,' the ballerina saga flips its tiara and goes on a hallucinatory bender, a scary acid trip where transfiguration and disfiguration m… - James Wolcott
With 'Black Swan,' the ballerina saga flips its tiara and goes on a hallucinatory bender, a scary acid trip where transfiguration and disfiguration m…
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