| |
|
First: there's an old Headshop thread on anti-intellectualism here which I think is relevant, and useful for defining the term. Another thread here. If I can find the time in the next couple of days I'm going to try to work up a response and bump the first one, but no guarantees.
Matt sez: You know, Fun With Phobias, I think you have a point here. But my problem with the audience is that they are morons for believing the hype. I know there are smart people in the south. I'm sure they exist. When these smart people dig themselves a "stupid" trench and nestle in there good, that's when Larry wins and the rest of the world loses.
Quick aside- what exactly do you mean by 'believing the hype'? Do you mean buying into his act even though it's clearly just that, an act? The fact that his audience pays too much to see him and for his merchandise?
Second- the main point- I think it's horribly unproductive and divisive to make blanket statements about his audience calling them 'morons' for liking his act, or, indeed, to assume that all of them are anti-intellectual in some way. (Is your friend who went to see him anti-intellectual? The people I know who appear to like Larry- or at least say 'git-er-done' every so often- haven't shown any signs of it.) At best it's simply generalizing, but at worst I think it's demonstrating the very 'snobbery' and 'elitism' which it seems Larry and the anti-intellectual crowd object to. It's what I object to about him and it's what I object to about the response here.
I also find it interesting that the conversation here is at this point focusing almost exclusively on his audience, though possibly that's because there's not really much to discuss about the actual content of his act. I'm trying to think of something similar and how it's dealt with here... only thing I can think of off the top of my head is the Daily Mail, which tends to be discussed primarily in terms of its content but also in terms of a 'Daily Mail demographic'- so some discussion of audience. I don't think the comparison works, though, for a number of reasons- the Mail is advancing a political agenda, for one thing, in a way that Larry is not. It's target demographic (primarily middle class, right?) is also in a position of relative power.
I'm unsure about the use of the term 'redneck'. I see what you mean, matt and grant, but, not self-identifying as one, I'm uneasy using it to apply to other people. Especially in this case because, though the Blue Collar Comedy cats identify as such, and base much of their humor on that identity, it's impossible to say how much of Larry's audience actually does- we're back in the realm of generalizations. There's also the problem that, generally, every time I've heard the word used by someone who didn't identify as 'redneck,' it's been derogatory. I might be quibbling here- you're right, grant, that it's difficult to think of another word. Maybe that's because the demographic is ill-defined, though. I'm not sure.
Oh yeah, and You know he's providing the voice for the rusty old hillbilly pickup truck in the upcoming Pixar movie "Cars", right?
I saw the trailer for 'Cars,' saw that truck, and thought, "what the fuck." I'm sure that, in the end, Larry the Rusty Pickup Truck, after being an object of ridicule for the entire movie, will Save The Day, or, more likely, Do Something Selfless Which Allows The Protagonist To Save The Day. And the whole thing will be condescending as fuck while reinforcing divisive regional stereotypes. |
|
|
