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I swear I'm not trying to accelerate threadrot here; my basic interest is in seeing how McCarthy fans react to the Oprah news, which interest is informed by my own notions of how I'd react if the same happened to one of my favorite authors. Having elicited a response, though, I'm going to try to be quick in addressing others' responses.
So. W/r/t teenage prostitutes, &c. I'm really not trying to detract from her positive influence. Emphatically: she's no saint, but she has great potential to bring important issues to the nat'l dialogue, which she in fact does do. But I'm concerned with the sway she holds over her viewers' actions, and their dollars. And I can't believe her viewers are likelier cut a check to some African charity than they are to buy a Pontiac, purchase "The Secret" or read Sidney Poitier's memoir. Further, in those instances, I don't think her viewers are acting as informed consumers making rational choices, but rather as loyal Oprah fans. And, so, yeah: it particularly bothers me when people pick the books they read by such a process.
As for the Arctic Monkeys argument: hey, I concur. There's a certain degree of hypocrisy whenever someone rejects an artist on the grounds of his or her popularity. Granted, it's something every snob will do sooner or later, and I say that as a snob. But when I really do like something, of course I don't swear it off when it gets popular. But that doesn't mean it's wrong for me to hope that my favorite author, artist, etc. doesn't get stigmatized (and as I set out above, I tend to think the Oprah-stigma is generally valid) or notorious. I'm simply hoping to save myself some grief.
And I don't think it's appropriate to consider here whether only fledgling or authors ought to pimp their work. By my understanding, the authors don't have a say in the Oprah's Book Club matter; they aren't sending her drafts and begging to be pick. They have Oprah's book-club status thrust upon them. I'm sure that in the wake of the Franzen debacle, authors can decline the honor, but I'd still draw a distinction between the ability to reject her when Oprah comes a-knocking, and actively seeking this kind of commercial outlet. So yeah, insofar as the book club is a marketing ploy by which publishers seek to turn a hefty profit by selling books to an audience that's buying books for entirely the wrong reason (supra), I'd say it's a pretty despicable practice. |
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