Armond White, National Review's culture critic, doesn't like the movie version of Taylor Swift's Eras tour. In fact, he doesn't like Taylor Swift. That's fair enough. She's not everyone's cup of tea, especially if you aren't part of her young-white-women demographic—which White decidedly isn't.
But what on earth is this supposed to mean?
The Eras Tour is the most calamitous movie event since Barbie. It’s in the mode of post-Madonna, post-Obama mind control. The Taylor Swift industry would like us to believe that the world is not crumbling and that Swift’s prominence comes from her being a great artist. Yet girls who don’t know Jane Austen, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Emily Dickinson, Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday, Joni Mitchell, Kate Bush, or Lesley Gore’s “It’s My Party” fall for Swift’s narcissistic display. It prevents them from realizing their desperation — the loneliness at the scary heart of Kardashian peer pressure and FOMO.
"Since Barbie" means "since July," so one might wonder just how calamitous Eras really is. But at least that sentence is comprehensible. I genuinely have no idea what the other sentences mean.
The rest of the piece is largely the same. White's real gripe is a common one among professional conservatives: They just can't stand art that has progressive themes of any kind—in this case the fact that Swift supports the Equal Rights Amendment. White is also inexplicably furious that teenage girls don't generally have sophisticated taste in music. Go figure.
I myself don't much care for Taylor Swift's music, but I admire her work ethic. Every review I've read of her Eras show gushes about how fans get their money's worth: the show is long, the staging is extravagant, there are great guests, and lots of costume changes. Whatever else you can say about her, she seems to respect her audience.
Lesley Gore’s “It’s My Party”!!!! Now that's the kind of song that helped girls realise their desperation. Schubert for the 20th century! And who could fail to feel their hearts swell with the sequel, "Judy's Turn to Cry"! Snarky vindictive malice at its best, sure to warm the cockles of any Patriotic American. Later of course her work probed the deep truths at the heart of American culture, for instance in her hymn celebrating tolerance "That's the Way Boys Are".
Taylor Swift doesn't belong in the same discussion.
Is Armond White unaware that Lesley Gore is also famous for the song "You Don't Own Me", or does he just prefer to ignore it?
"post-Obama mind control" would presumably be tЯumpian mind control. In which case, a very large percentage of the electorate is captured.
It is so hard to please everyone.
What are they supposed to be doing--fawning over Matt Gaetz?
"I myself don't much care for Taylor Swift's music, but I admire her work ethic."
There you go. Some old, white men just can't bring themselves to accept that not every new sensation down the pop culture pipeline is meant for them. Sounds like KD has come to terms with it.
Going to war with the Swifties is definitely the way to go, for old men who want to continue to have power and influence for another decade or so. There's obviously just no way that millions of young women being told to go out and vote by their idol can possibly have the same political influence as a few thousand people who already vote reading knee-jerk contrarian reviews by a guy who hates the entire modern world.
“It prevents them from realizing their desperation”
Yes, young women should absolutely seek the counsel of conservative men in order to develop self-awareness. They know so much about it, after all, and I’m sure they only want to see women develop autonomy. 🙄
Just like not smiling more prevents them from being prettier, or whatever the reason is people say that.
And I guess the last person a young man should seek counsel from would be a liberal woman.
Well, this is the same guy who's lamenting that "Flower Moon" is Scorcese's first political movie because he's all "woke" now, and who blamed Christopher Nolan, Quentin Tarantino, and nerds who like Batman for the movie theater shootings in Aurora, Colorado in 2012.
Yeah, I came here to mention that.
Somehow the reviewer forgot that "little" movie Scorcese did which contained several scenes in an actual political campaign office and whose main character planned to assassinate a presidential candidate, and when did that come out? *checks watch* oh yeah, 47 years ago!
As I understand it, Kate Bush has become pretty popular based on her song Running Up That Hill being used in the TV show Stranger Things. So I don’t understand Mr. White’s use of her in his article. Perhaps he is Suspended in Gaffa?
The reason is pure name-dropping, I'm sure, to demonstrate his "reviewer cred."
You know, I would not get to see these things without Kevin's relentless, but profitable for my sake, news-hounding. So thanks to Kevin again.
BTW, here is a topic for Kevin that I saw yesterday, didn't believe it, but researched it a little and it is true...Australia has had mandatory voting since 1924.
"Since 1924, Australian citizens over the age of 18 have been required to vote in federal elections, by-elections and referendums."
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/22/world/australia/compulsory-voting.html
What does this mean? Would it be good for the United States?
Best Wishes, Traveller
PS The beginning of this sounded snarky...but it isn't, I am being sincere!
Mandatory voting (or, in such cases, "voting") has also historically been a feature of authoritarian/totalitarian regimes, and the logistics of enforcing something like that - pending any indication of what Australia does along those lines - seem dangerous to me. Mandatory _registration_, I think, would be wonderful, but citizens should always have the freedom to vote "none of the above," even if by "none" they mean the entire slate, or even the entire system.
"pending any indication of what Australia does along those lines"
C'mon, MDB, you're already on the internet, you could just look this up. The compulsory voting is enforced by a rather trivial fine (akin to a parking ticket). Also, fwiw, Australian elections are held on weekends, often accompanied by civic barbecues--y'know, like a country that actually wants its people to be able to vote and enjoy the process.
So, yeah, there is I suppose a level of compulsion that would outrage the Galtians and the "taxation is teh THEFT!" crowd, but it's nothing like "authoritarian/totalitarian regimes" dragooning citizenry to vote under the watchful eye of the authorities for either Dear Leader or a potential visit from the secret police later.
Yes, I could have looked that up, but it's early Sunday morning, I have breakfast to make, and I have you to look it up for me. So thanks!
So keep the carrot (weekend voting, or a voting holiday or whatever), and ditch the stick. It's not clear to me how a desire to promote a sense of civic duty that would goose voter numbers is served by infuriating a segment of the electorate by serving them with fines. Sounds like a good way to disconnect them from the process even further, elicit "protest" votes for absurd candidates, etc. This isn't like fines for not signing up for mandatory health insurance, without which (at least in theory) the ACA doesn't even work (as detailed years ago by KD himself) - and, come to think of it, that got struck down, didn't it?
It's about ensuring the government has a foundation of popular opinion rather than just that of a motivated faction.
And are there really that many people who get fined? We never hear of any. Perhaps they're all buried out on the outback somewhere.
Australia is also the country that invented alphabet re-sorting for ballot order, i.e. putting the alphabet in a random order and sorting the names by that.
They did this because mandatory voting was bringing a lot of voters who didn't give a hoot about the outcome and who'd just vote for the first name on the ballot, giving a high premium on candidates whose names began with A.
Given the state of the GOP. these days, was the mention of "It's My Party (and I'll Cry If I Want To)", a little embedded joke by the reviewer?
in any case I don't understand Swift-mania my self. Kids these days! But I am in Kevin's demographic group and I do have all of Lana del Rey's CD's. So you just never can account for people's age and taste!
Worrying about 'mind control' is pretty rich coming from a guy who votes for Republicans.
As with every wingnut --everything he says is projection.
Thanks.Somebody had to say it.
A few years ago, I realized that I had crossed over to old fart territory when it occurred to me that I couldn't remember the last time I saw a musical act on SNL or one of the late night TV shows that I actually liked.
I have nothing against Taylor Swift's music. It's easy on the ears but it doesn't grab me the way music did in my youth. My parents said the same thing about the music I loved as a teenager.
That usually has more to do with people's brains changing than the music itself. It's more "your brain is no longer grabbed by the music" than it is "the music no longer grabs me."
Beatlemania? Lord Byron? Chopin? Dionysus? At least young women had some dignity in the good old days. It's not like you ever see young men running around in weird costumes with tiki torches following charismatic leaders.
This is what that boob objects to,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtzCuhDTRzk
or maybe it's this,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dkk9gvTmCXY
White is a post-Mad Magazine parody of an elitist:
https://www.madcoversite.com/mad027-09.html
Note “Cultivate a Withering Sneer”
I was sure you were linking to this,
https://www.madcoversite.com/mad129-15.html
but that's better.
All too much has stayed the same, hasn’t it?
I can understand the objection to the second song, but what's the problem with the first (aside from the "f" word, maybe)?
Harrumph!
This annoyingly flamboyant young lady should put down the microphone, leave show business, and henceforth wear demure clothing if she want's to be taken seriously.
How dare she compete with Maria Callas for girls' attention! Miss Swift would be well advised to take up stenography and find work as a secretary - like so many of the fairer sex did in the good old days.
Aptly, Swift's grandmother was an opera singer, I've just noted on Wikipedia.
Did not know that. I got lucky w Callas,
Wait til he hears about Britney Spears.
Guy completely missed the interesting irony that “Barbie”, as I understand it, satirized unachievable beauty standards, and that Taylor Swift kinda is Barbie herself.
Tbh, this is entirely what I would expect if I gave an AI the instructions “culture critic” + “Taylor Swift” + “gibberish.”
Ok, I guess the first and third terms might be redundant
Below is Bing's response to your query.
I don't think " sometimes I wonder if I'm just writing gibberish" applies to anybody in NR.
------------------
Hello, this is Bing. I’m sorry, but I could not find any relevant web results for your query. Maybe you can try a different combination of keywords or check your spelling. 😊
Alternatively, I can generate some creative content for you based on your query. For example, here is a poem that I wrote using the words “culture critic”, “Taylor Swift” and “gibberish”:
I'm a culture critic with a pen in my hand
I write about the trends and the stars of the land
I have opinions on everything from art to politics
But sometimes I wonder if I'm just writing gibberish
I praised Taylor Swift for her catchy pop songs
I said she was a genius and could do no wrongs
But then she released an album full of folk tunes
And I had to change my tune and write a different review
I'm a culture critic with a keyboard at my desk
I type about the issues and the people I detest
I have arguments on everything from sports to ethics
But sometimes I wonder if I'm just typing gibberish
So maybe there is hope for AI.
dear heaven
It's a mixture of "get off my lawn" and cultural dog whistles.
I suspect that what White really doesn’t like is Swift’s power to get young people to register to vote.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2023/09/22/taylor-swift-register-to-vote/70928578007/
It is not hard to see what he hates about Swift. He has a worldview predicated on the idea that feminism makes women desperate and lonely. The young women in the movie apparently seem to be neither. And so he has to posit that they have tricked themselves into believing that they are not desperate or lonely. But this is very strange since desperation would seem to be something one feels. And the problem for him is precisely that they don't feel it.
On the other hand does he really believe that in the past otherwise desperate and lonely people did not get pleasure from listening to the music at the time, be it opera or rock?
Right? While I don't personally care for Swift, she's very definitely opening up another hole in the patriarchy wall and expanding it. The young people are remaking society in their own image and there's really nothing we oldsters can do about it. The next generation will be covered in tattoos and gender expression fluid.
A far better thing to worry about is whether or not Donald Trump ends up the GOP nominee this time next year. I hope Swift is going to spend a lot of time in the swing states next summer and fall getting out the vote of people who's rights are going to be trampled should the GOP take the Presidency again.
He has a worldview predicated on the idea that feminism makes women desperate and lonely.
"They think they're happy, but trust me, they're not!"
He thinks the lack of desperation and loneliness in feminism is false consciousness. He's learned too much from the Marxists.
The fact that your are happy is PROOF that you are desperate and lonely!
I think his distain is because Swift controls her own business affairs without supervision from men or corporations, and that she managed to sell about $1B in tickets for the current tour, and generate about $5B of economic activity. In addition, she then has the audacity to market a movie which has grossed about $130M to date domestically, all without involving a Hollywood studio.
it's just a mindless rightwing rant. the epitome of old man yells at cloud energy.
That's a pretty apt metaphor. If they harnessed their collective power, both Beyonce and Swift are literally a cloud of energy, potentially capable of moving a mountain of youths into a new future.
QUITE a list
Jane Austen, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Emily Dickinson, Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday, Joni Mitchell, Kate Bush, or Lesley Gore’s “It’s My Party”
It's My Party was co-written by the father of a friend of mine.
So I am really impressed that his writing is in the same league as Austen and Dickinson.
Wally Gold died years ago but I am sure he was humble enough to laugh when he saw his work included with Jane Austen.
Armond White is a terminal contrarian. He has a long-standing penchant for liking terrible movies and hating on good ones. His combo of pseudo-academic verbiage and chip-on-the-shoulder resentment makes him a lock for National Review however.
Has anyone ever seen Armond White and Clarence Thomas in the same place at the same time?
It prevents them from realizing their desperation???
Reminds me of Fox News' Jessie Walters accusing Seattle residents of denial because they are unaware of the carjackings and street robberies that New Yorker Walters claims are ubiquitous in Seattle.
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/fox-news-reporter-mocked-locals-060502458.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAF2yu9GUt17rAWqM3o4bzAaqErTZrcfXHUvPEtOtpX46r4avmo58g9zzWao1mIAbSc__7n2ritcNLt3Jceohtvg2X4Ml2JL7G0cWfw5Gcl3SzxijgFe0GlRnFBVfB2lHuDYYZxWCnsO_KDEWpIZRWYfvhgYnhWvJdMFzMd-7ud13
White is a troll who writes gibberish. Many years ago the occasional interesting thought would emerge, usually when he actually had somebody editing him, but those days are long gone and for the last several years he has chosen to monetize his resentment alongside the other grievance-mongers at the NR.
It really is a case of, "I know what you SHOULD be feeling" isn't it? It applies to so many areas of conservatism, too.
National Review has more than a few kooks writing for it, but White is among the kookiest. Self-referential, NR writers like to constantly quote other NR writers, but I notice even the other NR writers almost never reference White. If he wasn't one of their rare person of color contributors, my guess is they would have cut him and his routinely gibberish commentary a while ago.
I'm still wondering why you care so much about NR.
Swift is going to make nine figures this year, will likely soon be added to the list of entertainers who became billionaires, and achieved this while telling millions of young women to be proud, stand up for themselves, and basically tear down the patriarchy.
Her music doesn't do much for me, but she is absolutely someone I respect and admire.
"I genuinely have no idea what the other sentences mean."
That was exactly the reaction I had the first time I read the Dartmouth Review. Conservatives have some sort of secret code you have to be indoctrinated in before you can understand wtf they are going on about.