I have not read Monsters (yet) but I agree with you that our conversations around public figures are colored by deeply flawed, binary online discourse. It seems increasingly difficult for us to view people as complex and multi-dimensional. I thought about this often while working on Anna: The Biography -- she has done some good things, she has been extraordinary to some people, but she has also done some less good things and been cruel to others. I think we have long been trapped in a pattern of asking if someone is a "good person" -- especially in regards to women -- when in fact, people are just PEOPLE, all of us flawed, some more than others. With social media favoring black-and-white viewpoints, this gets lost.
That said, seeing Johnny Depp bounce back with that Dior contract boggles my mind. Especially since the brand profits off feminist T-shirts!
yeah, i nanny for the director of marketing at random house and she said it's been unavoidable as the demand for physical books has gone down :( i live in nyc so the public library is amazing but new releases have looooong waiting lists so i'll look secondhand, thanks for the suggestions!
I've unlocked the paywall on this post to share it here because I think the discussions on this book are SO interesting and I'd love to hear what more people thought of this book!
It's like a snake eating its own tail, having a take on the problematic is problematic in itself. Good on Claire Dederer for having a go but the first things that jump out are the additional problems that her arguments create.
One of my stand out memories from The High Low was a discussion you had about separating the art from the artist, and the lack of nuance in the world today. It has stayed with me and pops into my head whenever I see discussions, even outside the parameters of celebs/artists, that follow an increasingly binary rhetoric.
Really interesting read Pandora, will definitely get hold of Monsters––I keep reading such brilliant reviews of it. I think so many of us are ready for more acknowledgment of nuance and the many shades of grey. I had a Lagerfeld moment too. I'd really enjoyed the BBC doc (although perhaps not the slightly 'mocking' tone ... "Who inherits? The cat?" It was interesting enough without that) and I was all set to include it in my weekly newsletter and then the post-Met Gala backlash came out. I concluded that watching the doc and enjoying learning about the life of KL was perhaps not the same as holding the world's most expensive celebration in his honour.
Hi Pandora! Monsters sounds so interesting, I’ll definitely have to look for a copy! Do you have any recent non-hardcover recs? They're getting so expensive in the states. Thanks so much :))
I have not read Monsters (yet) but I agree with you that our conversations around public figures are colored by deeply flawed, binary online discourse. It seems increasingly difficult for us to view people as complex and multi-dimensional. I thought about this often while working on Anna: The Biography -- she has done some good things, she has been extraordinary to some people, but she has also done some less good things and been cruel to others. I think we have long been trapped in a pattern of asking if someone is a "good person" -- especially in regards to women -- when in fact, people are just PEOPLE, all of us flawed, some more than others. With social media favoring black-and-white viewpoints, this gets lost.
That said, seeing Johnny Depp bounce back with that Dior contract boggles my mind. Especially since the brand profits off feminist T-shirts!
yeah, i nanny for the director of marketing at random house and she said it's been unavoidable as the demand for physical books has gone down :( i live in nyc so the public library is amazing but new releases have looooong waiting lists so i'll look secondhand, thanks for the suggestions!
cancelled island!!! SUCH a good idea x
I read Monsters too, and had so many thoughts about it; I wrote about it here
https://katieclapham.substack.com/p/keanu-vs-the-monsters
I've unlocked the paywall on this post to share it here because I think the discussions on this book are SO interesting and I'd love to hear what more people thought of this book!
It's like a snake eating its own tail, having a take on the problematic is problematic in itself. Good on Claire Dederer for having a go but the first things that jump out are the additional problems that her arguments create.
One of my stand out memories from The High Low was a discussion you had about separating the art from the artist, and the lack of nuance in the world today. It has stayed with me and pops into my head whenever I see discussions, even outside the parameters of celebs/artists, that follow an increasingly binary rhetoric.
tyvm 😊 nice page good reading love it 😀
Really interesting read Pandora, will definitely get hold of Monsters––I keep reading such brilliant reviews of it. I think so many of us are ready for more acknowledgment of nuance and the many shades of grey. I had a Lagerfeld moment too. I'd really enjoyed the BBC doc (although perhaps not the slightly 'mocking' tone ... "Who inherits? The cat?" It was interesting enough without that) and I was all set to include it in my weekly newsletter and then the post-Met Gala backlash came out. I concluded that watching the doc and enjoying learning about the life of KL was perhaps not the same as holding the world's most expensive celebration in his honour.
The artist is a Renaissance epoch invention. Medieval and ancient authors created masterpieces, but we don't know their names
https://burakbatuhankarakus.substack.com/p/guernica-picassos-anti-war-masterpiece
New here and loving it... but.. sorry, genuinely curious, why is the tree a he?
Hi Pandora! Monsters sounds so interesting, I’ll definitely have to look for a copy! Do you have any recent non-hardcover recs? They're getting so expensive in the states. Thanks so much :))