I feel no need for diplomacy here. The gloves are coming off and I'm ready to administer a verbal beating. (The lack of boxing gloves also makes it much easier to type.)There has been some dumb sentences uttered by people, but this is a whole other level of idiocy.
In a new piece in Entertainment Weekly about The Hills, executive VP of series programming and development Tony DiSanto is quoted as saying;
It's almost becoming like a novel at this point, like this generation's A Tale of Two Cities or Oliver Twist.
Are you out of your friggin' mind?!? You are comparing a "reality" television show that is either watched by morons or watched ironically so it can be mocked, to the work of the greatest writer of all time? A show that features shallow, dumb and useless people. A show that gives The Soup the majority of their material. That show, you are comparing to two of the greatest works in the history of literature. Complete illiterate television on par with the most literate example of the written word. You're kidding right? Or high? Or just an idiot?
You know that Hannah Montana is like this generations Beethoven.
The Hills is a pop-culture punch-line. It is swill. You are comparing dialogue like this, to Dickens.
Tony, that statement is a Hall of Fame-like moment of stupidity.
Bloody hell...
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Dicken's no. Samuel Beckett maybe?
What I don't understand is that this executive doesn't mention Dickens by name. He names his most recognizable works, but you would think he'd make a connection in plots to both novels to The Hills.
The statement is completely absurd - it doesn't make sense in what he's saying about The Hills. That it's scripted? That its audience can feel some deep social significance, say, the plight of the tragic rich woman in modern America?
Fuck you, Tony DiSanto. If you want to make your show more interesting, change it into a tragic comedy. Your reality stars can realize their pathetic lives and tragic flaws, realize their destinies are inevitably headed to disaster, and kill themselves. It's tragic for them, but comedic to us.
N is even more offended than I am.
I only have to watch 5 seconds of the Hills before it starts boring me to death, even watching that short video clip seems like an eternity, so I'm not qualified to speak I guess, but it just seems to me like intelligent TV was a thing of the 90s. Today's generation will watch anything that's got a lesbian kiss scene.
Haha, indeed.
It's just so pompous!
I admire the guy's chutzpah. Also, my comments on the caption competitions are the greatest prose/philosophy tag team since Kierkegaard.
I hate The Hills as much as the next, but to be fair, Dickens was considered to be popular trash when he was at the height of his popularity. He was far from the high art he's seen to be now.
If you wanted to argue on the point of subject matter however, then the fact that Dickens wrote for the poor and The Hills....yeah...that is an argument.
With respect, P.T., I don't think Mr. DiSanto had that rationalization in mind. I would love it though if he released a statement claiming that. In fact, is that you Tony? P.T. may be Tony.
N, I'm loving your venom, pally.
Finally, E referenced 19th century Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard. That is quite a feat my friends...
But his rationalization doesn't really matter much. You're still making a conclusion that involves judging one thing during its time and another thing, which has its problems during its time, from a historical perspective.
I'm less interested in defending The Hills and this moron and more interested in just pointing out how hard comparisons and arguments about quality can be.
Fair point my friend.
Thanks for reading.
JW
In a culture that watches the movie rather than read the book I'm not suprised at all that DiSanto is making this comparison. In fact I think it's probably a good one.
If you take it not as "The Hills" is actually being positioned as literature but rather that people these days are so painfully stupid then yes, I can see how it would be this generation's Oliver Twist.
It doesn't say anything about how good "The Hills" is but rather how low we've suck as a society that we can't distinguish between literature and schadenfreude.
And frankly, I prefer A Sale of Two Titties by Edmund Wells. Or Rarnaby Budge by Charles Dikkens. That's Dikkens with two Ks, the well-known Dutch author.
So does that make "Shot of Love" this generation's Pride and Prejudice?
Good one kbk.
That was good kbk. Solid triple down the line...
I think the comparison is a bit bleak on our part. I'd like to think we produce some popular entertainment that isn't totally devoid of anything enlightening, something that's more than a mockery of itself. I'm particularly impressed by the recent trend of science fiction and fantasy movies that reject traditional clear-cut morality and instead delve into human failings and weakness (see: The Dark Knight, Battlestar Galactica 2003). There is escapist work being done to examine society that may actually stand up a few generations later.
Just the mention of The Hills makes me want to commit suicide. Especially the fact that John McCain claims to never have missed an episode (see his comments on Heidi Montag's support of him, and his claims that she's a fine young actress).
I've heard The Wire compared to Dickens. As a fan of that show I can see how that might be a reasonable comparison.
See, now you got me to actually register.
I debated telling you my own analysis, or that I could never finish a Dickens or Jane Austen book despite trying many times, but I decided a one liner would sum up the ridiculousness of this claim.
In 150 years, we have no idea what people are going to remember as classics of our era, but it should be plain to see (or at least pray with every atheistic fiber in my being) that its nothing from MTV.
Good to have you pal.
JW
To be quite frank, I was offended by Mr. Disanto's unintelligible comment. The fact that this man had the audacity to compare that show and the people within it, whom none of which are iconic or profound, to a timeless piece of literature is depressing. What were you thinking? And another thing, do you really believe that the stars of your 'show' even know who Charles Dickens is? I highly doubt any one of them has ever read a book, at least one that did not have a cute little couplet on every page beneath a picture of a big red dog. You should be ashamed. And for the record, Spencer Pratt is a walking abortion.
Tony, nobody is coming to your defense. This is not good.
Maybe the cast of The Hills will chime in. Of course someone will have to write their response for them. Then edit it. Then type it for them.
Did you not get what I was saying? Too subtle? They're idiots. I was saying they're idiots.
I am waiting to see how The Hills crowd reacts here. The WOW guys were, ahem, perhaps a little defensive. Whatever else you say about the show, it does have it's fans.
E, your wait will forever be in vain considering the crowd that watches the hills wouldn't have the attention span to read this far anyway.