Althouse: "But as you sit there sipping wine and eating pork belly, watching a marathon of The Sopranos — which sounds like a very nice evening..."

November 14, 2013

"But as you sit there sipping wine and eating pork belly, watching a marathon of The Sopranos — which sounds like a very nice evening..."

"... keep in mind that the distance between you and some imagined figure pounding Mountain Dew and Quarter Pounders while watching hours of Pawn Stars is not so vast."

Willa Paskin, tweaking the snobbish consciences of Slate readers who may have lost touch with old-fashioned it-will-rot-your-brain snobbery about watching too much television.

18 comments:

TML said...: Boring, sloppy, stupid comparison. Pork belly? Wouldn't it be Amish chicken or grilled silken tofu?; 11/14/13, 7:59 AM
traditionalguy said...: But what else does a lone genius on a crag have to do...walk the dogs?; 11/14/13, 8:07 AM
Michael K said...: The only TV show I watch is Pawn Stars, except for football. Otherwise it doesn't get turned on three times a week. I've never seen the Sopranos.; 11/14/13, 8:12 AM
RecChief said...: other than hockey games, I haven't watched more than 10 hours of TV per year for the last 8 years. Is it snobbish of me to say that?; 11/14/13, 8:27 AM
jacksonjay said...: "... eating pork bellies and watching a marathon of Girls ..."

Now that sounds like a real sophisticated evening of entertainment!

Who could resist pork bellies and the genius of a nekkid Lena Dunham?; 11/14/13, 8:34 AM
Paddy O said...: "But as you sit there making comments on a blog and surfing online.."
"... keep in mind that the distance between you and some imagined figure sitting on a couch watching TV is not so vast."; 11/14/13, 9:12 AM
Wince said...: Let me begin by saying...

"I don't watch much television, but..."; 11/14/13, 9:19 AM
Brian said...: I used to watch a lot of TV but now I don't. Left to my own devices, I still would. But there is virtually nothing on the dial that I can watch with my daughter in the room. She's two so she doesn't even really *watch*, per se, but I can't have her even seeing the screen or hearing the dialog in passing. This is a reality that snuck up on me over time. It's depressing, but what can you do? TV is limited to live sports (usually with the sound off) and the occasional showing of Cinderella in my house.; 11/14/13, 9:33 AM
Bob R said...: TML, I think you are behind the "foodie" curve and that pork belly sous vide is a more current ad then Amish chicken. But I could be wrong because I only pick these things up from listening with half an ear while my wife watches Top Chef in the other room.

While I am snobbishly anti-food-snob, it's good to keep an eye on the fads, so that you can pick things up cheap after the wave has crested. I'm figuring that a sous vide unit should be the same price as a crock pot very soon. I love slow cooked meats, so I'm looking forward to getting one.; 11/14/13, 9:39 AM
Amexpat said...: I enjoy watching Pawn Stars. In contrast with a lot of shows, I usually learn something. The contrived bits are funny, like when Chumley "finds" Bob Dylan.

The Sopranos is a better show, but Quarter Pounders over pork bellies for me.; 11/14/13, 10:01 AM
Peter said...: From the slate article by Will Paskin: [After too much TV] "I get that particular sofa malaise; I really want to shower, wash my face, shake off the mental fog that has rolled in off the television. But I don’t. I keep watching, mostly from sheer inertia."

In short, she's discovered what many others have: which is, television has a narcotizing effect.

It just does. It has nothing to do with the quality of the show because it's not the content of the show that produces it, it's the medium itself. It's not snobbish to point it out.; 11/14/13, 10:24 AM
Moose said...: Well, I was going to say something like "pretentious bitch", but then I realized it was Slate and didn't want to be redundant...; 11/14/13, 11:36 AM
Crunchy Frog said...: What kind of wine goes with bacon?; 11/14/13, 12:07 PM
Kirk Parker said...: What's this "TV" of which you all are speaking?; 11/14/13, 12:51 PM
Kirk Parker said...: Crunchy,

ANY kind of ____ goes with bacon! Duh.; 11/14/13, 12:51 PM
ALP said...: Peter said:

"In short, she's discovered what many others have: which is, television has a narcotizing effect."
**************
Mmmm...I would argue that the person had been somewhat narcotized BEFORE they turned on the TV. I watch tons of TV from NOV-FEB, as the consistent gray of the Pacific NW winter can be very depressing. Thus, the weather has already "narcotized" me, in a way. TV, with its color and light - is crucial to getting through the gray winters with some semblance of sanity. Ditto those times in life that are very stressful...a loved on on death's door, for example. You might already be zombie like from worry, and need something to take your mind off waiting for a prognosis from a doctor. Again...TV to the rescue to replace the worrying thoughts in one's head.

TV can draw in the already narcotized.; 11/14/13, 1:30 PM
Sam L. said...: Yo GO, Willa!; 11/14/13, 1:58 PM
TMink said...: I enjoy Pawn Stars when in the right mood. Lately I have really been enjoying some of the gun shows on the Outdoor Channel. I watched the Titans lose last night but most of the game was just watching the picture while listening to music.

Why in the world would I want to feel superior about the type of entertainment I consume? Why would anyone? I was laughing about this with a friend last night, he and I both enjoy Finding Bigfoot despite the preposterous premise and predictable narrative. So what?

Trey; 11/15/13, 8:26 AM