The commenter Wilbur politely requested an explanation:
AA, if I may directly pose you a question: What was it about the pro golfer TikTok that you found amusing? Not criticizing your choice, just curious as to what I missed.
I'm not a KK hater, although I've never heard of Pete Davidson. It came across as wholly mundane to Wilbur, not even sarcastic. I suspect the question would elicit the same reactions from people across most segments of the population.Because the request was so respectful, I decided to try to spell it out what had been, for me, an instinctive reaction:
1. The KK/PD relationship was covered extensively in the press, but it wasn't actually important. KK has been covered for years as if she's important. It's just taken for granted that people "keep up" with Kardashian -- her AND her relationships. It was, in fact, odd, that she went with PD (after Kanye West) but, really, why should we care? So there's this foundation of everyone supposedly finding this thing interesting and newsworthy.
2. Pro golfers are a completely separate area of fame. Other than Tiger Woods, they don't really get much attention, though they... are doing something that requires great skill and mental fortitude. It makes sense to ask them about golf and... nothing else.
3. So to ask them about the KK/PD breakup is, really, to make fun of the idea that everyone cares about it, to (comically) TEST the idea that the press is relying on... that everyone is "keeping up" with Kardashian.
4. Their reactions confirm what we probably already think: Who the fuck cares?!
5. You could have made point #4 any number of ways. It's not completely random to employ golfers, but it is absurd.
6. The basic answer is "Who cares?" We all have that answer. But that has always been the question with the Kardashians, but their show, which manufactured fame out of nothing, and always got people saying "who cares?," has been on for 20 years, and has made them billionaires. They keep going, presuming you will care — you must care! — though everyone — seemingly — is always saying "Who cares?" It's always somebody else who cares, but a lot of people must care, or why is keeping up continually foisted on us. Obviously, the *golfers* don't care, and they've got important things to *focus* on, to perform their hard work. There's an absurdity, broadly, to the concept of caring about the Kardashians, and using golfers highlights this absurdity.
7. There's also who cares about golf. I wrote "they've got important things to *focus* on, to perform their hard work," and I hesitated at "work." Is this work? What is the work product? Is it anything more substantial than the Kardashians' reality show? Why are we watching men with clubs knocking a little white ball towards and then into a series of holes, over and over again. What are the surprises? The ball rolls into the hole or rolls past it. What difference does it make? That money is at stake, for *them"?
8. If we're keeping score with $ amounts, Kim tops the leaderboard. And she's got the last laugh.
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37 comments:
Classic Althouse.
Robin Williams has a wonderful commentary on golf:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_S11eKcyOYY
Pete Davidson is the new John Mayer.
A guiding light to as the world turns...
Is this work? What is the work product?
Their work product is entertainment. In this case athletics. Something a wide spectrum of people can do. From 5 years, to 85 years people golf. Not baseball, or basketball or for sure football.
Peter Davidson. Is that the guy in the rat movie?
Kardashian nuptials would be interesting if they had a rat subtext.
An exemplar of a Kardashian wedding rat subtext: Kim Kardashian eats wedding cake not suspecting the "currants" were rat turds.
Here's another: Kardashian wedding dissolves into chaos when in response to the traditional "forever hold your peace" question Kloe's ex rats her out.
I can't believe I'm defending Pete Davidson, but I enjoyed his movie "The King of Staten Island." He seems like a very self-deprecating permanent stoner who knows his limitations. Kardashian, on the other hand, has influenced young women to try to keep up with her to have the giantest fattest ass on the planet.
Obviously you care or the Tick-Tock wouldn't have garnered your attention. But I, for one, really don't care and I don't watch Tick-Tocks and I didn't even know what the Kardashians do (and still don't) or that they even had a TV show. I do know a little about golf, though, for whatever that's worth and play it some, but only because it provides a good excuse to wear shorts. Which I love to do, almost as much as I love international travel.
I have never watched any tv show featuring or with appearances by the Kardash... family. Last I saw of KK in the news was when KK was trying to get prison sentences reduced.
L'il Petey D, wasn't he on SNL in some capacity?
IOW, don't know much about celebrities, but it's a wonderful world....
And some of us like to watch women with clubs knocking a little white ball towards and then into a series of holes, over and over again.
Lots of people who watch the little white ball think that it is art as well as sport. It is also a lesson, for those who treasure the art the most. They marvel at the skill and drama of the thing. Humans have been doing this golf thing for a few hundred years now.
The same is true for the art of being famous for nothing more than being famous. Those who follow would like to be famous too, and they watch the Kardashians for the lesson and for the art of what they do. Others may focus on sports, theater, the visual arts, martial arts, or music. So many subcultures, so little time.
So much to sit and watch. So little time.
"...and I hesitated at "work." Is this work?"
They spend hours and hours practicing their craft, and then most of the year traveling and living out of a suitcase. They promote golf equipment and apparel, and other non-golf brands to 60 million world-wide golfers and who knows how many more non-playing fans. Their work also provides a lot of charitable giving, the PGA alone in excess of $3 billion.
Yeah, it's work. More than KK. Or being a law prof.
My knowledge of Pete Davidson is pretty much limited to the following:
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Pete+Davidson+and+Dan+Crenshaw&&view=detail&mid=DF4C136043C6D1EEE1F5DF4C136043C6D1EEE1F5&&FORM=VDRVRV
I heard he later tried to walk it back, but that's his choice. Dan Crenshaw came out ahead in it so Pete was the only one affected by any change of heart.
I've never watched the Kardashians show, but I respect them for being so successful within a difficult medium — reality shows. I was a fan of the old reality show "The Real World" (in the first 4 season) and of the early seasons of "The Osbournes." And let's not forget that Trump displayed reality show genius from day 1 on "The Apprentice." He developed skills in that context that his political opponents do not understand.
I'm interested in observing the effect of reality shows on our social and political culture. It's also important to understand how social media works — Twitter, TikTok, Facebook... even blogging. I'm very interested in watching the day to day operation of these things. There is much to perceive and comment on. I keep up! But, still, I haven't watched the Kardashians show. There are a couple of comedians on TikTok who imitate the Kardashians, and I follow them and understand the show *through* them.
As for golf... I don't think understanding golf has any value. If you enjoy playing it, go ahead. If you like being a spectator -- it's your time. But do you get any insights? I haven't played golf, but I've been a spectator at many PGA tournaments (because my nephew is a PGA golfer). I was able to appreciate some of the culture — the etiquette — and the aesthetics of some of the courses. It's different from other spectator sports because you can't watch a game with players facing off against each other. They're off on different holes and you just add up all the strokes and see who, in the end, has the lowest number. But it's difficult to play. I see the difficulty, and there's an excitement to each stroke counting — and translating into a lot of money. I'd prefer a sport where you can see the game in action and the money isn't at stake in the particular game (unless it's YOU gambling on it).
"The KK/PD relationship was covered extensively in the press . . . this foundation of everyone supposedly finding this thing interesting and newsworthy"
Supposedly is doing a lot of work here. I question the "extensively"--I follow some segments of "the press" regularly but hadn't noticed.
But the video failed to amuse me because it also illustrated a problem with pro golfers: most are boring outside the game, they don't try hard enough to present themselves well, to have interesting things to say. To invoke the classic Althousian injunction, they should be better! And this video included one golfer who at least occasionally rises to the occasion.
"I'd prefer a sport where you can see the game in action and the money isn't at stake in the particular game."
I see your point, but the best golf tournaments do come down to a pretty close duel, so you can "see the game in action." And I think LIV may be trying to reach out to you . . .
While we watch mostly semi-reality shows on the various food network and discovery channels, there is a genre of reality TV that I will never understand. The Dr. Pimple Popper, Fix My Gross Feet, 600 pound life, married in 90 days type of shows.
Who is the audience for these? The promos come on and I close my eyes and often cover my ears so I don't invite nightmares.
I too am so broken up about this celeb break-up that I finally have a reason to drink that litre of Bacardi's.
There's "Lead-Story Landers" and "Side-Bar Landers". Lead Story: Dems Make IRS Largest US Government Agency." Side-Bar: "Volcano Throws Climate-Altering Amount of Water into Air." But Althouse Landers try to struggle free of both? In the Big Dem City (BDC): "Apocalypse Now." Just Outside the BDC: "Time to Plant Marigolds for Fall Color." Althouse asks: Kim Kardashian on TikTok or: Coneflowers at Sunrise? Neither. Either. Both. And. Or. Know or Know Nothing to Know? Sometimes. Yet. And you?
I did watch "The Hills" and its other incarnations because Joel McHale made constant fun of the show on "The Soup." Only now do I realize that it was a brilliant marketing ploy, since the shows were on the same channel. I didn't bother with the Kardashians who seemed annoying from the start, and I really didn't want to be reminded of the whole OJ thing. The SNL parody of the family was funny (though a little cruel) the first time you saw it, but not so funny when they kept bringing it back.
Golf courses are overtly and intentionally constructed to favor right handed players. A hook is far less damaging to your final score than a slice. Some holes are constructed with a built in hook. Left handers slice, right handers hook. There's no escaping this basic fact of human biology. And try to find some left handed clubs when you're away....Every golf club might just as well have a big sign out front: Left Handed People and Gophers Not Welcome.......I'm surprised that no left handed golfer has ever filed a class action lawsuit against this overt discrimination. I suppose it's because left handed people are so used to ill treatment that they just accept it with a shrug.
The Kardashians are invasive celebrities. You know far more about them then you want to. Miley Cyrus used to be invasive, but apparently she's settled down. Justin Bieber and Paris Hilton too. Is Lindsay Lohan now officially a has been out of public eye. But the Kardashians keep rolling on.... Wealth, fame, and public scrutiny are a volatile mix. Apparently the Kardashians have found some way to harness that power. That's quite a trick. ...I think it would be cool if some reporter asked a Nobel Prize winner what he thought of the Kardashians or even better if that Prize winner mentioned them in his acceptance speech.
I do watch golf. It's peaceful and, as Althouse said, the courses are aesthetically pleasing. The game has a gentle nobility I enjoy. Asking golfers to talk about anything but their sport is funny because their sport is so divorced from reality.
As for KK, she parlayed her ridiculous celebrity into a meeting with POTUS Trump and a chance to do good. I respected her for that until she hijacked MM's dress, and now I despise her. Such are the whims of the public.
The overlap between golf world and Kardashian world is greater than you seem to think:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-10904531/Meet-glamorous-WAGS-watching-partners-tee-Open.html
(And how has the word 'WAG' failed to make it into American English?)
As for golf, I play, but rarely watch. That said, here are some interesting things about it:
1. Landscape architecture. Some courses are great works of art. How many more beautiful scenes are there in your own state than this:
https://images.golfwisconsin.com/courselarge/whistlingstraits_straitscourse1.jpg
Part of the appeal of watching golf on TV is the same as watching a travel or nature documentary.
2. The pursuit and (occasional achievement) of perfection. When you're at my amateur level, what separates you from really good golfers is not that you can't hit great shots, it's that you can't do it consistently. But every round I play there are quite a few shots that feel and look beautiful -- long straight drives down the center of the fairway soaring and fading into the distance. What in your life gives you that feeling of precisely executing a difficult physical action and being able to watch the result you envisioned play out in front of your eyes? Do you have anything like that? Have you ever? (Updike, BTW, is probably the go-to writer on this).
3. You can actually compete with the pros and better appreciate their otherworldly skills. You can't walk up to the plate and face a major league pitcher or go out on the court and try to check Steph Curry. But you can play the same courses as the pros do and have a much better sense of what they're actually doing out there.
4. Camaraderie. It's a very social sport. And less confrontational -- you're not trying to knock anybody down, make them look bad, or overpower them. Competition is optional, not required.
In terms of money, it's not the prize money, it's the endorsements. Tiger Woods has only won $121M. His net worth is north of $1B.
Who is the audience for these?
Women, and specifically my wife. Look at the associated advertising.
The underlying economic concept here is Rational Ignorance. When the Marginal Cost of becoming informed is greater than the Marginal Benefit we make the Rational Choice to remain ignorant.
I think Professional Golf is work. Even for the most successful professional. Even someone like tiger woods had to spend hours and hours hitting golf balls, putting, and chipping to keep up in Game shape. A problem in his swing, and it came up, had to be studied by him and his swing coach and corrected.
When a tournament comes, the course has to be studied and a "game plan" created. And every shot has to be sweated over because thousands even hundreds of thousands are on the line. And in PGA golf, every shot matters. The line between 1st and 10th place is incredibly small. We're often talking about say 10 strokes out of 280. 3 percent. One bad hole can cost you the tournament.
Golf isn't like Tennis. There you can just play, and bash the tennis ball. Nor is it a team sport, where you make a mistake and hope your teammates will make up for it. Its just you out there with the golf ball.
I'm surprised any Pro Golfer would hook with what's her name. Most golfers are surprisingly normal and boring. Occasionally, you'll get a wild and crazy guy like John daly. But that's rare. Even Tiger's walk on the wild side was controlled and slightly boring. He had sex with Waitresses. Or visited whores. All on the QT.
Give it up, @William:
> Golf courses are overtly and intentionally constructed to favor right handed players
No matter how hard you try you're never going to get left-handedness to rise up the victim hierarchy.
Try fat golfers, you might have a chance.
Pete Davidson and John Mulaney review Clint Eastwood's The Mule.
“ In terms of money, it's not the prize money, it's the endorsements. Tiger Woods has only won $121M. His net worth is north of $1B.”
Yes, but he’s by far the richest from golf and KK has a net worth of $1.8 billion.
Golf isn't like Tennis. There you can just play, and bash the tennis ball. Nor is it a team sport, where you make a mistake and hope your teammates will make up for it. Its just you out there with the golf ball.
Exactly. I played golf for 65 years, from age 10 to 75. In high school I played in matches and tournaments. You are not really competing against the guy playing with you. You are competing against the course. I finally had to quit at 75 from back pain. When I quit I had an index of 9.
My other sport was sailing, which is a team sport but the navigator carries the load.
I avoid TMZ as much as possible but I've seen them do this type of questioning. Harvey Levin is an idiot.
I'm still trying to determine why I come here each day. I don't have much interest in the topics of the posts, and the comments are mostly repetitive. So what's the draw?
Reminds me of the final minutes of Seinfeld.
She's one 'K' short of the k-word that will not be spoken. She could have been a Davidson.
"Golf isn't like Tennis. There you can just play, and bash the tennis ball. Nor is it a team sport, where you make a mistake and hope your teammates will make up for it. Its just you out there with the golf ball."
A lot like shooting skeet in that respect. The equipment can be very expensive, but there isn't a lot of walking involved. It does make a lot of noise though.
I still don't know what a "Kardashian " is and I think my life is richer thereby.
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