Pun Salad

I've seen people talk about "hate-watching", consuming media (typically TV or movies) that you despise. For some reason. Well, this book by W. David Marx turned into a "hate-read" for me. And my "reason" is pretty lame: I have a self-imposed rule to read every book I check out of the library, bad or good.

The usual disclaimer: I'm not a reviewer. My only goal is to write a "book report", like the ones I used to write for Mrs. Kluska back in fifth grade. And I'm just reporting my personal reactions; I wouldn't be surprised if yours were totally different. (For example, the WSJ reviewer, Dominic Green, was just complimentary enough to put the book on my get-at-library list.)

Although I've lived through the same quarter-century, and lived in the same country, that Marx claims to be chronicling, the main thing I noticed from nearly page one was how little of the "culture" discussed had any lasting impression on me, one way or the other. Indeed, the pages are filled with names and events that I had never heard of. And, often, when I had heard of them, I hadn't actually partaken. (For example, I'd heard of the song "Old Town Road", but I've never actually listened to it.)

Mostly, I had to wade through stuff like this, about "SoundCloud rappers": "These tools launched a new wave of hip-hop stars-Lil Yachty, Lil Uzi Vert, Lil Pimp, Lil Peep, Playboi Carti, XXXTentacion, Juice WRLD, and 6ix9ine." And page after page about something called "streetwear". Which I think is some sort of clothing. Scanning the index for who and what Marx deems worthy of attention: Beyoncé, Justin Bieber, Lena Dunham, Facebook, Paris Hilton, Jay-Z, Taylor Swift, Kanye West, Pharrell Williams, … And many assorted Kardashians and Jenners.

The author's political biases occasionally show up: gratuitous swipes at "capitalism" and "neoliberalism" appear every so often. The "Steele Dossier" is simply described as "filled with unverified claims about Trump's ties to Russia". Unverified? I'm pretty sure a more accurate adjective would have been "fake". Kyle Rittenhouse is described as someone "whose entire life accomplishment was crossing state lines into Wisconsin with an AR-15—style rifle, killing two protesters and being acquitted." I (like the National Review editorialists) think the jury got it right.

To be fair, there are plenty of "right-wing" loons out there that deserve criticism.

On the other hand, I don't think Marx mentions Jussie Smollett at all.

And AI? Marx comes off as a kind of curmudgeonly Luddite: 'AI companies vowed to end the evil monopoly of pernicious creators who dared take the time to make things with a sense of craft and intention."

Marx winds up with some recommendations about how to improve the culture. I'm unsure about their efficacy.