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"Notes on Metakitsch"

David Yafee has an interesting piece "Notes on Metakitsch" in the April 1, 2005 issue of the Chronicle of Education. (You'll need a $ubscription to read the complete article.)

The article is a commentary on aging stars making their wares/images/personae available in questionable forms, in Yafee's opinion.

Two quotes:

" The Beatles will be the new Siegfried & Roy. Ever since a tiger put Roy Horn out of business, Las Vegas's Mirage has been in search of a new spectacle. Now Sir Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Yoko Ono, and Olivia Harrison, widow of George Harrison, have all given their blessing to a Cirque du Soleil project called The Boys, with the legendary producer Sir George Martin acting as musical director.

"How excited can I get: the Beatles, Cirque du Soleil, an incredible venue in Las Vegas -- what could be better?" asked Starr.

Many things could be better. "

and

"Now that Sontag's camp has decamped, it is another late cultural interpreter, Jacques Derrida, whose theories best describe our deconstruction of aging rockers, and thus ourselves. The White Album and Blonde on Blonde are the master texts. Cirque du Soleil's The Boys or Twyla Tharp's Joel or Dylan show are metatexts, high-priced offerings of metakitsch for metaconsumers. Sir Elton wisecracking to a laugh track, Sir Paul feeding the Beatles' catalog to the Vegas tigers -- they are really just adapting to our cultural moment as we look at our own debased musical ardor and laugh.

Clement and Susan have left the building."

Posted by ernie at March 30, 2005 06:46 AM