David Mamet needs to receive Tracy Morgan levels of rage

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 6/21/11 at 10:38am

“Carbon emissions do not in any way affect the temperature of the planet”; we “won in Vietnam”; an Islamic center in downtown Manhattan is “a cultural obscenity”; FDR “elaborated a bad economic downturn into the worst depression in history”; the “erosion of marriage”—pinned to sex education, homosexuality, and abortion—is “a moral affront.” These are not points that Mamet sets out to prove, mind you. Had this been the case, he may have written an interesting book. Instead, he accepts them at face value, packs them into his shotgun, and blasts away at liberalism’s sitting ducks: Jane Fonda, Al Sharpton, Noam Chomsky." -- Ben Crair, Daily Beast

A moral affront!

Updated On: 6/21/11 at 10:38 AM

[romantico]

Posted: 6/21/11 at 10:47am

Sounds like the front runner for the GOP 2012 nomination.

[Calvin]

Posted: 6/21/11 at 10:58am

Hitchens weighs in

[SonofRobbieJ]

Posted: 6/21/11 at 11:22am

Is anyone surprised by this 'shocking' conversion? The man is one of the most misogynistic playwrights to ever spew bile onstage. And there's nothing sadder than watching someone in their sunset years take potshots at others in their sunset years as if any of it is relevant to today.

Every time I see anyone remotely close to the boomer generation freak out about something (on either the left or the right), all I can think of is 'You had your chance and you f*cked it up. Can you please let us clean it up now? Thank you.'

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 6/21/11 at 11:26am

You are SO punk rock!

[Calvin]

Posted: 6/21/11 at 11:26am

So I guess we should expect Neil LaBute's Fox News show to debut about, say, Spring 2026?

[SonofRobbieJ]

Posted: 6/21/11 at 11:36am

I remember sitting through a Neil Labute movie (Your Friends and Neighbors) and thinking, 'He's just judging these people. He's fully judging his characters AND his audience.' So yeah...I wouldn't be surprised.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 6/21/11 at 11:42am

I hated Neil Labute after seeing that movie. I can stand anybody who doesn't own his own dark twisted fantasies and projects it onto his audience like that. He is the worst.

[Jay Lerner-Z]

Posted: 6/21/11 at 11:59am

Just who is Mamet's book for? There doesn't seem to be any reason for it...did he have to fulfill a book deal or something?

I can't think of anything I'd like to read less. Not just because I disagree with the nonsense he spouts, but why couldn't these thoughts have remained in his own head...though I guess that's true of a lot of stuff, including this post. Meh.

[Calvin]

Posted: 6/21/11 at 12:00pm

I have not seen it, but it seems like it could fall into the very rare category of a movie that truly makes me truly loathe the person behind it. So far, it's a short list that includes "Waiting" and "Funny Games."

[WOSQ]

Posted: 6/21/11 at 3:15pm

Time Magazine's drama critic when writing about Mamet's play "Race", called him 'irrelevant'.

That's kind of the way I feel. Mamet doesn't rate rage. That is actually too good for him. Ignoring him works much better.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 6/21/11 at 3:54pm

Yeah, I know. But he's an allegedly smart person, Morgan is a known dumb-bunny.

[Kad]

Posted: 6/21/11 at 4:09pm

Mamet is intelligent, for sure. I just feel he's so blinded by his own self-importance that he doesn't utilize his intelligence well.

I've always found him to be a dick, from his misogynist plays to his ideas of theatre to his so-called naturalistic dialogue.

[Jay Lerner-Z]

Posted: 6/21/11 at 5:41pm

I feel somewhat less happy than I did for having some of his plays sit on my bookshelf. Ignorance is bliss.

[strummergirl]

Posted: 6/21/11 at 6:19pm

I loved Hitchens' review. It was like he never broke a sweat reviewing that. Seriously if Mamet is really stating such issues are the reasons for his conversion he is about 25 years late. Political correctness at universities?

What did grind my gears on Mamet, and this 'conversion' was like an open secret for the last decade, is that his next play plans to be on the evilness of affirmative action.

As stated before, it really is not that shocking. The guy is downright Hobbesian to his characters. It's like when comic fans were shocked about Frank Miller having this right-wing awakening. The dog whistles in their previous works were right there.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 6/21/11 at 7:03pm

This is where I wonder about the sanity of Publishers: Who do they think wants to read a simplistic political book by David Mamet?

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 6/21/11 at 7:10pm

Right-wingers loooooooooove to read books that reaffirm their cockamamie views.

[nomdeplume]

Posted: 6/21/11 at 9:37pm

You guys just getting around to hating Mamet?

I have for nearly 20 years after being forced to read a bunch of his plays.

Clippy dialogue does not make a play. You need something of worth in there. He also took an old German play and just redid it, which no one seemed to catch, and without attribution.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 6/21/11 at 10:23pm

No, nom. You were not the first to hate Mamet, but feel free to feel cutting edge. Let me borrow a term you overuse here, I posted this link as a service to people who might want to look at the publication of this latest book from Mamet through the lens of outrage that greeted Tracy Morgan within the past few weeks. Is that clearer for you, trend-setter?

[nomdeplume]

Posted: 6/21/11 at 10:51pm

Cutting edge is now, not like 18 years ago.

Oh, please. I was surrounded by Mamet idolators way back when. It was sickening. His plays were everywhere. Ridiculously studied, given all kinds of awards. The Chair had written a book about him.

What I am wondering is what effect will this have on the willingness of regional theatres and universities to produce his plays? Any? None? Will they play the red states? Will he get more productions? Is he immune to repercussions?

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 6/21/11 at 11:17pm

Yes, dear, that was my point in starting this thread.

[nomdeplume]

Posted: 6/21/11 at 11:22pm

Don't dear me.

No matter how flattered and delighted you think you are.

Stay on topic and anti-Mamet.

Really anti-Mamet.

I wanna hear it coming out of the woodwork now that he's out.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 6/22/11 at 12:04am

Holy Christ. Did you take more than your prescribed dose of obtuse pills today?

[nomdeplume]

Posted: 6/22/11 at 12:33am

You really don't get absurdist humor.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 6/22/11 at 11:08am

Light bulb school bus FISH!