Howard Jacobson in the Independent on Big Brother - Well Worth A Read!!!!

[JoolsToo]

wow!

"Thus Jade, though she wouldn't know what I am talking about, is the child of that nihilism which gave us postmodernism and the Turner prize. A celebrity for being nobody, a belcher and a farter with her own perfume, she is an ironic reference to the unmeaningness of meaning.

Racism? We have far more to worry about than that."

[MimmyPig]

Excellent!

[TheArmadillo]

I liked it and agreed with a lot of it.

HOwever not intelligent enough to be able to debate it (understanding it was hard enough)

[Quootiepie]

What a great article!

[lulumama]

he writes amazingly well, no? he has summed up the entire fiasco in one amazingly eloquent masterpiece ! the last couple of paragraphs about the vinidictiveness of dumbing down are spot on!

[Carmenere]

God he is fabulous.

[Fauve]

He's full of his own grandiosity, though. Don't put yourself down, TheArmadillo

[Quootiepie]

Bump this

[winnie]

A really interesting article. Thanks for that JoolsToo

[Ready]

Very interesting. I haven't seen any episodes of CBB, but have read plenty about the furore... I am pmsl at Danielle saying that about Winston Churchill....

[expatinscotland]

Well written!

To me, the BB 'culture' is right up there w/all those 'lad's mags' - out to make empty-headed whores of us all.

No, thanks.

[suzycreamcheese]

thanks joolstoo
very interesting well put..pop will eat itself, lets hope..

[Mercy]

Don't necessarily agree with the headline, but yes, what he says is quite right imo about the subtext of BB and the debates on MN.

[noddyholder]

Fantastic!He has said in an eloquent way what many of us have tried to in the last week.Thank god for academics!

[suzycreamcheese]

he's usually a bit lily livered
does anyone know WHO he is btw?
i think they should tell you how columnistas are instead of picture, thanks..

[suzycreamcheese]

noddyH ..is he academic then?
you know? then spill noddyholder..

i love noddyholder and dave hill and slade and the songs so glad i grew up in 70's...

[Mercy]

Suzy, I'm a bit confused, do you mean who is Howard Jacobson?

[JackieNo]

I know him as an author, but I think he is an academic too. Enjoyed his books, though haven't read the last couple. Fab article.

[yellowrose]

"We are too soft on stupidity"
excellent line - good article

also read the one today by Martin Jacques in the Guardian - has an interesting view of racism in modern Britain

hi suzy dear - i knew i would find you here

[Eve]

Interesting article,

I link it to the arguments that it is the rise of the 'underclass' that will have he most significant imapct on Britian over the next generation.

..is the dumbing down od society generally in relation to their rise?

[hercules1]

Good article. I do think there has been a huge dumbing down of tv. It can tbe quite hard to find something decent to watch in the evening. I am seriously thinking of ditching the TV.

[JoolsToo]

I think we're all mightily miffed with the continual televote programmes. Every bloomin' programme has a vote these days!

[yellowrose]

ah - the dumbing down of tv has alot to do with the dumbing down of society though, doesn't it ?

surely tv caters for the tastes of its audience though, hence ch 4 going from a relativly high brow, very alternative channel (i think it began in 1987 ?) with few viewers to a dumbed down one with millions of viewers watching shite like BB

[pointydog]

STupidity is definitely the issue, not racism.

[DizzyBint]

'Not all racists are stupid, but all stupid people are at some level racists, cowed into resentment and mistrust by the enormity of their incomprehension. In proportion as the world and its ideas are a mystery to you, so the world and its peoples are a threat.'

very good.

[yellowrose]

yes, but he admits that the two are linked, he says: "all stupid people are at some level racists"