Repent!
In the midst of overpraising Wallace Shawn in The New Yorker (of which Shawn is a spawn), we get this from John (scion of a Lion) Lahr: "Ben, we learn, is one of the barbarians who have devoured the planet, and, beneath his charm, he is as unrepentant as a hedge-fund manager."
I wasn't aware hedge-fund managers needed to repent.
People like Lahr don't think much of religious leaders telling them what to do, but they're always ready to slip in a mini-sermon themselves.
posted by LAGuy @ 12:25 AM
4 Comments:
Of course Lahr won't claim special powers to send you to eternal punishment either.
The quote seems fairly Wodehousian (or a lame attempt at same) and could be seen as having a little fun with the current popular perception of hedge fund managers and financial professionals.
I welcome this attitude- maybe it will help keep the best and brightest for going the Street
It's mindless prejudice, an ugly bigotry which Lahr is confident he can get away with, just as not so long ago you could make fun of someone's ethnicity. Worse, it's ignorant. In the recent financial crisis, hedge fund managers did a good job, and if you'd kept your money with them you'd have done okay.
I have seen Wallace's Aunt Dan and Lemon (actually helped produce it 16 or 17 years ago). I find Wallace very intriguing. I think when liberal-minded folks see the plays (and films), they assume Wallace is "one of them," and cleverly lampooning conservative philosophies. But I'm not so sure.
At least in my own mind, I picture Wallace trying to grapple with conservative philosophy, and not being completely sure he can dismiss it out of hand. I wonder if some day, Shawn will publish a "transformation" piece like David Mamet did in the Village Voice (last year I think).
I'm somewhat familiar with Wallace's work. I don't think he's quite the genius Lahr makes him out to be, but he has talent.
Based on his work, he seems to espouse liberal viewpoints, but the point of art (as opposed to propaganda) isn't to take sides, but rather to explore, so if he's able to make you wonder what he believes, that's probably a good thing.
In My Dinner With Andre (where the two are playing characters, mind you), he comes across the everyman, at least compared to someone more way out like Andre Gregory.
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