I see that there’s quite a bit of consternation, and now what they call “debate,” over a rather vile collection of words assembled by one Ramin Setoodeh for Newsweek. Allow me to point out, briefly, that much of the dialogue—I’m thinking of Aaron Sorkin’s piece on The Huffington Post in particular—rather misses the larger, more crucial point. Said point has less to do with what Setoodeh said in that specific piece than with the fact that Setoodeh actually holds the position he does in the first place. If you’ve ever read his work on even a sporadic basis, you know that he is a smug idiot of the highest and most consistent order. (Here’s Setoodeh on Iron Man 2: “Iron Man 2 is so fierce, it leaves you with only one question: How long before Iron Man 3?” Dude’s a little young to be working up a Walter Monheit impersonation. Schmuck probably thinks that using the word “fierce” makes the sentence read like something fresh.) And yet he is referred to by no less a personage as Sorkin as a “theatre critic.” Setoodeh’s not a critic, he’s a marketing gimmick, a novelty act, a staggeringly mediocre poster boy for a misguided notion of diversity. I mean, seriously…this is a guy who wrote, in his own defense, “if an actor of the stature of George Clooney came out of the closet today, would we accept him as a heterosexual leading man?” Um, whoa. I mean, define “actor.” And then define “stature.” I think George Clooney’s a splendid actor, but I’d rather watch Sir Ian McKellan (who I hasten to add has been much invoked in this exchange) in most of the Shakespeare works I can think of, and I think Clooney would as well. Setoodeh also wrote, in a surprisingly weak bleat, given the swagger of his offending original musing, “I was sharing an honest impression of a play that I saw.” Remember, kids, the claim of “honesty” is the last refuge of a craven fucking cretin. I know that I give a handful of my fellows a lot of shit, but man, my usual bete noires come off like Mary McCarthy and Otis Ferguson when compared to this clown. Setoodeh is seriously underqualified to mop up the floors at peep shows. The real problem here is that mainstream organs keep hiring, and then promoting, such specimens, because they’re so, you know, provocatively contrarian.
About Nothing, part 2
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I haven’t read anything else by Ramin Setoodeh, so I’ll take your word for it.
Btw, what was “Part 1”?
Does a day ever go by where a print or online writer does not write something so astoundingly stupid for the purpose of driving sales and traffic? Call me cynical, but I think bringing up the actor’s sexual preferences in a “review” seemed designed to get the response it did. Honesty, my ass.
We have reached the point in our culture when people like Setoodeh seek any press, even if it’s bad press, as long as people are talking about what he’s writing even if it does not provoke thought as much as it provokes controversy for the daily news cycle. Meanwhile, it does not function in any way as legitimate criticism.
I read Setoodeh’s piece, and I found it less vile and bigoted than flat-out moronic. I don’t think he knows what he’s trying to say. One the one hand, he says Sean Hayes’s performance on stage is unbelievable because he’s gay. On the other hand, he says that Rock Hudson doesn’t project, um, gayness, I guess, but the problem is we know he’s gay now, so we don’t believe him in straight roles. But this has nothing to do with his performance, and is in fact entirely something Setoodeh brings to the films himself that he allows to get in the way.
Then he says that Neil Patrick Harris and Portia de Rossi pull off heterosexuality because they’re playing non-realistic roles. In HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER and in ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT, Harris and de Rossi are playing cartoonishly aggressive heterosexuals. Which people buy. Wouldn’t that be HARDER for a gay person to pull off, using Setoodeh’s theory?
I’ll say what I said on Facebook. Mr. Seetodeh, I’ve read Andrew Sullivan, I’ve disgareed with Andrew Sullivan, I’ve questioned the sanity of Andrew Sullivan. I’ve despised Andrew Sullivan. And you, Mr. Seetodah, are no Andrew Sullivan.
Setoodeh wasn’t promoted because he was a contrarian or developed any kind of particular writing style – rather, he was promoted because he seemed innocuous to Newsweek brass, particularly Jon Meacham, a brilliant fellow who couldn’t care less about the culture section of Newsweek (or anything unrelated to history and politics) and has driven away pretty much all the arts staff. That left Setoodeh, an affable guy who appeared during my time to avoid confrontations at all costs and knows enough about pop culture in a purely superficial sense to seem qualified enough to his bosses to write about it, as the only guy around the office to write for what remains of Newsweek’s arts coverage. Not that I disagree with Glenn’s ultimate point here, but I think Setoodeh wasn’t trying to be a provocateur as much as having a conversation over drinks one night and turning it into a column and because of all the layoffs and disinterest, didn’t have anyone above him to tell him he’s a twit.
@ former intern: Thanks for the info, or dish. You know I do love me some inside baseball stuff.
A belated response: Oh my God, Glenn, absolutely brilliant. You nailed it. Fierce!