When Granta chose the Best American Writers under 40 in 1996, Anna Wintour and Vogue co-hosted a party to fete us in Chicago. I was wearing a $250 suit when I met Wintour. I was so intimidated. I was just a rube with a gift for nouns and verbs. Never felt more Gatsby in my life and made sure to stay away from swimming pools.
I once had a meeting with Anna Wintour about a charity event (not the Met Gala!) and was very nervous about what to wear. I played it safe with a dark suit, white shirt, and blue (not sure if it was "cerulean") tie.
You do a great job exploring the tension between the elite and exclusionary curation of the past and the chaotic openness of today.
At the moment I'm most worried about common ethical norms. There is no more "polite society." Perhaps the polite societies of the past were mirages and based on hypocritical perceptions but they existed. If everything is permitted of our modern day elite––the famously rich and the famously famous––then the cost to our society is enormous.
This is where your insight as to Condé Nast being a mirror comes in to play.
When Granta chose the Best American Writers under 40 in 1996, Anna Wintour and Vogue co-hosted a party to fete us in Chicago. I was wearing a $250 suit when I met Wintour. I was so intimidated. I was just a rube with a gift for nouns and verbs. Never felt more Gatsby in my life and made sure to stay away from swimming pools.
I once had a meeting with Anna Wintour about a charity event (not the Met Gala!) and was very nervous about what to wear. I played it safe with a dark suit, white shirt, and blue (not sure if it was "cerulean") tie.
You do a great job exploring the tension between the elite and exclusionary curation of the past and the chaotic openness of today.
At the moment I'm most worried about common ethical norms. There is no more "polite society." Perhaps the polite societies of the past were mirages and based on hypocritical perceptions but they existed. If everything is permitted of our modern day elite––the famously rich and the famously famous––then the cost to our society is enormous.
This is where your insight as to Condé Nast being a mirror comes in to play.
Finally, I loved the turtle quip!
Nostalgia for lukewarm soup
The New Yorker in recent years has been an embarrassment. Cravenly woke. David Remnick is a coward, not a visionary.
Who is Anna Wintour? Never heard of her!!
Oh, boo hoo lamenting about the past lifestyles of entitled rich americans...