Metcalf on the late George W. S. Trow
Today's Slate has a thoughtful obit/cultural analysis of George W. S. Trow, the New Yorker writer who died last week. Trow was a hero of mine, and his landmark work, "Within the Context of No Context," was a rambling, brilliant and exceedingly personal attack on the emergence of the television culture. As much as anything, his writing eulogized the loss of manners that came with the descendency of WASP culture (of which he was a part) in the 60s and 70s.
What Metcalf does well is to assess Trow from both sides, ultimately concluding that Trow's beloved WASP hegemony had to be dismantled, for reasons of Democracy and equality and power distribution, though doing ultimately came with certain costs (the rise of vulgarity; the creation of a media culture of hustlers, etc.). The gates may be more open today, but we have "American Idol" and Life + Style magazine as a result.
I suppose I begrudgingly agree with Metcalf, though Trow couldn't help but argue from the side of privilege, since that was his background. If nothing else, perhaps his death will alert more people to his work and his unique brand of cultural criticism.
Godspeed, George.
