Glenn Beck Goes Round the Bend
March 24th, 2009 by Jon Taplin
Glenn Beck is reaching schitzoid levels of paranoia. Pretty soon he is going to be having hallucinations on live TV.
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Beck smells ratings. Obama-haters have a choice in TV viewing, and Beck is moved by the viewer-response. Touching
“Hey, BillO, can you choke up on cue like this? Didn’t think so.”
This is just good old-fashioned televangelism. What might be new — and I’m no connoisseur of wing-nut media styles — is the degree to which a “newsy” TV format plays unselfconscious host to revivalist preaching. Down with that “wall of separation” between politics and religion, right? Could be a real market shift Beck is catching here.
I just hope it remains a minority taste.
Beck smells ratings. Obama-haters have a choice in TV viewing, and Beck is moved by the viewer-response. Touching
“Hey, BillO, can you choke up on cue like this? Didn’t think so.”
This is just good old-fashioned televangelism. What might be new — and I’m no connoisseur of wing-nut media styles — is the degree to which a “newsy” TV format plays unselfconscious host to revivalist preaching. Down with that “wall of separation” between politics and religion, right? Could be a real market shift Beck is catching here.
I just hope it remains a minority taste.
Does he mean his weak voice? His media screeching? I don’t think “around the bend” does him justice. And since I will never see his show except in this sort of out of context format, what exactly is his wall of pictures supposed to proclaim? That everyone who watches Fox is willing to send in a picture of themselves? But hell, at least he showed his “girly man” side.
Does he mean his weak voice? His media screeching? I don’t think “around the bend” does him justice. And since I will never see his show except in this sort of out of context format, what exactly is his wall of pictures supposed to proclaim? That everyone who watches Fox is willing to send in a picture of themselves? But hell, at least he showed his “girly man” side.
Televangelist indeed. Can’t wait till he starts speaking in tongues.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiSta–f_Lc
Televangelist indeed. Can’t wait till he starts speaking in tongues.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiSta–f_Lc
Televandalism
Televandalism
I’m waiting for the day when he starts striking viewers on the forehead and shouting, “SAVED! You are SAVED!”
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Beck is one of the most profoundly stupid people in the public forum. I have no doubt that, if you could have a confidential, gossipy talk with the bigwigs of the industry, they might say this or that about Limbaugh, Cooper, Olbermann, you name it, but they would all agree wholeheartedly on Beck.
His Fox handlers are apparently willing to allow him to embarrass himself to almost any degree, in the knowledge that they can discard him the moment his credibility has evaporated with The Base.
That being said, I find Anderson Cooper’s furrowed brow “I’m being intensely serious” act to be only moderately less ridiculous than this garbage. Beck is a super-clown in a world of clowns.
I’m waiting for the day when he starts striking viewers on the forehead and shouting, “SAVED! You are SAVED!”
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Beck is one of the most profoundly stupid people in the public forum. I have no doubt that, if you could have a confidential, gossipy talk with the bigwigs of the industry, they might say this or that about Limbaugh, Cooper, Olbermann, you name it, but they would all agree wholeheartedly on Beck.
His Fox handlers are apparently willing to allow him to embarrass himself to almost any degree, in the knowledge that they can discard him the moment his credibility has evaporated with The Base.
That being said, I find Anderson Cooper’s furrowed brow “I’m being intensely serious” act to be only moderately less ridiculous than this garbage. Beck is a super-clown in a world of clowns.
“Televandalism”
But effective in pure media terms. When they send those photos, they act. The act is the buy-in and reinforces the connection. Dumb but it works.
The message is Dr. Feelgood populism and he is selling it. To validate the style, look at the numbers after the broadcast.
The dink is the cost of the style: teleevangelists tend to set themselves up for the Big Fall. It doesn’t put them out of the business. It affects their numbers.
Do you remember Oscar Levant’s TV show? A nervous breakdown is entertaining to some like a hanging.
“Televandalism”
But effective in pure media terms. When they send those photos, they act. The act is the buy-in and reinforces the connection. Dumb but it works.
The message is Dr. Feelgood populism and he is selling it. To validate the style, look at the numbers after the broadcast.
The dink is the cost of the style: teleevangelists tend to set themselves up for the Big Fall. It doesn’t put them out of the business. It affects their numbers.
Do you remember Oscar Levant’s TV show? A nervous breakdown is entertaining to some like a hanging.
Yes but … Oscar could at least play piano.
Better. Oscar could play Gershwin as well as Gershwin. Passion revealed.
I don’t think I’ve ever laughed at someone crying as hard as I laughed at him.
The talking heads on the right are all such raging hypocrites after goosestepping in line after Bush for 8 years that the only people left to take them seriously are the people who still approved of G.W. in the final months of his presidency. They’re talking to the choir, which I’d ignore, but for the crack pots that might follow their lead and make the move from insane yakking to even more insane action. Everyone should be concerned in that regard.
Just glanced at the title of this post again, and read it a little more ‘creatively’:
“Hey, Bend it like Beck, HAM.”
He’s something, and I think him having visions would be in line with his trajectory. If you didn’t see his stunt where a separate camera showed a picture in picture closeup of his eyes, you must find it. It’s haunting, the hand of Goebbels’ ghost on his shoulder.
In seriousness, this guy is not only trying to light a fuse of violence, he’s pouring gasoline on it and looking up how to work with yellowcake on the internet. Dangerous, dangerous stuff to be playing with in a media-ruled populace.
Who saw Colbert’s piece on Beck’s 9/12 project?
http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/223279/march-31-2009/the-10-31-project
Colbert popping up from behind his desk holding a shot gun, wearing a gas mask and adult diaper to mimic how America felt on 9/12 (that day Beck wants America to get back to) was awesome.
Not nearly as awesome as the Kramer-Stewart interview, but Colbert does bring up Beck’s confessed hatred of the 9.11 families, which was probably the only other great moment in that piece.