You, me and Augusten Burroughs
As a resident of Charlotte for the past six years, I have always sought Creative Loafing as the ultimate go-to guide for cool upcoming concerts and performances, though few and far between as Charlotte's music scene is something to be desired. Not only do I seek out Creative Loafing to help plan my concert-going weekends, I also read for what restaurants to frequent before the show and what bars and pubs to hit up afterwards. Kudos to the good people in their tireless efforts at keeping us Charlotteans in the know.
On an unrelated note in reference to last week's article "Cinema '06: More of the same?" (Jan. 3), I was shocked to see Running with Scissors touted as one of the 10 worst films of the year. It wasn't the worst movie ever. I think that any movie that makes your own childhood look less and less weird and messed up can't be all that bad. Now, You, Me and Dupree, I will whole-heartedly agree was one of the year's worst films.
-- J. Sunnycalb, Charlotte
Marketing Humans
Back in the Founder's day, politics was nationwide entertainment. Television and internet wasn't there to connect people on common ideas like such mediums do for us today. Many people could not read, so hearing the news read aloud in the square was one of the few connections they had outside their town. Most of the news was political. Most of the entertainment was political drama.
When the Founding Fathers needed a man to be the worldwide representative of the new American people, they found a handsome, young general who didn't speak all that much, named George Washington. The people loved him and followed accordingly. These sorts of political pretty boys continue to crop up every other generation because they are an easy product to sell. Remember the Kennedy's or Clinton, handsome charmers who won votes with their smiles?
So when we look at our currant entertainment industry, should we feel as if we are being wronged by companies who act on old American business ideals? "The Machine," as Mr. Keck called it in his article "Treacle or Claymation?" (Dec. 20), is our own creation. We keep it going because there is no other way to run such an industry within a capitalist society. We have a need to keep a steady stream of handsome faces and bubbly personalities so that we can always be reminded of who we should be like so that we too can grow up and fuel the industry.
In this day, I find it hilarious that women and men can sell their bodies on television, but not in the privacy of their own homes. I find it hilarious that people with no talent in their profession excel at it because of their pretty faces or personalities, while those with true talent are left behind. I find it hilarious that a lot of people are so preoccupied with their own lives, their own place in the money race, that they are actually shocked and appalled when they read Mr. Keck's humorously cynical rant.
-- Heather Potter, Charlotte
Corrections
Although Charlotte Cason's After Dark column "Going undercover as an under" (published Jan. 3) focused on Charlotte's under-age party scene, several subjects in the photo that ran with the piece identify themselves as being over the age of 21. We apologize if the photo and/or the column caused any confusion or harm.