Total Pageviews

Monday, August 8, 2016

He's using your fear to hoodwink you

Michael Den Tandt: Make America scared again


Dear Mr. Trump;
I love your show.
I have to tell you up front, I’m a huge fan of the genre. I’ve read and watched them all, beginning with The Stand by Stephen King, published back in 1978. I think of it as the first modern dystopia. In fact I think it was King, in that novel, who coined the expression The Walking Dead. How’s that for being ahead of the curve? 
And it’s such a fantastic story. Randall Flagg aka The Dark Man, set against Mother Abigail, and the few survivors of the great plague, drawn to one or the other according to their natures. Of course Hillary Clinton is no Mother Abigail, and that’s exactly her problem, yes? You, however — wow. The chiclets-bright smile, the blazing heat in your face — all you need is a pair of run-down cowboy boots and you’re in character. Very nicely done, sir.
But there have been so many powerful stories like this over the past 15 years, haven’t there? The best is probably Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, published in 2006. His innovation was to just go headlong for eating the young, no flinching or turning away. It’s difficult to read in places, for sure. But what a metaphor for modern life!

No comments:

Post a Comment