The only thing I don't understand...

SubJeff on 21/11/2011 at 00:11

...is why he writes for that bleeding heart, emotion over sense, piece of crap - The Guardian.

(http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/nov/20/christmas-adverts-john-lewis)

Other than that Charlie Brooker is one of my modern day heroes. His pieces border on The Daily Mash-esk, and that's what is so perfect about them. Just the right amount of hyperbole/absurdity to frame the nonsense he is lambasting coupled with acid unforgiving of tosh.

A triumph, and not just for Xmas.

Aerothorn on 21/11/2011 at 07:00

I don't read any British papers regularly, but I recall having read some pretty good stuff in The Guardian (particularly their arts/culture section). On the flip side, I wasn't particularly impressed with the London Times when I was there - it wasn't *bad* per say, but didn't really seem to have much to recommend it either other than reporting so dry that it *must* be accurate.

Muzman on 21/11/2011 at 07:28

Hey, what else are you supposed to read in Blighty? The Mail?, The Telegraph? (can't read News of the World anymore), The Sun? The Sport?

Left wing/progressive viewpoints having only one place to go really doesn't tar the whole enterprise because it includes bead wearing communications majors. I mean it's hardly the Huffington Post.

SubJeff on 21/11/2011 at 11:42

I read a mix of The Times, Guardian and Telegraph just to get a balance. Oh an BBC news online.

DDL on 21/11/2011 at 12:17

I like the guardian. As long as you remember that it's near-falling off the left end of the political spectrum (which is not exactly difficult to detect), it's fine. Plus I like the crossword.

I find left-leaning bias usually provides more actual 'facts' than right-leaning bias, plus I feel more equipped to deal with sorting the bias from the facts when I'm not staring with baffled incredulity at whatever insane polemic the right-wing pundits have come up with.

BBC isn't bad, but they do have some truly awful science reporting.

So out of curiosity, who would you expect Charlie to write for?

Chimpy Chompy on 21/11/2011 at 12:27

The Guardian might be the paper of choice for public sector lefties who keep a picture of Polly Toynbee in their wallet. But it's hard to see Brooker writing for another publication, really. He's a fairly intellectual tv-and-media guy, the Grauniad is their natural home too.

SD on 21/11/2011 at 13:10

The Guardian seems like a natural fit for Brooker, that's very definitely his politics. Remember, he is a presenter on Channel 4's 10 O'Clock Live, which might more honestly be called "60 Minutes of Coalition Bashing".

I do enjoy his writing though. Him and Jim Shelley (The Mirror's TV critic) are the best around.

Yakoob on 21/11/2011 at 15:02

Speaking of the linked article, while the guy does have a good overall point, his chosen example makes him come off as a snobbish tard.

Quote:

An advert for a shop. That's all the John Lewis thing is, and as such it's no more moving than the "So Near, So Spar" campaign of the mid-1980s. Anyone who cries at this creepy bullshit is literally sobbing IQ points out of their body.

Umm, no, it's a really well fucking made AD that manages to actually be more thoughtful, well made and clever than the wild barrage of typical pretentious "LOOK HOW DEEP THIS IS" indie artsyfartsy films. Whether it is an advert for a store or not does not invalidate good pacing, imagery, cinematography and even story (whatever little there may be in this piece). And its not like the movie gloats about being an AD, you see a logo at end for 5 seconds, it is complete inessential to the "short" itself. Somehow, I don't feel slapping a Pepsi logo at the end of Citizen Kane would instantly undermine the value of the movie and all it does right.

DDL on 21/11/2011 at 16:06

It is an advert for a shop, though. The fact that it works so powerfully on you pretty much illustrates his point. The fact that the whole purpose of the ad is not to create a beautiful story, but to create a beautiful story that makes you think of John Lewis...is pretty fucking terrible. If there was a pepsi logo at the end of Citizen Kane and indeed the WHOLE PURPOSE of Citizen Kane was to get you to forever associate it with Pepsi ("Hear rosebud, think ICE COLD PEPSI"), it would be equally insidious. It's "good pacing, imagery, cinematography and even story" with a wholly profit-oriented aim. The fact that it clearly works is possibly the most awful aspect.

And anyway, Brooker's whole schtick is basically one of comedic utter misanthropy, so I'm not sure why you'd object to just this particular bit.

Plus: it's a severed dog head.

nickie on 21/11/2011 at 18:51

Quote Posted by Chimpy Chompy

. . . the Grauniad is their natural home too.

It must be 20 years since I last heard that said - thanks for a happy memory. :)

This year I've decided not to sit on my butt swearing at the Christmas ads, I've embarked on an email campaign and John Lewis was the first on my list but not for that advert. I hate adverts with a passion so I tend to watch iplayers now.

I don't buy newspapers for news anymore, I occasionally buy for the crosswords. I used to be able to do the Guardian but I'm out of practice. And on one occasion only, I manged to do the Times. I can do the Telegraph because my mother gets it so I do it quite often and I know how their minds works now. And either they've become less right-wing or I've become less left-wing. Their sport coverage is excellent. The Mail and The Express should both be prosecuted for incitement to hatred of everythingl.

I don't know of Charlie Brooker but I enjoyed that article. I miss John Pilger - I never read anything from him these days.