The Campy TV World of Ryan Murphy - Interesting Article

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 11/27/12 at 7:33pm

Interesting New Yorker article about Murphy's TV "ouevre" from Popular on, but mainly his three current shows. I like Emily Nussbaum's New Yorker TV reviews a lot (I know others on here think, like many New Yorker writers find her pretentious, but I tend to agree with her reviews--I particularly liked her rebuttal to the New York Times review that said Game of Thrones held no appeal to female viewers). I think she gives Murphy too much credit (to put it mildly--the title Queer Eye, Full Heart alone shows that, though Nussbaum may have not the headline) and yet, I agree with many of her points (and she doesn't by any means let him off the hook).

http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/television/2012/11/26/121126crte_television_nussbaum?currentPage=1

Kurt McKinney

[strummergirl]

Posted: 11/27/12 at 7:45pm

I like Emily too. She's only been at The New Yorker for a year, and I do seem to remember somebody on this board calling her review on The Newsroom pretentious (when it seemed pretty right on with the general negative feedback of the show). She definitely does not deify him but is probably more positive about him than say an Alan Sepinwall, who actually still recommended the article despite his own issues with Murphy's shows. She is still critical of The New Normal on twitter and while she seems more into this season's Glee, she has voiced concerns about the additional characters to the new season.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 11/27/12 at 7:54pm

Yeah, she could be meaner about The New Normal in the review, but she pretty much flat out says it doesn't work. As much as I hate to say it, I think I largely agree on her take--at least in this review--of this season of Glee.

Nussbaum used to work for Slate, didn't she? I know I read some of her reviews before--though I don't know who ALan Sepinwall is, I'll have to look him up.

I know people on here complained about The Newsroom review, as well as her recent take on finding Modern Family incr4easingly overated (I agreed with her points, so am biased). I did disagree somewhat with her piece on hate-watching Smash--I thought she gave the pilot WAY too much praise (but most critics did), and exagerated the extent that the rest of the season didn't match the pilot--but again that's my opinion. Still, even when I disagree with her, I mostly still find her worthwhile to read.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 11/27/12 at 7:56pm

Murphy’s finest set pieces evoke Charles Busch and Bertolt Brecht as well as Lady Bunny

Simplemente, no.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 11/27/12 at 7:56pm

Definitely too much praise and hyperbole in that sentence, lol.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 11/27/12 at 8:12pm

I was ready to bolt when she compared him to TV "auteurs" like Louis C.K. and Joss Whedon. I'd say he's much more in the family of say, Chuck Lorre, and as such, gets more than the lion's share of acclaim for what he does.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 11/27/12 at 8:14pm

It's a terrible article. She lacks basic understanding of camp, either Sontag's explication of the word, or any inkling of how it has evolved since then. Hell, she also has no understanding what "radical" means.

Also, does she have any familiarity with television produced before 2003?

[trentsketch]

Posted: 11/27/12 at 9:08pm

"Murphy’s finest set pieces evoke Charles Busch and Bertolt Brecht as well as Lady Bunny"

Don't you remember the very special episode of Glee where Kurt dressed in drag to do a fourth wall breaking musical adaptation of What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? before pretending to crap his pants during a sex party?

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 11/27/12 at 11:15pm

Watch out, I could see that happening (at least the first part)...

I think the auteur line is fair enough in that context. Murphy's stamp is definitely on his shows the same way those people are (that doesn't mean it's quality) and so fits the old cahier du cinema term for auteur anyway.

Popular was pre 2003 But I don't really see why the article should mention many pre-2003 shows either. (Six Feet Under and Buffy, at least would count as well as the Davids she mentioned).

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 11/27/12 at 11:24pm

Oh and it's fair enough to dump Lorre with Murphy as an auteur (I know other critics certainly have defined Lorre as one--and his shows have a general sense of the same style). I don't think the list was really meant to reflect quality.

Posted: 11/28/12 at 10:32am

I lump him in with Peter Lorre actually- the mention of either name makes me anxious and a little bit afraid.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 11/28/12 at 2:03pm

LOL! I think he name dropped Lorre in some Am Horror interview... Eep.