Nathan Rabin writes, “I’m a professional memoryer.” Trash is a joy. It is my responsibility to keep this in mind, not only for myself but also for the sake of society.
Rabin has a real chance to win this book for his team. He also explains the bizarre and false 1971 lifestyle guide of Joan Crawford, Academy Award winner actress. My Way of LifeThe misbegotten Brady Bunch Variety HourThe film, which was a mix of many “water ballet” routines and endless dad jokes, featured Robert Evans, a cocaine-addicted movie producer, in an anti-drug television special that was court ordered, star-studded and star-studded. Be high on yourself• The entirety of Mike Bloomberg’s 2020 Presidential candidacy.
Rabin served as the chief writer. It A.V. A.V. Club for two decades and the inventor of the popular-but-controversial term “Magic Pixie Dreamgirl” to describe a recurring film character who “exists solely in the fevered imaginations of sensitive writer-directors to teach broodingly soulful young men to embrace life and its infinite mysteries and adventures.” His website is now his. Nathan Rabin’s Happy PlaceHe hosts the podcast Travolta/Cage, in which he wades through all kinds of cultural detritus and exudes endless wittiness. Travolta/Cage with him is a podcast on the “greatest actors” of all time.
Rabin speaks with Nick Gillespie, 45, about his Gen X heritage and how it influences his view of and criticism of consumer culture. He explains that his generation learned how to use D.A.R.E. early in their lives. It was clear that adult and other officials were lying, and the shows they showed them were phony. He says Gen X was born in 1990s when technology believed it would solve all problems. This optimism was severely compromised by 9/11 and the bursting tech bubble. “IHe says that satire, rony, and comedy can bring light to very dark situations. It is also very therapeutic to be able laugh about something you shouldn’t laugh at or to have a good time laughing about dark things.
Rabin also discusses how musician Grimes, who had a widely covered relationship and two children with billionaire Elon Musk, is reclaiming—or perhaps satirizing—the manic pixie dream girl trope and why Weird Al Yankovic, the subject of a good deal of his writing, has had a career far longer than most of the people he parodies.
Interview by Nick Gillespie. Edited by Adam Czarnecki.
Reason.com first published the post Nathan Rabin Confessions Of A Trash-Culture Consnoisseur