Free Republic
Browse · Search
Bloggers & Personal
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Magical Sorkinism
The Ivy Exile ^ | 7 Mar 2023 | The Ivy exile

Posted on 03/08/2023 4:53:14 AM PST by Rummyfan

Among the worst disasters for progressivism in recent decades has been the work of Aaron Sorkin, whose impossibly articulate ratatat dialogue made it way too easy to imagine sexy technocrats saving the world. It’s great entertainment, but normalized unreasonable expectations of the flawed human beings who happen to have high IQs and impeccable credentials.

As a child of the New Left, I never missed The West Wing: it was irresistible catnip for my adolescent hopes and dreams, and so much more satisfying than whatever was on the news—except for the eloquent public intellectuals on the Bill Moyers show on PBS. Later, as an idealistic policy major at Brown, I was surprised and disappointed to find basically nobody operating on that level.

It was only when I’d lucked into joining the Moyers organization that I began to understand how such Sorkinesque eloquence was manufactured each week—not with deliberate dishonesty, but ever more misleading as years passed and the scene grew shallower.

We’d typically tape on Thursday or Friday mornings to turn around by Friday nights. Being of Bill Moyers’ approximate height, I was tasked with showing up early to fill his chair as gruff union guys set up cameras and lighting. Then, as Bill’s blogger and research assistant, I’d watch live interviews from the control room to highlight quotable moments.

Uncut conversations were eye-opening; it was astonishing how often our esteemed guests hemmed and hawed and got basic facts embarrassingly wrong. And how many came off batshit crazy: one, later an anchor on MSNBC, speculated that Captain Sully’s Miracle on the Hudson—visible from our west side offices—had been God blessing the Obamas.

(Excerpt) Read more at ivyexile.substack.com ...


TOPICS: Government; Miscellaneous; Politics; Society
KEYWORDS: aaronsorkin; moyers; pbs; sorkin; theleftwing; thewestwing
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-28 last
To: rlmorel

That’s why I included the second line of that post. Saying without saying directly that you as an awake conservative can clearly see what these people are.

Let me just turn the tables a little bit here. Your post to me I took as mildly insulting insinuating I wasn’t sophisticated enough to have a positive takeaway from a piece that was clearly written by a most vapid foot soldier in the war for our culture (as other posters in the same thread rightly pointed out). Yet I did not accuse you of demeaning me. The question was not posited to demean, It was asked because I know you knew better.


21 posted on 03/08/2023 8:26:16 AM PST by VTenigma (Conspiracy theory is the new "spoiler alert")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 16 | View Replies]

To: VTenigma

Fair enough, VTenigma. Communicating online can be misleading or open to misinterpretation.


22 posted on 03/08/2023 9:18:09 AM PST by rlmorel ("If you think tough men are dangerous, just wait until you see what weak men are capable of." JBP)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 21 | View Replies]

To: rlmorel

Granted, hopefully no hard feelings as I greatly enjoy your contributions to this fine forum.


23 posted on 03/08/2023 9:23:52 AM PST by VTenigma (Conspiracy theory is the new "spoiler alert")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 22 | View Replies]

To: Rummyfan

As lefty bad as West Wing was—if you watch it today they are heads and shoulders above the current administration.

—No LGBT and trans garbage
—No anti Russia and pro war propaganda
—No support of Big Tech censorship
—While tone was negative towards white people, no blatant anti white hatred
—No support of lowering standards to help minorities—they still believed that they could find qualified minorities to meet their quotas
—No open borders garbage or “migrants” talk
—No open support of criminals and crime


24 posted on 03/08/2023 9:26:26 AM PST by cgbg (Claiming that laws and regs that limit “hate speech” stop freedom of speech is “hate speech”.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Rummyfan

I also remember a hilarious episode where a group came in wanting to change the map of the globe so the Southern Hemisphere was “on top”.

It was a hilarious satire of leftist zealotry.


25 posted on 03/08/2023 9:29:04 AM PST by cgbg (Claiming that laws and regs that limit “hate speech” stop freedom of speech is “hate speech”.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: VTenigma

Oh, gosh now. With the invective around here these days, that is the same as your Italian grandfather giving you a gentle tap on the cheek when you say hello!


26 posted on 03/08/2023 11:39:25 AM PST by rlmorel ("If you think tough men are dangerous, just wait until you see what weak men are capable of." JBP)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 23 | View Replies]

To: Rummyfan
I hope this guy knew that the early seasons of The West Wing were written by Lawrence O'Donnell, yeah, that "batsh-- crazy" Lawrence O'Donnell.

-PJ

27 posted on 03/08/2023 11:47:28 AM PST by Political Junkie Too ( * LAAP = Left-wing Activist Agitprop Press (formerly known as the MSM))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: rlmorel
Sorkin is a putrid brown stain on the underwear of this Republic.

Agreed.

28 posted on 03/08/2023 1:44:55 PM PST by Rummyfan (In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized of man.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-28 last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
Bloggers & Personal
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson