4 ms·

Is Vanity Fair really the best place to air this kind of grievance against wealth and decadence?

deleted 16y ago
[deleted]
pkteison 16y ago
Vanity Fair still does real journalism, where a reporter goes and finds information to write an article about. Have you read their article on Iceland's financial crisis? http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2009/04/iceland200904 http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2009/04/iceland2... I can't write them off as worthless hollywood fluff after reading that.
- hollerith 16y ago
  >Vanity Fair still does real journalism I do not disagree, but I think grandparent's point is that a magazine filled with profiles of billionaires and ads for luxury goods is maybe not the most credible publisher of criticism of materialism and the evils of the idle rich.
  - potatolicious 16y ago
    Maybe not the most credible, but perhaps the most appropriate - after all, Vanity Fair's audience is also the type Dubai wants to attract.
  - sethg 16y ago
    I think most rich people want to believe that they are not merely rich people—they want to believe that they are working (if they work) and spending for a higher purpose than mere consumption. The article does not condemn the citizens of Dubai for having money; it condemns them for being both cruel and crass (the Russian word nekulturny comes to mind).
andymatic 16y ago
But failed hubris is in their usual scope.
ctkrohn 16y ago
Vanity Fair is a bizarre magazine. One day they'll publish a penetrating article by Michael Lewis on the Irish financial crisis. The next day they'll have a great article about a team of English mountaineers, two of whom died on Mont Blanc. Then they'll turn around and do a huge cover story on Justin Bieber. If they publish something I care about, I'll find it extremely interesting and well written, but the other half I find completely inane.
- ajtaylor 16y ago
  I took the requisite 30+ minutes to read the Lewis article on Ireland's finance problems, and thoroughly enjoyed it. And by having lived in Ireland for the last 3 years, I can say his analysis makes perfect sense to me. The nouveau riche still need some time to figure out how to spend their money wisely.
yesbabyyes 16y ago
I like Vanity Fair subscribe to the magazine. It's named after a 19th century novel by Thackeray, a satire on society. I find that the magazine, like the book, mocks society and points out it's flaws, being hypocritical and opportunistic. At the same time the magazine itself is opportunistic, and perhaps hypocritical. It's a very interesting magazine. Lots of good reading.

deleted 16y ago

[deleted]

Vanity Fair still does real journalism, where a reporter goes and finds information to write an article about. Have you read their article on Iceland's financial crisis? http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2009/04/iceland200904 http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2009/04/iceland2... I can't write them off as worthless hollywood fluff after reading that.

hollerith 16y ago
>Vanity Fair still does real journalism I do not disagree, but I think grandparent's point is that a magazine filled with profiles of billionaires and ads for luxury goods is maybe not the most credible publisher of criticism of materialism and the evils of the idle rich.
- potatolicious 16y ago
  Maybe not the most credible, but perhaps the most appropriate - after all, Vanity Fair's audience is also the type Dubai wants to attract.
- sethg 16y ago
  I think most rich people want to believe that they are not merely rich people—they want to believe that they are working (if they work) and spending for a higher purpose than mere consumption. The article does not condemn the citizens of Dubai for having money; it condemns them for being both cruel and crass (the Russian word nekulturny comes to mind).

andymatic 16y ago

But failed hubris is in their usual scope.

ctkrohn 16y ago

Vanity Fair is a bizarre magazine. One day they'll publish a penetrating article by Michael Lewis on the Irish financial crisis. The next day they'll have a great article about a team of English mountaineers, two of whom died on Mont Blanc. Then they'll turn around and do a huge cover story on Justin Bieber. If they publish something I care about, I'll find it extremely interesting and well written, but the other half I find completely inane.

ajtaylor 16y ago
I took the requisite 30+ minutes to read the Lewis article on Ireland's finance problems, and thoroughly enjoyed it. And by having lived in Ireland for the last 3 years, I can say his analysis makes perfect sense to me. The nouveau riche still need some time to figure out how to spend their money wisely.

yesbabyyes 16y ago

I like Vanity Fair subscribe to the magazine. It's named after a 19th century novel by Thackeray, a satire on society. I find that the magazine, like the book, mocks society and points out it's flaws, being hypocritical and opportunistic. At the same time the magazine itself is opportunistic, and perhaps hypocritical. It's a very interesting magazine. Lots of good reading.