Site Presented By
Sunday, Nov 8, 2009
The dumbass watches shitty TV for a living. If she was operating from a foundation of self-respect as well as respect for others she'd have a real job.
I feel sorry for her child. Imagine the life lessons being passed on from mommy to child in that house. Ew.
Heather,
You need to explain yourself. Marcel has never been a favorite of mine. But he did not deserve that treatment from Cliff.
What's wrong with you? I am dumbfounded by your lack of compassion.
Top Chef is a REALITY SHOW. The first thing you must learn is that there is NO reality in a reality show.
Now, I didn't see this show. I have a disadvantage in watching shows like this; I'm not gay. But I don't need to be gay, or to have watched the show, to make some reasonable assumptions about what happened. Either the producers encouraged this fight, to try to up the drama on this show, or the combatants decided to do it on their own for some self-aggrandizement.
Cooking demonstrations used to be featured on noontime newscasts and "happy homemaker" shows. Those shows have been shoved aside for hard-core local news; weather, sports and who got shot last night. To make a cooking show interesting enough to run in prime time, even on a minor cable network, something has to be added. They went with anger and Jerry Springer/Geraldo Rivera attacks. Now me, I would have gone Battle Royale with it, with the winner of the cooking contest stabbing the loser and mutilating the corpse on-camera with the sponsor's brand of kitchen knives. My method would have insured larger ratings, and fewer contestants. But that's just me.
It shouldn't be long until we have this situation; if you doubt it, see George Carlin's recent HBO special. And you reality show fans are just stupid enough to lick this up.
i'm not saying anything new here--just adding to the chorus of dismay and disbelief at Havrilesky's surreally inane summation of the last episode of Top Chef.
sure, Marcel is a mealy-mouthed little pest, but the escalating abuse against him has been completely beyond the pale. Marcel is clearly the kid that no one ever much liked, from the playground on up; he lacks some pretty basic social skills. but he doesn't seem to be vicious. he hasn't verbally and physically attacked fellow cast-mates.
please, Heather, what else were the producers supposed to do with Cliff, except ask him to leave? he woke Marcel up out of a sound sleep and wrestled him all over the floor, with the intent of forcing the guy to have his head shaved. to imply that an act so aggressive should have been forgiven as spirited hijinks is asinine. moreover, implying a racial component to the producers' decision (and really, there was no decision here; legally, they had to make Cliff leave; he had violated the terms of his contract with the show, clearly) is grotesque.
Heather, I love your columns, but were we watching the same show? Or even the same season of Top Chef??
This isn't a black-white issue. Sheesh. It's an issue of who's big and who's small. Cliff is big and muscular. Marcel is a smaller, weaker guy who has been mercilessly bullied (and physically threatened) all season. I have no doubt that if the races had been reversed, the outcome would have been the same.
This is the first episode that sent me directly to Tom C. and Bravo to voice my horror and disgust at this episode. Bravo's mildness then and now honestly implies at least some tacit approval of Cliff's action. Only Padma's blog has treated the event with anything nearing seriousness. Silly Cliff! Cliff assaulted a fellow contestant he has threatened with physical violence all season. He has participated in bullying the poor guy simply for not fitting in -- along with such other stellar jerks as Betty, Ilan, Frank, Sam, and now Elia (who until this very strange episode had seemed supportive of Marcel). The snowballing hatred and bullying against Marcel has been building all season, and for no real reason -- the guy can be seen onscreen in every single episode, helping others plate and serve, downplaying others' rudeness, answering honestly, trying to keep it "about the food." Sure he's a geek, kind of smug, a little lofty, but the more of this I've seen, the more it just looks like the defense mechanism of someone who's used to being picked on.
Marcel was dragged out of bed by a big strong guy, moved and then restrained against his will, put into chokeholds with his face shoved painfully into the carpet -- for several minutes -- while the guy calls out to his friends, to hurry and "do it," etc. The entire situation involves humiliation, violence, subjugation, groupthink... it's really creepy and upsetting.
Cliff needed to go. I'm just angry and disappointed they didn't boot Sam (the original instigator), Ilan (laughingly inciting -- and filming -- the whole thing), and slimy two-faced Elia, to boot.
And keep in mind -- the producers manipulated the footage, but eagle-eyed viewers can still clearly see Elia (with a full head of hair!) laughing hysterically while Marcel attempts to run away to recover by himself. She's off to the right, laughing. And yes, with a full head of hair. It's creepy -- they obviously shave their own heads only after going after Marcel (not first, and "more acceptably" as Bravo might imply it). So Elia is actually humiliating Marcel, the guy they just physically assaulted, minutes before, in the bathroom after the fact. It's genuinely creepy.
I'm a longtime viewer but am done with the show. This season just plain tastes bad. Frankly, I think they should have shut down production on this season and given Marcel the money. Hopefully he'll still get it though -- in legal fees.
any of you losers detailing way too many facts about a "chef reality show" have a fucking clue about your own family, let alone who's running your government and the mess it's currently in.
Scary.
Much of the initial coverage about Fort Hood turned out to be wrong. Is there anything wrong with that?
The accountability imposed by another country for the CIA's kidnapping and torture reveals much about our own.
Fox News' morning show plays to type, talking about whether Muslims in the Army should face "special debriefings"
The survivor and author is upset about comparisons some on the right are making to genocide
Once seen as a lunatic fringe, reactionary anti-women groups are courting respectability
Salon headlines in your mailbox
