Oh, there are days. And usually, for this show, the days that Barbara Walters appears means nothing good. So this morning, I woke up, stumbled out to my couch (yes at 10 am...so?) and stretched out to tuck into the 20 minutes of on-air hilarity and, at the very least, topical segment aptly-named "hot topics" section of The View, only to see Barbara Walters in all of her "mommy dearest" glory. Accordingly, I sighed with exasperation and braced for the cringing that would staaaaart...now.Barbara makes no bones about the fact that she often dislikes the topics that get "raunchy" too quickly--topping that list anything sexual in nature (including body parts, even if in a non-sexualized context. Quick story: this morning, Sherri Shepherd was mentioning that she was in a picture with Pamela Anderson. The bottom line of the story was that there were a lot of "boobs" (Sherri's word...well and mine I guess) going on. Barbara insisted they change the topic. Of course that went down like this--Barbara: "We're not discussing this." Sherri: Shocked and scared face.) She's also not fond of criticizing the "celebrati"--Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, Nicole Ritchie, Lindsay Lohan (other's call them the bimbo summit which seems appropriate). Usually Joy will bring these issues to the table only to have Barbara pull her usual--"Her parents are personal friends of mine...blah blah blah." If you dis the Republicans, you better watch it--Barbara's comin' after ya. If you dis anyone she's interviewed--be careful and watch your back. To summarize: Barbara Walters is a no-sense-of-humor kill-joy who's so deeply involved in ass-kissing the rich and famous that she cannot see the sorry joke she has become.
All of this, then, becomes interesting when juxtaposed with the insane levels of credibility her "journalistic reputation" has granted her over the years. If you're wondering what that consists of just tune in to a show--Barbara usually name-drops like she's getting royalties on the mentions. People trust her as a journalist but on The View she appears ignorant, intolerant, and...well, stupid. No, really. Barbara censors her own show for the same reasons that people want to censor the Internet and the FCC fines networks gajillions of dollars for saying "shit." All of that causes chaos and (gasp) the possibility for free-thinking. And we can't have that--not in Barbara's world--where free-thinking only logically brings about the conclusion that we've been duped for 20 years about the intellectual capacity (or lack thereof) of this woman with a weird accent and a snooty air about her. No, here decorum (read: women are demure and speak when spoken to) counts for a lot. Then I have to wonder how this show is about women. Newsflash Barbara: Women have boobs...and sometimes we wanna talk about 'em.
So, we have The View that once brought women's perspectives (albeit often stereotyped and represented by an archetypal member of the aggregate) to the table in search for their experiences. Apparently, according to Barbara Walters women don't have sex (or don't enjoy it), don't swear, don't question authority, don't criticize others, should not be comfortable discussing underwear, bodily fluids of any sort, body parts in general, or anything that could become "raunchy."
Since when did journalists decide that getting up on their soapbox and claiming the position of "moral authority of the planet" was acceptable? And how in the world does BW become THE person who decides what is acceptable breakfast-table conversation? And how are the all the things she likes to discuss somehow perfectly appropriate? This morning, Barbara called Bill O'Reilly someone she was "fond of." The last time I checked, Bill O'Reilly was an ugly and ignorant bigot who proudly demeans anyone that is not Bill O'Reilly--but apparently that's acceptable conversation? That conversation is more ugly and raunchy than the discussion of any body part I can think of...
Barbara--for god's sake (or should I not say god...does that make someone uncomfortable...)--if you're going to preach to your audience and your panel about what is acceptable publicly these days, you need to give Oprah a call--she can set you up with the ultimate in "queen of the universe" lessons (I believe that comes with a t-shirt from Oprah's favorite "Queen-of-the-universe" t-shirt company as well). Otherwise, sit down and shut the fuck up...and possibly persuade Elizabeth to do the same.
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I stayed home sick today and actually sat through 10 minutes of the view. THIS SHOW SUCKS. I know that is not an academic opinion, but do American women really relate to this show? Yikes.
Today, They were talking about Spitzer and his whoring ways. Barbara was right there to keep it "journalistic" when she became visibly angry with the picture shown when she asked for an example of the press conference. Barbara wanted a better picture because the audience laughed at the one they had initially shown; she took it personally. Interestingly, When Whoopie wanted to talk about prostitution and how she can understand why women would engage in sex work (my term, not hers) because of the money, Barbara changed the subject and Elizabeth almost exploded. Barbara Walters has become a parody of herself. She reminds me of Phyllis Shlafly and I don't understand why she has so much credibility. How can you be a journalist and be friends with the people you interview? Isn't that a conflict of interest? She is an untight old White lady that has become famous through other famous people.
In no way do I relate to these women. Do people really care what they think and why? I want to go on the view as a guest panelist. I would insist on talking about vaginas (not Va-jay-jay's), how the racism exists, and how 800,000 dollars is a lot of money and tell that religious, preachy black woman that Jesus was a Jew and 'judge not lest ye be judged'(supposedly God's words, not mine). Oh yeah, and I would challenge Elizabeth to a fight; She is why non-white people make fun of White people. No joke.
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