Comments on: Comments on 14203

Post number 14203

Yelling At Nothing — Sat, 26 Jan 2002 23:51:05 -0800

Great article about the decline of obituary writing in American journalism. Notable obits it names include Hunter Thompson's unflattering rendition of Nixon and H.L. Mencken's scathing posthumous indictment of William Jennings Bryan.

Should we go back to obits like these? Damn right we should, says suck.com.

By: Chanther

Chanther — Sun, 27 Jan 2002 00:15:10 -0800

The link to the Nixon obituary seems to be broken - it can be found here.

By: waxpancake

waxpancake — Sun, 27 Jan 2002 01:13:14 -0800

Funny, I didn't think Suck said much of anything anymore.

By: MrBaliHai

MrBaliHai — Sun, 27 Jan 2002 06:42:13 -0800

*sniff* I miss Suck. What other publication would ever have found common ground between Hunter S. Thompson and Tricky Dick? Has obituary writing truly declined? I certainly can't ever recall a time when writing scathing, attack obits was the norm in journalism. I think that the pieces by Mencken and Thompson were aberrations, unfortunately.

By: alumshubby

alumshubby — Sun, 27 Jan 2002 07:42:53 -0800

And glorious aberrations they were, too. I think Mencken's obit of WJB was one of the most amazing feats of American writing I've seen in quite a while. If I were teaching AP American literature, I'd try to inflict it on my students. Come to think of it, it would be a good reading assignment for AP American history, because high-school kids ought to know who Bryan was and the pivotal role he played in politics as America emerged from an agrarian nation into a modern urban one.

By: pjdoland

pjdoland — Sun, 27 Jan 2002 08:03:01 -0800

Don't forget Ayn Rand's bizarre and venerating obituary for Marilyn Monroe, titled "Through Your Most Grievous Fault".

By: rodii

rodii — Sun, 27 Jan 2002 08:51:44 -0800

That Bryan obit is the best evocation of red vs. blue I have yet seen. Couldn't find a better red-vs-blue map. Where have they all gone?

By: raysmj

raysmj — Sun, 27 Jan 2002 11:59:42 -0800

rodii: Except for what is, in effect, a reversal of the economic policy stances of both sides (and the vote was a lot closer in 2002 in the states than the red-blue map suggests, regardless). More here.

By: rodii

rodii — Sun, 27 Jan 2002 13:44:56 -0800

Ray, I'm just talking about the cultural divide, not the parties.

By: raysmj

raysmj — Sun, 27 Jan 2002 15:55:17 -0800

The economic stances is part of the cultural divide - or is tied in with it, and you'd have to blind or Andrew Sullivan not to notice.

By: raysmj

raysmj — Sun, 27 Jan 2002 15:59:03 -0800

Or "are" part of the divide, rather. This historical swapping of sides is something that I've read about for eons and still haven't sorted out. But it's swept under the rug (as is the fact that Bryan had, oh, just a wee bit of help from progressive forces in the fight for Prohibition, as mentioned in an earlier thread).