"One can almost hear the anticipatory echoes of something like Yelp in the context of José Ortega y Gasset’s
The Revolt of the Masses (1930). The multitude, he wrote, once “scattered about the world in small groups,” now appears “as an agglomeration.” It has “suddenly become visible, installing itself in the preferential positions in society. Before, if it existed, it passed unnoticed, occupying the background of the social stage; now it has advanced to the footlights and is the principal character.” The disgruntled diner, now able to make or break a restaurant through sheer collective will. Against this leveling of critical power, the old guard fulminates. Ruth Reichl, the former editor of
Gourmet, recently harrumphed that “
anybody who believes Yelp is an idiot. Most people on Yelp have no idea what they’re talking about.”"—
Star Wars, by Tom Vanderbilt, in
The Wilson Quarterly [more inside]
posted by Toekneesan
on May 5, 2013 -
38 comments
Real actors read Yelp reviews:
Chris Kipiniak #1,
Chris Kipiniak #2,
Therese Plummer,
Brian O'Neill,
Greg Hildreth,
Brian Hutchinson,
Amanda Leigh Cobb,
Ashlie Atkinson,
Danny Deferrari,
Marsha Stephanie Blake,
Darren Goldstein, and
Tina Sloan.
posted by MaryDellamorte
on Dec 6, 2012 -
12 comments
