Scotland Forever, one of Thompson's works. |
I’ve eagerly
read and written about Malcolm Gladwell’s past literary efforts, so I was
excited when he shared on a Bill Simmons podcast last week that his own,
Revisionist History, would be launching in mid-June. And hell, that’s a great
name for a podcast! My excite level was high.
Unfortunately,
the first episode, “The Lady Vanishes,” was highly disappointing. While
Gladwell is well-known for usage of individual stories to make larger, grander
points, I didn’t think the connection established in his first show was all
that strong.
The basic
premise – When countries elect female leaders for the first time, or when the
Royal Academy of Arts features a woman artist for the first time, this period
of time is usually followed by an intense criticism of that individual. While
this seems logical to me, I don’t think Gladwell did a strong enough job of
illustrating the point, as his two prominent examples were the sexism faced by
Julia Gillard and the Royal Academy’s tokenism in the 1800s.
Gillard
definitely dealt with misogyny, and her speech on the matter in October 2012
has its own Wikipedia
entry, so it was effective and prominent. However, there are shades of grey
to the incident – like that Gillard’s effort served as a smokescreen for the crude
comments of someone in her own party – that Gladwell kind of downplays. Yes,
Gillard definitely dealt with unfair sexism, but it was self-serving of her to
address these while her own party was involved in a scandal.
The Roll Call. |
Likewise, I
think using sexism in the painting world in 1874 didn’t create strong enough
support for Gladwell’s arguments, although it was definitely a compelling yarn
that left me wanting more. The segment focuses on Elizabeth Thompson,
who essentially received strong attention from the Royal Academy and prominent
painting placement, but was never admitted as a member. The voting block of 40
old men probably had something to do with it. Her story was interesting, but I
had to hit up Wikipedia and other sources to learn more about her.
As
Revisionist History goes on, I’m hoping there is more focus on the individual
stories, and less tries at sweeping societal points. The basic premise of the
show – a look back at incidents that are wrongly recalled – is interesting
enough to stand on its own without delving deeply into psychobabble.
I’ve written about podcasts here and there,
and this
entry from 2014, after Serial finished, is still mostly valid. And hey, I
host a podcast! If you like pre-2000s video games, check out Your Parents Basement.
Want to support Steve’s blogging? Then
purchase something via the Amazon clickthru link for Your Parents Basement, Steve’s other
project! To read all of Steve’s past Inexplicable Movie Reviews, click here! For Inexplicable TV Reviews, click here! For Inexplicable Video Game Reviews, click here! And for Inexplicable Book Reviews, go here!
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