Wednesday, October 27, 2004
Media Whores Gone Wild!
The Mysterious Popularity of Mo Rocca
So I return from Atlanta and settle into the "big chair" to zone out and watch something semi-intellectual on the History Channel. Only there is no semi-intellectual program, just a program called "7 Ways to win the presidency" hosted by the seemingly omnipresent class C celebrity, Mo Rocca.
There's so much to rant about here that I'll have to break it up into two parts; 1) The very lame premise of this show, and 2) Mo Rocca.
First off, the show itself was nothing more than Mr. Rocca interviewing what could best be described as other media whores like Frank Luntz (A once powerful pollster for Republican candidates) and Jeff "I'll do anything for a dollar" Greenfield from CNN. I learned that Jeff Greenfield claims to have invented the term "Political Judo" and that neither Luntz nor Greenfield would advise a presidential candidate to 1) Eat sushi in public, 2) party their hair on the left and 3) plant tulips. Riveting stuff. I'm guessing that the underlying premise of this show was to present an irreverent and humorous look at some common trivial factors of our last few presidents. Unfortunately in execution (and that's definitely the right word-execution) the program was unbelievably lame and kind of insulting. Note: Viewers don't want to see third string media folk talking to each other about what they think of current political developments.
That brings us to Mo Rocca. Who the hell is this guy and why does he seem to be on every program on VH-1, TLC and occasionally CNN? This guy doesn't impress me as being particularly funny, nor bright, nor even blandly good looking. His sole skill seems to be his retro look and his squeaky-nails-on-chalkboard voice. His attempts are irony and satire are easily topped by a common house plant. His pseudo celebrity status has me both fascinated and horrified. On one hand I'd like to start a Mo Rocca-Must-Die Blog and on the other hand, I'd love to know who his agent is.
Alas, until then I'm doomed to see him take on such difficult challenges as being a celebrity judge on the "World's Most Talented Pets."
So I return from Atlanta and settle into the "big chair" to zone out and watch something semi-intellectual on the History Channel. Only there is no semi-intellectual program, just a program called "7 Ways to win the presidency" hosted by the seemingly omnipresent class C celebrity, Mo Rocca.
There's so much to rant about here that I'll have to break it up into two parts; 1) The very lame premise of this show, and 2) Mo Rocca.
First off, the show itself was nothing more than Mr. Rocca interviewing what could best be described as other media whores like Frank Luntz (A once powerful pollster for Republican candidates) and Jeff "I'll do anything for a dollar" Greenfield from CNN. I learned that Jeff Greenfield claims to have invented the term "Political Judo" and that neither Luntz nor Greenfield would advise a presidential candidate to 1) Eat sushi in public, 2) party their hair on the left and 3) plant tulips. Riveting stuff. I'm guessing that the underlying premise of this show was to present an irreverent and humorous look at some common trivial factors of our last few presidents. Unfortunately in execution (and that's definitely the right word-execution) the program was unbelievably lame and kind of insulting. Note: Viewers don't want to see third string media folk talking to each other about what they think of current political developments.
That brings us to Mo Rocca. Who the hell is this guy and why does he seem to be on every program on VH-1, TLC and occasionally CNN? This guy doesn't impress me as being particularly funny, nor bright, nor even blandly good looking. His sole skill seems to be his retro look and his squeaky-nails-on-chalkboard voice. His attempts are irony and satire are easily topped by a common house plant. His pseudo celebrity status has me both fascinated and horrified. On one hand I'd like to start a Mo Rocca-Must-Die Blog and on the other hand, I'd love to know who his agent is.
Alas, until then I'm doomed to see him take on such difficult challenges as being a celebrity judge on the "World's Most Talented Pets."
