Thursday June 14, 2007

George Saunders, American

An interview I did with author George Saunders for Stay Free! magazine is now online. This is the second interview I’ve done with him (the first—from seven years ago—can be found here), and he always has smart things to say. He’s also a genuinely nice guy.

This time around, we talked about 9/11, reality TV, Buddhism, and hope. Stuff like that. What sticks with me, however, is his observation that reality television “is like a play, but it’s a play that isn’t designed to do anything except agitate you so you can’t stop watching it.” As if to illustrate that point, VH1 rolled out The Springer Hustle months after our conversation. The show is a great (and chilling) look at how the plays Saunders describes—plays that produce only agitation—are produced.

Posted by jim at 04:06 PM ||