On Thu, 24 May 2001, Louis Proyect wrote:
One of the explanations for the poor quality of Woody Allen's movies, Saul
Bellow's novels, etc., is that when you become a mega-star, an editor or
critic has a tendency to fawn over everything that is produced because of
prior reputation. Since these artists are ego-driven to begin with, you
can't expect them to correct themselves.
Is it any different with our academic Marxist superstars like Brenner and
Wood? With a lifetime of blue ribbon awards and graduate students showering
adulation on them, we must expect a decline in self-critical awareness.
I dunno, I seem to remember a time you thought the world of George
Comninel, who was one of Wood's star students. I guess now he might be in
contention for big bad guy, like Wood or Brenner...