New York Times Article

[Celtic_Kit]

I think these reviews show an extreme lack of education on the part of the reviewers. They really don't understand the complexities of Irish culture or history. Celtic Woman does a great job of integrating the past and the present.

-Kit

[ferngully]

That writer must have been smoking Dulaman.

HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

[Trouble]

This is a comment that I wrote to in regards to the article that the Salt Lake City newspaper wrote on CW.  It was the same article that the NY Times did. 


I hope you know that what you wrote on Celtic Woman was highly offensive to me and some of the other Celtic Woman fans! The words you used were not very kind. Celtic Woman is a wonderful group of ladies that have class and they are not "tarty" in anyway. I did not like the way you said that "All she needs for her new career is a pole" to describe Mairead! Making fun of these Girls is something that is not tolerated as fans! These Girls deserve nothing but Praise for what they do and not someone who is going to degrade them like you have.

[ferngully]

good stuff

[Nero Angelo]

While perfectly acceptable to us CW fans, your arguments may have to be a bit more persuasive if you wish to win over more people.
Having said that, I do admire your tenacity in actually e-mailing the NYT.

[fireyred09]

While perfectly acceptable to us CW fans, your arguments may have to be a bit more persuasive if you wish to win over more people.
Having said that, I do admire your tenacity in actually e-mailing the NYT.

My sentiments exactly...

I think I'm going to shoot an email towards them this weekend. However, my plan is not to force them to enjoy CW, as everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I merely want them to realize that there is a much more civilized, non-humiliating way of expressing dislike towards someone/something than making blatant personal attacks. Is that a fair argument? I'll post my letter on here before I send it.

And kudos to you, Celticfan06, for actually sending one!!

[jsharp]

Katie,

I applaud CF06 for sending an e-mail but I also agree with you that the writer has every right to not "get" CW or even strongly dislike them. This lady gets paid to write her opinions and she doesn't like them. I served my country for six years to protect her right to say that. If she finds their music boring, fine. Many do. And if she believes the ladies get by on their looks, fine.

But her way of saying the latter was utterly misrepresentative of the women and the show. While the CWs are certainly sexy and sometimes playfully flirty (How do you think half the guys on this forum got here?), they are light years removed from the vulgarity and cheapness the writer implied. If anything, their stage images could be seen as representations of idealized beauty and unattainability! Even the writer who called them Stepford women had enough sense to discern that.

In a lazy attempt to be witty and picturesque (two things most writers desperately want to be) she went for the no-effort, lowball universal image of the pole dancer. And missed her mark by a mile. Wit requires actually hitting the nail on the head with just the right words. She did neither.

[Thomas]

I admire both of you for sending letters to the NYT.

Please remember that the NYT is a very liberal news paper and their agenda is to tear down anything of value.  I suspect that is most likely why they wrote and hit piece on CW.  They have more retractions with their articles than any other paper that I'm aware of and sadly to say most of the print media in the US follows their lead.

I look forward to reading what develops.

Thanks,


Tom

[fireyred09]

Johnny, I know all too well about wanting to achieve a certain level of witty humor in writing! And I completely agree that the writer of this article displayed no such characteristics.

My one question, though: Who was the writer trying to appeal to with this article?

[jsharp]

My one question, though: Who was the writer trying to appeal to with this article?

Oh, that's the easy bit: People who are predisposed to ridiculing anything that lacks irony, cynicism, or nihilism. People who call sincerity, positivity, and optimism "cheesy." In a phrase, the stereotyped image of a New Yorker.

The story is a bit two-headed. She wants to imply an expose (PBS puppetry yields prefabricated show) while alternating it with florid prose about how sickeningly-sweet-yet-crassly-sexual it all is. All this Penn and Teller-ish debunking appeals to cynics big-time.

[Celtic_Kit]

Oh, that's the easy bit: People who are predisposed to ridiculing anything that lacks irony, cynicism, or nihilism. People who call sincerity, positivity, and optimism "cheesy." In a phrase, the stereotyped image of a New Yorker.

Now who is stereotyping?  I think these people need what Celtic Woman sings about. It is a shame that they can't get past their own prejudices.

Remember it is easier to tear down than to build up. I really feel sorry for these woman. They appear to be bitter and angry.

-Kit

[jsharp]

Now who is stereotyping? 

That's what I meant. She thinks that's her audience.

[mainopsman]

 (How do you think half the guys on this forum got here?),

    Believe it or not, a lot of the men like the good clean healthy way the ladies do their show.  We also love their voices, and the talent they display.   Yes the ladies are very attractive, but men can also see the honesty they project.  And like I have previously posted " If I were to put togather a catalog of the kind women I would want my grandsons to find. The only pictures would be the ladies of Celtic Woman.  For they show intelligence, beauity, gentleness, grace, charm and class."

JIM

Katie,

I applaud CF06 for sending an e-mail but I also agree with you that the writer has every right to not "get" CW or even strongly dislike them. This lady gets paid to write her opinions and she doesn't like them. I served my country for six years to protect her right to say that. If she finds their music boring, fine. Many do. And if she believes the ladies get by on their looks, fine.

But her way of saying the latter was utterly misrepresentative of the women and the show. While the CWs are certainly sexy and sometimes playfully flirty (How do you think half the guys on this forum got here?), they are light years removed from the vulgarity and cheapness the writer implied. If anything, their stage images could be seen as representations of idealized beauty and unattainability! Even the writer who called them Stepford women had enough sense to discern that.

In a lazy attempt to be witty and picturesque (two things most writers desperately want to be) she went for the no-effort, lowball universal image of the pole dancer. And missed her mark by a mile. Wit requires actually hitting the nail on the head with just the right words. She did neither.

[jsharp]

(How do you think half the guys on this forum got here?),

    Believe it or not, a lot of the men like the good clean healthy way the ladies do their show.  We also love their voices, and the talent they display.   Yes the ladies are very attractive, but men can also see the honesty they project.  And like I have previously posted " If I were to put togather a catalog of the kind women I would want my grandsons to find. The only pictures would be the ladies of Celtic Woman.  For they show intelligence, beauity, gentleness, grace, charm and class."

JIM

Well, I did say HALF the guys!    As you said, "The ladies are very attractive, but men can also see the honesty they project." It's that ALSO that I was referring to. There's nothing wrong with being impressed by both.

I admire their wholesome show, too. That was the entire point of my problem with this writer making it sound otherwise.

[willow-jeeves]

How come the Salt Lake Tribune didn't have one of their own staff write about Celtic Woman, and what possessed them to use the New York Times article?  They did attribute it to the same columnist (and I use the term loosely) and cited the New York Times, so it's not plagiarism.

I don't read newspapers regularly, and this is a large part of why I don't.  Is this standard practice in the Newspaper industry?

I know most of these questions are somewhat hypothetical, but I had to ask.