Julie Courchesne writes about...

Image and Talent

The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the joy of a cheap price has faded. — proverb

Writing in another context on the subject of song rather than literature, Julie coincidentally gives a general response to Challenge 125, part 3:

Il y a quelques années on partait d’un talent pour confectionner une image, maintenant on part d’une image pour confectionner un talent (et on réussit rarement).		A few years ago, people started with talent and then made a public image, now they start with an image and then make the talent (and they rarely succeed).
Du moins, c’est comme ça ici. Des chanteuses à “voix” (je ne me considère pas comme telle), on n'en veut plus. On préfère des “pitounes” à la Britney, des groupes à la Blink182.		At least that’s the way it is here. Singers with a “voice” (and I don’t claim to be one) aren’t wanted any more. People prefer tarted-up broads like Britney and groups like Blink182.
Copyright © 2004 by Julie Courchesne

Thank you, Julie. You’ve summed up modern popular culture very succinctly! It’s not just in Hollywood, either; as you say, it extends all the way to Quebec, as well.

Has the sizzle of marketing replaced the steak of talent? Or has marketing become a post-modern art form all its own, as Kevin Ahearn implies in “New Tech vs. Old Lit.”? Does it extend beyond literature and music to other areas, such as computers? Politics? If both Kevin and Julie are right, are we then living in a pitoune of an age where the only substance is appearance?

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