just procrastinating

Tuesday, February 10, 2004

More about the Donald
Dahlia Lithwick at Slate takes a look at "The Apprentice" here and hits on most of the familiar themes. She adds a little bit about the guys:
But the least fun to be had on the show is among the young men, all of whom seem to be adhering to some 1950s code of business success: They wear suits. They call Trump "Sir." (Some of the women have taken to calling him "Donald.") They are respectful, if terrified, around the women. They have clearly grown up in an era of political correctness; if the ladies' hooker-gear offends them, they never mention it. Does it bother them that they could not have done to their female waitresses what the women did to themselves last week—dressed up in tiny "shooters girls" (a play on Hooters girls) T-shirts and insisted that Planet Hollywood patrons do shots with them? If the guys had asked women to do it they'd have been sued for harassment. Since when is sex a game only women can play? Does it madden the men? Who knows? They never say. They just trudge stolidly along, with their business plans and their management principles, getting their butts kicked and trying to take it manfully. These guys have nothing—not power, not sex. The currency that once counted for them—their MBAs and the ability to sink a 3-pointer—jingles like loose pennies in their pockets.
I question whether they are really "terrified" around the women; perhaps terrified of saying what they really think because they probably don't want to look like an ass on TV. I would bet that when the camera's are off, the guys spend their time talking about the following: detailed discussions about each of the girls, focusing exclusively on physical attractiveness, and how the games are rigged for the girls to win.

Since there can only be one winner, all of the guys can go back to their jobs knowing that they played by the rules, acted like professionals and lost. I don't think any of the girls will be able to do that.


 
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