(OFF) OMG USA improving???

[Jonathan Smith]

I am glad you cleared that up for me! The media will have moved on soon to
more trivia and propaganda. The same apples to Matthew Wright no doubt.

On 15 December 2011 18:43, Mike Holmes <fofp at staffmail.ed.ac.uk> wrote:

> On 15/12/2011 09:58, Jonathan Smith wrote:
>
>  It *was* great publicity for Clarkson-- the 'controversy' may even have
>>
>> been intended. In context or not, as a friend of Cameron, the remark
>> likely
>> reflected his opinions, although I don't mean he actually wanted to shoot
>> anybody.
>>
>
> There are two Jeremy Clarksons. One is the guy on Top Gear and the column
> writer in the comics. That Jeremy Clarkson would line up the entire
> membership of Greenpeace against a wall and shoot them from a sports car
> moving at 160mph (he'd also shoot anyone who wants to measure this in kph).
>
> That Jeremy Clarkson is a character played by a chap also called Jeremy
> Clarkson. The normal downside of one's stage name being the same as one's
> real namee is that it confuses people. However the peculiar nature of
> Clarkson's act and target market actually requires some such confusion
> because part of the joke is that people aren't permitted to know whether or
> not the real Jeremy Clarkson thinks the same way as his stage character.
> Thus he can say "Let's shoot all the public workers" while winking at those
> who believe they're in the know, but aren't quite sure. The joke would fail
> were people sure and, because he uses variations of the joke again and
> again as part of his brand of entertainment, he must maintain doubt by, as
> it were, speaking in character when not in fact in character.
>
> As it happens I know someone who knows the man, and he's pretty OCD about
> recycling.
>
>
>  As you say, misjudging controversial remarks does go with the job.
>>
>
> Yup. The media will have moved on by the weekend if they haven't already.
>
>
> FoFP
>
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