Tuesday, December 27, 2016

Carrie Fisher Died; Who Knew She was “Iconic”?

By Nicholas Stix

I feel bad for Debbie Reynolds. It goes against the natural order, for a mother to have to bury her child.

Carrie Fisher is famous, because she was born to famous parents, Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher.

Not so, according to The Forward, which tells us that she was “iconic”:

“Carrie Fisher, Iconic ‘Star Wars’ Princess, Dies at 60,” by Daniel J. Solomon, December 27, 2016.


Fisher had an undistinguished acting career, but proved to be a funny writer. Daniel J. Solomon has things precisely backwards:
Fisher played Princess Leia Organa in the “Star Wars” movies, becoming a cult figure to a generation of fans. She also starred in other iconic movies like “When Harry Met Sally” and Woody Allen’s “Hannah and Her Sisters.” For a brief time, she was also married to Paul Simon.

She also had a career in letters, publishing a popular semi-autobiographical novel, “Postcards from the Edge,” for which she wrote the screenplay. The 1990 movie starred Meryl Streep, Shirley MacLaine and Dennis Quaid. She wrote an autobiographical one-woman play and a book, “Wishful Drinking,” based on the show.

The daughter of singer Eddie Fisher and actress Debbie Reynolds, Fisher was born into Hollywood royalty in Beverly Hills. Her parents divorced when she was two after her father left Reynolds for actress Elizabeth Taylor.
The most important fact of Fisher’s life was whom she chose as parents; the second most important fact was her life as a writer; and the least important fact was her busy but forgettable career as an actress.

But why did The Forward even write about Carrie Fisher? The Webzine purports to be about Jews and Judaism, yet as a commenter points out, Carrie Fisher was a gentile.

I submitted the following comment.

Carrie Fisher was a funny writer (Postcards from the Edge, Wishful Drinking) and gave one memorable performance, that I can recall, in When Harry Met Sally. Conversely, I found her performance as the princess in Star Wars, one of the most overrated movies ever made, forgettable.

The notion, promoted by your headline, that she was an “iconic” actress, is ludicrous. Google’s dictionary defines icon thus:

indiscriminately use the phrase “iconic.” They told us that Madonna Ciccone was “iconic.” It’s been all downhill since.

“1. a painting of Jesus Christ or another holy figure, typically in a traditional style on wood, venerated and used as an aid to devotion in the Byzantine and other Eastern Churches.”

synonyms: image, idol, portrait, picture, representation, likeness, symbol, sign; More
figure, statue
"an icon of the Blessed Virgin"

“2. a person or thing regarded as a representative symbol of something”

Roughly 30 years ago, I started hearing media hypesters indiscriminately use the term “iconic.” Madonna Ciccone, they told us, was “iconic.” It’s all been downhill ever since.

If The Forward is in the business of making Jews look shallow, it is succeeding magnificently.



10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Didn't Elizabeth Taylor become Jewish to marry Fisher? Carrie would have been born of a Jewish mother then? Or was it that Liz was not biologically Jewish. This is the sort of stuff that makes it so hard for the goy.

Anonymous said...

OH, Carrie is the offspring of Reynolds and Fisher. So Debbie was not Jewish and neither was Carrie. So Carrie was not Jewish! Perhaps she identified as a Jew.

Anonymous said...

It's ironic the media uses "iconic" to describe Carrie Fisher.Moronic?Yes,in regards to her massive drug problem.Demonic?Some might ascribe that term to her behavior as well.
The media also decided that dead drug addict George Michael was "iconic" as well,on the shows I watched today."Legendary" and other lies.Want to know why?
No talent.The talent pool is so thin nowadays that two years ago,Pee Wee Herman was welcomed back as a huge Prodigal talent returned.(Not for long).
A look at guest stars appearing on late night talk shows,reveals that they are mostly unknowns--with little to say.Colbert brings on anti-Trump guests,because without THAT topic,they'd have nothing interesting to talk about.
Fallon is a waste of time.Writers are forced to put him in situations(like contrived banal games)that will not tax his brain to adlib a
joke--something he seems incapable of doing.Fallon makes Kimmell look like Don Rickles in the comeback department.
The point is,comedy entertainment is at a nadir I have never seen before.With Steve Martin,Jerry Seinfeld and Martin Short (and scant few others)getting into the late 60s and 70 age group,it's only going to get worse.
I've solved the problem--old "Tonight Show" reruns on Antenna TV.Best thing that's happened to late night TV since the "Tonight Show" originally began.I rarely miss it.
--GR Anonymous

Anonymous said...

If Hollywood says your iconic, you are iconic.

If you are Mel Gibson then you are not and never can be iconic.

Anonymous said...

jerry pdx
I couldn't agree more that Star Wars was one of the most overrated movies ever. I was never a big fan. It was OK for what it was but Lucas intended to be an homage to those silly action sci fi and Western action movies of yesteryear, nothing too challenging in the writing, just mindless, but well staged, fun. Personally, I preferred Star Trek, though only the first series with Nimoy, Shatner, etc... the dumbed down series that followed, that became progressively stupider with each iteration, I found less engaging and the current movies are the nadir, completely scrubbed of any intellectual aspirations and devoid of substance, just a corporate product designed to sell tickets in China as well as the US.

As for Carrie Fischer, I'm not a Star Wars fan so don't really about her much. She was a talented woman but like the recently departed George Michael she's responsible for her own early demise. Drugs, drinking and partying up a storm takes it's toll later on.

Anonymous said...

jerry pdx
Yet another white woman murdered by a negro. The band plays on....http://www.wusa9.com/news/local/dc/dc-yoga-instructor-found-dead-family-members-say/379025080
Notice the way the "news"woman calls it a "tragedy" and not a murder. If the perp was white you know she would never use that word.

Anonymous said...

Just read the story.She was in the wrong place(where a nig*er was)at the wrong time (WHEN a nig*er was).My condolences to the womans family.
--GR Anonymous

Anonymous said...

I'm sure the story Jerry pdx brought up, won't make the Negro Nightly News or the Clearly Black Slanted(CBS)News.
--GRA

Anonymous said...

she was nothing special when it comes to acting. come to think of it, no actor is really special just for acting. these people build themselves up when actually they are nothing special except to each other. I feel for her family but carrie fisher was never a great human being not did she accomplish anything great for humanity.

Anonymous said...

And sadly,breaking news:Debbie Reynolds passes away,1 day after her daughters death and hours after suffering,what was described as "a stroke".
Fox reports her last words were,"I want to be with Carrie".
Debbie Reynolds had been ill in the last year.I was reading up on her today and her granddaughter had to fill in for her at an awards show in 2015.A film about the relationship between Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds was due to be released in 2017.
--GR Anonymous