Thursday, May 15, 2014

"The Last King of the American Middlebrow"

"Today’s games feature far fewer questions in subjects like philosophy or classical music, statistically the most difficult categories. A recent Time study plumbing the trove of 'Jeopardy!' data maintained on a fansite called J-Archive showed that references to Albert Einstein peaked 15 years ago; newer episodes reference Justin Bieber more than twice as often. During the tapings I watched, there was a question about twerking, which Miley Cyrus had just weeks earlier brought into the boomer vernacular via her performance at the Video Music Awards. No contestant got a question about Samuel Coleridge correct, which might have been less noteworthy if they hadn’t been so quick to buzz in with 'Who is Dan Brown?' on the clue directly preceding it. A recent category—'It’s a Rap'required Trebek to spit verse: 'Ain’t. Nuthin.’ But. A. Gee. Thang,' he gamely recited, his diction as sharp-cornered as ever. It was funny. For the viewer, anyway."


Noreen Malone in The New Republic profiles Alex Trebek.

No comments: