Word: cliche
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...ruling cliché in writing about crime bosses - "the gangster as tragic hero" - was coined in 1948 by Robert Warshow, an extremely intelligent cultural critic, whose premature passing in 1955 robbed us of an invaluable voice. Warshow held that the classic movie mobsters (Little Caesar, The Public Enemy) were, in their essence, classic Americans forced by their status as the sons of immigrants to seek success and status outside the law, even though their style and motives were not so very different from the robber barons who found their riches in more respectable industries. The difference between the gangsters...
...What's especially worrisome to mental-health experts is that, because of gambling's roots in the region's culture, Asians may be more vulnerable to habitual gambling. The cliché that Asians, and Chinese in particular, love to gamble appears to have anecdotal and statistical support. Hong Kong - which bars casinos but has a $13 billion horse-racing, lottery and sports-book industry - has one of the highest per capita betting averages in the world (about $2,000 annually), according to figures from the Hong Kong Jockey Club. And rates of addiction appear to be higher. A 2004 study...
...loincloth (David Bowie). They turn to him even in the full knowledge that he is liable to ignore their lyrics and make a video reinterpreting their song with his own narrative. "All my ideas come from the sound rather than the lyrics," says Corbijn. Rather than capturing stars in clichéd poses, Corbijn has always gone to great lengths to tell the story he sees...
...think celebrity activism has become cliché? -David Barry, Armidale, AustraliaYou don't want to be a spokesperson unless you are absolutely committed to a cause because you can hurt it. I've been asked to help represent environmental groups. I'm a big proponent of cleaning up the environment. I have two electric cars. But I also have a big weak spot because I've flown on private jets. However, I welcome any of these dumb pundits who make celebrities out to be bad guys to a discussion about Darfur. Because I've been there...
There is something like universal agreement on this point: Paris is for lovers. Judging from 2 Days in Paris, the cliché's lone dissident is Julie Delpy, who wrote, directed, stars in, edited and took the stills for the film. She even warbles its end credit song. In her Paris every cab driver is either a sexist pig or a right-wing nut job, the outdoor market seems to feature more ickily butchered animals than it does flowers and vegetables, and the house Delpy's Marion and her American lover Jack (Adam Goldberg) shack up in belongs...