Word: genericism
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...charges are justified. In a way, Thernstrom exploits the very person she sets out to elegize. She exploits Lee as a symbol of innocence, a generic representation of society's victimization of and violence against women. But as Thernstrom writes, "Elegies to reality are hard to write...
...despite these gimmicks and gewgaws, the new season seems dismayingly old hat. It's not just the proliferation of overworked characters and formulas: idealistic lawyers, precocious five-year-olds and family shows with interchangeably generic titles (The Family Man, Married People and Sons and Daughters -- try telling them apart). It is also the hollowness of the supposedly innovative stuff. The game this season is to grab the audience's attention, to make shows stand out from the crowd in some way. But the swatches of fuchsia and bright orange can't disguise the dingy old furniture underneath...
Though Ross's production occasionally falls into the generic failing of hollow dialogue and stale blocking, he does an impressive job with the cast. Lead Hopkins makes a strong showing. His performance is consistently focused, and though he perhaps lacks the haggard air the playwright intended for the character, he replaces it with a flawless befuddlement...
...twentysomething attitude toward consumption in general: get more for less. While yuppies spent money to acquire the best and the rarest toys, young adults believe they can live just as well, and maybe even better, without breaking the bank. They disdain designer anything. "Just point me to the generic aisle," says Jill Mackie, 21, a journalism major at the University of Illinois. Such a no-nonsense outlook has made hay for stores like the Gap, which thrives on young people's desire for casual clothing at a casual price. Similarly, a twentysomething adult picks a Hershey's bar over Godiva...
Hornsby's lyrical performance is also somewhat weakened by an occassional inane or meaningless chorus. "It's alright, it's okay, Hey don't you worry about a thing," just doesn't pull it. On an album which so brilliantly weaves homespun tales of Southern life, the inferiority of generic pop lyrics truly stands...