Entertainment

Entertainment is a huge part of our lives. We are constantly consumed by people spoon feeding us with things to fill up our open time. In this blog, we listened to Stephen Colbert in "How does Stephen Colbert Work?" Presented by David Plotz. We also read "Hots Michaels" from Studs Terkel's Working. In addition, I  chose "Jill Torrance" and "Bud Freeman" also from Studs Terkel's Working.

Stephen Colbert is a well-known comedian and that definitely shows through in his interview. Because I have listened to a myriad of Slate podcasts, I find it interesting to compare different interviewees and how well they articulate their work. Colbert is excellent at explaining what he does and making it amusing to listen to. One amusing thing Colbert says is comparing the script to a girlfriend and saying that sometimes a script won't "love him" and sometimes no matter how hard you work with a script, it won't give you what you need and you have to "break up" with it. One thing I found interesting is when Colbert was talking about interviewing people and he said "if you're interested, I'm interested" which is really scary. What if you get someone who's horrible to talk to? Colbert is a great example of someone who although has a bit of an unstable job, has obviously made it. He's the success story of the jobs that most of us are too scared to reach for and I think that's a great inspiration.

Hots Michaels, a hotel pianist, may not be a big time entertainer like Stephen Colbert, however, he seems very content with what he's doing. Michaels says, "If I were suddenly to inherit four  million dollars, I guarantee you I'd be playin' piano, either here or at some other place" (251). I think this quote really embodies what it is to be a performer. Even if you're not working in the best conditions or making the most money, there's really no feeling like getting to do what you love and show it to people.

Next, I read about "Jill Torrance, model" Torrance talks about her job and all of the different ways she has to comply to what other people want, which when it comes down to it, is what entertaining is all about. She quotes her photographer that says, "we want you to be sexy, coy, pert, but not too effervescent" (51). In this way, I can see all different types of performers getting this critique. Stephen Colbert might hear, "be witty, but not too quick, make sure the viewers can keep up," etc. No matter what type of art you're doing, you're constantly tending to what other people want you to portray.

Finally, I read about "Bud Freeman, Jazz musician." Almost as soon as the chapter starts, Freeman states, "I do what I do because I want to do it. What's wrong with making a living doing something interesting?" I immediately began to love this character. I think he embodies exactly what you think of when you think of a musician. Free spirited and independent. He also exemplifies another example of if you can do what you want for a living, absolutely pursue that. It won't always be easy or conventional, but it's worth it.


Overall, I would say that being a performer is a rewarding job. As an ex cheerleader and musician, I can really relate to performing; the good and the bad side. Nothing can make you feel more insecure than performing for an audience that doesn't care about what you're doing (which for cheerleaders is literally every audience in the history of ever- unless boys are staring at your butt or your mom came to relive her glory days). I also know that there's nothing more rewarding than the feeling I got when I would nail a piece on my violin and get to move up a chair in the section or when my whole orchestra would get ranked superior in our contest every February. Performing is a job that I think is very easy to fall into a love, hate relationship with. But at the end of the day, I think it's impossible for the hate to outweigh the love when you get to literally do what you are passionate about for your career.

Manual Labor

Thinking about manual labor typically immediately makes me want to cry. I'm not athletic or coordinated and I never have been. I think I've always just been destined to be a caregiver. Every job I've ever had has revolved around helping people and now my major is education. Can you imagine me doing heavy lifting and manual labor? Probably not. If so, you are really overestimating my capabilities.

For this blog, In Studs Terkel's Working we read about Mike Lefevre, as well as "Lincoln James, a Factory Mechanic." We also hear from John Lefever in "How Does an Appliance Repairman Work" presented by David Plotz.

Mike Lefever is a hard headed, hard worker who talks to about his experience working in manual labor. I find it interesting how much Lefever values his work, yet also refers to himself as a "dummy." Lefever also values the idea of being able to see the finished product of your work, "Picasso can point to a painting. What can I point to? A writer can point to a book. Everybody should have something to point to," (xxxii). I completely understand what Lefever is saying. It's very satisfying to have a tangible object to look to. However, I don't necessarily find that for a job to be meaningful, or for you to feel successful you need to have a tangible object. In addition, Lefever also seems to be a hard headed independent. He repeatedly states how much he hates to be "bugged" throughout his work day, "Stay out of my way, that's all. Work is bad enough, don't bug me," (xxxii). Although Lefever definitely seems like a hard worker, I'm not necessarily sure I would want to work with him for 8 hours every day.


In contrast to Mike Lefever seemingly only wanting to be alone, John Lefever from "How does an Appliance Repairman Work?" really seems to enjoy the interaction he gets from his job. To me, it seems that John really enjoys the puzzle piecing aspect of his job. He not only gets to check the appliances, he also gets to puzzle piece the people together. He gets to observe all these different people with all these different cultures and families and guess why their appliance has the problem that it has. Is it an appliance problem? Did the kids cause it? Etc. I would say both of these men are excellent workers, but when it comes to charisma, I would certainly choose John.

Finally, we have "Lincoln James, a Factory Mechanic." From Studs Terkel's Working. James very much values his work. He claims that he doesn't know what to do without it, "I look forward to going to work. I'd be lost if I wasn't working," (110). Personally, I feel that James is an excellent example of you don't have to love your job to find it meaningful. James seems to take pride in the fact that he's been working in the same place for so long and he doesn't seem to mind any of the conditions in his working enviornment.



Food for thought...

I think that Mike Lefever is a hilarious character. However, he obviously has some deep rooted (or maybe a little on the surface) violence issues. Do you find him likable or unlikeable? Do you think he would be enjoyable to work with?