Page 22
{The Blue Banner}
Everyone should go Gaga for Pee-wee
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Alyssa Spencer
Afspence@unca.edu
Managing editor
If Lady Gaga is allowed to parade
around in public in nothing but a meat
suit, society should have no qualms
about letting a 58-year-old man
perform in a skinny gray suit, red bow
tie, white platforms and lipstick.
Pee-wee Herman is back after an
almost 20-year hiatus, and he should
be welcomed back wholeheartedly.
Paul Reubens, the creative
mastermind behind the classic ’80s
man-child, is reviving his career
by bringing his playful alter ego to
Broadway.
Though reviews have generally
been positive, some people are
still too wrapped up in Gaga-esque
artificiality to truly appreciate an
innovative performer of Reuben’s
caliber.
As The New York Times laments,
“The stage show featured little in the
way of adventure, which is to say
plot. A string of unrelated diversions
can be perfectly pleasing in a half-
hour dose, but after 90 minutes I
began to feel like a fidgety kid in need
of an Adderall fix.”
And yet people find a Madonna
wannabe who dresses in bubbles and
latex entertaining? At least Reubens
created a world his fans could become
lost in. Pee-wee invites his audiences
into a world so completely and
uniquely his own that they forget their
real grown-up problems and catch
Reubens built his performance
persona from the ground up —a
testament to his creative mind and
performing talent.
themselves mimicking his playful
mannerisms. Pee-wee is endearing,
has charm and a unique brand of wit.
Lady Gaga has gravity-defying
shoes, the speaking voice of
an 80-year-old chain smoker,
immeasurable feigned European
pretension and the uncanny ability to
copy artistic performers of the past.
So why does society drool over
Lady Gaga and underappreciate Pee-
wee Herman?
In interviews, the people behind
these infamous personas admit to
being self-proclaimed oddballs during
adolescence.
Gaga told everyone from Barbara
Walters to Ellen DeGeneres that she
felt “like a freak” during high school,
and Reubens said he felt like a misfit
during his childhood. Gaga makes no
secrets about her drug use and the fact
that she used cocaine as songwriting
inspiration. Reubens was arrested
after exposing himself in an adult
movie theater.
And yet, despite these illegal
activities, the public largely sees
one of these people as a brilliant
entertainer and the other one as a
creep or a pedophile. The fact of the
matter is that the public is applauding
the wrong performer.
Lady Gaga’s entire schtick is
unoriginal, down to her name, which
was extracted from the Queen song
“Radio Gaga.” She wears outlandish
costumes, makes outrageous
statements and uses publicity to •
further her career.
Does nobody remember when
Madonna; David Bowie and Elton
John did the same things mere
decades ago, before Lady Gaga was
even bom?
By stark contrast, Reubens built his
performance persona from the ground
up — a testament to his creative mind
and performing talent.
He had no model to refer back to
in creating Pee-wee, because the
character of Pee-wee had never been
done before.
Should Reubens and Gaga ever
meet face to face, Reubens should
stand proud knowing he has built a
legacy.
The person on the other end of the
handshake achieved inauthenticity
before her 25th birthday.
Jeter
continued from from page 21
season and is not expected to get any
better. This point is amplified when
the Yankee captain’s age is taken
into account. The man is 36 years
old. That’s not old, but in baseball
years, it’s time to start looking into
retirement homes.
At the rate of $15 million per
season, on a three-year contract,
the Yankees are already willing to
overpay a now less-than-average
player nearing the end of his career.
As citizens of a developed nation
and benefactors of an advanced
society, Americans are entitled to live
well. But, it’s the gross excess some
exemplify that borders on disgusting,
and sometimes far surpasses it.
So what does it say about New
York’s “good guy,” when $45 million
just isn’t enough?
Everyone’s got their own idea, but
it goes to show that no one is immune
to greed.
Whether it’s people camping
outside of Best Buy hoping to save 50
bucks on an LCD TV they don’t really
need, or Jeter scoffing afthe notion of
a measly $45 million paycheck, every
single person is a victim of the human
impulse known as selfishness.
Yes, money is nice. It generally
makes living a whole lot easier, but
it’s not the thing that will ultimately
make anyone happy at the end of the
day.
Could professional athletes live
off a couple hundred thousand a
year? Sure they could. In fact, that
might still be overpaying them.
Could most people survive without
the things on their Christmas
lists? Yes. Everyone enjoys gifts, but
the Christmas season has become an
annual corporate heyday.
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