Toni Morrison despairs over the state of modern pop culture, said Ariel Leve in The Daily Telegraph (U.K.). The author says she admires Lady Gaga as an “art object,” but is less impressed with Madonna. She mentions the singer’s recent concert in Istanbul, where she flashed the largely Muslim audience. “She had a little tiny bra on, so she pulled it down and showed her nipple,” says Morrison. “It was all over the news. Everyone was screaming, ‘She’s so avant-garde.’ [But] it’s just a nipple.” Morrison doesn’t watch much television. “It’s so low,” she says. “People used to stand around and watch lynchings. We don’t do that anymore. But we do watch these other crashes, like those Housewives.” Morrison says she’s tired of entertainment in general. “I really want some meaning. You have to navigate just to find something that has nourishment. What do you [get] in place of nourishment? It’s usually junk. Junk food or junk clothes or junk ideas.” Does she have some sense of optimism? “I don’t have any,” Morrison admits. “But history helps me a lot, when you think about how it used to be.” She recently read a book about Britain’s King Henry VIII. “They just chopped people’s heads off!” she says. “Human beings are better than that.”
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.