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Tyz thinks Larry Flynt should stick to the dirty pictures
Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corporation
Mon, 16 May 2005
by: Tyz
Larry Flint likes to tell people that he is a simple "Smut Peddler" and that despite is success he still knows what drives the average man. He attributes the success of his pornographic empire to this knack for giving the public what they want. With the current resurgence of left-leaning political commentary books (thanks to Michael Moore’s brilliant Stupid White Men) Flint has seen another avenue to give us what we apparently want â€" but you can have too much of a good thing.
Flint has proved himself to be player in United States politics, and anyone who has underestimated Flint’s power to orchestrate a media circus has done so at their peril. From his early court battles over freedom-of-speech and libel (well documented in the film The People vs. Larry Flint) to his $1Million bounty offered for anyone who could supply incriminating information on key Republican Party senators, Flint has never shied away from controversy. Unfortunately this book just isn’t very controversial.
About a quarter of this book can be found in earlier sources, particularly those sections dealing with the illegitimacy of Bush’s first election win and the right-wing/corporate bias of many news organisations. Another 40% is actually interesting tales of Flint’s own experiences in the media, the courtroom and in politics. The remainder is mostly Flint saying how great he is, how great pornography is and how Republicans are evil. It is this component that gets tiresome and repetitive. We can only read so many times that Flint came from humble beginnings before you start to wonder who he is trying to convince. Remember â€" Flint made his money a long time ago and he has now been filthy rich for several decades.
Flint’s opinions on pornography and its role in society are “skewed” to say the least. While espousing all the positive aspects of erotica (Mr and Mrs Average spicing up their old sex life) Flint ignores the anti-social aspects of pornography, the abuse of some of its “stars” and psychological effects it can have on the mentally unstable. If you are going to write about an issue you have to tackle the bigger topics rather than just put forth your own opinion. This misleads readers and does them a disservice.
Another area where Flint’s bias leaves a sour taste is his writing on US party politics. While I do think that the American Republican Party is an evil, money-grabbing pack of hyenas â€" the American Democrats have their faults too. Many commentators have written on the short comings of the Democrats, and for Flint to write about them like saints and martyrs is subjective reporting at its worst. When you say you want to get the hypocrites, get them all or run the risk of becoming one yourself.
This book was written prior to the last US election, but did not see light on Australian shelves until afterwards. This rendered some of the book dated and irrelevant. To paraphrase David Hume, this book “fell dead-born from the press”.
Lastly, the back cover has various one line quotes from other authors saying how wonderful Flint is (not the book, just Flint). When you read the book however, you realise that some of the people slapping the author on the back are on his payroll, while others have had their own books praised within the pages of Flint’s work. You praise my book, I’ll praise yours.
by: Tyz
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