Jim Cramer, host of the 'Mad Money' show on CNBC, makes an appearance on Comedy Central's 'The Daily Show with Jon Stewart' Thursday, March 12, 2009 in New York. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow)
So, right, uh huh, Jim Cramer and Jon Stewart and whatever.
You know what kept distracting me? Cramer's rolled-up shirt sleeves. This is a deeply phony, insincere person. The sleeves in this setting are so pointless, so exaggerated, so incongruous, that you really have to ask what it all means*. This is clearly symbolic dress.
Here's my interpretation: Cramer is under fire for being too chummy with those he is pretending to cover. Stewart, especially, has accused him and CNBC of pandering to the Wall Street crowd instead of truly reporting on them. Rather than giving real advice to consumers, in other words, they're playing cocktail party with corporate interests.
So to set himself apart from the super-rich bankers and brokers, Jim's lost the sport coat (which he was surely wearing before the cameras rolled) and rolled up the sleeves to present the illusion that he's a "regular working man." He's a laborer! A serious let's-get-down-to-brass-tacks, problem-solving guy! He's not a Wall Street crony, he's A Man of the People!
Except he's not. He's a TV host. And a phony who gave a lot of bad advice which cost everybody but him and his real peers lots of money. Jon Stewart was right: Fuck you, Jim Cramer.
*EDIT: Apparently, Jim Cramer always dresses down like this (except, presumably, when he's at cocktail parties), which I didn't know because I don't watch CNBC. So it's his schtick, his phony-populist schtick. The power of wardrobe, people!
11 comments:
I just watched it on the Friday morning repeat.
What you said.
Yeah!
Because I was so distracted by Cramer's stoopid costume (and had to wipe the blood out of my eyes) I had to watch it again.
What a clown.
To be fair, this is always his costume on the air, it wasn't just for his appearance on The Daily Show. But you are absolutely right, it's supposed to convey "hard-working guy and not a corporate suck-up", and that is, simply put, a lie.
Was this the same Cramer from Morning Joe and the Today Show? 'cause he needs to file a "Missing Balls" report...and get a butt plug since John tore him a new one.
Hmmm, a suit with sleeves rolled all the way down was good enough for making pastry with (convicted felon) Martha Stewart, but for Jon Stewart, no, he had to take off the coat and roll up his sleeves for maximum pastiness. It's just wrong.
Kind of like having two degrees from Harvard and whining about having to live in your car. There are several things wrong with this person.
Now, Michael Steele could actually call this guy an entertainer, from the clips that I've seen on the Daily Show.
Isn't entertainer a euphemism for asshole?
Stewart was wonderful.I'm not sure what to call him, but I love the guy.
p.s. He'd be better off with 3/4 sleeves. Above the elbow just makes him look slovenly. Intentionally slovenly.
How low is that?
The semiotics of fashion is a sadly neglected area. Good work, PSP.
Ratings for his batshit crazy show have really slipped since Jon Stewart exposed him as a corporate butt-boy.
I like that. "Corporate butt boy". I think I am going to use that line several times today. Yes, Cramer is one ugly assed bed sore.
Cramer's rolled-up shirt sleeves. This is a deeply phony, insincere person. The sleeves in this setting are so pointless, so exaggerated, so incongruous, that you really have to ask what it all means*. This is clearly symbolic dress.
I totally felt exactly the same thing when watching it. I said to my husband, Why isn't he wearing a real suit?
it's no different than K-Fed persisting in wearing his Man-pris.
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