cover of episode Introducing Critics at Large: The Myth-Making of Elon Musk

Introducing Critics at Large: The Myth-Making of Elon Musk

2023/10/4
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Vincent Cunningham, Alex Schwartz 和 Nomi Frye 认为，沃尔特·艾萨克森撰写的埃隆·马斯克传记，与其说是对马斯克生平的客观记录，不如说是对科技创始人神话的再现。他们认为，该传记缺乏批判性视角，对马斯克的观点和行为缺乏足够的质疑，并对马斯克家族的历史背景和政治观点处理不当。他们指出，传记中对马斯克“星际扩张”论调的接受，以及对马斯克将公共领域事物私有化的行为的默认，都反映了作者对科技创始人神话的认同。他们认为，传记未能充分展现马斯克的个人成长经历对其行为的影响，也未能批判性地审视马斯克的政治观点和社会影响。 Alex Schwartz 认为，艾萨克森的传记写作手法如同“骑着机械公牛”，试图抓住马斯克人生中的每一个细节，但最终导致了叙事主线的丢失和视角的缺失。她认为，传记缺乏对信息的消化和整合，呈现出未经处理的素材堆砌，并且作者似乎未能充分理解某些技术细节。 Nomi Frye 认为，艾萨克森的传记对马斯克的“星际扩张”论调缺乏批判性检验，将其视为既定事实。她还指出，传记未能批判性地审视 Musk 将公共领域事物私有化的行为，以及未能充分展现马斯克的个人成长经历对其行为的影响。她认为，艾萨克森对马斯克家族历史的处理存在问题，轻描淡写了其祖父的极端政治观点，这反映了作者对科技创始人神话的盲目追捧。

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The hosts discuss Walter Isaacson's new biography of Elon Musk, focusing on how it reflects ideas about power, money, and cults of personality, and how the myth of the tech founder is portrayed.

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In this bonus episode, the hosts of Critics at Large dissect Walter Isaacson’s new biography of Elon Musk), asking how it reflects ideas about power, money, cults of personality—from “Batman” to “The Social Network).” The critics examine how, in recent years, the idea of the unimpeachable Silicon Valley founder has lost its sheen. Narratives, such as the 2022 series “WeCrashed),” tell the story of startup founders who make lofty promises, only to watch their empires crumble when those promises are shown to be empty. “It dovetails for me with the disillusionment of millennials,” Fry says, pointing to the dark mood that the 2007-08 financial crisis and the 2016 election brought to the country. “There’s no longer this blind belief that the tech founder is a genius who should be wholly admired with no reservations.” 

This is a preview of The New Yorker’s new Critics at Large podcast. Episodes drop every Thursday.