New York Times Opinion Piece Challenges 'Aging Poorly' Critique, Citing 2018 #MeToo Reassessments
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Jul 29
New York Times Opinion Piece Challenges 'Aging Poorly' Critique, Citing 2018 #MeToo Reassessments
1 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Jul 29
Summary
The New York Times published an opinion essay arguing that calling books, shows, opinions or movements "aged poorly" has become a smug shorthand that turns past error into present-day moral embarrassment.
The piece says the phrase often does more than mark something as wrong: it judges older work against current standards while ignoring that today's certainties may also be revised later.
Examples range from Irving Fisher's 1929 "permanently high plateau" market call—which the essay says failed too quickly to have "aged" at all—to comedy critiques of Looney Tunes for racism, sexism, violence and sexualized gags.
A 2018 Washington Post reassessment of shows such as "The West Wing" during the #MeToo era serves as a key case study, illustrating how cultural hindsight can recast once-accepted relationships as inappropriate or "problematic."