Joel Stein
Joel Stein | |
---|---|
Born | Edison, New Jersey | July 23, 1971
Occupation | Columnist |
Nationality | American |
Education | Stanford University |
Spouse | Cassandra Barry (March 2002–present) |
Children | 1[1] |
Joel Stein (born July 23, 1971) is an American journalist who wrote for the Los Angeles Times. He wrote a column and occasional articles for Time for 19 years until 2017.[2]
Early life
Stein grew up in
Career
Stein's career began as a writer and researcher for
Stein sometimes appears as a commentator on television programs such as .
Stein taught a class on humor writing at
Notable columns
On January 24, 2006, the Los Angeles Times published an
In 2008, Stein wrote an article for the Los Angeles Times titled "Who runs Hollywood? C'mon", which mocked the
In July 2010, Stein wrote a humor column for Time in which he expressed his discomfort at the impact immigration of Indians has had on his hometown of
Slate magazine writer Tom Scocca wrote of the column, "To a charitable reader, it's clear that the piece was trying not to be offensive. Stein's description of his childhood small-town idyll before the mass immigration is deliberately fake-sentimental, describing lowlife white kids stealing things and getting drunk. He was trying to make more fun of white people than he made of Indian people." Nonetheless, Scocca wrote, many Indian-Americans received the column "as an unironic anti-immigrant rant."[17]
In May 2013, Stein penned a Time cover story titled "The Me Me Me Generation" about the narcissistic and immature tendencies of millennials, but how they will also "save us all."[18] The New Republic,[19] The Atlantic,[20] New York,[21] and The Nation,[22] criticized Stein for selective use of evidence, for making sweeping generalizations about the behavior of millennials, and for repeating claims that prior generations had made about the young people in their times.
Assessments
"I think he’s got the quirkiest sense of humor I see today,"
"Stein can occasionally be funny," wrote Variety TV columnist Brian Lowry when Stein was writing his column for the Los Angeles Times. "But what really bothers me about his work is that none of the ideas seem to have the weight to sustain a column. They're more like random musings str-et-ch-ed to column length ... Somehow, every column keeps cycling back to Stein's favorite subject—Joel Stein, and finding employment opportunities for Joel Stein."[24]
Stein "is not funny," wrote Tom Scocca in Slate, arguing that his "lack of funniness is the key to understanding any phenomenon involving Joel Stein. He is a bad and incompetent humor writer, a writer who lacks the basic ability to control his tone and persona. I know no one under 50 who does not hate him because of this." Scocca concluded, "Joel Stein is a soft writer in a soft gig, dressed up in an older generation's clothing, with an expired comic license in his pocket."[17]
"In a magazine whose regular essayists include such deep thinkers as Charles Krauthammer, Margaret Carlson and Roger Rosenblatt, Stein's column is decidedly lightweight," wrote the Stanford alumni magazine in fall 2001. "No one would call Stein's commentary sophisticated." Stein acknowledged, "My whole goal is to use Time magazine to make important people do stupid things."[25]
In an online column for
"I don't think I am a real journalist," Stein told Alex Kuczynski for The New York Times in 2000. "I feel like I am, well, whatever we all are now: I am a celebrity journalist." Kuczynski wrote that Stein's columns were marked by "bawdy humor, tasteless one-liners and something that can best be described as a sort of polished vulgarity."[27]
Depictions in popular culture
In 2000, The Onion spoofed Stein's persona in a satire whose headline was "Cocktail-Party Guest Cornered by Joel Stein."[28]
In 2014, Stein played himself on an episode of The Neighbors along with Lawrence O'Donnell and Bill Nye.
References
- The Huffington Post. Retrieved August 8, 2013.
- ^ a b Stein, Joel (November 16, 2017). "Hello, I Must Be Going". Retrieved October 8, 2018.
- ^ Black, D. Grant (June 15, 2012). "A wine-sipping, sensitive dad in search of real manhood". The Globe and Mail. Toronto. Retrieved August 8, 2013.
- ^ Stein, Joel (May 21, 2012). "The Best Book I've Ever Read". Time. Archived from the original on May 11, 2012. Retrieved June 2, 2012.
- ^ "Authors@Google: Joel Stein". YouTube. September 28, 2012. Archived from the original on December 12, 2021. Retrieved January 19, 2013.
- ^ Stein, Joel (January 24, 2006). "Warriors and wusses". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ "Joel Stein chat transcript". Los Angeles Times. January 23, 2007.
- ^ Steyn, Mark (January 30, 2006). "Now We Know". The New York Sun.
- ^ Fay, Michael D. (March 27, 2006). "The Next 'Best Generation'". The New York Times.
- ^ Stein, Joel (December 19, 2008). "Who runs Hollywood? C'mon". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 8, 2013.
- ^ Marks, Lisa (December 24, 2008). "Why it's still great to be Jewish in Hollywood". The Guardian. London. Retrieved August 8, 2013.
- ^ Berrin, Danielle (January 6, 2009). "Joel Stein hates Torah (but loves that Jews run Hollywood)". Jewish Journal. Retrieved August 8, 2013.
- ^ Weiner, Juli. "Time's Joel Stein Tries to Fit All Known Indian Stereotypes into Single Column". Vanity Fair. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
- ^ Stein, Joel (July 2, 2010). "My Own Private India". Time. Archived from the original on June 27, 2010. Retrieved July 2, 2010.
- ^ "Senator Menendez Press release". July 12, 2010.
- ^ Penn, Kal (July 2, 2010). "The "Hilarious" Xenophobia of Time's Joel Stein". The Huffington Post. Retrieved July 14, 2010.
- ^ a b Tom Scocca (July 6, 2010). "Joel Stein's Immigrant Problem". Slate. Retrieved July 8, 2010.
- ^ Stein, Joel (May 20, 2013). "The Me Generation". Time. Retrieved November 13, 2013.
- ^ Tracy, Marc (May 9, 2013). "Time Magazine Cover Story on Millennials Misses Mark". The New Republic. Retrieved November 13, 2013.
- ^ Reeve, Elspeth (May 9, 2013). "Every Every Every Generation Has Been the Me Me Me Generation". The Atlantic. Retrieved November 13, 2013.
- ^ Coscarelli, Joe (May 9, 2013). "'The Me Me Me Generation' vs. 'The Me Decade'". New York. Retrieved November 13, 2013.
- ^ Crockett, Emily (May 16, 2013). "Why Millennials Aren't Lazy, Entitled Narcissists". The Nation. Retrieved November 13, 2013.
- ^ "It's All About Joel". Stanford Magazine.
- ^ Lowry, Brian (February 6, 2009). "Why Joel Stein's Column Irritates Me". Variety.
- ^ Oxfeld, Jesse (November–December 2001). "It's All About Joel". Stanford Alumni Magazine.
- ^ Weiner, Juli (June 30, 2010). "Time's Joel Stein Tries to Fit All Known Indian Stereotypes into Single Column". Vanity Fair.
- ^ "Time's New Voice Sure Whines a Lot; Humor Columnist Gives Weekly A Truly Singular Perspective". The New York Times. January 10, 2000.
- ^ "Cocktail-Party Guest Cornered By Joel Stein". The Onion. February 23, 2000.
External links
- Joel Stein's official site
- Biography at the Los Angeles Times
- Biography at Time
- Joel Stein at IMDb
- Rumpus interview with Joel Stein