PublicPlanetBooks AserieseditedbyDilipGaonkar,JaneKramer, BenjaminLee,andMichaelWarner Public Planet Books is a series designed by writers in and outside the academy—writers working on what could be callednarrativesofpublicculture—toexplorequestionsthat urgently concern us all. It is an attempt to open the schol- arlydiscourseoncontemporarypublicculture,bothlocaland international,andtoilluminatethatdiscoursewiththekinds of narrative that will challenge sophisticated readers, make them think, and especially make them question. It is, most importantly, an experiment in strategies of discourse,com- bining reportage and critical reflection on unfolding issues andevents—one,wehope,thatwillprovidearunningnarra- tiveofoursocietiesatthismoment.PublicPlanetBooksis partofthePublicWorkspublicationprojectoftheCenterfor TransculturalStudies,whichalsoincludesthejournalPublic CultureandthePublicWorldsbookseries. How to Be an Intellectual in the Age of TV How to Be an Intellectual in the Age of TV The Lessons of Gore Vidal Marcie Frank DUKEUNIVERSITYPRESS Durham and London 2005 ©2005DukeUniversityPress Allrightsreserved PrintedintheUnitedStatesof Americaonacid-freepaper(cid:5) DesignedbyMaryMendell TypesetbyTsengInformation Systems,Inc.inBodoniBook. LibraryofCongressCataloging- in-PublicationDataappearonthe lastprintedpageofthisbook. For Michael Moon Contents Acknowledgments xi Introduction 1 1 ThePrintIntellectual 17 2 TheScreenIntellectual 41 3 AFineRomance 69 4 SexualPoliticsinthePrint-ScreenCircuit 91 5 TV:AnotherErogenousZone 111 Notes 143 Index 151