Those anxiously awaiting the return of Duchess Meghan and Prince Harry will be relieved by the news from Netflix. It's been two years since he released a disappointing documentary about the couple, and he's squeezing a little more juice out of his $100 million Montecito lemon before his streaming service expires.
The Duke of Sussex will present a program about polo. After immersing himself in the California woo-woo, he must be grateful to be back in the familiar world of hoofs and mallets. Meanwhile, Duchess Kate is set to launch a new series celebrating “the joys of cooking, gardening, entertaining and friendship”.
In other words, lifestyle. What else could there be? The announcement comes shortly after Markle launched a new brand with the ridiculous name American Riviera Orchard. If the trademark filing is any indication, ARO (presumably pronounced like “arrow”) will soon be whipping us cookbooks, linens, jams, stationery, yoga mats, nut butters, and more It will happen. Traditionally, celebrities endorse something. Nowadays, various things are used to support the celebrity. Why buy boring ordinary bird seeds when you can get Markle's sparkling Imprimature seeds?
If you are beautiful and famous, the lifestyle is an attractive prospect. You will be able to run a store where you can set your prices based on your aura rather than the nature of the products you sell. Markle is following the path blazed by Martha Stewart and paved by Gwyneth Paltrow.
Before going to prison and redeeming herself, Stewart had visions of some sort of proto-tradwife, a wallpaper-and-muffin blonde. Paltrow added some nonsense about vaginal steaming, but it was basically the same idea. The lifestyle is supported by the concept that these scent gurus not only have something to sell you, but that they are better than you in every way.
Her lifestyle is unique in the Instagram era. As author Daisy Alioto has put it, it's “fueled by unprecedented visibility on social media, which has made private consumption more public than ever before.” Meghan's life only makes sense if you can actually see her live it, which is made much easier thanks to Instagram posts and the Netflix series. The genius of her is that it never ends. No matter how many yoga mats she buys, she still doesn't look like Meghan Markle, have her friends, or have a big house in California. What makes her rich will make her customers poor and miserable, which is not much of a lifestyle.
The irony in Markle's case is that she is following an old tradition in a roundabout way. Even before the word “tablescape” was coined, the royal family has always led the way in taste in clothing, gardening, architecture, and entertainment. The original British lifestyle brand is a Royal Warrant. This is how you know and let us know that you drink the same tea, eat the same shortbread, and use the same trowel as the monarch. Before TikTok, the coat of arms was enough. Promoting yourself as a lifestyle icon may be boring and commercial, but it may also be the most dignified thing the Duchess of Sussex has done.
The joy of bad reviews
There's nothing like a great piece of literature. American critic and novelist Lauren Euler made a name for herself with her sharp criticism of other writers, including best-selling Irish novelist Sally Rooney.
Over the past two weeks, Euler has noticed a shoe on his opposite foot. Her new collection of essays has received glowing reviews. No judgmentin washington post and book forum. The latter in particular was so harsh that it was spread samizdat-style within WhatsApp groups.
I don't think the Oilers care. She calls herself a “snob” and she complains about the cowardice of modern criticism. But it's nice to be taken seriously by her, even if you disagree with her own views. Both reviews were sharp, well-founded, and elegantly written. Furthermore, the interest shown by readers in this work proves Euler's point. In other words, we need more literary elements, not less.
