A Cynic Looks at Childhood (Fran Lebowitz)

[@MrMjwoodford]

This woman should be allowed to go on TV and talk about whatever she wants for as long as she wants all the time.

[@Michael7878]

Matt Woodford Got "The Fran Lebowitz Reader" autographed at the Dallas, TX show on 8.1.17 @ Winspear Opera House #FranLebowitz

[@shivabreathes]

I completely agree!

[@MRayner59]

Amen to that. And, of course, she should also be Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

[@maryannesullivan975]

@@MRayner59 Hell no...She offers brilliant critique...with zero belief in redemption.

[@kkpaine]

Mary Anne Sullivan well said 👏🏼👏🏼

[@maryjensen5716]

I wish she had a podcast. I would watch every day.

[@velocitygirl8551]

Mary Jensen listen? I’d watch too 😉

[@adaclarke7334]

I think she means listen 👂 😜

[@viennaactress]

Fran doesn't own or know how to use a computer so don't think think she'll be doing a blog

[@allthatjazzspaz95]

She would never. Lol

[@Marie0575]

Podcast is for👂

[@JeffreyGillespie]

One of the many things that I absolutely LOVE about Fran is that she is totally fine talking about being a misanthrope....being slothful, being the things that many of us are but don't have the courage or individual fortitude to talk about publicly. I live like her...I made the choice not to have ANYTHING around me that needed taking care of, not even a plant or a goldfish....so that I could have time to sit and stare and think. We need more people like this.

[@turquoise770]

She wrote that she wished cigarettes already came lit.

[@caroldraper5017]

serendipidus1 i

[@tracylf5409]

People are uncomfortable in the face of honesty.

[@steveneardley7541]

I am reminded of the Daisy Steiner character in Spaced. It is so easy to get distracted, especially if you're not having fun.

[@jhb61249]

I love to sulk, but I feel bad afterwards and eventually I move my ass and do something. After its done, I realize I had not been sulking, but working it all out in my brain. The actual amount of time and effort to create is small, but the planning is great.

[@Redmenace96]

"Most revelations are not.... practical." Pure gold.

[@elcruzer5514]

Fran makes so much sense. You may not always agree with her, but she's the least hypocritical person I know. She doesn't pander to ANYONE. I have so much respect for her wit, intelligence and honesty

[@Arareemote]

A small quote from an interview awhile ago Interviewer: "Why are you always right?" Fran: "Because I'm unfair." It's always struck me because although she is incredibly outspoken in her opinions and, I daresay, inexhaustible cynicism, her reasoning that follows is often always objective. So, although you can find yourself disagreeing with her views and opinions. She does usually always have a point, lol

[@cherrycheung1434]

D

[@spanishstudiolanguagecente4751]

I can listen and watch Fran talk all day, any day..

[@summermen]

It is a great mistake to call FL a cynic -- she is a polymath critic and intellectual with enormous scope and depth of knowledge -- that sort of appetite does not spring from cynicism.

[@franceduffoo2867]

100%

[@w.urlitzer1869]

absolutely. a cynic doen't care like she does.

[@user-wb2yv7ll9d]

I don't think "intellectual" is a word that aptly describes her but I can see how some people might think that. She makes striking observations and describes them in an engaging way. That's not intellectual. This video labels her "Author/Humorist" which is accurate.

[@patricias5122]

Thank you! She is unfailingly courteous to her hosts -- who often ask inane questions, and I'm not speaking of this one by the way, only in general terms. But FL answers as if it's the first time she's been asked that. The way she speaks honesty of writer's block is moving to me.

[@davidbasset7557]

Polymath? Nah

[@rudyspective1870]

This interview was from 1994, but what Fran discussed here rings very relevant today. Her commentary on politicians, celebrities and the younger generation sounds so true.

[@Redmenace96]

Cassandra Syndrome? Nobody wants to hear the bad news.

[@missgolightly44]

“I like to have conversations up, not down.” Oh how I love her.

[@SophieBird07]

Fran is light years ahead of most!

[@networx7991]

I would title this... "From the Heart". Dear Fran Lebowitz... you are a true INSPIRATION to me. The very best to you, always. Thank you.

[@c.e.schlink9933]

She has such bulls-eye, observations on society. She is a "speaking caricature artist". Love hearing what she has to say.....the Strand bookstore talk about Michael Bloomberg was SO right on. I wish Fran would do a things where you can rent a movie (or buy it) and there would be a "narrative" that acompanies the film, with just HER commentary!!! She could do this this with hundreds of films, and we could hear her comments during the film!

[@deanmartin6682]

i wish i got half the poontang that fran has gotten ... she nailed tons of hot college girls who were in awe of fran who nowadays looks like alan greenspan with tits...

[@c.e.schlink9933]

Dean Martin What an intelligent comment. Thanks for sharing. Hope you get laid, maybe you will be nicer.

[@c.e.schlink9933]

Dean Martin Seeking validation for your virility on youtube?.......very pathetic indeed. Good luck.

[@kkpaine]

Dean Martin ugh!

[@elcruzer5514]

Great idea! I would definitely sign up for that. Listening to running commentary by Fran would be great

[@showmebear]

Fascinating lady. It never fails that some idiots will post the snide comments about her appearance or the "is this really a woman" stuff. So sad that one's idea of an attractive person is so limited and myopic.

[@seheabol]

showmebear I think she’s hot. Seriously but I always had a thing for Jewish women

[@elcruzer5514]

People have become so superficial. Too much TV. Lol LOL

[@elcruzer5514]

@@seheabol ME TOO!

[@tracylf5409]

That stems from "their" personal inadequacies and a whole lot of likely closeted, self-loathing-projection.

[@happynjoyousnfree]

"I even resist my own authority" OMG I need to do lunch with this woman LOL

[@terrycote8879]

I loved her comments regarding children and television. Spot on.

[@steveneardley7541]

What an amazing interview. She hits the nail on the head over and over. She sees the reality of modern childhood.

[@noneofyourbusiness8252]

I was shocked at the interviewer slyly twisting what Fran said about young people (as opposed to children). Fran was having none of her crap.

[@kkpaine]

None Of Your Business I don’t know that was intentional but more about cramming for the interview. To get these misinterpretations is ok because we learn more about what Fran means when she says something. A plus, since most of commenters can’t get enough of her.

[@orgirl2881]

None Of Your Business The interviewer was trying too hard to twist what Fran said in past interviews. Shame on her. Her journalism is tiresome and a drag to listen to. She misses and detracts from the value of Fran's viewpoints.

[@Dalsemien]

It was also much harder to fact-check in those days, before digital archives and Google.

[@constancemiller3753]

Fran asked what she was referring to. The interviewer replied with the source and time. Fran replied with the correction and how the line of questioning. This is the way it should work. Not a 'Google' hate squad threatens to have you fired or set on fire for 'saying something'.

[@marlenemeek9030]

Please tell Fran that I love her dry wit and always enjoy her interviews and refreshingly honest take on various subjects. She is funny, intelligent and highly creative in her take on life. I would love to meet her but she doesn't do Facebook. I think she would enjoy all the art that is to be found online but she loves reading so maybe it's for the best!

[@bobedwards7455]

She's too intelligent to go online..

[@skate103]

She's too intelligent to care😂

[@onitasanders7403]

This was one of the most relaxing and informative interviews I have heard with Fran. The interviewer should be commended for providing that calming atmosphere which made it very easy to engage with Fran. Not only did she listen to Fran’s responses but she gave the audience insightful information.

[@hypatia4754]

I can so relate to the anti-authoritative voice in your head that rebels even against your own authority. First person I´ve ever heard talk about it.

[@Redmenace96]

Me too. Her comments rang a bell! Why do I do that? I am 54 and am comfortable with self-talk. Two humans live inside of me. The one who operates and commands in this world, and then the one who comments on "WTF are you doing?"

[@patricias5122]

@@Redmenace96 I have enjoyed both of your comments, Hypatia and Redmenace96 -- I think I know what your'e speaking of. Same.

[@loopa7563]

wow, i am this woman, as soon as i got money for art i stopped doing it and now i can only express myself by talking to people because its always spontaneous and no one can shut me up or pay me to keep doing it. Massive authority problem, cant hold a job, as soon as something becomes a ‘should’ this visceral force comes over me and i need to get out of that as fast as possible. But, i have found that i can draw again as long as its only on scrap paper with bad pens and it doesn’t have to go up anywhere - as long as i owe no one nothing and can stop or start at any point without waste.

[@robertbarnier45]

Fran is the real deal.

[@ytugtbk]

Dated (1994) yet an outstanding interview.

[@tutonelylesnaranjo6311]

I don’t think hanging out and talking to people in your early years in NYC at least to me, would mean one is “slouthful.” Maybe one could call it being an evolutionary... growing at one’s own pace and in what that entails for in particular, you. It's always a surprise when someone in the media speaks the truth. We want more.

[@thecoloursofthemage]

damn she's awesome

[@judithtaylormayo]

I cannot believe I have never heard of you, but I am delighted to have discovered you. I moved to NYC 1973 from Argentina, knowing no one, and made a life for myself there. I really enjoy you dry humour and observances. Being aproximately the same age I fall into your way of thinking and enjoy listening to a person say what I think in a more appropiate way. I met Andy Warhol at an opening in a gallery where I worked, I neither thought much of him.

[@HayleyAMathiason]

A delight. Fran is a brilliant wit, observer, extremely stylish and a fantastic writer. Her books are fabulous and her essays are superb. Extremely witty and fun. ❤ She was my first crush and when I met her briefly I shared this with her. She was amused by this and very sweet.

[@lindas.martin2806]

I will always be thankful to my parents to allow me to try my hand at ballet, piano and painting, the latter of which led to a career in teaching art. And my dad did try to get me to play tennis, but the Florida sun was too hato for me. Fran makes so much sense and the way she clarifies, for example, for the Interviewer, her thoughts about young people , is done so well. The interviewer is so good too. what a pleasure!

[@bluekitty3731]

Love the local cable access channel vibe of this interview!

[@peggyolson6511]

she is smart and funny and I would love to go to those parties with her.

[@chopin65]

Fran is timelessly essential.

[@sebeckley]

I was very lucky because my dad took the tv away all the time and the house was full of books without any restrictions on what we read.

[@Redmenace96]

If you look at the world with clear eyes, and speak honestly? They call you a cynic. It is a lazy stereotype. it is similar to describing someone who is not a cheerleader, as someone who hates football.

[@rebeccareynolds3725]

Fran will never read any of these moments and she’s is ok with that. Brilliant!!

[@Valkonnen]

As one gets older, you find that most of the things that took up your conscious thought and caused such anxiety were ALL completely unnecessary. You also realize that 98% of the people that you thought were friends did not actually have your best interest in mind.

[@richardbhall8225]

I love what she says about not writing. I as a visual artist find it very hard to not do the work I should. Keep it up Fran.

[@michaelberta3153]

"Not writing is very time consuming". That's funny.

[@JeffreyGillespie]

So true, it hurts!

[@aaronying4989]

It is, you start to worry about it and get all antsy and nervous lol.

[@popvultureinc5007]

I adore her evaluation of our inner dialogue. She speaks from her own point of view but we apply what we need to and can.

[@ronneyrendon5045]

Wonderful interviewer = actually listens to the guest!

[@Redmenace96]

Amazing! I give equal credit to both sides.

[@loro9385]

She interests me because she is my age and yet has totally opposite experiences. We did not have a TV when i was young so i read a lot: similar, but my mother always worked. I was very close to my father. My mother taught piano, but I refused any part of it. I loved visiting NYC , but have absolutely NO desire to live there. I love where I do live (Iowa) which she considers an empty place.

[@goyaassfilms4551]

What she says about children and television is just as relevant today but with social media.

[@aaronying4989]

What she says about TV taking over and being so damaging is so true. Even more so with phones, it’s you can’t escape it! With social media and the internet so addicting and easily available even when you’re in bed. It’s really horrible. You can’t really be “off”. Or unavailable

[@Paylala]

“I could have not mastered almost any instrument given to me.” 😂🤣😂🤣 deaaad

[@kennywood9911]

"I could've not mastered almost any instrument given to me."

[@Redmenace96]

If she were on Conan? Laugh track would have erupted!

[@nancywysemen7196]

Really interesting interview. Host was excellent.

[@robbetts]

My god, I love this women.

[@hagfish_]

Marcia Alvar was such a pleasure as well.

[@louisanthony1145]

She’s always been such an amusing intellectual. 🤣

[@XX-zk2lf]

Such a remarkable mind.

[@gtx209]

Lebowitz has incredible memory so that worked out but here is another reason why interviewers should have direct quotes from the sources they wonna ask questions about in case they get their reading completely wrong by not reading very well or at all.

[@rhodadonovan975]

Posted 2014. Does anyone know when this was filmed? I have visual challenges, so even if it was on screen, I would appreciate the info here. Thank you. And, Thank you, for posting this.

[@colleenwhalen2924]

1994 she was 44 yrs old

[@w.m.aslam-author]

Her observations of the book 'industry' are acute. I bet the adult publishers never foresaw the success of Harry Potter! Children's books are 'real' books and now taken very seriously. How the world has changed.

[@FriendofDorothy]

Took one look at the interviewer's hair and chuckled to myself, "Ok this is gonna be fun." The minute they showed an unusually down-beat and rather exhausted looking Fran I thought, "Cool. This is gonna be like a chirpy lesbian Barbra Walters interviewing a prickly lesbian Oscar Wilde". The interview defied my silly and stereotypical expectations. Good interviewer and Fran on fire as usual. America has this weird narrative of children as little angels. No. They start mimicking the worst behavior of adults by the time they are in the 3rd or 4th grade. The innocence is short-lived. Their cruelty to one another can be surprisingly sophisticated.

[@perrycomeau2627]

A wizard of Poland from 1941 is not to be toyed with and very deadly. His children escaped by the inspiration of a ghetto boy Kaytek. Janusz Korczak was a very inspirational author for children at the time.

[@summermen]

"Every issue was a ski issue"

[@tracylf5409]

D*mn! Fran L is the best. Damn.

[@asalane20]

She is nonchalantly hilarious

[@daylinlott5723]

I was cheered by how Fran went after this interviewer, following her trying to push Fran on a misquote about children. In case you weren't listening, Fran indicted TV as a poor substitute for culture. And how that minor TV personality tried to not blush and squirm. And the bad influence of pro sports. At the end, the reporter shows her fangs (about Fran's book). What a bit of envy that was. Meanwhile, Lebowitz has a good writing legacy.

[@MoeGreensRightEye]

Ivan Drago interviews Oscar Wilde

[@Redmenace96]

You are too kind.

[@hatjodelka]

It's such a terrible shame that this book is out of print. A really interesting young American woman told me it was her favourite book as a child. I have looked at the possibility of buying a second-hand copy & getting it sent to Europe but I won't get any change out of $250. I'm curious, but not that curious!

[@hh7788ify]

The thing about children is absolutely true

[@h3llo968]

The way Fran was talking about Gen x can be applied almost word for word to Gen z and alpha but with iPads and tiktok instead of tv

[@annelikindlund9183]

I love her

[@easywind4044]

I like Fran but I think she wouldn’t care for me. That’s fine!

[@tonhommer]

An Optimist Looks To Growth

[@penelope2263]

The things she said about TV (always-on) apply to smartphones tremendously (the numbing quality)

[@Will-Yin]

What does she say at 24:36?

[@anniesap3143]

"The German jews wanting desperately to be gentiles?"

[@ThePricipleOfParsimony]

I wonder how she feels NOW about people with too much money. Hopefully..and likely different. But I digress, I could listen to her speak all day.

[@aaronying4989]

I always thought it ironic or wondered about her dislike of this even though isn’t she very rich herself??

[@themaggattack]

She's right about sitting for too long in front of the T.V. (or any screen on whichever device suits us these days). It really is something ppl get addicted to when they're depressed. And we let children do that, instead of getting out & playing or creating something. l spent way too much time as a child sitting in front of the T.V., dreaming I was a part of the Brady Bunch or Stranded on Gilligan's Island. Stuck in Re-runs. Don't get me wrong, I played, I did art, I did other stuff. But way too much T.V... and it's only gotten worse. Quarentine or no quarentine, I feel so bad about letting my kid just watch TV (all damn day some days) & not getting out enough. Just bc I'm depressed. I gotta snap out of it and live life more!! (Frank Zappa's song "The Slime" comes to mind.) However, I definitely disagree with Fran's idea that children's ability to learn language is diminished if their caretakers first language isn't English! That's SUCH a homogenized, colonial, WRONG old way of thinking! The more languages, the better! Children's brain synapses flourish with more languages. Not to mention they are more culturally inclusive and informed.

[@Redmenace96]

We shall reap, what we sow.

[@Redmenace96]

Where is Marcia Alvar, now? I think she is wildly talented as an interviewer.

[@heathermarsh3425]

she' she's great

[@darz_k.]

The interviewer sounds like Marcy from Married with Children - ..once you hear it, you cant un-hear it.

[@Trenchant468]

I so relate to resisting even one’s own authority. Oy.

[@perrycomeau2627]

Children want to be read to and play with physical toys like a picture puzzle or a train set. Go play bungee jumping with them. They like that. Adult children are much more difficult. That's my department.

[@tylerlately]

19:09

[@AlvaSudden]

It's painful to see the host Marcia Alvar not get Fran's jokes over and over.

[@keithnichols7926]

I think she got them. She wasn't overly demonstrative.

[@Redmenace96]

There is no audience, and no laugh track. You may be confused.

[@haydehabdolahian7691]

If I talk like her my grown ups kids would say ( oh mom you can’t say that! that is so rude ) but I think and talk like that ! but because I’m not a spoke woman I get in trouble ☹️

[@xyzllii]

ok...

[@mengdeng2454]

Fran likes her.

[@nicki66]

Fran was completely on point but the interviewer was poorly prepared. You cannot come to a Fran interview poorly prepared. She will eat you alive with her dry wit.

[@oneseeker2]

Unless she inherited a wealth of money, how is she living in her own place in NYC able to eat, entertain herself, ect!

[@quester09]

she's a marvel

[@rosemaryparker2567]

To bad she hasn't said anything about covid. It would be good,maybe she will.

[@GH-oi2jf]

She has talked about Covid-19. She doesn’t like the mask regimen, like everybody, but she went along with it. She is not one to give aid and comfort to anti-vaccine nuts.

[@Redmenace96]

@ 16:30 she breaks down Trump's appeal to the masses.

[@SaltyInterlocutor]

@27:12 - "There is some possibility - although I wouldn't bet any money on it - that [my novel] could be finished within a year." With such prescient instincts, perhaps Fran should have been a bookie rather than a writer…

[@azeemahnakhoda1869]

My real question is what did she do for money, other then being paid to talk and interview, which I can’t imagine have been enough to survive in New York.

[@tubeyou89119]

Depends on how much she gets paid for each talk/interview, and the loyalty from her books. That's not important. What's important is we give her channels to talk what's on her mind. It's refreshing to hear someone who is not interested in pleasing anybody.

[@SuperAnimelover100]

Is that Oscar Wilde ??

[@simtrate3959]

Arthur Rimbaud?

[@lugubrious5959]

yes they are

[@jennifervonpickartz2428]

I thank G-d for You

[@davidfradin4625]

Pinky Lee!

[@susanbettis4928]

Boy, I don't care for this interviewer. I cannot imagine what they are thinking by using her. She does not bring out the best in anyone. I also saw her with Edna Buchanan and she was very condescending. She literally looks down her nose upon her subject. Yuck. Whether she is or not, she comes across as supercilious. (It was also amusing to see her change in body language when they showed a clip from her interview with Calvin trillin during Buchanan's interview. omg). Please, please, stop using her. Had to cut this short because I could not watch her any more, and I love Fran, so I didn't like it at all....

[@euphoricatlast]

This interview was over 22 years ago...

[@breakers888]

And she has fat ankles, too.

[@KarenNewtonCanada]

Same here. I couldn't stand the interviewer.

[@roscoejones4515]

She was on a book tour, doing these local interviews, no doubt just before a book signing at a local bookstore, all over the country. I'm sure she had much worse interviewers than this woman. It's just part of the job.

[@keithnichols7926]

This interview was 26 years ago, and since then, Fran has endured some pretty clumsy interviewers that make Ms Alvar look pretty good.

[@kachi2782]

PM'TV , or more accurately, PMT'V

[@richgaudi1111]

I miss Tammy Faye Baker

[@supercalafragulisticexpeal6850]

What an abrupt and rude ending.

[@randygeyer7673]

Fran Lebowitz hates bicycles

[@peteroconnor6394]

she talks like ben shapiro

[@skeptigal2785]

I don't think she's a cynic. She's probably an INTJ.

[@victoke]

watched

[@MartinHomeVideo]

Two power lesbians. One trying (a bit) to pretend femininity another doesn’t bother at all. Amazing though. Fran is awesome.

[@historia9275]

Welcome back to "Lesbian Book Review"...

[@CC-ed4ir]

The conversation here is so dated compared to 2021. The impact of TV in the 90's was nothing compared to social media.

[@perrycomeau2627]

I do not like furniture. It's just a bunch of baggage that doesn't even know how to act.

[@Danzamagu]

The 90s were so bad in fashion and design...

[@Redmenace96]

Yep.