Charlie Rose interviews David Foster Wallace, 4/4

Charlie Rose interviewed the late David Foster Wallace, a contemporary American author, on March 27, 1997.
DFW: If you wanted something really exciting or sexy, there really isn't much. I just got really unhappy-
CR: But you were-I mean, it was drugs, you were suicidal, and the whole nine yards, yes?
DFW: Yeah, here's why I'm embarrassed talking about it-
CR: I want to know why.
DFW: Not because I'm personally ashamed of it, but because everybody talks about it.
DFW: The people who most interest me now are people who are older and sort of been through a mid-life crisis. They tend to get weird because the normal incentives for getting out of bed don't tend to apply anymore. I have not found any satisfactory new ones but I'm also not getting ready to jump off a building or anything.
CR: Well that's good news.
www.charlierose...

[@frozensnakee]

whenever i watch an interview with this guy i get a vocabulary boost for the next thirty minutes.

[@squirrel00713]

"Whatever you get paid attention for is never the stuff that you think is important about yourself anyway"

[@СергейСергеев-ф1ъ5х]

“People always clap for the wrong reasons.” ― J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye

[@sgorillagoat]

He says this so quickly that it doesn't even seem important, yet it is one of the strongest things he's said in this interview.

[@Syzygy17]

the root of his torment

[@jaymudie6761]

Or worse, shame.

[@AxmedBahjad]

@@sgorillagoat Or the interviewer was not observant to pick it up... Heavy weight.

[@PhiloInfinitum]

I always appreciate Charlie Rose when he is interviewing a true heavyweight thinker. He isn't careful, and I don't think truly intellectually outstanding minds need or even want a nurturing interviewer.

[@herbertwells8757]

Tyler Hislop I think you mean some people can be interesting without a good interviewer, which Rose certainly is not. I don't think it depends whether the person being interviewed is a "heavyweight thinker", though, it just depends how forward he is. In any case, this interview is a waste of time.

[@hklinker]

I can relate. I made more than 100 public affairs documentaries that got very little feedback. I was recognised often though for showing up at the end of a long documentary-making day to read the nightly news at the same tv station. People thought my whole job was getting ready for that when it was simply the last thing I did before going home.

[@nmrn148]

what a horribly prescient ending

[@ck88777]

@@Paracelsus23 You have to keep in mind the time constraint and him not wanting to go down another rabbit hole, especially one that is so deep. I can't really think of a way to wrap it up at that point without sounding insincere.

[@junka22]

Interesting interview, thanks for the upload. R.I.P David Foster Wallace

[@hsiehkanusea]

I appreciate what appears to be DFW's aversion to being self-indulgent during an interview, even if it works against being in an interview. That's sort of an impossible paradox for him and he looks uncomfortable but it's arguably great dark humor.

[@acinodras]

This was great - thanks for putting it up!

[@owenwilberforce6138]

The sense that DFW was already world weary is apparent to me here in this video. He was able to put his angst in context and part of it was his reluctance to be seen as vain or egotistical. His triumph was rising above the media saturated culture and commenting forcefully as to how to catapult himself over the babble and call out mainstream culture as a relentless conduit for commerce. And yet, his approach is in keeping with all great authors, by finding a moral in any story. We are all awash in product but at least we can see through it by allowing the subconscious its free rein as Lynch does. Being yourself means honoring your right to comment on what is before you, and he was the voice perhaps of the postmodern or post baby boomer generation. Not in biting the hands that feed us but pointing out that the hands are as capable of pickpocketing us as they are of comforting us.

[@omegapointil]

Wallace is amazing. Every sentence in his free associations quotable. My life is so boring I could nearly set it aside and spend the rest of it listening to interviews of his and reading his books. I think I'll start.

[@AndrewLeland]

Och, that last line of Wallace's is just brutal.

[@Ace7XX]

totally agree man i've listened to this interview on like 7 different occasions

[@chives422]

:( the last thing david reflected on, about how he was sort of writing purposelessly, that made me really sad. i can relate to that in a morbid sense whenever i think "what is the purpose for anything?" but i also feel empathetically, i want to give him a big hug and tell him it's okay ://, and remind him of his meaningfulness. he was an asset to the human race

[@ooLevityoo]

02:47 channeling anger into rolling up sleeves

[@Trudgemank]

Listen to his speech, This Is Water. I believe its not about thinking too much, but rather a conscious choice of what you think about.

[@iain2080]

Always odd to hear someone reference suicide that later went on to do it

[@scag15]

Same.

[@Gh0stH0rs3s]

1:53 - 3:56 Heartbreaking. So ominous as well. I'm speechless.

[@elcapitanp]

4:16 "The people who most interest me now are people who are older, and that have sort of been through a mid-life crisis, they tend to get weird, because the normal incentives for getting out of bed don't tend apply anymore."

[@carlodave9]

Cut Rose some slack. Imagine how many self-hating artists he has to get chatting, on schedule, in front of four studio cameras, day in and day out. DFW is wincing like he's being pilloried because he hates himself, not because Rose was being insensitive.

[@Ajetoification]

I don't like the way you formulated your conclusion but strangly I get your point precisely the way, I hope, it was intended. He is self hating in a way but the feling I got is that he dies to talk about all this but in a way hates he has to do it. Strange predicament indeed.

[@el6178]

@@Ajetoification You sound a bit like Wallace..

[@Vgallo]

Can’t believe this has so few views.

[@werdna1218]

Brilliant. Wallace's response to Rose's final series of questions is somewhat haunting.

[@mhbackman]

It's horribly sad that in nearly every interview DFW makes a comment about suicide. He does it jokingly but he's deadly serious underneath the cheeky smile.

[@scag15]

Charlie Rose asking him that last series of questions seemed misguided, bordering on cruel. At the same time, Wallace’s response is a sad historical record in light of what followed.

[@jakkelyd]

great stuff, thanks

[@FunnyCowboyDance]

I think Rose did a very good job of interviewing Wallace. Wallace was obviously uncomfortable, but you have to realize that he was just an uncomfortable person. Rose was confrontational, but not in a negative way. I think you would have to be to keep up with Wallace's massively encyclopedic and superior brain.

[@ddroog]

he seemed at ease with rose tbh

[@mfjonkfiction8173]

Being this self-aware isn't good for anybody; juxtaposing the earlier talk on Lynch and the banality of evil, I understand his exhaustion with the suicidal addict creative-type cliche, but I don't know, the larger cultural implication of this sort of thing freaks me out... thanks for uploading, THE PALE KING is a great work I think.

[@edb5s]

@3:10, the sentiment he expresses is reminiscent of Lamont Chu's talk with Lyle in Infinite Jest.

[@dalaimama212]

The embodiment of irony: "...I'm not getting ready to jump off a building or anything."

[@honeybozo]

4:34 : understanding the physical shirk - opening up on national tv about not being suicidal and then getting dismissed like a recalcitrant 12 year old..... Charlie's got a heart of gold - unfortunately it's totally lacking in empathy

[@cynthmcgpoet]

I'd like to do the same during the summer. I've already registered at the Harry Ransome Center, and would like to spend a few days perusing the DFW collection. As a creative writing grad student, I would find that as a refreshing pilgrimage. (Mental note: write satire of Canterbury Tales, but centered on a group of DFW devotees trying to outdo each other with fantastic stories of their own.)

[@Metalhorn]

Wallace's explanation of the appeal of Blue Velvet, and how it is a momentous bit of authentic art that "sets your nerve endings on fire," is perfect. I somewhat understand the idolatry that sprung up after Wallace's death, but the adulation is misplaced energy. His point about postmodernism being wrung out is correct, but Western culture is still hung up on/in it, and there's nary a voice leading us to the promised land. :( Sadly, David isn't around anymore to help point the way forward.

[@rebeccalauffenburger9680]

jeez wben he said he wasn't getting ready to jump off a building yet, just...jeez.

[@goodvibesallround]

I agree with David about rehab being cliche, but I think Charlie was interested in his development as a writer and how these feelings effected him.

[@tmullen28]

3:30 is an explicit reference to his impetus for writing The Pale King.

[@EnglishwithZakirAli]

Can anyone explain it plainly? I'm unable to get him perfectly

[@honeybozo]

@KennyReddwooddforest appreciate your comments - dont know much about Rose as I am not stateside; but your heart comment does make sense 'suppose that would be a real wake-up call for anyone. Wallace certainly was for real; he probably wouldn't have checked out the way he did, if he wasn't. Still haven't finished his Jest....

[@Attakijing]

@sebastianquilt he's just got really bad anxiety dude. that's why he said specifically he can't handle hard drugs. anxiety is kind of like evil creativity. it requires you to be really creative in inventing scenarios where things will go wrong. "what if this happens then this then this and then everyone will see me as being pretentious" is obviously something he goes through throughout this whole interview. It seems like the curse of a truly creative person.

[@ashaman5]

@profligacy24 "hoary, old" he is always emitting beautiful language

[@cynthmcgpoet]

Instead of talking about DFW, I wanted to note that it's a shame that Robert Blake self-destructed the way he did. I met that actor in 1986 on the Great Peace March, and while he was really a bit 'off' I thought he was at least a sincere individual who had anger issues. The way that Blake went ballistic against Bible Bob in the outskirts of L.A....that is carved into my memory forever.

[@destybenway]

can you give a few examples where in the interview this is happening?

[@syarezatobing5270]

It took him over 10 years to get ready

[@CPLains]

that's not good news! hahaha interesting interview thanks for upload, :D

[@trench]

if only i could zoom in really close and hear what he mouths under his breath at 4:33! no clue!

[@sebastianquilt]

OK, Truth: Anyone know if Wallace had a substance problem? I knew he was depressed, chronically, but was it induced by other things (alcohol, drugs)? I'm really curious because of the way Rose alludes to Wallace's problems here in this interview. And I know of the 'pseudo' post online, years ago, where someone like Wallace stated many things about his personal life's use of substance.

[@davidkornblatt991]

If it were my interview I would request David Foster W., to speak as much as he could on any subject he wanted, and not say anything than anyone would have to. Charlie Rose was always a tool-by and for the corporate elite

[@sotoj159]

Charlie Rose is a great interviewer. I think so.

[@cynthmcgpoet]

Sadly, the summer panned out for me. Since I don't do a lot of work after the holidays, that might be a better time for me. Almost through IJ...too much required grad school reading right now, plus work on a portfolio.

[@skow0020]

One of those people who was probably just too smart for his own good

[@jhales2021]

When you can imagine the 2.0 version of your existence and you are stuck in this one. Escape.

[@arndbrack2339]

deep. too deep^^ i wish he would have had more power to laugh at himself, great mind

[@trench]

it looks like he says "fore" but thats almost definitely wrong

[@honeybozo]

@honeybozo actually it's on 4:32

[@Gh0stH0rs3s]

This man was probably the brainiest INFJ that every lived. Ironic that his colossal novel can be abbreviated to the same letters. (I don't actually know if he's INFJ or not but I don't see it being any other way.)

[@MrQ82]

He's a textbook INTP in my opinion. Expertise in philosophy, modal logic etc., his constant searching for more information/alternative perspectives before forming conclusions, hesitancy and indecisiveness, and love of abstract systems and paradoxes.

[@9000ck]

this makes me sad. an endorsement as well as a warning about thinking too much.

[@herbertwells8757]

What's with the head bandage?

[@johncirce1526]

Herbert Wells He sweats a lot from nervousness, so he wears that so he won't be constantly wiping his forehead.

[@Elite244]

To block signals coming in the third eye

[@davidanderson4729]

@@johncirce1526 him and David Cusk

[@eiserntorsphantomoftheoper2154]

Perfect example of taking yourself to seriously. If I don't understand the point of my existence, then it is pointless to exist.

[@tenacious645]

Eiserntors Phantom of the Opera I guess, but boiling it down so simply doesn't do any good. Anyone who struggles with inherent subjectivity to existing is well aware that purpose and meaning to life are arbitrary.

[@eiserntorsphantomoftheoper2154]

tenacious645 It's just sounds so self absorbed to spend so much effort on existential nothingness, I grew up on a farm, before going to college. We never had the time or need to ponder. Too much freaking work to get done

[@digi3363]

Love the Seinfeld outro, boy Larry David sure can talk his arse off. Btw who was that old man in the suit??

[@distraughtsymphony]

God he looked so uncomfortable at the end of that interview... Just his body language.... FUCK.....

[@firethief]

I wish Jack Kornfield or someone had thrown him into a headlock and given him a noogie, then spent time with him.

[@FunnyCowboyDance]

@lameyhomo My only exposure to DFW is in a literary context. I have not read the GQ article, nor have I read Internet dissections of his public appearance. I have, however, watched this interview, in which he strikes me as uncomfortable. Affable and engaging, but uncomfortable.

[@eliotk1385]

Rose is a good interviewer.

[@pinecrustjuise]

ffs he clearly didn't want to talk about his personal short-comings because he didn't see it as anyone's business and yet, he got hounded to answer, maybe if his feelings weren't made as a profit point, maybe, maybe he'd still be alive today

[@shonagraham2752]

No, nothing to do with him dying.

[@AndyFriedhof]

@trench As much as it pains me to say it I think he says "fraud".

[@deadpeasantmoon]

Superior?

[@OHFERFUCKSAKES]

@AndyFriedhof Fraud...possible. There's a massive chapter or bit or maybe it's even one long extended paragraph in The Pale King where he (he references himself, DFW or 'David Wallace' [admits that the 'Foster' is some kind of conceit], as David Wallace, author) goes on and on and on about being a fraud or a charlatan etc.

[@DavidFonseca90042]

@profligacy24 "hoary old concept"

[@honeybozo]

@KennyReddwooddforest google "karen green david foster wallace interview guardian" for an apt interview with Karen: even she could not save him -unfortunately genius does not equal emotional fulfillment.

[@babybelcheese2906]

:)

[@FloridaRaider]

2 suicide references in that interview.

[@MikeDePasquale]

It's Lynch's weakest film and falls in the shadow of its direct predecessor: Blue Velvet.

[@shelbybrown8312]

#metoo all u want Charlie rose is an oracle that should be fed virgin women

[@jkunstx]

I'm starting to like this guy, but sorry, Wild @ Heart must've gone way over his "massively superior brain".

[@meshzzizk]

Hahaha...Robert Blake ain't doin' no coke commercials now.