“CNN.com had giant headlines and stories that covered half the page and CNN the cable station had what seemed like non-stop tributes to the guy for two days straight. I don’t get it.”
Well, he did work for CNN so they are all his coworkers. It doesn’t surprise me they have more coverage than other media outlets.
And actually he was a big deal in certain circles. Through books/decades of tv shows, he reached a lot of people. If you’re not into food and travel, perhaps you don’t get it. In his genre, he did set new boundaries.
I’m not shocked at the coverage. In the minds of a lot of people he was their travel buddy. He was loved in many minority communities as he never made them feel less than.
The replay of his show about living on Cape Cod and getting hooked on cooking and drugs, and the downfall of western MA towns like Greenfield, was just brilliant.
It really hit home for me, as I went to school in Amherst and spent a lot of time on the Cape. We heard about the many factory towns that lost their main employment, and the generations of families couldn’t support themselves.
Yes, much deeper than just cooking and travel. The shows are really anthropological/sociological insights in the places he visited. I think they were really intelligent and well-crafted.
I wonder if part of the coverage is also due to two high profile suicides in such a short period of time? I didn’t know either of the people, but am sad about their deaths and that depression is such a beastly disease. If some good can come of helping folks realize that there are resources to help folks who are profoundly depressed and/or contemplating suicide, then that’s something hopeful.
“he wasn’t THAT big a name” - well, not to you apparently. Why the need to even decide if he’s getting too much coverage? Especially if the coverage is a homage to his career and work. That seems to be much of the focus,his work - that seems pretty well earned.
A chef comfortable saying “Get the damn lobster out of my mac and cheese!” is one that resonates with me (and perhaps the more common populace) more than some revered world leaders. Just being honest.
To all Bourdain’s fans, there will be a final season of Parts Unknown that will start airing on September 23rd on CNN. It will be 7 episodes that were in production at the time of his death.
CNN is showing the penultimate episode of Parts Unknown tonight titled Under the Tarp. It is a behind-the-scenes look at the show featuring interviews with the crew sharing their memories of Anthony Bourdain.
The memories were mostly upbeat and described how he insisted on staying true to his vision for the show. It was hard, however, to hear and see him knowing that he is no longer with us.