Madeleine McCann: Liddle Things, Her Digital Age And The Sop Opera
: THE COLUMNISTS:
ROD LIDDLE (Times): “Madeleine, the incidental onlooker”
Come on, be honest. When Kate McCann appears before you on your television screen, do you sink your head low and remember poor Madeleine, somehow spirited out of that Praia da Luz apartment, or are you overwhelmed with a sense of irritation, annoyance and ennui?
Or like me, is it a little bit of both, callous pig that I am?…
The weird thing is the way the story has taken on a life of its own, with Madeleine as a terribly absent onlooker, almost incidental to the whole charade.
ANDREW ANTHONY (The Observer): “For a variety of reasons, the disappearance of Madeleine McCann seems to hold an enduring, not to say unhealthy, hold on the nation’s imagination. The first and most obvious is that it exemplifies every parent’s deepest fear.
It’s also a mystery, and it’s only human to wonder at the unknowable truth. But there is more to it than that, something modern and distinctive. For it’s also a media story, a testament to the power of the digital image.”
BARBARA ELLEN: “For when Gerry McCann said last week: ‘We are not characters in a soap opera’, he must have been aware that to many, that is exactly what they are. What’s more, they are characters in danger of being written out, no longer considered necessary for the ‘Maddie franchise’ to continue.”
May 4th, 2008 at 11:11 am
I’m on top of the world…
May 4th, 2008 at 11:12 am
Looking down on creation…
May 4th, 2008 at 11:12 am
meow
May 4th, 2008 at 11:12 am
Come on, where are the dear buddies AGW promised me?
May 4th, 2008 at 11:12 am
that’s funny
May 4th, 2008 at 11:13 am
Thank you, meercat
May 4th, 2008 at 11:18 am
“madldijne” what is a a madldijne?
May 4th, 2008 at 11:19 am
C’est la vie
May 4th, 2008 at 11:20 am
It looks like the Austrian interpretation of her name?
May 4th, 2008 at 11:21 am
I must get a faster PC….
….takes years to move from one thread to a new one.
May 4th, 2008 at 11:21 am
“almost incidental to the whole charade”
interesting last word in the rod liddle article
May 4th, 2008 at 11:23 am
12…âde
Yes, ade….”The times they are a-changing”.
May 4th, 2008 at 11:25 am
I’ll plump for irritation, annoyance and ennui, thanks Mr Liddle.
May 4th, 2008 at 11:28 am
13 Matt.
literally “the times”
it would have been unheard of six months ago for anyone to write the word “charade” about the holy couple.
and if the comical one were on form he’d be threatening to sue, i’m sure.
i’m still not quite sure what rod liddle means by the “charade”
May 4th, 2008 at 11:28 am
“”"BARBARA ELLEN: “For when Gerry McCann said last week: ‘We are not
characters in a soap opera’, he must have been aware that to many, that is exactly
what they are. What’s more, they are characters in danger of being written out, no longer considered necessary for the ‘Maddie franchise’ to continue.””"”
“Rubbed out”…is also a possibility too. IMO
May 4th, 2008 at 11:30 am
So they want to be out of the media eye now, after a year do they? Maybe because they think that they have milked the public to the full extent, and would not want to be reported on “searching” for Madeleine at every exotic holiday resort they care to visit - courtesy of course, of the Madeleine fund
May 4th, 2008 at 11:31 am
SUE ELLEN was in a soap opera though..
May 4th, 2008 at 11:32 am
15…ade
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/charade
Note…Meanings 1 and 2 do not seem to apply.
I’d plump for 3.
May 4th, 2008 at 11:32 am
“You’re a drunk and an unfit mother, Sue Ellen!” (JR Ewing, Dallas)
May 4th, 2008 at 11:34 am
From a very old dictionary that I have “charade” means “a species of riddle” -
May 4th, 2008 at 11:36 am
But Sue Ellen cried really, really, really well…
May 4th, 2008 at 11:36 am
I am not sure I understand their willing be out of the media when they just launched a new phone line and an illegal one as it is
M and A
Jo they should say how much it costs and give a freephone alternative as in ‘your local police station’
May 4th, 2008 at 11:39 am
23…jo
And I do believe that even “Ghost” Written Books are part of the Media too.
May 4th, 2008 at 11:42 am
This must be the new “Little Wimmin ” hangout.
May 4th, 2008 at 11:43 am
when i think of the “official” book being written i have this mental image of ernie wise as pinchy face
“the book wot i wrote for kate and i”
May 4th, 2008 at 11:43 am
And perhaps this has all been a dream?
May 4th, 2008 at 11:44 am
http://ukpress.google.com/article/ALeqM … 1hOL6tQBCg
McCanns hope spotlight will fade
2 hours ago
“The couple revealed that their fresh appeal for information from the public has produced an “absolutely fantastic” response. Their new telephone phone line was “overwhelmed” with hundreds of calls, they said”
An OTHER contradiction?with the usual spins? new sightings?new suspects?
Can I take in more than that yet?
They”d rather hurry up because time is ticking fast
May 4th, 2008 at 11:47 am
28…jo
No matter how the McDoc’s bob and weave….the PJ float like a Butterfly
and sting like a Bee.
May 4th, 2008 at 11:48 am
27
Gloria Smudd
all been a dream…
the rem song lyrics are interesting:
“That’s me in the corner
That’s me in the spotlight
Losing my religion
Trying to keep up with you
And I don’t know if I can do it
Oh no I’ve said too much
I haven’t said enough
I thought that I heard you laughing
I thought that I heard you sing
I think I thought I saw you try”
May 4th, 2008 at 11:50 am
But that was just a dream, just a dream, just a dream ..
(I love REM.)