Mr. Rory Sutherland is that rarest and most dangerous of all things: an intelligent, articulate defender of the advertiser’s art and the intangible value it creates. And though it’s a great pleasure to listen to Mr. Sutherland uninterrupted, I thought I’d share some of the footnotes I personally needed to research in order to understand British-Upper-Crust-Posh-Talk.
1:55 – Château Pétrus. A French Bordeaux wine priced at an average of $2,600 a bottle.
7:30 – Veblen goods. In economics theory, a kind of luxury good whose demand rises because of, rather than in spite of, its high price. Examples: Rolls-Royce, Louis Vuitton, Bordeaux wines.
8:20 – Pinko. Derogatory term for a Communist sympathizer.
9:40 – the Cornish Pasty. A savory lunchtime food similar to the Shepherd’s Pie, but instead of being baked inside a mashed potatoes-covered pie dish, the contents are cooked inside a folded and crimped pastry crust. Invented as a lunch staple by miners in Cornwall, England – hence the name. (Incidentally, if you ever find yourself in Tempe, Arizona, you owe it to yourself to visit the Cornish Pasty Co. restaurant!)
10:00 – the Toastie sandwich. A British grilled sandwich similar to the American Grilled Cheese. Does not strictly require cheese inside, though this is very common. Additional fillings, especially experimental ones, encouraged.
10:20 – Retsina wine. An ancient Greek white or rosé wine that was mixed with seawater and preserved in pine-resin coated earthenware jars, amphorae. Tastes about as good as you’d expect.
15:14 – Samuel Johnson. This first quotation appears to be a variant sourced from English writer and lexicographer Samuel Johnson, in his Lives of the English Poets, The Life of [Alexander] Pope (1779-81). The original quotation: “New things are made familiar, and familiar things are made new.”
16:00 – G.K. Chesterton. An incredibly prolific turn-of-the-century author noted for his scathing wit, as well as the incredible diversity of his subject matter. In Orthodoxy, Chesterton contrasted the opposing poles of the Tolstoyan and the Nietzscheite, but ultimately found them both with will frozen at the crossroads. Chesterton had an influence on C.S. Lewis, Gandhi, Neil Gaiman, and Jorge Luis Borges.
This review originally appeared in the Austin School of Film’s recommendations blog, MIX/VHS. Check out the full post here!