Now when I watch Letterman's show, I can't help but see everything that goes on through the lense of the sexual scandal recently revealed involving Letterman. Just now Shakira gave a sexually provocative performance, enough to make me shake my head glad I don't have a daughter who might imitate her hip thrusting dance, and Letterman responded with a giggle and a nervous shake of his head. But, earlier he held a tiger, being the old jokey Dave, and I couldn't get it out of my head that he is, well, a man. A man who maybe had sexual affairs that weren't kosher. In a way, he seemed sexless, or like a gentle older man, until this. Of course, maybe that was his seduction technique, being reserved and removed, but jokey and fun. I can imagine women coming on to him, maybe him giggle uncomfortably. It makes me uncomfortable to think about him having a sexual life--what does that say about me? Now, when he talks to women on this show, he seems flirty, checking women out, no matter how seriously he seems to take them. Has this always been Dave? Am I biased now?
And now, the news says there might be a trial, Dave might have to testify. He might have to talk about all the gory details, and it might damage his reputation even more. If all the viewers thought him as sexless and pure before--it seems like his sexualness might actually make some men think more highly of him. Part of me thinks it doesn't matter what Dave did in his bedroom, and he is just the victim of a plot to extort him and this is his business and I have no right to know it, but the other part squirms, partly disliking Dave and partly feeling weird to know anything like this about him. In the past I never really thought about Dave, he was just some guy in television, and now I feel like I have learned something about the neighbor next door, something I didn't really want to know but can't help feeling curious about.
My squirming when Dave squirms about Shakira is partly because I can't help but wonder about things I wish I never wondered about.
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Comments
I would not let your grandfatherly image of Dave interfere with reality, he is just this guy, see?
I used to think that men who showed no interest in females were gay when I was a kid, later I realized they either hated females or were of low libido. Evolution requires interest in the opposite sex for survival and history is filled with stories of elderly men fathering children and practicing polygamy. so reconcile your views of Dave, does flirt his brains out, being just... well a guy. As they say, "snow on the roof does not mean there's no fire in the furnace."
R!
it seems, dave has a tormented side. women help him forget that, momentarily.
I like what you said about archetypes--I think there is a cultural juxtaposition that was interesting too, Shakira the latina sexualized exotic other and dave the waspy midwestern everyday man...I thinkt that has always been the appeal of dave, he represented the common normal American, but he seems a little closer to shakira's open sexuality now. And yes I recognize he isn't the boss boss, but as a celebrity and the reason for the paycheck, he is a boss on his show.
"Hey ah midnight cowboy, Myflows a dog...downboy"
that woulda been enough for old Dave. She goes on to sing...
"People say men are just like kids,
Never saw a kid behave like this"
I would imagine Shakira picked that song for Dave, wouldn't you?