Arcade Fire As Latter-Day Men Without Hats . . .

. . . and Gossip Girl is Dynasty in a co-op apartment:

In fact, the show has resurrected the potential for scripted dramas to be effective social satire — to present a world more accurately than a “reality” program can. Gossip Girl presents a wealth-eye view of the city, but because it is a cartoon we can laugh along with the conspicuousness of the consumption. Living among the wealthy in New York is an experience of queasy ambivalence — we find their antics both mesmerizing and icky. But on Gossip Girl, we do not have to judge them, or ourselves. The show mocks our superficial fantasies while satisfying them, allowing us to partake in the over-the-top pleasures of the irresponsible superrich without anxiety or guilt or moralizing. It’s class warfare as blood sport. And, as Blair Waldorf might say, that’s entertainment.