Orwell argues for conciseness and truth, rather than the vagueness and overuse of metaphors.
Perotta uses 9/11 as a lens to see the meta-commentary of journalism and the cultural fascination with icons, instead of politics and war. Meta-commentary is loosely defined by Word Press as "the term used to describe a narrative which directs the reader's attention to the text's purpose and positioning " (1). After starting the article with a bold description of how "adorable " Britney is and asking if there is more to her than all of her adorableness and great abs, Perrotta jumps right in and says, "The truth is I was having a certain amount of difficulty taking my subject seriously. Britney, after all, is the kind of person who can look straight into the camera and tell the world, without any trace of irony, ˜I'm all about sit-ups' " (1). Perrotta, himself, acknowledges that he feels uncomfortable writing about Britney Spears after 9/11, yet he still writes the article. .
On one hand, Orwell would possibly criticize Perrotta for doing exactly what Perrotta is uncomfortable with, writing about Britney Spears at such a sensitive time. In a sense, Perrotta could fall under the category in Orwell's piece of using "meaningless words. " However, instead of using meaningless words, Perrotta uses a meaningless topic. Orwell says, "In certain kinds of writing, particularly in art criticism and literary criticism, it is normal to come across long passages which are almost completely lacking in meaning " (5). Comparing this quote and Perrotta's piece, one could definitely argue how insignificant Perrotta's article on Britney Spears is, particularly after 9/11. That being said, Perrotta does accept that his article may be irrelevant, but he in his own way is mocking the readers, essentially giving himself a purpose. Here, Orwell would agree with Perrotta that perhaps the priorities of Americans are wrong.
