Debora Robertson: Even if millions tune into Meghan's new show - there is a deeper problem she can't fix

https://www.the-independent.com/life-style/meghan-markle-oscars-love-netflix-new-show-b2707921.html (Unarchived)

https://archive.ph/OimkM (Archived)

*** Article slides included in post

There is a deeper problem she can't fix Like her personality.

Some snippets:

“I see what colour I gravitate to, and everything comes from there.” The unspoken part: as long as that colour is white, taupe, oatmeal, bone, string, putty... the whole beige rainbow. 

"So now it's Tofu, Putty, Oatmeal, Almond, Harvest Wheat, and Buff."

When Martha created her empire, it was about so much more than teaching nice ladies how to cook, garden and keep house. She was the Andy Warhol of domesticity. She elevated it. To an extent, she created it, promising that – with no small amount of hard work and commitment – this perfect life of well-bred perfection was accessible to all. What we now think of as a late-20th-century, high “Wasp” aesthetic was largely her invention.

Andy Warhol of domesticity. So what, Martha? The Grasping Harpy is the "Michelangelo of Montecito." 😂

Moving forward a few decades, Meghan tells us in her trailer: “We’re not in the pursuit of perfection, we’re in the pursuit of joy. Love is in the details!”

Failure is in the Grasping Harpy's freakish inattention to the details.

There is much to be said for the have-a-go philosophy of our times: what’s the worst that can happen? Where this approach can fall down is when complex skills are presented as being incredibly simple.

The truth is, simple isn’t simple at all. Making things simple often requires years of experience, of repeating the same old processes a thousand times until your brain, your hands and your nose learn them. 

So while shows like With Love, Meghan may set out casually “to create magic in every moment”, at least with Martha you understand that magic is graft, knowledge and experience.

Also, I've never seen Martha dangle stringy, Sally Beauty wig strands in her food.

Though perhaps Martha and Meghan have more in common than we might think: Martha, the relentless high achiever, taking no nonsense, accepting no shortcuts, and Meghan, embracing joy and off-white linen at every opportunity.

🤣🤣🤣 I can't tell them apart, they're exactly the same.

They both have challenging backgrounds and went on to reinvent themselves, romanticising their backstories – Martha’s columns about growing up in Nutley went heavy on making bonnets for Easter, and placed less emphasis on her father’s rage if she didn’t plant the vegetables in straight lines. With Meghan, the press release is more hard-scrabble, up-by-the-boot-straps than privately educated daughter of an Emmy-winning lighting director.

Straight outta Sizzler.

But there is one way in which Martha exemplifies a key difference between the generations. Whatever she does, whether it is wax-polishing a table or signing a multimillion-dollar deal, she does it with all her might. Skill, finesse and scholarship are badges she wears proudly. She is frank about how long things take to do properly, and is the living embodiment of “do things properly or not at all”.

Mayfly Meg has a similar approach to success: Announce a "brand", release endless PR about all that she's going to do, procrastinate and demand, blame circumstances "beyond her control" when everything falls apart, release endless PR about the "REAL" reasons for her missteps, then move on and announce the next failure project. Rinse and repeat.

In typical millennial fashion, throughout Meghan’s butterfly career as an actor, campaigner, lifestyle influencer and princess, she has always appeared restless. Who knows how long it will be before she is back striving for the next big thing, barely allowing the ink to dry on the non-disclosure agreement as she branches into another new venture.

It isn't restlessness, it's laziness. It's stupidity. And it's hilarious.