Cintra Wilson
Encyclopedia
Cintra Wilson is an American writer, performer and cultural critic. Declared as "the Dorothy Parker of the cyber age", she is best known for her commentary on popular culture which is often humorous and irreverent in tone. She currently contributes to the New York Times for its "Critical Shopper" series and is considered one of the 50 "most influential people working in New York fashion". Wilson is also a regular contributor to the Hartford Advocate for her political column "The C Word". Her books include A Massive Swelling: Celebrity Re-examined as a Grotesque Crippling Disease, Colors Insulting to Nature
, and Caligula for President: Better American Living Through Tyranny. She wrote a bi-weekly column called The Dregulator, which critiqued the tabloid culture and was syndicated in a number of alternative weeklies. She was a frequent contributor to Salon.com
from 1994-2007.
California
. She grew up in Marin County, California
and attended Tamalpais High School
. After dropping out of high school, Wilson went to San Francisco State University
. She was an avant-garde playwright in San Francisco, as well as a contributor to Frisko magazine and the [San Francisco Examiner], where she wrote a weekly advice column called "Cintra Wilson Feels Your Pain." Her first play, "Juvee," based on her experiences in juvenile hall, was produced when she was 20. She lived in Los Angeles (where she was engaged to Kevin Gilbert
at the time of his death), and now lives in New York City
.
She was a frequent contributor for Salon.com
chronicling celebrity tabloid news and has provided frequent commentary on various award presentations, most notably the Oscars. She writes for the "Critical Shopper", a New York Times fashion column to which she frequently contributes and has been credited with bringing together "tremendous erudition and a singular approach to an otherwise disposable area of a newspaper". Wilson is also the creator and voice of Winter Steele
, which was a puppet
television
series on MTV
's Liquid Television
in the early 1990s. Her column "The Dregulator" steadily evolved from a commentary on tabloid reportage to a purely political column called the "The C Word" published by the Hartford Advocate, The Fairfield County Weekly and the New Haven Advocate. On December 6, 2010 Wilson wrote in support of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in "The C Word" entitled, "Julian Assange Isn't Doing Anything Worse Than What Our Government Is Doing". She was featured in 2008 in Salon for her political commentary on the then Republican Party
candidate for Vice President, Sarah Palin
describing Palin as the, "centerfold spread, revealing the ugliest underside of Republican ambitions -- their insanely zealous and cynical drive to win power by any means necessary, even at the cost of actual leadership." In her trademark satirical rhetoric, she went on to describe Palin as "the White House bunny -- the most nauseating novelty confection of the evangelical mind-set since Southern "chastity balls," wherein teen girls pledge abstinence from premarital sex by ceremonially faux-marrying their own fathers." Conversely, in a "C Word" article entitled, The Hot and the Dead, Wilson has said of the current administration, “President Obama... is beginning to look merely ceremonial, like the Queen of England. Despite the fact that he relinquished none of the concentrated imperial superpowers and near-papal infallibility claimed for the Presidency by Cheney, Obama still doesn’t seem to have the right wooden stakes or zombie head-smashing shovels to actually implement any real reforms. He has been either unwilling or unable to sit on the lobbyists, who have been playing musical chairs and orgies of footsie around the public/private sectors since the Clinton era..." Her forthcoming book from W. W. Norton & Company is entitled, Fear and Clothing: Unbuckling America's Fashion Destiny.
Short Fiction
Plays
Animated Series
Winter Steele - for MTV's Liquid Television
Colors Insulting to Nature
Colors Insulting To Nature is the fictional follow-up novel to Wilson's previous collection of non-fiction essays in A Massive Swelling...
, and Caligula for President: Better American Living Through Tyranny. She wrote a bi-weekly column called The Dregulator, which critiqued the tabloid culture and was syndicated in a number of alternative weeklies. She was a frequent contributor to Salon.com
Salon.com
Salon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...
from 1994-2007.
Biography
Cintra Wilson was born on October 9, 1967 in Butte CountyButte County, California
Butte County is a county located in the Central Valley of the US state of California, north of the state capital of Sacramento. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 220,000. The county seat is Oroville. Butte County is the "Land of Natural Wealth and Beauty."Butte County is watered by the...
California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. She grew up in Marin County, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and attended Tamalpais High School
Tamalpais High School
Tamalpais High School is a public secondary school located in Mill Valley, California. It is named after nearby Mount Tamalpais, which rises more than above Mill Valley....
. After dropping out of high school, Wilson went to San Francisco State University
San Francisco State University
San Francisco State University is a public university located in San Francisco, California. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers over 100 areas of study from nine academic colleges...
. She was an avant-garde playwright in San Francisco, as well as a contributor to Frisko magazine and the [San Francisco Examiner], where she wrote a weekly advice column called "Cintra Wilson Feels Your Pain." Her first play, "Juvee," based on her experiences in juvenile hall, was produced when she was 20. She lived in Los Angeles (where she was engaged to Kevin Gilbert
Kevin Gilbert
Kevin Matthew Gilbert was an American songwriter, musician, composer, producer and collaborator born in Sacramento, California, later living in San Mateo, California where he attended Junipero Serra High School...
at the time of his death), and now lives in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
She was a frequent contributor for Salon.com
Salon.com
Salon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...
chronicling celebrity tabloid news and has provided frequent commentary on various award presentations, most notably the Oscars. She writes for the "Critical Shopper", a New York Times fashion column to which she frequently contributes and has been credited with bringing together "tremendous erudition and a singular approach to an otherwise disposable area of a newspaper". Wilson is also the creator and voice of Winter Steele
Winter Steele
Winter Steele was a puppet television series created by Cintra Wilson which aired on MTV as a segment of Liquid Television during its first two seasons 1991-1993...
, which was a puppet
Puppet
A puppet is an inanimate object or representational figure animated or manipulated by an entertainer, who is called a puppeteer. It is used in puppetry, a play or a presentation that is a very ancient form of theatre....
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
series on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
's Liquid Television
Liquid Television
Liquid Television is an Emmy Award–winning 1990s animation showcase that appeared on MTV. The first season of Liquid Television also aired on BBC Two in co-production with MTV. Ultimately, MTV commissioned three seasons of the show, which was produced by Colossal Pictures...
in the early 1990s. Her column "The Dregulator" steadily evolved from a commentary on tabloid reportage to a purely political column called the "The C Word" published by the Hartford Advocate, The Fairfield County Weekly and the New Haven Advocate. On December 6, 2010 Wilson wrote in support of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in "The C Word" entitled, "Julian Assange Isn't Doing Anything Worse Than What Our Government Is Doing". She was featured in 2008 in Salon for her political commentary on the then Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
candidate for Vice President, Sarah Palin
Sarah Palin
Sarah Louise Palin is an American politician, commentator and author. As the Republican Party nominee for Vice President in the 2008 presidential election, she was the first Alaskan on the national ticket of a major party and first Republican woman nominated for the vice-presidency.She was...
describing Palin as the, "centerfold spread, revealing the ugliest underside of Republican ambitions -- their insanely zealous and cynical drive to win power by any means necessary, even at the cost of actual leadership." In her trademark satirical rhetoric, she went on to describe Palin as "the White House bunny -- the most nauseating novelty confection of the evangelical mind-set since Southern "chastity balls," wherein teen girls pledge abstinence from premarital sex by ceremonially faux-marrying their own fathers." Conversely, in a "C Word" article entitled, The Hot and the Dead, Wilson has said of the current administration, “President Obama... is beginning to look merely ceremonial, like the Queen of England. Despite the fact that he relinquished none of the concentrated imperial superpowers and near-papal infallibility claimed for the Presidency by Cheney, Obama still doesn’t seem to have the right wooden stakes or zombie head-smashing shovels to actually implement any real reforms. He has been either unwilling or unable to sit on the lobbyists, who have been playing musical chairs and orgies of footsie around the public/private sectors since the Clinton era..." Her forthcoming book from W. W. Norton & Company is entitled, Fear and Clothing: Unbuckling America's Fashion Destiny.
Works
Novels- A Massive Swelling: Celebrity Re-examined as a Grotesque Crippling Disease and Other Cultural Revelations (2000)
- Colors Insulting to Nature (2004)
- Caligula for President: Better American Living Through Tyranny (2008)
- Fear and Clothing: Unbuckling America's Fashion Destiny (forthcoming)
Short Fiction
- Red Spiral Notebook
- The Abounding Gutter
Plays
- XXX Love Act
- Soul Hunt
- The Bitsy La Fever's Kingdom of Passion Trilogy
- Arbuckle
- Dognite
- Juvee
- Alien Soul (One-man show)
Animated Series
Winter Steele - for MTV's Liquid Television