--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What is Camille Paglia doing, writing…" description: "\"What is Camille Paglia doing, writing that an actress as gifted as Anne Heche has the mental depth of a pancake? How many pancake brains could do what ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e07/clive-james-2750_actresses_what-is-camille-paglia-doing-writing-tha_3102585.jpg" --- # What is Camille Paglia doing, writing that an actress as… ![“What is Camille Paglia doing, writing that an actress as gifted as Anne Heche has the mental depth of a pancake? How many pancake brains could do what Heche did with David Mamet's dialogue in Wag the Dog? No doubt Heche has been stuck with a few bad gigs, but Paglia, of all people, must be well…” quote by Clive James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e07/clive-james-2750_actresses_what-is-camille-paglia-doing-writing-tha_3102585.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e07/clive-james-2750_actresses_what-is-camille-paglia-doing-writing-tha_3102585.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e07/clive-james-2750_actresses_what-is-camille-paglia-doing-writing-tha_3102585.jpg) > “What is Camille Paglia doing, writing that an actress as gifted as Anne Heche has the mental depth of a pancake? How many pancake brains could do what Heche did with David Mamet's dialogue in Wag the Dog? No doubt Heche has been stuck with a few bad gigs, but Paglia, of all people, must be well aware that being an actress is not the same safe ride as being the tenured university professor of humanities and media studies at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia.” [Clive James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-james/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. James lampoons Paglia’s critique of Anne Heche’s acting, suggesting her talent is shallow and comparing it humorously to a pancake’s simplicity. **In simple terms:** He mocks Paglia’s view that Heche’s acting lacks depth. Key Takeaway Don’t take celebrity critiques too seriously. Themes satire media criticism celebrity culture Mood wry critical playful Type satirical humorous commentary When to use this quote - film reviews - academic debates - media analysis - celebrity interviews Key Concepts cultural commentary humor performance art Questions to Reflect On - What does this say about the value we place on artistic depth? - How do we balance critique with respect for craft? A Different Perspective The humor may oversimplify complex acting skill and academic discourse. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Actresses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actresses/) [Anne Heche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anne-heche-4034196/) [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Brain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brain/) [Brains Heche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brains-heche-5383991/) [Camille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/camille/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/camille-paglia-224961/) [Depth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depth/) [Dialogue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dialogue/) [Dog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dog/) [Doubt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doubt/) [Doubt Heche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doubt-heche-5383990/) [Gifted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gifted/) [Gigs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gigs/) [Has beens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/has-beens/) [Heche Mental](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heche-mental-5383992/) [Humanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanity/) [Media](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/media/) [Media studies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/media-studies/) [No doubt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/no-doubt/) [Paglia Doing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paglia-doing-5383989/) [Pancakes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pancakes/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Philadelphia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philadelphia/) [Professors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/professors/) [Safe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/safe/) [Stuck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stuck/) [Study](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/study/) [University](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/university/) [University professors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/university-professors/) [Wag the dog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wag-the-dog/) [Wags](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wags/) [Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wells/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [There will come a day when Anne Heche will be straight again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-bernhard/there-will-come-a-day-when-anne-heche-will-be-straight-again/) [Sandra Bernhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-bernhard/) > [I actually got a crush on Anne Heche when I worked with her on Huckleberry Finn. It didn't work out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elijah-wood/i-actually-got-a-crush-on-anne-heche-when-i-worked-with-her-on/) [Elijah Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elijah-wood/) > [As Camille Paglia's success has demonstrated, what is most marketable is absolutism and attitude undiluted by thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-kaminer/as-camille-paglia-s-success-has-demonstrated-what-is-most-marketable/) [Wendy Kaminer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-kaminer/) > [“The obsession with decline found on the alt-right today comes from a long conservative line of thought, who regularly drew upon books like Edward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-nagle/the-obsession-with-decline-found-on-the-alt-right-today-comes-from-a/) [Angela Nagle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-nagle/) > [I liked Camille Paglia. I liked her even better when I heard her talk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-fiedler/i-liked-camille-paglia-i-liked-her-even-better-when-i-heard-her-talk/) [Leslie Fiedler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-fiedler/) > [“Camille Paglia is: 'the nipple-pierced person's Phyllis Schlafly who poses as a sexual renegade but is in fact the most dutiful of patriarchal daughters.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-wolf/camille-paglia-is-the-nipple-pierced-person-s-phyllis-schlafly-who/) [Naomi Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-wolf/) > [ “\[Nietzsche thinks artists undersexed\]: “Their vampire, their talent, grudges them as a rule that squandering of force which one calls passion. If one has… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/nietzsche-thinks-artists-undersexed-their-vampire-their-talent/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [We read everything - from the Unabomber to Camille Paglia to Martin Luther King Jr. - and I really fell in love with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-rinella/we-read-everything-from-the-unabomber-to-camille-paglia-to-martin/) [Steven Rinella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-rinella/) ## More by Clive James > [Arnold Schwarzenegger looks like a brown condom full of walnuts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-james/arnold-schwarzenegger-looks-like-a-brown-condom-full-of-walnuts/) [Clive James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-james/) > [My wife spoke perfect Italian and she was very beautiful and very suave Italian men were crowding around her, talking all the time and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-james/my-wife-spoke-perfect-italian-and-she-was-very-beautiful-and-very/) [Clive James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-james/) > [The streets, at least in this part of town, seemed impossibly clean in comparison to London. The public telephones were unvandalised. For a London…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-james/the-streets-at-least-in-this-part-of-town-seemed-impossibly-clean-in/) [Clive James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-james/) > [In London there was no home cooking worthy of the name. When you were in funds you ate out. But only the people whose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-james/in-london-there-was-no-home-cooking-worthy-of-the-name-when-you-were/) [Clive James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-james/) > [Generally it is our failures that civilize us. Triumph confirms us in our habits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-james/generally-it-is-our-failures-that-civilize-us-triumph-confirms-us-in/) [Clive James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-james/) > [I try to be specific. One thought at a time. Clear. Articulate. And above all, memorable, if you can be. You'd like to write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-james/i-try-to-be-specific-one-thought-at-a-time-clear-articulate-and-above/) [Clive James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-james/) > [Pound had argued - and Eliot had helped him prove - that a poem could be sustained by memorable moments. Olson proved that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-james/pound-had-argued-and-eliot-had-helped-him-prove-that-a-poem-could-be/) [Clive James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-james/) > [A luxury liner is really just a bad play surrounded by water.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-james/a-luxury-liner-is-really-just-a-bad-play-surrounded-by-water/) [Clive James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-james/) > [One way or another, all the poets of the thirties and forties reacted to Auden, either by rejecting him or trying to absorb him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-james/one-way-or-another-all-the-poets-of-the-thirties-and-forties-reacted/) [Clive James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-james/) > [Little books are the things to write at my age, I've decided. Avoid the big ones, go for the little ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-james/little-books-are-the-things-to-write-at-my-age-i-ve-decided-avoid-the/) [Clive James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-james/) > [“Too many of my friends are dead, and others wrecked By various diseases of the intellect Or failing body. How am I still upright?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-james/too-many-of-my-friends-are-dead-and-others-wrecked-by-various/) [clive james](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-james/) > [A sceptic finds Dallas absurd. A cynic thinks the public doesn't](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-james/a-sceptic-finds-dallas-absurd-a-cynic-thinks-the-public-doesn-t/) [Clive James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-james/) > [The Canadian version of Julius Caesar's memoirs? I came, I saw, I coped.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-james/the-canadian-version-of-julius-caesar-s-memoirs-i-came-i-saw-i-coped/) [Clive James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-james/) > [“Rilke used to say that no poet would mind going to gaol, since he would at least have time to explore the treasure house…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-james/rilke-used-to-say-that-no-poet-would-mind-going-to-gaol-since-he/) [Clive James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-james/) > [The thing about making a documentary in Las Vegas is there isn't much to film apart from other people making documentaries about Las Vegas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-james/the-thing-about-making-a-documentary-in-las-vegas-is-there-isn-t-much/) [Clive James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-james/) [Explore all 151 Clive James quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-james/) ## More Actresses quotes > [I feel excited about getting older as an actress, too. I think there are some amazing opportunities around the corner and I don't need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sutton-foster/i-feel-excited-about-getting-older-as-an-actress-too-i-think-there/) [Sutton Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sutton-foster/) > [I think most of us are raised with preconceived notions of the choices we're supposed to make. We waste so much time making decisions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-bullock/i-think-most-of-us-are-raised-with-preconceived-notions-of-the/) [Sandra Bullock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-bullock/) > [I've been told before, and I tend to believe it, I'm not like most actresses out there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moira-kelly/i-ve-been-told-before-and-i-tend-to-believe-it-i-m-not-like-most/) [Moira Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moira-kelly/) > [Marilyn was a great actress, not a dumb blond bombshell. She was very smart, very astute and a good businesswoman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-schiller/marilyn-was-a-great-actress-not-a-dumb-blond-bombshell-she-was-very/) [Lawrence Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-schiller/) > [By the time I was seventeen, I was on my way to Hollywood and didn't look back. My family is supportive now, but like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-heard/by-the-time-i-was-seventeen-i-was-on-my-way-to-hollywood-and-didn-t/) [Amber Heard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-heard/) > [Just have fun. Smile. And keep putting on lipstick.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-keaton/just-have-fun-smile-and-keep-putting-on-lipstick/) [Diane Keaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-keaton/) > [There are a lot of great actresses out there. You learn to appreciate each one for what they offer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-pratt/there-are-a-lot-of-great-actresses-out-there-you-learn-to-appreciate/) [Victoria Pratt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-pratt/) > [I want to be fulfilled creatively as an actress and get to be in roles that are meaningful and impactful. I hope the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amandla-stenberg/i-want-to-be-fulfilled-creatively-as-an-actress-and-get-to-be-in/) [Amandla Stenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amandla-stenberg/) > [There's certain things I try to avoid, as an actress, just to keep my world from being as narrow as it could be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/famke-janssen/there-s-certain-things-i-try-to-avoid-as-an-actress-just-to-keep-my/) [Famke Janssen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/famke-janssen/) > [All the baggage that comes with fame, being an actress. The down side to it is the intrusion into your life and this expectation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-watson/all-the-baggage-that-comes-with-fame-being-an-actress-the-down-side/) [Emma Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-watson/) > [I am going to be a great actress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivien-leigh/i-am-going-to-be-a-great-actress/) [Vivien Leigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivien-leigh/) > [As a black actress you've got to work doubly hard. But it doesn't ever get me to the point where I give up on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naturi-naughton/as-a-black-actress-you-ve-got-to-work-doubly-hard-but-it-doesn-t-ever/) [Naturi Naughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naturi-naughton/) > [I've seen new actresses do one show and disappear or struggle for years to get their next break. 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