Blog 4 Ronson Chapters 6 and 7

In "The Right Sort of Madness", Ronson talked with an old friend at a bar, and his friend made him realize that it might not just be journalist's interviewees that are insane, but the journalists as well. That journalists look for the most insane people in order to get their best story, so what does that say about the journalist? This mindset led Ronson to interview Charlotte. Charlotte told Ronson about her job as a guest booker for TV shows. She revealed her secret that in order to find the best person for the TV show, she needs to find people with "the right sort of madness". She finds out what kind of medicine the interviewee was taking, and in doing so she made a formula to find out who was the best for the show. Charlotte had to try and find ways to detach herself from the interviewees, or she would go mad herself, having to listen to people's depressing stories day after day. Charlotte had done many cruel things in order to get bookings for the show; for example, she booked a man with a disorder and after he was ridiculed on the show he slit his wrists. After his interview with Charlotte, Ronson was relieved that he had not done horrible things like Charlotte had.

I did not think I would like reading about psychopathic CEO's as much as I like reading about serial killers, but chapter 6 was not horrible. I liked the description of Dunlap's house, and I thought it was weird how he had so many predatory animals in it. When he was described earlier in the chapter, that was not how I pictured him to live. After reading chapter 6, I was a little bit confused about Dunlap's wife. Why would she want to marry someone who was so cruel to employees? Was she a psychopath too?

I did not really understand how chapter 7 tied into the book. What did it have to do with psychopaths? I think it was kind of unnecessary. Even though I didn't think it was essential, I did like the chapter. The stories were really sad, like the one about the girl who got denied her plastic surgery and her sister ended up committing suicide. That one really upset me. I wanted to pay for her plastic surgery. The other story that was really sad was the one about the man with severe body dysmorphic disorder. I cannot imagine the guilt I would feel if someone slit their wrists because of me. I could not do Charlotte's job.