Because it started in France as a pretentious upper class thing in the first place.

Fuck salons. What I want is panel shows on TV, like they have in Britain: like QI, or Have I Got News For You, Mock the Week, Never Mind the Buzzcocks, and so on. Americans can apparently cope with such a format on radio (Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me) but not TV, since What's My Line went off the air a hundred years ago. We're too stupid, I guess. And the religious whackjobs would have a fit if there was a show on TV where the host and contestants went on for ten minutes about how stupid religious belief is -- "why do people believe this stuff? I don't understand it" is expected there, but here you have to give equal time to the "burn fags at the stake" idiots, and because Americans are afraid of being funny.

Maybe that's it. Maybe Patterson feels guilty about her salons because nobody's funny at them.

I can't have any new Annually Retentives, so I'm settling for the one-two of Would I Lie to You? and Only Connect. David Mitchell and Victoria Coren, a match made in quiz show heaven.

The pretentious part is calling it a salon. We called it sitting around Denny's all night.

@2 - You and I, we will start an unauthorized American version of QI. We can fill out the panel with other Sloggers. Is public access tv still a thing?

The salon sounds like a great idea until you get there and sgt_doom is spreading the crazy on extra thick. Sadly, in America, you can't gather more than 10 people without including a total moron and/or nutjob who is more than happy to dominate all conversations. Who wants to hang around that scene for very long?

@6, ooh, ooh, can I play Stephen Fry? I have an ascot and everything. You can be Phill Jupitus and flirt with me, sending me into massive fits of embarrassment. Alan Davies is going to be tough; we need a dummy scapegoat, like Will in Seattle, but he has to be (a) funny and (b) actually pretty bright, and Will is neither. And who is going to be Jo Brand? Jimmy Carr? We'll have to get a Brit to play the American Rich Hall.... And who will be the Ross Noble/Johnny Vegas can't-understand-a-word-he's-saying guy?

How about Skype Salon?

@6 - Make it digital video and distributed via the web. Kickstarter it to cover production costs for 12 episodes. Be very selective about who you invite. Use social media and lots of Slog/Stranger tie ins.

Then conquer the world.

@2, I've seen some QI and liked it, but I find "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me" to be decidedly unfunny. I think we Americans may ruin these things like we ruin everything.

@5, I disagree. While I wouldn't want to join a salon full of people who thought, "Fuck salons", neither would I want to join a salon full of the type of people who want to join a salon (you know what I'm talking about). Thus, my inclusion criteria somehow involves people tricked into joining a salon without realizing it, or something. Kind of difficult to orchestrate.

Paul are you familiar with Alain de Boton's "Religion For Atheists"? He laments that there are no secular equivalents to churchy gatherings (he cites actual practices but as an atheist myself can't remember exactly what) which are devoted specifically to talking about"big things". I agree. It is weird, or at least a bit unusual, to bring up grandiose abstract subjects at dinner. If there was some sort of agenda, or emcee, it might be possible, but of course that is weird too. Religion creates the space in a social realm, Humanism not so much.

I'm part of a book club that chooses books which almost guarantee that we'll get into salon-type discussions. No Jody Picoult novels and no blathering about little Italian hill towns you visited last summer; no one has kids under the age of 30. It works quite well.

One of the great parts about teaching is that the classroom frequently becomes a salon. Willie Loman becomes an excuse to talk about class, economics, gender,and labor. Huck Finn adds religion and race to the mix. I get paid to participate in salons, and I'm fortunate to have students who rise to the occasion.

Agreed on this. Friends and I do talk about ideas and big issues informally, but it is always just us. I had a dream that a restaurant/diner could be created specifically for the purposes of discussing big ideas. As in, it's Friday night and rather than getting shit-faced, you'd go eat and think about things. Not holding my breath for anyone to take on that venture.

Townhall kind of does this but mostly in the form of lecture, not discussion. It's a shame. I miss salons!

Why do we consider salons to be pretentious?
Easy: American Anti-Intellectualism.

American's aren't encouraged to think very carefully, except about the task that is immediately before them. Those that do are marginalized, or deemed "political" and ridiculed.

This is demonstrated everywhere, but most certainly on our television programs where we have nothing on the order of the intellectual quality of English, French and German programs where actual hard questions are posed to actual political party representatives, and actual analysis actually occurs.

TV format/Commercials don't help at all. Bill Maher's original show "Politically Incorrect" was actually very interesting, with great conversations; but the conversations were regularly sabotaged by :05-:15 min commercial breaks. Back from commercial, the thread of the conversation was completely lost.

Anyway, who has time to "salon" anymore when everyone is working two jobs to stay afloat?

Reading a Book??