New Delhi, Dec. 14 -- In a Netflix documentary that celebrates one hundred years of The New Yorker magazine, its staff writer Andrew Marantz says that he has often been in places where people would say "All you elite [expletive], you don't know the first thing" about America. It is the kind of magazine, he says, that would faithfully quote that expletive, but place an accent on the first 'e' of elite, thereby confirming at least one part of the abuse.

The documentary, The New Yorker at 100, though insipid, will baffle millions who have not heard of the magazine, who are far removed from arts or journalism or the West. It is not only a revered magazine, but also one of the most revered things the upper crust has ever created.

The New Yor...