While I fully appreciate that we exist in a media-fueled, scandal-obsessed world of celebrity voyeurs, I’m somewhat baffled by the recent over-the-top coverage of the day-to-day affairs of Britney, Lindsay, Paris, Anna (RIP) and company. Newsweek runs a cover on “Girls Gone Wild”! They’re above the fold on many front pages! They find their way into most news broadcasts.
So some good looking young women with limited talents, and perhaps intelligence, drink too much, have lots of partners and generally break as many social rules as they can find. Well geeze, that’s what young women (and men) have been doing for eons. Over the years I’ve known a number of young women who have satified those job requirements. None of them became global, household names. In days gone by one had to accomplish something with your life before you could throw it all away in a frenzy of hedonistic craziness. Now it seems one can skip the accomplishment part, proceed directly to the downward spiral and we all want to know how they feel about it.
I hope things work out for the best for these women. We know age has a way of resolving many of these issues. I think they’d be better off if we left them in peace to screw up their lives in the privavcy of their family, friends and rehab counselors.
I’m more worried about the other couple of hundred million of us. It seems that Britney’s hair is the most important thing in the world these days. That’s not a good sign.
As you have said, there is no mystery about these girls acting foolish. That we should be so enthralled as to watch them constantly is proof that we are not getting laid enough. I put it to you that if we were supplied with sufficient beautiful young women to keep us all sufficiently exhausted on a daily basis there would be no audience left for such paltry antics.
Soap Operas have long been popular with a segment of our society.
The Media thinks its marketable so they’re marketing Reality Soap Operas.
Granted, some of the stories are so weird they couldn’t possibly be put in a normal Soap Opera and be accepted as believable to be real life.
But trust me, famous people went off the deep in the past. It just wasn’t used as marketing quite the same.
Think about:
Lacy Peterson
The Runaway Bride
The woman who drowned her kids
That college girl who disappeared in the Caribbean
There always seems to be a slot in the daily barrage and right now, ANS and Britney are in the slot, so to speak. No high profile murder/disappearances at the moment so the coverage seems wider.
The ANS one stumped me though. It’s such a bizarre and ugly tale that I literally change the radio or tv station the minute they start in. I don’t wanna hear about it. I found her public inebriation revolting when she was alive, much less dead. Like Paris Hilton, she really didn’t DO much, except be famous and have some nudie footage kickin’ around.
The stories you suggest are different in that 3 of them involve murder. That made them news. The runaway bride was similar in that many people assumed murder until she turned up.
I just watch the Ferguson clip Dale posted. I think he has it exactly right. There’s another clip on you-tube in which he’s being interviewed and comments that it’s weird that it is news because he announces he’s not going to pick on someone who is young and troubled.
Personally I’m a big fan of trashy behavior and I think it has a legit niche in out culture. What seems weird to me is that we seem to have taken it out of the fringe and brought it to the center.
As for Anna Nicol Smith, I fear that her legacy (mostly fights for the $200-$500 million estate) will be part of the popular culture for the rest of my life. And I figure the actuaries give me another 20-30 yrs.
Three cheers for (old what’s his name) the inventor of the remote control!!
For those of you I have Betrayed/Let Down/Offended, please tune in to my news conference today at noon when I will be announcing my deep regret and that I will be going into seclusion at a very fancy rehab facility to deal with my issues.
I will be taking a high G with me to further Betray/Let Down/Offend my fellow rehabees.
