I'm Fed Up With Hearing About She Who Shall Not Be Named
RANT ON
I work in the nation's capital and on my commute to work I like to listen to music (nothing better to do when you’re stuck on the backed up 417). I primarily flip through a couple radio stations from Rock to Dance/R&B to Adult Contemporary. What compelled me to write thisentry rant was at the same time three radio stations were talking about She Who Shall Not Be Named and her experiences with the correctional system. (Hint: Her name is the capital of France)
The reason her name is She Who Shall Not Be Named is because I don't want a bunch of people who want to know more about her to Google her name and end up on my blog. I don't want the traffic and I don't want to give her any more attention. I'm just fed up with hearing about it. Again, and again, and again.
I hate celebrities and I hate our culture's obsession with them. We live in a society (USA & Canada) where more people will vote for reality show contestants than their politicians. We are trying to spread democracy in other countries when we don't give a damn here.
Why is this?
The answer most people give is that they are too busy or don't know enough about the issues, but is this accurate?
People care enough (and seem to have enough time) to know about celebrities and television but not give a care about issues (like legislation passed) that REALLY affects their lives in a more meaningful way.
What really irks me is people who do not vote.
My (blunt) response is "Who the hell do you think you are?" or "How dare you?" We are so fortunate to live in this country, have a free democracy, and have the things that we have. Sure there are problems, sure there are corrupt politicians, but if we held our politicians more accountable, they would not dare improperly spend our money. Yes, it's OUR money not the government's money/purse.
We have no one else to blame but ourselves.
RANT OFF....I feel better now
I work in the nation's capital and on my commute to work I like to listen to music (nothing better to do when you’re stuck on the backed up 417). I primarily flip through a couple radio stations from Rock to Dance/R&B to Adult Contemporary. What compelled me to write this
The reason her name is She Who Shall Not Be Named is because I don't want a bunch of people who want to know more about her to Google her name and end up on my blog. I don't want the traffic and I don't want to give her any more attention. I'm just fed up with hearing about it. Again, and again, and again.
I hate celebrities and I hate our culture's obsession with them. We live in a society (USA & Canada) where more people will vote for reality show contestants than their politicians. We are trying to spread democracy in other countries when we don't give a damn here.
Why is this?
The answer most people give is that they are too busy or don't know enough about the issues, but is this accurate?
People care enough (and seem to have enough time) to know about celebrities and television but not give a care about issues (like legislation passed) that REALLY affects their lives in a more meaningful way.
What really irks me is people who do not vote.
My (blunt) response is "Who the hell do you think you are?" or "How dare you?" We are so fortunate to live in this country, have a free democracy, and have the things that we have. Sure there are problems, sure there are corrupt politicians, but if we held our politicians more accountable, they would not dare improperly spend our money. Yes, it's OUR money not the government's money/purse.
We have no one else to blame but ourselves.
RANT OFF....I feel better now
posted by Spitfire at 12:19 PM
4 Comments:
I think much of it has to do with how young the entertainment industry is in terms of human culture.
It will be many many years until people can really understand the effect of mass entertainment on us as a species.
People have always gossipped but we do have an obsession with celebrity at this point in history. Ironically enough, the West was one of the last places where this took root. Celebrity obsession in Japan makes North America look tame.
Hope you are enjoying Ottawa! I'm sure Peterborough misses you.
Nicol,
Well Ptbo might miss me, but I sure don't miss it!
Actually I would be interested in the comparaison between cultures. Another culture that has the obsession with celebrities is in the UK with gossip surrounding royalty.
I remember watching on Oprah (always taken with a grain of salt mind you) a few weeks back about some psychologist who did a study about why we have this obsession.
Her/His (can't remember) findings were that with modern technology (internet/TV) is that when we see a celebrities name or face we recognize is as if we know them (or brain reacts that way with recognition apparently). So if there is information about them (i.e when you sign into MSN and get the daily "news") you recognize the name/face and you want to know more about it.
Even though we don't actually know celebrities, we think we know them.
Thanks for your comments.
Ok found the link:
It was an article in Psychology Today by Carlin Flora who said on Oprah:
According to Carlin, an evolutionary psychology theory says people are so interested in celebrities because our brains trick us into thinking we know them personally.
"We're built to view anyone we recognize as an acquaintance," she says. "We think they are in our tribe, so to speak, and so we are interested in gossip about them almost to the same extent we're interested in gossip about our friends and family, because it's important to know what's going on in the tribe."
Although I might phrase it differently, I would agree with the overall hypothesis.
I think the regularity with which we can see the same faces over and over in our own home on television does indeed make us feel like we know them.
I also think this alludes to why celebrities are so influencial in our culture on social or political issues (for better or worse).
George Bush is a guy who speaks at a podium an and starts a war in Iraq.
George Clooney...well he helps give money back to the poor by robbing casinos and wears cool clothes.
I know that's a cheezy example, and while most people textually know the difference between tv and reality, on a subtextual level, I agree it does affect them.
Best.
Post a Comment
<< Home