NEWS: Paris Hilton Eaten by American Cannibal!

CULTURE: Paris Hilton Eaten by American Cannibal!

"Paris Hilton and the American Cannibal" takes a look at the role of "manufactured reality" in contemporary American popular culture. As author Keith Hollihan sees it, all reality as seen on TV--from reality TV shows to the nightly news--is an artifice. What Hollihan wanted to uncover is why. So, Hollihan tracked down Kevin Blatt, who played a pivotal part in delivering the Paris Hilton sex tape into the world. Blatt, as it turns out, dabbles in both reality TV and pornography. To his mind, the two have a great deal in common: "Both industries have their share of pussies, assholes, and dicks." Blatt got his start when he had the novel idea of webcasting the female genital plastic surgery of legendary porn star Houston. "I realized I could become the P.T. Barnum of pussy," he explains. After gaining attention for the Hilton video, Blatt ventured into reality TV of the extreme sort as the executive producer of "American Cannibal," a reality TV pilot that would go far beyond "Fear Factor." As it turns out, a contestant was injured, lawyers are involved, and Blatt won't say more than that. In the end, though, Hollihan points out, in these days of America's manufactured realities, it may no longer matter.

Stop getting our hopes up with misleading headlines!

Wouldn't be much of a meal.

got my hopes up, so shes still alive huh?

hope he ordered a big side of fries, or hes just going to be hungry again in like 10 minutes.

Hilarious. I wonder if she's more filling than Asian Correspondant Tricia Takinawa.

This article looks awesome, I can't wait to read it fully.

[Edited on Apr 28, 2006 11:28AM]

Guy Debord's Society of the Spectacle is about much the same kind of issue. People's consciousness becomes distracted by these contrived pseudo-events, the 'Spectacle'. It is important to remember who is setting these things up for us, what their agendas might be, and what they might be trying to get us to do, or not do.

We are in a time when artifice has become almost the only thing people even believe is possible. There is hardly a concern anywhere to dig beneath the spin. Its all surface games, to be played with a sense of detatchment & irony. (Somebody once called Andy Warhol 'the prophet of our doom.' They were right. Even tho he played dumb, he caught the Spectacle, and its darker side, perfectly.)

But, actually, I believe that there are realities that are not manufactured ready-to-consume. And that those realities matter more than the Spectacle.

I tend to agree with the popular bumpersticker slogan: "Kill Your TV." It starts there.

[Edited on Apr 28, 2006 9:39PM]

I really like Daniel J. Boorstin's books.

oops double-post

[Edited on Apr 28, 2006 9:38PM]