I feel like this creepy compulsion toward celebrity dick-riding that goes on in our media-space trumps all other concerns-- it's the forty-foot Blob that consumes everything around it, changing it into a pinkish-pablum; pre-masticated culture for those too lazy or too heavily medicated to chew their own.
It is the classic post-post-modern lament: talented and interesting artists languish, while stuff that sucks (or at least mostly sucks) gets celebrated. Haiku D'etat is essentially unknown while Ja Rule goes platinum. A message of intelligent humanism gets disregarded while a poser gets paid to pretend to be a gangster in public. It doesn't make any sense, but there it is.
All conspiracy theories aside, the cold fact is that people actually like stuff that sucks, starting first and foremost with the people whose job it is to sell the rest of us stuff that sucks. Its part of the nature of our capitalist paradigm; in the dog-eat-dog world of a free market, the things that are selected for are the things that are the most marketable, or hit the sweet spot of current market conditions. This does not in any way guarantee objective quality. Fashion, yes. Trends? Oh, hell yes. Quality? Not so much.
I think that for whatever reason we have confused our selection of entertainment (and painting rightfully belongs in this category) with our perception of ourselves. Actually, I cant say for whatever reason, because the reason is branding. I dont know whether the chicken or the egg came first, but people who advertise nearly anything are selling you the idea that your choice of product defines the kind of person you are. This may be because it is in our nature to judge ourselves by our choices consumerism being no different or it may be because we have been raised on this notion that it does. If you can unravel that tangle of yarn, please let a ninja know, Id love to hear it.
The culture of celebrity is a factor here as well. I think we have taken our notions of macro-celebrity, and applied them in the micro to our own lives. We strive for popularity (or fame) within the circles of our day-to-day lives; its very human to want to be recognized, but it is particularly American to want to be recognized for what you have managed to *appear* to be.
Check out my new shoes, Suicidegirls.com. Dont they make me look *interesting*?
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I got this quote in my email this morning and I thought I'd share:
"Whether or not we realize it each of us has within us the ability to set some kind of example for people. Knowing this would you rather be the one known for being the one who encouraged others, or the one who inadvertently discouraged those around you?"
Josh Hinds
Syndicated Columnist and Author
It is the classic post-post-modern lament: talented and interesting artists languish, while stuff that sucks (or at least mostly sucks) gets celebrated. Haiku D'etat is essentially unknown while Ja Rule goes platinum. A message of intelligent humanism gets disregarded while a poser gets paid to pretend to be a gangster in public. It doesn't make any sense, but there it is.
All conspiracy theories aside, the cold fact is that people actually like stuff that sucks, starting first and foremost with the people whose job it is to sell the rest of us stuff that sucks. Its part of the nature of our capitalist paradigm; in the dog-eat-dog world of a free market, the things that are selected for are the things that are the most marketable, or hit the sweet spot of current market conditions. This does not in any way guarantee objective quality. Fashion, yes. Trends? Oh, hell yes. Quality? Not so much.
I think that for whatever reason we have confused our selection of entertainment (and painting rightfully belongs in this category) with our perception of ourselves. Actually, I cant say for whatever reason, because the reason is branding. I dont know whether the chicken or the egg came first, but people who advertise nearly anything are selling you the idea that your choice of product defines the kind of person you are. This may be because it is in our nature to judge ourselves by our choices consumerism being no different or it may be because we have been raised on this notion that it does. If you can unravel that tangle of yarn, please let a ninja know, Id love to hear it.
The culture of celebrity is a factor here as well. I think we have taken our notions of macro-celebrity, and applied them in the micro to our own lives. We strive for popularity (or fame) within the circles of our day-to-day lives; its very human to want to be recognized, but it is particularly American to want to be recognized for what you have managed to *appear* to be.
Check out my new shoes, Suicidegirls.com. Dont they make me look *interesting*?
-----
I got this quote in my email this morning and I thought I'd share:
"Whether or not we realize it each of us has within us the ability to set some kind of example for people. Knowing this would you rather be the one known for being the one who encouraged others, or the one who inadvertently discouraged those around you?"
Josh Hinds
Syndicated Columnist and Author
VIEW 17 of 17 COMMENTS
i'm totally sickened by the celebrity dick-riding culture too. i read somewhere (but i'm one of those that can't remember where...) about a recent poll they (yes, the infamous "they") took over here where they asked lots of random school children what they wanted to be when they grew up, and most of their replies had something to do with being a celebrity of sorts.
whatever happened to the good ole days where people wanted to win their fame by helping people--like saving lives as a doctor. long gone, yup. now it's just about the bling.