Thursday, January 17, 2013

Unreality Stars

What I have to say is hardly original, but as so often happens in the blogsphere, I just have to say it. Simply put I am tired of being snookered by Snooki, bothered by Honey BooBoo and have no interest in keeing up with the Kardashians. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a good guilty pleasure reality show as much as anyone else,but I prefer it to revolve around some sort of talent, whether fashion design, dance, running a pawnshop, driving a truck long distance. The people I am talking about have no talent for anything except self-promotion.

I am of two minds about the celebrifacarion of America. Part of me hates the fact that i even know about the likes of Paris Hilton or anyone on earth whose last name is Kardashian. The other part of me can't stop watching the train wreck.

Celebrities who are famous for being famous are nothing new. At one time they were members of high society and most noted for their skill in spending inherited money. There was the likes of Barbara Hutton and Jimmy Donohue,all sorts of Vanderbilts and Astors and most of the people travelling First Class on the Titanic. At one time their moms hustled them off them off to Europe to be married to impovrished noblemen. Now they get shows on E! or Lifetime.

When I'm killing time at the dance school I often amuse myself by looking over the lastest issue of OK or Star, magazines that frequently make People look like the New York Times. On any given day it is covered with stories about people with no discernable abilities whatsoever. The excessive coverage of single teenage mothers from shows like 16 and Pregnant are probably the worst. These girl are on tv for no other reason that getting pregnant in highschool. They are not celebrities, yet their relationships and legal woes are all over the tabloids. Just absurd. Then there are the exspouses who are celebrities only for whom they were formerly married to for a week or two. Frequently they are the person they celebritly left their previous spouse for, yet they are shock if their other half turns out to be career obsessed, distant, or unfaithful. Then, oh yes, there are Kardashians. Recenly Kim K's little sisters were featured on the cover of Teen Vogue and my daughter was expressing admiration for them. I nearly lost it, but restrained myself, but suggested she was better off following her usual crop of Disney Teen Pricesses and young country singers. They annoy me, especially in large doses, but at least they sing or act for their suppers.

Even more annoying is when these celebrities are interviewed on serious subjacts as if they're opinion mattered on anything, even entertainment. Think of it: people complain that Oscar winning actors and champion athletes are taken too seriously, and then we ask the opinions of the a woman who has no claim to fame except being yhe daughter of a man who became famous for helping a heinous murderer get off.

Kim Kardashian is at present the most aggrevating of all because she is so blatently working the system. She was engaged and then married to a man, to huge ratings, then put him the door in less that 3 months. No wonder he thinks he may have been used and is holding out for an annulment. This brings me to another complaint. The media often refers to her 77 day marriage. But they are still married. Recent articles about her and her new love mention Kim is still "technically married". Well if you are technically married you are technically committing adultry. And the husband you havem't shed yet is technically (and legally) the child's father. Now I don't really carebif people are married or not. But once you decide you want the ring you take the responsibilities that go with ig. (By the way, as omnibus couple names go, Kimye stinks like Korean Sauerkraut, which is what I think of every time I hear it.) The other morning she was on the Today show, whose standards have really fallen, and mentioned that it was unfortunate that she got pregnant with someone else before her divorce went through. No Kim its unfortunate you couldn't finish one business transaction before you went to the nexr one,

The good news is that every form of entertainment runs its course eventually. At some point people will again clammor for scripted plots and professional actors on TV. We eill want genuine laugh lines spoken by experienced commedians in front of live audiences. A director will stand next to the camera, telling the actors what to do.
And it will be a good thing.

Because there is a fine line between realism and reality.

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