Does that make popular culture the big villain when it comes to distracting the public from the reality the world faces on a daily basis? In so far as it being a deliberate "Bread and Circuses" ploy by anyone, I don't think so. For the simple reason that the whole system is beyond anyone's control.
It's become such a firmly entrenched part of our social fabric that it exists in spite of the social climate, not because of it. We could be living in an ideal world with no war, no illness, no crime etc, and we would still have The National Enquirer, starlets, and studio executives.
I'm no big fan of the whole system or much of what gets telecast or played on the radio. I can understand Ms. Barr's complaints about the state of things in pop culture. But I don't see it as being a deliberate attempt on anybody's part to distract the public from the woes of society. The people involved in the industry are far too self-centred to be able to see beyond fulfilling their own needs to think about anything else.
Unfortunately the whole pop culture industry is pretty much a monster of our own making. It would be nice to blame it on somebody else, a plot to make society dumber, but that's simply not the case. Pop culture exists to sell itself and nothing more. If nobody were buying it would change itself immediately.
Article comments
1 - Geek's Girl
This was a very well written and thought out piece gypsyman - thank you.
2 - Bliffle
Any of the famous celebrities I've seen at the grocery checkout counter seem to lead really boring lives. I think they're pallid imitations of the celebrities of years past. Yes, boys and girls, we have a celebrity gap.
What happened? Why are todays celebs such bores? Is it the water? Did fluoridation ruin American gossip? It's gotten so bad that I find that even MY life is more interesting than Brad Pitts! When I reflect on my own misspent history, usually only involuntarily in the dark of sleepless night when the devils of conscience appear to torment me, while I'm properly shamed at my transgressions and misdemeanors, I also have to smile at the great fun I had and the rewards of life experience and exploration.
Even celebrity miscreants seem to be one-note sinners. Maybe they spent 10 years strung out on heroin. Duh. So, they were blotto for 10 years.
Maybe I should write an autobiography. Nah, nobody would believe it.
3 - Don Baiocchi
"Roseanne and Milwaukee"? Any "Roseanne" fan knows the show was set in Lanford, Illinois, which was outside Chicago. Tsk tsk.
Otherwise, great post.
4 - Pat Fish
I love pop culture.
But I don't love pop culture because I really care.
No I don't care who Brad Pitt is having a baby with. But I'll forever be fascinated by how the celebrated arrange their lives so that they can grab the headlines. The whole process fascinates me.
Jennifer Aniston has had her tits shown in every major publication yet she continues to assert photographers are catching her unawares.
Captain Kirk sells his kidney stone on E-Bay and I scratch my head in amazement. Anything, absolutely anything, to keep the name out there, to hang onto a fading career, to be considered for the next role.
Hey, it's how they make a living. I smirk at all the silliness and wonder how low they will go.
It's fun to watch people make fools of themselves. Especially when they are making fools of themselves on purpose.
5 - A.L. Harper
Excellent piece! I'm impressed with your depth and sensitivity. One might think this subject had touched you in a personal way.
I think the reason that “celebrity culture” has gotten so out of hand is that it isn’t as ugly as what has been going on in the real world for that last 5 years. It’s easier to look at than what is really out there. We have created it so that we have something to distract us but I don’t think that it is, in itself, a distraction unless we want it to be. It’s just too boring and pointless to be.
6 - Scott Butki
Wonderful piece. It's not every day you get something this weighty and thoughtful about a woman known for grabbing her crotch during a baseball game.